If you’ve ever done a Google search about marketing your business online, you’re probably come across search engine optimization or SEO tips. The idea behind SEO is to optimize your digital content (like blog posts or other web pages) to rank on search engines like Google. But how do you optimize your content, especially as a beginner? Over the years, I’ve come across a few simple SEO tips for equine business owners that you can easily implement.
Tip One: Use Your Headings Correctly
If you’ve had any experience with website editors, you’ve probably seen the different heading types (H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.). One important step for better SEO is to use these tags properly.
The H1 tag should only be used once per page, and should include an exact match of your keyword somewhere within it (ideally at the beginning). For WordPress users, the H1 tag is usually placed by default at the top of the page and is the page title. If you have a WordPress theme that hides the H1 tag, you’ll want to add it manually within your content.
H2 tags should be used as sub-headings. At least one or two should contain an exact match of your keyword. The others should be related to your keyword. Headings help search engines figure out what your content is about and provide it to people searching for it.
If you need to use smaller H3 and H4 tags, make sure you’re using them as a sub-heading of their predecessor. To successfully use this equine business SEO tip, try not to skip around, or use them just for design purposes.
Tip Two: Pick A Keyword and Use It Appropriately
A keyword is a word or phrase that you want your page to rank for when searched. First thing is first – you’ll want to research which keyword to pick. There are tons of great resources for keyword research. My favorite is one by Neil Patel called Ubersuggest.
You can also use a search engine like Google to find most-searched terms and questions related to them. The easiest way to do this is to start typing your subject into the Google search bar and see what pops up in the dropdown. Once you find your target word, you can click search to find relevant questions and searches being performed by internet users.
Once you’ve picked your keyword, you’ll want to use it within your content. Most blog posts should use a keyword 5 times. When adding in your keyword, try not to force it into the paragraph. Keep the text easy to read and informative. You don’t want your reader to think a robot created your content!
Try not to overuse the keyword. While they are helpful, you don’t want to stuff your content full of them. Search Engines frown upon this and will most likely penalize you for it.
Tip Three: Add Fresh, New Content Regularly
Fresh, new content has tons of benefits – which is why it’s one of my favorite SEO tips for equine business owners. One big one? The more content you have, the more keywords you can potentially rank for! Keep track of trends within your niche and post unique articles that match those trends. Try and research things that are popular on social media, or questions that your clients ask you regularly.
Don’t confuse fresh, new content with changing your old content around. Making small changes to previous pages or posts probably won’t help you out too much. You can, however, repurpose previous content into something new. Maybe add a few new photos or a new section relevant to a recent update about the topic. Making updates to your site will show search engines that you’re regularly active, making your website more authoritative.
Tip Four: Optimize Your Meta Tags
The meta tags provide details about your website to the search engines, such as the page title or description. You’ll see these tags in the block of text that appears on the search engine listing. Make sure that your meta title accurately reflects the page content and includes an exact match of your keyword at the beginning.
Include your keyword and a short description of the page within your description block. This will help the search engines know where to categorize your post. If you don’t add a meta description, the search engine will pull the first block of text it can find on your page. This isn’t great for SEO, but it also doesn’t help website visitors know what to expect.
At this point, you’re probably wondering how to change the meta tags on your WordPress site. We’ll go over that in the final of our simple SEO tips for equine business owners.
Tip Five: Use A Plugin
The easiest of the SEO tips for equine business owners involves using an SEO plugin. There are tons of plugins available, most with options that are easy to use for beginners. Two of the most popular plugins are Rank Math and Yoast SEO.
I’ve had success with both, but have to say that Rank Math is my favorite. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and doesn’t seem to slow websites down as badly as Yoast SEO. I will say that Yoast SEO seems to have a few more robust features available with their paid version.
Using a plugin will make it easy for you to access your meta tags and optimize them for the keyword and content you have chosen.
Put These Simple SEO Tips for Equine Business Owners Into Action
Now that you’ve learned a few fun SEO tips for equine business owners, try putting them into action on your website. Research a keyword and write up some engaging content for your viewers. Add it onto your website and optimize it with the help of a WordPress plugin like Rank Math. Don’t forget to pay attention to those heading tags!
If you want more SEO tips for equine business owners or want to get a more in-depth explanation, leave a comment below or reach out to us. We’d be happy to give you a hand.
