An Introduction to SEO for Startups

Do you have your startup and aren’t sure how to incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) into your strategy? 

If so, you’re not alone; plenty of businesses and business owners don’t feel comfortable with SEO or don’t even know where to start. 

SEO is one of those buzzwords that most people hear about, but few understand what it entails. Every startup that hopes to become a successful business needs to know about search engine optimization (SEO). 

It’s a good idea for all companies, large and small, to understand how their websites perform in search engine results pages (SERPs). 

You can read about SEO best practices all day long, but getting insider tips from experts is better. That’s why I’ve decided to come forward and write a dedicated blog post for startups.

This article provides:

• an introduction to SEO,
• the basics of SEO for startups in Kerala, and
• tips on incorporating SEO into your startup strategy.

1) SEO basics

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It involves specific methods to increase your website or business’s visibility and ranking in search engines like Google, DuckDuckGo, Baidu, etc.

It involves many strategies such as competitor research, identifying keywords, writing original content, optimizing web content, like text or images, and building links to your site.

As startups increasingly rely on digital marketing strategies to acquire new customers, it’s important to understand how SEO help grow your business.

If you’re planning to build a startup, one of your main concerns will be getting people to visit it. We’ll look at different strategies that can help you maximize SEO and get people to visit your website. 

Need guidance? Contact me right now.
I’ll break down everything so you can see how SEO works and understand what it takes to make sure your site gets high rankings in search results.

2) Analyzing competitors and benchmarking

As a startup, one of the most important aspects of SEO is learning what your competitors are doing and benchmarking your site against theirs. 

There are various tools out there that you can use to do an analysis, both free and paid. This includes tools like Screaming Frog (internal domain analysis), SEMRUSH, Ahrefs, etc.

Your goal in analyzing your competitors’ backlink profiles and content should be to determine what they’re doing well and what they’re not doing so well (or at all) so that you can learn from their successes while avoiding their mistakes.

3) Keyword Research

Be aware of your audience and competitors. 

Understanding your audience is important for search engine optimization (SEO). You need to understand what people are searching for to place yourself as close to them as possible. 

Figure out which keywords they’re searching for and incorporate them into your startup’s SEO strategy. 

Sites like Google AdWords Keyword Planner make it easy to find low-competition keywords, so you don’t have to waste a bunch of time coming up with unique (and hopefully high-traffic) terms on your own. 

You could also use tools like SEMRUSH to identify the keywords.

You want something that resonates with people, but that won’t be too difficult to get a top ranking in search engines.

From there, it’s about getting traffic from those users who are actively looking for those terms. 

4) On-page and off-page SEO strategies

In layman’s terms, on-page refers to anything you do to affect search rankings directly, including HTML title tags, meta descriptions, site content, structured data, images (alt-text), H1s, and H2s. In contrast, off-page includes link building and guest posting that send relevancy signals but aren’t strictly in your domain.

Understanding how to optimize your site—on-page and off-page—is essential for building a successful SEO strategy that will boost new visitors to your startup’s website.

Feel free to contact me if you need guidance on both on-page and off-page SEO activities.

5) What works and what doesn’t?

Search engine optimization (SEO) can be a daunting process, and even with powerful paid tools, it’s hard to get a complete picture of what works.

As a beginner, make sure you’re following SEO best practices.

You also need to be adding relevant content regularly, so search engines know that your site is active and worth including in their rankings. 

It’s important to note that SEO is tricky, and what works for one startup company might not work for another. 

For instance, you probably shouldn’t focus your efforts on local SEO if you operate an e-commerce site with no storefront. 

6) How long does SEO take?

There’s no cookie-cutter approach to SEO, as some strategies work better than others depending on your industry, target keywords, and more. 

But it takes an average of six months before you start seeing any meaningful traffic from your SEO efforts—and longer if you’re a startup with limited resources and low brand recognition.

7) Test and measure

One of your main goals for search engine optimization (SEO) is increasing traffic and building the startup’s visibility. 

While you don’t have complete control over where your search engine rankings will fall, you can take a scientific approach to improve them. 

It’s all about testing and measuring: try different keywords, target audiences, content formats, and more, paying attention to what works best in terms of ranking and overall engagement.

As a startup, you should follow Google and other industry leaders to track the core updates in the SEO industry.

8) Things to remember when evaluating results

When evaluating results, remember: search engine optimization is not about manipulating an algorithm but about providing a satisfying experience for your users. 

Is your web content compelling? Does it answer their questions? Does it provide them with additional information they didn’t know they needed to get through their problem or pain point?

Keep these in mind while evaluating the SEO results.

Final thoughts

While the core philosophy remains grounded, the SEO techniques and activities change from time to time.

SEO is evolving together with ML/AI. The algorithms are becoming smarter day by day. 

Luckily, several great resources are available to teach you about SEO best practices and avoid common mistakes that many entrepreneurs make when they first start working on their search engine optimization strategy. 

NEED HELP WITH SEO?
I’ve helped various companies in the past with SEO and inbound marketing. And I’m pretty sure I can figure out something for your startup as well. Contact today to discuss your goals.

SEO services I offer in Kerala