How to find followers for your startup blog with free SEO (+ What not to do)

Starting a new business can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to building a following for your content. There are countless ways to attract new followers, but one of the most effective methods is through search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO is the process of optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). By making your content more visible to search engines, you increase the chances of it being found by potential followers.

However, SEO can be tricky and there are many common mistakes that can be made. In this blog post, we will discuss the best practices for using SEO to attract followers to your startup content, as well as what not to do.

Best Practices for SEO

1. Keyword research: The first step in optimizing your content for SEO is to conduct keyword research. This involves identifying the keywords and phrases that people are searching for in relation to your business. Once you have a list of keywords, you can optimize your content for those keywords by including them in your titles, headlines, and body text.
2. Create high-quality content: Search engines favor websites that have high-quality content. This means that your content should be well-written, informative, and useful to your target audience. It should also be free of spelling and grammar errors, and be easy to read and understand.
3. Use meta tags: Meta tags are HTML tags that provide information about your website to search engines. They include the title tag, meta description, and header tags. These tags should be optimized for your keywords and be written in a way that is attractive to both search engines and users.
4. Build backlinks: Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They are important for SEO because they signal to search engines that your website is authoritative and trustworthy. You can build backlinks by creating high-quality content and reaching out to other websites to ask them to link to your content.
5. Use social media: Social media can be a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website. By sharing your content on social media, you can attract new followers and increase your visibility in search engine results pages.

What Not to Do

1. Keyword stuffing: While it’s important to include keywords in your content, it’s also important not to overdo it. This is known as keyword stuffing, and it can actually harm your SEO. Search engines will penalize websites that are found to be using keyword stuffing, so make sure that your keywords are used naturally and in moderation.
2. Copy and paste content: Another common mistake is to copy and paste content from other websites. Not only is this plagiarism, but it’s also a surefire way to get penalized by search engines. Make sure that your content is original and unique.
3. Ignore mobile optimization: More and more people are accessing the internet on their mobile devices, so it’s important to make sure that your website is mobile-optimized. This means that it should be easy to navigate and read on a small screen.
4. Use black hat SEO techniques: Some people may be tempted to use black hat SEO techniques in order to get a quick boost in search engine rankings. However, these techniques are against search engine guidelines and can get your website penalized. Examples of black hat SEO include buying backlinks, using hidden text, and cloaking.
5. Neglecting the user experience: While it’s important to focus on SEO, it’s also important not to neglect the user experience. This means that your website should be easy to navigate, load quickly, and provide a positive experience for the user. Search engines also take into account user experience, so a website that provides a poor experience may be penalized in search engine rankings.

In conclusion, SEO can be a powerful tool for attracting followers to your startup content. By conducting keyword research, creating high-quality content, using meta tags, building backlinks, and using social media, you can increase your visibility in search engine results pages. However, it’s important to avoid common mistakes such as keyword stuffing, copying and pasting content, ignoring mobile optimization, using black hat SEO techniques, and neglecting the user experience. By following best practices and avoiding these mistakes, you can increase your chances of success in building a following for your startup content through SEO.