Clear your schedule for the next ten minutes. Grab a pen, pick up a notebook and make yourself comfortable. Now, ask yourself what, exactly, is the value that your site provides for the internet? The answer can get your site’s SEO headed in the right direction.
Your site’s chances of success on the search engine results pages will rely on the value it provides to internet users. If your site is tedious or even simply ordinary, you can expect similarly unremarkable results. The good news is that almost every business has something valuable to offer. Pinpointing this before you start the SEO process can push your site in the right direction.
Marketers often talk of the ‘value proposition.’ This is the value that the business provides to the world, summed up in one simple sentence. This approach is so successful that many businesses end up using a version of their value proposition as their company tagline. Google’s unofficial motto of ‘Don’t be evil’ is arguably a good example of this. Their value proposition is of being a unique but powerful search engine, the leader by miles in their field. ‘Don’t be evil’ aspires to be representative of what sets the company apart from its competitors.
Finding your own value proposition can help you determine the path you want your search engine optimisation to take. For example, if you’re a pet supplies retailer and you have discovered that your value proposition is ‘Providing designer dogwear at reasonable prices’; you’ve defined something that gives you a real edge over your competition.
Defining your value
The best way to define the value your site provides to the net is to ask yourself why people should visit your site. This will take some thought and quite a bit of objectivity. You might find your answer for the first five minutes is ‘because we’re really good at what we do.’ Unfortunately, this won’t cut it.
Ask yourself what qualities your business offers to site users. Are you particularly knowledgeable? Do you have cheaper products or services? It’s important to be honest when assessing your value, so put marketing talk aside.
It can help to look at your competitors when trying to define your site’s value. What is it you do differently from them? Why are you better? If you’re really stuck, a good SEO professional can help you define the value of your site. Talk to our experts at SEO Consult about this and other aspects of analysing your site for SEO.
Once you know what your value is, use it to sell your site. Embed your keywords in it. Keep your focus on what you can offer your site’s users, and keep offering it.
SEO is a complex process. Many companies follow their usual habits when optimising; they targeting customers in the same old ways. No amount of marketing can beat a really good value proposition. Search engine optimisation is an excellent opportunity to analyse your site’s approach, and what’s more this analysis can improve your chances of sustained business success.
