11 Business New Year’s Resolutions for Female Entrepreneurs
Wanna finish the year stronger? Then you must start strong! These small business new year’s resolutions will give you a head start.
Whether or not you enjoy making personal new year’s resolutions is absolutely up to you.
Some people prefer setting themselves specific goals, some others find it stressful and counterproductive.
Hey, you do you!
However, when it comes to your badass female-founded brand, business new year’s resolutions can make all the difference.
Screw unrealistic diets and all the new-year-new-me crap!
Let’s focus on actionable business goals that you can implement this year to grow your brand, increase your income, and simplify your working day.
1. Stop trying to please everyone: define your target audience
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (louder for the people in the back):
When you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one.
It’s an easy mistake as a business owner because you might be worried that fine-tuning your offer and marketing strategy will cause you to miss out on sales from other people.
Well, I beg to differ! It’s actually the opposite.
It’s much easier to concentrate on selling to the right person than to waste time and money with a random group of people that aren’t even interested in what you do.
Most importantly, your products or services should clearly solve someone’s problem. How can you do that if you don’t know who you’re selling to?
Start the new year by identifying your target customers and consider creating some buyers’ personas to keep them in mind more easily.
2. Create a strong(er) brand
Coca Cola, Nike, that little hipster café in town… Whether you like them or not, you can’t argue against the fact that they’re all strong brands.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman solopreneur selling services or a female-founded company shipping products:
for people to remember you and appreciate you, you must build a recognisable and memorable brand.
To accomplish this business new year’s resolution:
Remind yourself how you can help your target audience and make it crystal clear to them;
Revisit your website and logo: is the branding consistent, from colors to fonts and tone of voice?
What are your ethos? Why did you decide to do what you do? What is your business mission?
Create a brand story;
As well as your business website, is your branding consistent across all of your social media platforms, too?
And as for the last point...
3. Be social (on the right platforms)
You really can’t afford to miss out on social media anymore.
If you aren’t on any of them, find out on what platforms your target audience is most active and get on them RIGHT NOW.
If you already are but it’s not going well:
Stop seeing social media as a place to brag about your company’s accomplishments;
Instead, create an audience-oriented strategy that brings them value;
Remember the 80:20 rule: only 20% of what you post should be a direct promotion. The rest? Relevant content to educate and entertain your audience;
Post consistently and interact with your followers.
4. Switch from a newsletter to an audience-oriented email marketing strategy
If you haven’t got a subscribers’ list, this could be the year where you finally create one.
If you do but it’s an old-style newsletter with boring updates about your company, you might want to reconsider your strategy.
After all, be honest: do you (personally) enjoy receiving spam from tons of companies telling you all about themselves?
If you want to stand out, one of the best business new year’s resolutions is to turn your newsletter into an audience-oriented marketing strategy.
Sure, you can still send the occasional promotion, but you want to focus on bringing value to your target audience just like you do with your other content.
5. Remember the importance of work-life balance
This is vital both for solopreneurs and small businesses with employees:
a burned-out mind isn’t a productive mind!
If you work on your own, remind yourself why you decided to start your own business in the first place (I bet that ‘to be in charge of my time’ was up on the list) and set some boundaries. For example, no checking emails after 5 pm and no more overbooking yourself;
If you have some employees, stop texting them outside work hours unless the building is literally on fire. Respect their personal time and days off and encourage them to switch off whenever they’re not working. If you can implement or keep some working-from-home options even beyond the pandemic, I’d encourage you to do so.
6. Achieve the greenest version of your female-founded business
Personally, I have sustainability at heart and, since you live on my same planet, I hope you do, too.
Is there any chance that you can make your business more sustainable and ethical, this year?
While this should be a personal responsibility, I’m sure you won’t mind me telling you that 33 percent of customers take sustainability criteria into account when choosing what and who to buy from… and that this trend is only expected to grow!
And this goes beyond a product itself: it’s also about your company as a whole.
7. Make your business website mobile-friendly
Over 60% of all Google searches are performed on mobile: are you really gonna risk a Russian roulette by having an old-style static website that doesn’t adapt to smaller screens?
Instead, implement a responsive layout so that your business website looks just as good and user-friendly on phones as it does on larger desktops.
8. Up your SEO game
Social media and word-of-mouth are still important, but they’re not everything when it comes to attracting new customers.
If you want to be found by people who’ve never even heard of your brand but are looking for the products/services that you offer, you need to make your business website easy to find for the right keywords.
Simple as that.
Depending on your time, budget and current knowledge, one of your business new year’s resolutions could either be to learn or outsource SEO.
9. Subscribe to relevant blogs
If you want your audience to perceive you as a thought-leading expert in your field and to choose you over your competitors, you must be aware of what’s actually happening in your industry.
An easy way to do so is to subscribe to relevant blogs or Google updates. That way, you can be a step ahead of the game and be sure to write timely pieces of content.
10. Start blogging on your business website
Just like you’d go to other blogs for knowledge, guess what? So do your customers!
Not having a blog on your business website is one of the biggest mistakes you can make, but so is having one that’s all about blowing your own trumpet.
‘We’re delighted to announce…’
Well, we’re not delighted to read it. Soz.
Your blog should be a consciously created content marketing strategy where you blog about relevant industry-related topics to educate and entertain your existing audience.
Even better? To attract new customers! Did you know that websites with blogs generate 67% more leads than those without one?
Plus, having a blog will do wonders for your SEO, since each blog post is a new page that allows you to target a new relevant keyword.
Here are all the benefits of blogging for business.
Love the sound of it but...
Haven’t got time?
Not sure how to write SEO-friendly blog posts for your specific audience?
I can take care of it for you with my blog writing services.
11. Review your website copy
Now that you’ve identified your target audience, realised what problem of theirs you can solve and created a stronger brand, ask yourself: does my current business website reflect all this?
If it doesn’t, now it’s the time to change it.
You have 8 seconds to impress your visitors before they click away.
Your target customers must be able to immediately find out:
Who you are/what you sell
What problem of theirs you can solve with your products or services.
Obviously, your website copy must also be optimised for search engines.
Not sure where to start? Check out my website copywriting services.
There you go: 11 of the best business new year’s resolutions to start these 365 days with a bang.
Found this helpful? Start receiving more tips, advice, and content prompts. My newsletter helps ambitious female entrepreneurs connect with their dream audience through their marketing copy.
More #crafty blog posts on this topic:
How to Rank Higher in 2023 [Boost Your Female-Founded Biz]
You can't get different results using the same old strategy! Steal my SEO tips on how to rank higher on Google (from a copywriter & fellow female entrepreneur)
Just like you’d want a physical shop to be easy to spot in town, you should learn how to rank higher on Google so that you can aim for its virtual high street (the coveted 1st page).
This will allow your badass woman-founded business to generate more relevant traffic and leads from search engines.
But I know how confusing this all sounds if you’re not an SEO expert or copywriter.
Relax: I’ve broken it down into 8 actionable tips for you.
Let’s set the right expectations, though.
How long does it take to rank #1 on Google?
On average, it takes longer than a year to rank #1 on Google. In fact, 95% of new web pages don’t reach Google’s top ten within the first year.
The ones that do, on the other hand, tend to get there in a few months.
So, my advice is to be patient and don’t get discouraged. As long as you keep putting these tips into practice, at least.
8 SEO tips on how to rank higher on Google with the website of your woman-founded business
Let’s tackle one SEO aspect and tactic at a time.
Optimise your pages and website structure
Your website shouldn’t be something you’ve built or commissioned years ago and never touched again.
If you want Google to find it and navigate it effortlessly, you need to make it as easy as possible for search engines to do so.
Make sure you have a clear website structure: relevant internal links, no broken links (you can check them here), and an up-to-date site map
Target one main keyword per page: find it with a keyword research tool, use it strategically (for example, page titles, headings, image alt descriptions, and a few times within the actual text), and don’t target it on different pages so as not confuse Google
2. Put UX and readability before search engines
The Google BERT update was an unequivocal sign that this search engine is moving more and more towards user-friendly content rather than robotic keywords.
Write for your users and then optimise for search engines
Do so without compromising your readers’ experience: for example, Google will tend to prioritise the more grammatically correct and conversational “Best places to eat in London” over a clunky “Best restaurants London”.
3. Understand and master your E-A-T principles
No, we’re not talking about your culinary habits.
E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Because Google wants to provide its users with the best website experience, it favours businesses with high E-A-T .
So:
Make sure you offer error-free content, cite authoritative sources, and have a trustworthy contact and about page
Try and get links from authoritative websites
Don’t forget that Google can check the expertise of each page author, too
Another thing that can penalise your E-A-T is if your business has lots of bad reviews: Google understands that your customers are not happy, so it’s not going to suggest your website to new users. While it might be the last thing you would have thought of, a campaign and strategy to improve sentiment around your business and your customer service can actually help your website rank higher, albeit indirectly—crazy, I know! (1)
4. Be mobile-friendly
Why would you want to focus on computers only when 58% of all Google searches are done on mobiles?
Ever since what is commonly referred to as the ‘mobilegeddon’ update in 2015, Google has been unashamedly prioritising mobile-friendly websites.
After all, would you rather find an outdated static page on which you have to manually zoom in to read a single sentence or a dynamic and responsive design that adapts to your screen’s width?
Do your business website a favour, and run a Mobile Friendly test on Google: it will show you what you need to improve in order to let the search engine know that your website can perform amazingly on phones too. (2)
5. Optimise for voice search
I’m a bit old school: I prefer typing every single query—well, I am a writer, after all. My stepfather, however, is always bringing the phone to his lips for any question he’s got, and so are millions of people.
I can’t blame him: voice search is becoming more and more accurate and it allows you to multitask more easily.
Queries that are spoken out loud are going to be even more conversational than written ones, so, as I mentioned before, focus on user-friendly sentences and long-tail keywords.
Look at the ‘People also ask’ section on Google when searching for your most relevant keywords, add blog posts or pages that answer those questions directly, and use structured data markup if you feel like getting techy.
Also, optimising for voice search means optimising for mobiles, too: two Google crawlers with one stone!
6. Improve your page speed
We went from patiently waiting for our dial-up Internet connection to load in the early 2000s—I’ll never forget that iconic screeching sound!—to exiting a website if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds.
To be fair, though, it’s not just us humans who hate slow websites: search engines do too!
Since page speed is a direct ranking factor and post-early-2000s humans are impatient, you must ensure that your website loads fast.
Luckily, there are lots of free online tools that allow you to check its speed, such as Pingdom, GTMetrix, Experte, and Google’s own tool: they usually provide you with a score, an average load time and a list of what you should improve. (3)
7. Keep snippets in mind
Let’s go back to the basics. Before worrying about how to rank higher on Google, remember what you (and your audience) use Google for: to get information and answers.
While the search engine might not be able to give you the meaning of life—but everyone who’s read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy knows that it’s 42—it can give you pretty much anything else.
However, whilst multiple pages can answer the same question, only one gets the spotlight, aka the featured snippet.
Once you’ve familiarised yourself with your most relevant keywords and the most common queries and questions related to them, try and answer each and every one of them individually with separate pages, sections, headings, or blog posts that target that particular long-tail keyword.
One (or more!) of them might very well become the featured snippet for it.
8. Make the most of your blog
Guess what? 80% of all searches are informational (4), so you should really make the most of them by targeting your relevant keywords, trending topics in your niche and the searches that are associated with them!
The best way to do so is to have a blog page on your website and a freakin’ awesome blogging strategy, of course.
A blog allows you to rank for long-tail keywords, achieving an average of 434% more indexed pages than websites without one. (5)
Having a blog has lots of benefits that range from supporting your newsletter and social media strategy to establishing yourself as an expert in your field, but the most popular is probably the fact that it helps your website’s SEO.
Plus, as we established earlier, Google prioritises user-friendly pages and, especially, good content: make the most of your blog to provide top-notch content to your existing customers as well as to attract new users, show Google that your website has got all the answers and position yourself as an expert in your niche whilst ranking higher on search engines.
Now you know what to do, but don’t forget: SEO takes time!
Start implementing these tips on how to rank higher ASAP, and I bet you’ll see some juicy results in a few months. You’ve got this!
How my words will help your female-founded business rank higher on Google 🔥
When it comes to the words on your business website, I can help!
Or better: do aaaaaall the hard work for you while you focus on whatever it is you do best.
To help ambitious female entrepreneurs like you rank higher, I write:
audience-oriented website copy that includes all the right SEO keywords while positioning you as the go-to solution in your dream audience’s eyes
regular SEO-friendly blog posts to attract and retain your target audience organically, smoothen the funnel, and build trust
And you?
After answering my questions and telling me all about your business… you just sit back and enjoy the results!
More #crafty blog posts on this topic:
References
Booth, I. (2019, June 4). E-A-T and SEO: How to Create Content That Google Wants. Retrieved from https://moz.com/blog/google-e-a-t
(n.d.). Mobile SEO: the Definitive Guide. Retrieved from https://backlinko.com/mobile-seo-guide
Cojocariu, A. (n.d.). How Page Speed Affects SEO & Google Rankings | The 2019 Page Speed Guide. Retrieved from https://cognitiveseo.com/blog/22865/page-speed-seo/
Rayl, S. (2016, April 12). Informational, transactional & navigational: how different search engines affect how searches work. Retrieved from https://turnthepage-onlinemarketing.com/informational-transactional-navigational-search-engines-affect-how-searches-work/
Rampton, J. (2016, September 21). Why You Can't Afford To Ignore Blogging As Part Of Your Online Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2016/09/21/why-you-cant-afford-to-ignore-blogging-as-part-of-your-online-strategy/#656d3a8b2ab7
Why Start a Business Blog to Grow in 2022: 13 Lucky Reasons
Oh, and a BONUS reason to start a business blog this year? If you don’t, future-you will wish they could travel back in time just to kick you in the shins.
Want to take your female-founded business to the next level? Then one of your main resolution should be to start a business blog this year!
Honestly? This change alone will give you an SEO and traffic boost while helping you convert more visits into leads and sales. Overall, it will also bring a ton of benefits to your entire business.
More specifically, here are 13 (you’re not superstitious, right?) reasons to start a business blog this year.
What I actually mean by ‘starting a business blog’ on your company website
When I say that you should start a business blog RIGHT FREAKIN’ NOW, I’m not talking about sharing boring corporate news. Nuh-uh.
A blog must consist of audience-oriented and SEO-friendly articles that bring value to your specific target market by targeting relevant industry-related topics or queries.
Now that we’re on the same page, let me show you why this strategy is oh-so-worth-it.
13 reasons to start a business blog on your website
Ready for the juicy part?
Disclaimer: I apologise in advance if this article will make you want to kick yourself in the teeth for not implementing this strategy sooner.
That appears to be a common side effect.
1. Your average customer consumes 11.4 pieces of content before buying
Yep, you’ve read that correctly.
The 2020s customers are demanding to say the least but, with so much competition, we can’t really blame them.
If you want to stand out, you need to offer them content that entertains and/or educates them.
On average, they will consume around 11.4 pieces of it before committing to their first purchase with you, and the number goes up to 13 when it comes to B2B customers.
And, before you ask, yes: blog posts classify as content.
Even better? See the next reason.
2. Blogs are one of the most popular forms of content marketing
You’ve probably heard of content marketing before, right? The strategy consisting of creating free content to attract and retain your dream audience, getting them interested in your business?
Well, blogs are in the prestigious top 3 of content marketing channels.
If you want to invest in this versatile inbound marketing strategy, you can’t afford to miss out on starting a business blog on your website.
3. A business blog boosts your website’s SEO
Now, I could write an entire article on how blogging helps your website’s SEO (actually, I have!), but I’ll try and give you a quick overview:
It shows to search engines that your website gets updated regularly and is therefore relevant
It results in an average of 434% more indexed pages (size matters for search engines: they love bigger websites!)
It allows you to add internal links that facilitate the website indexing process for search engines’ crawlers
It attracts an average of 97% more inbound links
It allows you to target more relevant keywords
4. It gives you many more chances to rank
Every new blog post is also a new page for your website.
This means that, as well as making it chonkier, every single blog post is a precious, useful tool on its own, too.
A new page allows you to target a new long-tail keyword. What your target audience is searching on Google, basically.
Now, let’s say that you start blogging twice a month: those are 24 new long-tail keywords a year! 24 more chances to rank higher than your competitors, in other words.
If you blog once a week?
Yep, you’ve done the maths, I guess.
5. You can target potential customers at different stages of the funnel
Another perk of blog posts being new pages is that you get to target customers at different stages of the sales funnel every time.
Interlinking them strategically? Then you’ll make it even easier for your prospects to move towards the bottom.
Some of your dream customers still don’t know enough about your industry or the problem that’s actually affecting them. Not enough to look into a solution, at least. So? You educate them on it starting with broader topics
Some prospects are already interested but not sure as to what solutions are available. You explain it to them
Some others are pretty much sold but are now trying to narrow down their options and figure out what the next step should be. Position yourself as the most logical one!
6. You can link to your products and services whenever appropriate
Remember when I mentioned that you can add internal links? This involves links to other pages, blog posts, and… yep, products and services.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you should be super-salesy, but you can be smart.
For example, if you’ve talked about how a plant stand can help the reader decorate with their houseplants… and you actually sell plant stands, why wouldn’t you link to your collection?
This reader’s already interested, so you might as well help them teleport themselves onto that page.
7. It shows your customers that you want to have a conversation with them
Unlike a business with a sad 4-page website, you’re proving to your customers that you want to have a two-sided conversation. You want them to be part of your industry and story!
From addressing them directly to solving their pain points and encouraging them to share the article with their friends, a business blog on your website is an excellent way of doing it.
8. You’ll establish yourself as a thought-leading expert in your industry
Because you’ll share interesting and insightful articles on industry-related topics, you’ll also showcase your expertise and build trust.
Your customers and potential customers will realise that you know more about this than any of your competitors.
This will allow you to build trust more quickly and win over your target customers.
9. You can humanise your company through your business blog
A friendly tone of voice, actionable advice, showing empathy when it comes to your audience’s pain points…
Another reason to start a business blog is to make your company sound and appear friendlier and… well, real.
Authentic.
You’re not just a logo and impersonal set of values.
You’re an audience-oriented business that actually cares about helping its target customers through its products or services.
10. You can share your blog posts on social media…
You should never have a business blog without some social share buttons.
As well as helping you generate new leads, sharing your articles on your social media platforms will give you more content for your existing followers and, most importantly, content in a different form. More in-depth, basically.
Plus, you’ll get to harness the power of social shares, reaching even more people who hadn’t heard about you before.
11. … and your newsletter, too
And I’ve only said ‘newsletter’ because that’s what most companies call them. Let’s be real, though: your ‘newsletter’ should actually be a carefully planned email marketing campaign.
Not a roundup of announcements that should belong to internal communication channels. Not a way of pestering your subscribers with desperate-sounding offers.
Otherwise, they’ll unsubscribe.
So, what else can you talk to them about?
Your emails should always offer some kind of value, perhaps in the form of actionable tips.
And you should definitely include a roundup of your latest blog posts, or even centre an entire email around one of them.
12. When you complement your business blog with Pinterest, you get even more traffic
As well as sharing your new blog posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you can use them to generate even more organic traffic beyond Google.
How? By creating an image for each of them and pinning it to your Pinterest boards with a link to the actual blog post.
Because this unique platform works like a search engine, you’re basically doubling your chances of attracting more traffic through your business blog.
13. Overall, you need to start a business blog if you want to stand out against your competitors
While content marketing is growing, you’ve probably realised that not every single business website has a blog (yet).
To me, that’s crazy.
To you? That’s great news: it’ll be even easier to stand out thanks to the previous advantages and reasons to start a business blog.
Here are just some more of the benefits of blogging on your business website:
67% higher lead generation than websites without a blog
Maximised brand recognition since 70% of consumers learn about a brand through blog posts rather than ads
Establishing your business as the go-to solution in your niche, even (or especially) for prospects who’re not ready to buy just yet
Ready to start a business blog for your female-founded brand? I can help 💪
If, now that you’ve discovered all these amazeballs reasons to start a business blog, you can’t wait to make the most of this strategy, BUT:
you’re not a professional writer
you don’t know how to actually generate organic traffic through your posts
you haven’t got time to research and write such valuable and in-depth articles
you’re not sure how you can smoothen the funnel and capture leads
… here’s an idea: how about you invest your precious time in doing whatever it is you do best with your business and, instead, let a professional blog writer take care of it?
No point in wasting hours writing content that nobody finds or reads… or months going in the wrong direction.
As a copywriter for ambitious female entrepreneurs, I’ll help you become THE go-to solution in your dream audience’s eyes.
More #crafty blog posts on this topic:
Konmari Method to Declutter Your Website: Does It Spark Joy?
Or, better: is it useful to your target audience? Learn to declutter your website with the Konmari method with my simple (and fun) guide.
Whether you’ve first found out about her through her programme, book, or the iconic ‘this does NOT spark joy’ meme, I hope we can agree that Marie Kondo is absolutely lovely and inspiring, right?
Her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, did exactly what the title promised: it changed my life (duh).
After getting rid of bagfuls of items and giving clothes to charity, though, I had a crazy idea: why don’t I apply the Konmari method to websites as well?
I obviously started with mine and obtained excellent results thanks to this new perspective.
So, I thought it would be fun (and extremely useful, obviously) to show you how to declutter your website with the Konmari method, too.
What is the KonMari method?
The KonMari method is a signature decluttering and tidying up strategy invented by Marie Kondo, a Japanese author, organising consultant, and TV personality.
It consists of getting rid of and then rearranging one’s belongings by category rather than location, holding on only to items that are either useful or that spark joy.
I’ve simply decided to apply the KonMari method to websites.
How to declutter your website with the KonMari method
You won’t need any rubbish bags, but you do need a strategy.
Here’s exactly how I applied the core steps of the KonMari method to my own website and how you can do the same.
1. Commit yourself to tidying up… your website copy & layout
The reason why we end up with such a messy house and so much clutter is that we’re used to tidying every once in a while or only discarding things once we notice that we don’t need them anymore.
That’s a vicious cycle.
Like Marie Kondo says, in order to tidy your house, you must set aside some time to do all of it in one go. Yep, that’s tough but 100% effective!
It’s the same when you want to declutter your website:
if you keep tweaking a paragraph every few months or replacing a photo whenever you feel like it, you won’t be able to see the bigger picture.
When you’re ready to declutter your website with the Konmari method, set aside some time to do the bulk of the work.
2. Imagine your ideal lifestyle… in business & UX
A tidy, clutter-free house has a different meaning for everyone, which is why it’s important to imagine your ideal lifestyle first.
That way, you’ll have a better idea of what’s standing in your way to get there.
For your website, this step can be translated into: what type of audience do you want to work with?
Start stepping away from the idea that your product or service is for everyone. That’s just background noise.
For example, I work with ambitious female entrepreneurs looking to become THE go-to solution in their dream audience’s eyes.
My services aren’t ‘for everyone’. A large company looking for a copywriter who will just blow their own trumpet with the same old corporate-sounding words wouldn’t know what to do with them.
Neither would a brand that only relies on social media.
So, who are your products and services for? And, being cheeky, who do you like working with?
For this KonMari step, you also want to think of the ideal experience for your website visitors. That’s when UX (user experience) comes into play.
What’s stopping your target audience from having the time of their life and finding exactly the information they need on your website?
Is it lots of pop-up ads? A complicated structure that forces them to go through four different pages to get to the bit they were after?
Try and look at your website as if you were navigating it for the first time.
Even better, ask someone to review it for you (you need a brutally honest friend for this!), and make a note of this for later.
3. Finish discarding first… after a website audit
One of the most famous of Marie Kondo’s eye-opening rules of tidying is that you can’t do it when the place is still cluttered.
You first need to discard everything that you no longer want to keep.
Before you start tweaking your website copy or images (again), stop. If you really want to declutter your website with the Konmari method, you need to look at the bigger picture first and tackle EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. individually.
Reread and look at everything that’s currently on it and make a note of what you don’t think works anymore.
You have an average of 8 seconds to impress your website visitors: you can’t waste them on vague or cluttered sections!
Which takes us to the next point…
4. Ask yourself if it sparks joy… or, better, is it useful to your target audience?
Marie Kondo has gone viral for her signature process. She gets her clients to hold every object that they own and ask themselves, “does it spark joy?”
When it comes to decluttering your website with Marie Kondo’s method, there’s an important difference:
you should NOT focus on what sparks joy to YOU, but rather to your target customers. Or, better, is it useful to THEM?
Every single element on your website should have a purpose. From pictures to copy, get rid of any fillers and redundant repetitions.
Most importantly:
Make sure that your home page clarifies immediately what you/your product/service can do for your target audience: what pain point does it solve? How can it make their life better/simpler/more luxurious/etc.? (Here’s how to fix this common website copywriting mistake)
Get rid of cliches and vague descriptions of what you do (hint: if it’s got ‘solutions’ in its name, it can probably be explained with a more honest and specific word)
Are there any repetitions that you can remove?
Can you spot any huge blocks of text? Divide them into paragraphs or sections with clear headings!
Does each picture have a purpose, or is it just there to look pretty? Are your images and graphic elements consistent with the tone of your copy?
The thing that Marie Kondo leaves for last is the ‘sentimental items’ category. When it comes to decluttering your website with the Konmari method, this can only mean one thing: discarding the sentences or sections in which you keep bragging about yourself.
Sure, it’s good to mention your achievements somewhere, but they shouldn’t be your main selling point. Your audience should be at the centre of your online copy.
And, while it’s definitely helpful to put a face (or more, if you have a small team) to the name, people don’t care about your entire life story. Sorry. They want to know what your business can do for them.
So... tell them! Focus on that rather than impersonal values that don’t really mean anything.
Once you’ve followed all these steps, you’ll be left with only the copy and graphic elements that truly matter.
Now you can look at your website with fresh eyes once again and decide whether or not each element is in the best place when it comes to UX and the sales funnel (this is the ‘tidying’ part).
For example, does your Sustainability section need to stay at the bottom of your Home, or could you turn it into a separate page?
Have you used a powerful call-to-value too soon? Perhaps you can move it to the final part of your sales page to really give a final nudge to your bottom-of-the-funnel prospects?
Good luck!
Enjoyed my KonMari method for websites? Get more tips that spark joy (and sales🙌)
I hope you’ve had fun reading my take on using the KonMari method on websites and, most importantly, that you’ve found it useful.
As well as offering website copywriting and blog writing services, did you know that I send weekly tips, advice, and content prompts to other ambitious female entrepreneurs?
Perfect for women solopreneurs and female-founded businesses looking to attract and connect with their dream audience through their marketing copy.
Sounds like you?
More #crafty blog posts on this topic:
Why Become an Audience-Oriented Business (It’s NOT About You)
An audience-oriented business focuses on the needs of its target customers… and that’s why they’ll love you! Ready to stand out? Here's why & how to embrace this mindset.
As an SEO copywriter and content writer, I’ve been writing website copy and blog posts on all sorts of topics and industries but, as of this year, for one type of client: audience-oriented small businesses.
The kind of small businesses with the potential to go BIG in the eyes of their target market.
Lemme explain what audience-oriented marketing means real quick, and then I’ll show you how adopting this approach will improve your business dramatically and help you grow.
Let’s start with an example: business A or business B?
Say you’ve always bought fast fashion products and, after discovering the horrors behind this industry, you decide to look for your first sustainable t-shirts.
You open business A’s website and are met with this message:
“We’re an award-winning company with eleven years of experience in the sustainable fashion industry, and we’re excited to introduce you to our new collection of ethical t-shirts.
Each product is made with GOTS-certified cotton and based on the ambitious vision of our creative team of designers.”
Then you open business B’s website:
“Do you keep promising yourself that you’ll take the first step towards sustainable fashion but are not sure where to start? Start here!
Each of our organic cotton t-shirts is unique yet versatile, perfect to create several outfits with what you already have in your wardrobe. Nice one!”
Which one sparks an epiphany and makes you think that they know exactly what you need: business A or business B?
Yep, business B’s website, right?
Your first impression doesn’t need to be about a company’s experience or mission, and let’s be honest: you couldn’t care less about whether or not they’re excited about something.
Company B, on the contrary, spoke to you directly.
They didn’t waste time by blowing their own trumpet, throwing difficult jargon at you, or describing vague product features: they told you exactly how their product can solve your pain point.
“But the other t-shirts can be versatile and do the exact same thing!”
Probably. But the company hasn’t bothered telling you that.
And you know what? You might not have consciously known what your pain point was to begin with, which is why leaving it as an implicit message wouldn’t have worked.
That’s what an audience-oriented business or copywriter can do: they identify the problem that was in the back of their customers’ heads but that they couldn’t quite figure out, and then they show them exactly how their product can solve it and benefit them.
So, what’s an audience-oriented approach in marketing?
In marketing, an audience-oriented approach means putting your target customers first, focusing on how your business, product or service can help THEM.
Basically, instead of boring them by telling them why you’re the best and your product is great, you focus on why you and your product are the best for a specific type of customer and on what you can do for them.
Less bragging (sorry!), more value.
Why choose an audience-oriented approach as a small business
Because new potential customers don’t give a crap about you. Again, sorry to break it to you, but that’s how the world works, unfortunately.
And… honestly? When you accept that they don’t give a damn about your company, that’s the turning point. That’s what you need to do in order to set yourself up for success.
This is because your potential customers only care about what you can do for them, and let’s be real: can you really blame them?
Even if you’re currently wearing your CEO, manager, or entrepreneur hat, put it down for a moment and think of yourself as a customer.
From the moment you wake up and look at your phone to when you watch TV before going to bed, you’re bombarded with ads and all kinds of businesses telling us to buy their products.
You can’t (and have no reason to) care about all of them!
However, if a business were to tell you about how they’ve got a solution to that problem that’s been nagging you for ages, of course, they’d have your attention.
So, the reason to become an audience-oriented business is to stand out against your competitors, grab your prospects’ attention before they bounce out of your website, stop them from pressing that ‘unfollow’ button on your social media… and win over and retain your target audience, basically!
To win the marketing game, we could say.
How to become an audience-oriented business
Ready to revamp your website and marketing strategy with an audience-oriented approach?
First of all, start by reminding yourself who your specific target audience is. If you’ve never bothered researching it because ‘your product is perfect for everyone’, think again!
Then, identify what problems your product or service can solve for them. Does it save them time? Money? Does it help them live more comfortably?
These are just general ideas: you should try and be as specific as you can.
For example, my blog writing services help small businesses go BIG in their target audience’s eyes by offering them insightful and valuable content while also generating more traffic through search engines, smoothening the sales funnel, and turning more visitors into leads and customers.
Once this is all clear for you, here’s how to actively become an audience-oriented business.
1. Create a social media strategy based on your dream customers
Is your feed all about your awards and how great you are? You might want to move that to your personal Facebook (I’m sure your mum and aunt will love to know).
As for your business profiles, only 20% of your content should be promotional! (1). The rest? Posts that bring value to your target audience, either by informing them or entertaining them… or both at the same time, when you can.
Talk about things they care about, give them tips, solve their problems, and have an actual conversation with them.
2. Turn your newsletter into a personalised email marketing strategy
Your newsletter shouldn’t be a newsletter. It should be an email marketing strategy.
You know what? Maybe it shouldn’t even have ‘newsletter’ in its title as that could deter users from signing up or prompt them to unsubscribe after receiving it (2). Shocking, right?
Don’t just send them boring updates about your company. Talk to your subscribers about issues that you know they’re interested in, ask questions, answer theirs, and give value.
3. Make sure your website copy tells your customers how you can help them
As you’ve probably noticed with our initial business A/business B comparison, your website copy can make all the difference.
You have around 8 seconds to impress whoever lands on it. Are you really going to waste that time by immediately telling them aaaaaaaaall about yourself?
For an audience-oriented website, remind your dream customers what their pain point is when it comes to your industry and show them how you can solve it.
Make sure they understand that you created your products or services with them in mind.
4. Blog to offer them valuable content to your target audience
Have you got a blog section on your business website? I hope you do, since there are so many blogging benefits!
However, you’re most definitely NOT going to unlock them by blogging about your company’s achievements.
Sure, you can occasionally announce something special or show some behind the scenes to humanise your brand, but your blogging strategy shouldn’t be about you.
If you want to be an audience-oriented business, it should be about topics that your customers care about, as long as they’re tied to your industry and products.
Answer questions, create informational ‘how-to’ articles, and clarify their doubts while targeting the right long-tail keywords.
This will also help you showcase your expertise and give you more content to post on your social media and ‘newsletter’ (double win).
How I help audience-oriented small businesses
I have two core services that can help you position yourself as an audience-oriented business and start attracting the right customers:
Website copywriting: I’ll make sure that your web pages instantly capture your dream customers’ attention and show them why your product or services are the best thing that has ever happened to them;
Blog writing: I’ll help you reach and retain a much wider portion of your target audience, rank higher on search engines, stand out against your competitors, and smoothen the sales funnel
More #crafty blog posts on this topic:
References
Hall, T. (2020, October 6). The New 80/20 Rule of Social Media Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/sophie-downes/remote-work-home-ergonomics-stress-back-pain-health.html
Silva, P. (2018, April 11). Why Newsletters Suck And How To Do Successful Email Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/piasilva/2018/04/11/why-newsletters-suck-and-how-to-do-successful-email-marketing/#45b366820abd
6 Best Free & Affordable Keyword Research Tools in 2023
No, finding long-tail keywords shouldn’t cost you hundreds of pounds a month! Here are some of the best keyword research tools I use all the time.
Want to get serious about blogging on your business website but you’ve got no clue where to find the right long-tail keywords to target? Too many of the best keyword research tools to choose from, and they’re all way more expensive than you thought?
I get it. When you start learning about SEO, finding the right tools for your business can be difficult. After all, there are so many options out there, and some of them require a considerable monthly commitment.
Trust me, though: finding the right keywords for your business website and blog doesn’t have to cost you hundreds of pounds.
Here are the best keyword research tools that I use on a regular basis or that come at hand occasionally depending on what type of project I’m working on… all free or affordable!
TIP: bookmark this page so you can go back to this list and have all the links in one place!
Disclaimer: some of these links are affiliate links, which is just a fancy word to say that I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them… at NO extra cost for you, obviously. This helps support my work, but don’t worry: I only recommend products that I’ve tried and tested and that I use myself!
1. Google Keyword Planner - Free
With 86.86% of all searches taking place on Google (1), it’d be crazy to ignore their own keyword research tool!
Google’s Keyword planner was originally conceived to research keywords for paid ads, which is why you’ll need to create an account and a campaign to use it (there are some tricks on how to skip this process but, personally, I find them even more time-consuming).
However, you can pause your campaign immediately and never have to worry about it again, which is why Google’s Keyword Planner is actually FREE to use.
You can start with a keyword or add more if you’re trying to narrow down your choice.
TIP: both with Google Keyword Planner and the other keyword research tools included in this article, start with broader keywords that describe your products or services, industry, and topics that you’re planning on covering with your content strategy.
Google Keyword Planner will then tell you the average monthly searches for each, whether the competition is low/medium/high, and what other more specific long-tail keywords are relevant to them.
Plus, you can get other ad-related data, but that’s pretty much all you need when it comes to performing keyword research for your blog posts or website pages.
2. Long Tail Pro - from $25 per month [30% discount!]
As the name suggests, Long Tail Pro helps you take your long-tail keyword game to the next level. A professional level, that is.
When writing blog posts, it’s important to target long-tail keywords consisting of three or more words: it makes it easier to rank, helps you cover more topics in your industry, and allows you to answer the most popular questions that your target audience has when it comes to your field and products.
However, when you can only think of the most generic concepts, it can be hard to find the right ones for your content strategy and website. Well, not with Long Tail Pro.
All you need to do is enter one or more seed keywords. Since we’re talking about seeds, let’s pretend that we’re an online florist, shall we? Some of our seed keywords will definitely be ‘succulents’ and ‘houseplants’.
When you type them in, Long Tail Pro gives you a tidy, alphabetical list of related and more specific keywords. For each keyword, you get lots of juicy data, with the most important being their difficulty, search volume, and competition.
Because you get so many relevant long-tail keywords, it’s much easier to find the right ones to target for your upcoming blog posts.
For example, now that we know that ‘cactus and succulents’ and ‘exotic house plants’ are two popular long-tail keywords in your industry, we can write an article on “How to care for a cactus and succulents” and another one on “The 10 best exotic house plants to create an urban jungle”.
As well as being one of the best keyword research tools to find new ideas and topics to write about, it’s also incredibly useful when it comes to other SEO aspects, like competitor analysis.
They offer different plans starting at $25 per month and I genuinely believe that, for an SME, the most basic plan is more than enough. You’re not going to perform more than 800 keyword researches a day, are you?
Even better, get yourself a Long Tail Pro subscription with a juicy 30% off using my personal discount.
3. Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest - Freemium model
As well as posting lots of useful content, Neil Patel has his own keyword research tool, which is partly free to use.
While it still shows you keyword ideas, search volume and difficulty, my favourite Ubersuggest feature is actually the ‘Questions’ column. After all, answering your target audience’s curiosities is one of the best ways to plan a blog post for your content strategy!
For example, if you’re an ethical clothing brand, you might want to write some blog posts that answer these two popular questions:
To unlock even more keywords you can upgrade to their Pro version. It starts at £29 per month or you can decide to pay a one-off fee (from £290 to £990 depending on what type of plan you’re after) to have it forever.
If you’re tempted by the premium plan but not sure if it’s right for you, you can always try their 7-day trial.
4. Moz Keyword Explorer - freemium model
Moz’s blog is also full of useful tips when it comes to SEO and their own keyword research tool can give you lots of interesting ideas.
What I like the most about it is the level of customization that it offers when it comes to search parameters:
Because it starts at $79 per month, you can argue that it’s not one of the most affordable keyword research tools.
Then why the heck did you include it in this list, Giada?
Simple: because you still get 10 free queries per month. You could pick another tool to rely on for 90% of your searches and sprinkle your content strategy with a few Moz ideas.
5. Answer The Public - freemium
Do you want your target customers to have a “hey, it’s like they read my mind” epiphany whenever they see your blog posts?
Then go on and answer their exact questions!
With Answer The Public, you get to see everything people want to know about a specific keyword.
Let’s say you sell chocolate. Here are some tasty ideas:
For example, you could write a blog post about “How chocolate is made” and “Where chocolate grows”.
Their Pro version starts at $79 but, honestly, the free plan has more than you could ask for.
6. Google Trends - Free
Do you want to up your Google game? Then use two of its keyword research tools!
Google Trends isn’t a traditional keyword research website, but it can actually work as such when it comes to finding topic ideas for your blog posts.
Basically, it shows you what’s trending (in general or about a specific subject) so that you can give a timely twist to your articles or figure out what people want to know the most about your products or industry.
Let’s say that we’ve closed our chocolate shop in order to start making linen dresses instead (hopefully we’ve washed our hands, first!).
Surprise! People care about linen dresses with pockets (obviously). Why don’t we write a blog post about ‘The 10 best linen dresses with pockets’?
You’ll probably need to do a bit of trial and testing to see which of the best keyword research tools you like the most. However, once you’ve done that, SEO will stop being unexplainable sorcery and become a more measurable strategy. You’ve got this!
Found this helpful? I send weekly tips and content prompts to help ambitious female entrepreneurs connect with their dream audience through their marketing copy.
More #crafty blog posts on this topic:
References
Clement, J. (2020, September 2). Worldwide desktop market share of leading search engines from January 2010 to July 2020. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines/
12 Things I've Learnt In My 1st Year as a Freelance Copywriter
From task-batching to imposter syndrome and boundaries, here’s what I’ve learnt in my first year as a freelance copywriter & being my own boss. Be prepared!
Exactly one year ago TODAY I was waking up after my leaving drinks and with the start of what would have soon turned out to be the seasonal flu.
Still, it was a special morning that I’ll never forget: my first official day as a freelance copywriter. Or, better, of finally being my own boss!
This is because I’ve actually been a copywriter for much longer, and I’d even already had Crafty Copy as a side hustle for a few months by then.
However, what was taking up over a third of my waking hours every week was an office job in a marketing department.
A part of me wishes that I could go back in time and teach my past self everything I’ve learnt during my first year as a freelance copywriter.
At the same time, though… would I have really found the courage to do it, had I known that a freakin’ pandemic was about to happen? What a time to choose to start your own business!
Anyway, while I can’t go back in time, I can at least share my knowledge with whoever needs it.
So, here are twelve things I’ve learnt in my first year as a freelance copywriter.
One per month.
In no particular order.
1. An entrepreneurial mindset is essential
I wasn’t looking to be a desperate freelancer: I wanted to become a confident business owner.
To do that, I knew I had to start treating my copywriting business seriously and, most importantly, embrace an entrepreneurial mindset even when I wasn’t used to it.
I’ve always been referring to Crafty Copy as ‘my business’ because… well, that’s what it was and still is.
And yet, you wouldn’t believe how many times my friends or family would say stuff like, “well, more like your website, isn’t it?”.
And that wasn’t even intended in a mean way!
I think that lots of people with traditional day jobs don’t seem to understand what having your own business means, but it doesn’t matter.
The important thing is that, as a fellow solopreneur or small business owner, you do.
2. Not all of your friends and family will understand
I touched upon it in the first point, so I might as well warn you about it in more detail: people won’t get it.
They’ll think that, because you’re your own boss and are working from home, you’re free anytime.
Random calls or disappointed reactions when you can’t make it to their last-minute events? They’ll be your bread and butter, at least for the first few months.
On top of that, get ready for some unsolicited comments on how they don’t understand why on earth you chose to quit a safe job…
Which is just great, isn’t it?
3. Potential clients don’t care about you, and that’s totally fair
If I could look at the very first version of my website, I’d probably find it as painful as seeing my old, cringe-worthy MySpace.
“I love writing.”
So-freakin’-what, Giada?
Nobody cares or needs to know that. What matters is and will always be what you can do for your target audience and potential clients.
Focus on that. Yeah, you reading this, too!
4. Content mills like Fiverr are the worst
One of the most important things that I’ve learnt in my first year as a freelance copywriter is…
stay the heck away from Fiverr, UpWork, People Per Hour and any website whose business model is built around quick and cheap work.
Clients who use these content mills don’t understand how valuable outstanding copywriting really is (and how much it should cost).
On top of that, they have no idea as to how much more expensive it will be in the long run to rely on cheap copy churned out in less than 24 hours by an overworked freelancer desperate to avoid a bad rating.
Wanna get a feel of how demotivating it is to use those websites? Here’s a genuine ‘brief’ that I’ve received through Fiverr: “Make it more marketing.”
Pleasant alliteration aside, those four words have basically destroyed centuries of grammar and marketing itself.
Plus, when you’re expected to complete 1000 words in a day at the embarrassing rate of $10 AND you have to part with 20% of it (lovely commissions), how can you even try to be a successful business owner?
5. Setting boundaries is essential...
Another helpful thing that I’ve learned is that, in order to be successful and happy with what I do, I need some boundaries, and so do you.
You need them with clients, friends, family members, and, above all, with yourself.
With clients? Make your working days and hours clear. If you work Monday to Friday, they shouldn’t expect a reply on the weekend.
With friends and family members? You might not be able to pick up phone calls when you’re working towards a deadline or bend to their whims when it comes to planning stuff.
With yourself? Here are the tough ones!
No matter how much you love your job, it shouldn’t be 24/7… or else you’ll burn out. Stop checking emails during evenings and days off, don’t work on weekends unless you’re planning on enjoying some extra time off during the week instead, allow yourself some time to relax, etc.
Which brings us to the next point...
6. … and so is a healthy work/life balance
That’s me enjoying some well-deserved time off in Pembrokeshire (and being slightly dramatic and over the top. #InstagramLife)
As well as setting boundaries, you should actively make time for yourself and your hobbies.
Having a healthy work/life balance as a freelancer can mean different things to everyone but, in general, it’s all about making sure that you don’t overwork yourself or sacrifice your free time.
For example, I always start my day by having breakfast and don’t check my emails until it’s time to work. I eat a healthy lunch, I switch off in the evening, and, sometimes, I work from cafés or parks just to make sure I see other people and get some vitamin D.
Also, weekends are for myself or for days out with my boyfriend or friends! And, if I can take a few hours off to have lunch or a coffee with a mate during the week, you can bet your life I will!
7. Work droughts are part of the job
Ok, I’ll be honest: even though I’ve learnt that they’re normal and happen to most of my virtual colleagues, I still panic sometimes.
Maybe I’ll get used to it over the next few years. Who knows!
After all, being a freelance copywriter means that, some months, you can earn a loooooot more than you would in an agency or traditional company. Some other times? Less than you expected.
Whenever work slows down, the trick is to invest that extra spare time into all the tasks and projects that we never manage to get round to when we’re fully booked.
For example, last time I’ve gone through a dry spell I gave my website a makeover, wrote a few more blog posts to use over the following weeks, and allowed myself to dedicate more time to writing my novel without feeling guilty.
8. The copywriting community is AWESOME
It didn’t take long for me to start seeing LinkedIn connections and other copywriters as virtual colleagues rather than competitors.
I feel so grateful for all the help that I’ve received from this kind online community. We ask other freelancers if they need work when we’ve got too much on our plate, recommend each other to clients who need something more specific, and share helpful advice.
9. Imposter syndrome sucks, but it’s normal
Not sure if this is another one of those things that get better with time but, at the moment, imposter syndrome sucks.
You know that little voice in your head telling you that you can’t do this and that you aren’t as good as you think?
Yep, that hasn’t gone away, no matter how many happy clients have left me excellent feedback or come back for more orders (although it definitely helps and it feels amazing).
However, thanks to the honesty of the LinkedIn community, I’ve realised that it happens to… pretty much anyone who runs their own business!
So, when this voice tells me that I can’t do it, I’ve just gotta wear my virtual headphones… and do it anyway.
10. Task-batching is super helpful
At first, I used to try and work on a different project from start to finish every time. Now, task-batching is my motto.
Need to write two articles and three website pages? My tip is to perform all the article research in the morning and write the drafts in the afternoon. Tomorrow, do the same with your web pages, and then edit everything the following day.
To avoid wasting time or distracting myself, I also check my emails first thing in the morning, before lunch, and before 5 pm. Not all the time.
11. I actually love being my own boss
Being a freelance copywriter has its ups and downs, but… honestly? I freakin’ love it!
I don’t know how I managed to work for other people for so long instead of working with different clients. Having someone else decide when I could and couldn’t go on holiday? Not being able to sleep in if I woke up with a headache? Waste an extra hour on top of my eight-hour shift just to get to my workplace and back home?
No, thanks!
12. Taking the leap is scary, but not doing it is much, much worse
Deciding to freelance and start your own business is terrifying, but that’s just because we’ve been brainwashed into thinking that leading an unfulfilling career for our entire lives is better than taking risks.
Do you know what happened when I decided to become a freelancer? Even though I was offered a new job role and a pay rise, my whole department got closed down A MONTH after I’ve left, and most of my colleagues got made redundant.
For real.
As one of my favourite actors says,
“You can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” Jim Carrey
Not just that, but I think the coronavirus pandemic has made it even clearer that ‘safe jobs’ don’t exist. They’re a myth. When you work for someone else, they can let you go at any time, and even the most successful company can fail or close down your branch.
So, if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you might as well risk everything to make your dream come true instead of being paid peanuts to help your boss buy a new house, right?
These are the most important things that I’ve learnt in my first year as a freelance copywriter. I hope they can be useful to anyone who’s thinking of quitting their job and starting their business or who’s literally only just done that.
At the same time, I also want to thank everyone who’s supported me, all the clients that chose to invest in my services, and the virtual colleagues who gave me helpful advice when I needed it.
You’re the best!
#StayCrafty
Why Is My Website Not Ranking? 8 FIXABLE Reasons, Girl!
So, you have a badass female-founded brand but your website isn’t ranking on Google? I bet it’s because of some of these reasons. Let’s fix them!
Hey, fellow female entrepreneur: I’m gonna get straight to the point. Your business website should actively help you generate relevant traffic so that you can convert it into paying clients.
Has it not been doing that? Can you NEVER find it when you google the keywords that best describe your type of business?
Then, I can see why you feel like banging your head against the keyboard—more or less literally—and screaming, “Just WHY is my website not ranking on Google?”
First of all, take a deep breath and relax.
Just because your business website isn’t there right now, it doesn’t mean you can’t reach the coveted first page of Google over the next few months.
There are many reasons why your website is not ranking. Statistically, the chances are that more than one applies to yours.
Luckily, they ALL have something in common: they’re fixable. Pinky promise.
9 reasons why your website is NOT ranking on Google
Here’s why your website isn’t ranking right now (and, most importantly, what you can do about it).
1. It’s a new business, or you haven’t had an actual website for it for very long
Well, if that’s the case, start being nicer to yourself, and stop expecting unicorns and rainbows. I mean it.
If you’ve only just started out, it’s unrealistic to expect the same results as competitors who’ve been in your same industry for years or even decades.
Let me say this louder for the people in the back:
SEO (search engine optimisation) takes time!
Once you launch your website, it’ll genuinely take a few months or even a year before it starts gaining traction and for search engines to actually trust it, even if you’ve optimised everything correctly.
Think of Google as a cowardly dog. He isn’t immediately going to let you pet him. He’s going to smell your hand first and look at the owner to see if they’re already ok with you, right?
Likewise, search engines want to be sure they can trust you before showing your website to their users. They also need to understand exactly what it’s about, first.
SOLUTION: be patient, and start fixing the other reasons why your website isn’t ranking
Give yourself time, but, in the meantime, set yourself up for success by ensuring that you’re not making any other of the following mistakes.
2. Your business doesn’t exist anywhere else
Going back to the dog metaphor (I’m not feeling particularly inspired today), do you think he would trust you more easily if you were on your own or with its owner? Yep, the latter.
Same with search engines.
If your business website is the only place where you show up online, it doesn’t sound so trustworthy. The result? Your website isn’t ranking on Google, of course.
SOLUTION: You need to really put your business out there.
How?
Connect your business social media account to your website (most platforms include a social menu and icons)
Register your business on all the relevant business directories for your industry: for example, TripAdvisor and OpenTable for restaurants, or We Love Florists for… well, florists. Duh
Whatever your industry is, you can never, ever forget about the king of all directories: Google My Business
You know when you look up a company’s name and you see that square packed full of information, pictures, and contact details? With a direct link to their business website?
That’s Google My Business, and you absolutely need it RIGHT. FREAKIN’. NOW. if you want your website to rank.
3. Your business website is too slow
With certain activities, it’s best to take your time to enjoy them properly, like a walk by the sea, a three-course meal, or a relaxing massage.
Browsing websites, however, is not one of those.
Let’s get real: if your business website takes longer than 3 seconds to load, over half of its visitors will bounce away.
SOLUTION: run a speed test, and fix the problems listed in its report
To find out if speed (or, better, a lack thereof) is one of the reasons why your small business website isn’t ranking, you can try free speed tests like Pingdom.
Don’t worry: it won’t just tell you that your website is too slow and leave you to cry about it.
It will also show you what specific problems are causing this issue and how to fix them.
Or, if you already have a web developer, you can ask them to look into it.
Spoiler alert: the most common reason behind this sloth-like attitude is… pictures.
Obviously, having many high-res photos and graphics makes your business website visually appealing.
However, why would you need a 4000-pixel-wide image when only 1% of all computer screens are wider than 2560 px?
Resize all images and, most importantly, compress them using free websites like TinyJPG.
Relax: this won’t affect their quality. It’ll just get rid of all the additional information and data that they carry but that you don’t actually need.
You can seriously save yourself a few MB per page with this trick alone!
4. Your website isn’t optimised for mobiles
58% of website visits come from phones! That’s over half of them.
Are these visitors getting the same experience as desktop users?
If they’re presented with a static page and painfully tiny text that they physically can’t click on, this is probably one of the reasons why your website isn’t ranking on Google.
SOLUTION: run a mobile-friendly test, and implement those changes
There are different ways to make your business website more mobile friendly.
Some of the most important ones involve the use of a responsive layout, high speed, and… having buttons that are large enough for your audience to click on them with their thumbs.
Again, you don’t need to rely on guesswork.
Use free tests like Google’s own version to find out if your business website is already mobile-friendly and, if not, what you can do about it.
Once again, if you have a web developer, you can look into it with them.
5. You haven’t taken UX into account
Who doesn’t love a good scavenger hunt?
The user who’s trying to find a specific piece of information on your website, that’s who!
The little crawlers and bots behind search engines care so much about the opinion of your human audience.
Honestly: if Google thinks they wouldn’t enjoy something, it’s not going to show it to them. They only want to give your audience (and their own users) the best of the best.
Well, is your website the best of the best when it comes to UX? If not, that’s probably the reason why your website isn’t ranking on Google at the moment.
User experience refers to how easy and pleasing it is to use it.
For example, do visitors need to click on five different pages before they’re able to access the information they’re looking for?
Not good.
Are they bombarded with pop-ups?
Again, not good.
Do most people end up leaving it after a few seconds?
… You get the gist.
SOLUTION: test your UX, and modify your website accordingly
There are several ways you can do this:
First of all, you can always ask a few friends to navigate it for the first time and give you some honest feedback. Honestly, that’s a great starting point! Even better if you can do that with someone in your target audience
You can also try websites like Fivesecondtest, Optimizely, and Crazy Egg, or even an extension like UX Check
6. You haven’t got many backlinks
Backlinks are some of the tastiest SEO juice!
When an external website links to yours, it shows Google that other platforms are talking about your business.
A website with many backlinks from good sources (not those dodgy websites that try and sell them to you) will perform much better on search engines.
One of the reasons why your website isn’t ranking on Google is probably that you haven’t got many.
Not sure? Find out through a free backlink checker.
SOLUTION: start attracting backlinks
“Ok, Giada, how exactly do I do that?”
I hear you. Here are two strategies you can try:
guest-posting: when you write an article for a different platform, they’ll usually publish it with a backlink to your own website. So, start pitching to those that are relevant to your business (more specifically, platforms and blogs that your target audience is already reading)
blogging on your business website: more on that later (spoiler alert: it’s also one of the other reasons why your website isn’t ranking. Point #8!)
7. You haven’t invested in SEO-friendly website copy
Did you write your own website copy even though you’re not a copywriter? Or maybe you outsourced it to the cheapest one you could find, and they wrote it without a proper strategy?
No wonder your website isn’t ranking on Google!
Of course, your copy should always be written for your human audience first. However, if you want to attract them organically in the first place, you need to include on-page SEO, too.
Now, there are three main reasons why your current website copy isn’t helping you rank:
It doesn’t include keywords in the most strategic places
It does, but it focuses on the wrong ones (for example, they’re not what your target audience is actually googling, or they’re way too competitive)
It’s too short. Anything shorter than 300 words per page is classified as ‘thin content’ by Google, and that’s not good for SEO
SOLUTION: invest in professional SEO-friendly website copy
A professional copywriter will solve aaaaaall those problems by:
Using those keywords in all the right spots whenever possible and natural, such as page titles, headings, your main body of text, the first 100-150 words, image alt descriptions, URLs, etc.
Finding the right keywords for your specific audience, focusing on those you can realistically strive to rank for. For example, this could involve keywords that are slightly less popular but much more specific to your business, offer, and target audience
Writing copy that isn’t classified as ‘thin content’ (of course, there are exceptions: for example, it’s unlikely that you’ll need more than 300 words on your Contact page. However, the problem is when most of your website consists of ‘thin content’)
And don’t forget that professional copy won’t only help your website rank on Google: it’ll also convert those visits into actual sales!
8. You’re not blogging on your business website
Are you using that Blog section to blow your own trumpet with internal news and achievements? Or—worse—you haven’t got one at all?
Well, this might very well be the BIGGEST reason why your website isn’t ranking on Google.
Mystery solved!
This is because a blog will bring you a ton of SEO benefits:
It provides fresh content, which shows Google that your website is still relevant
It creates more indexed pages, which results in a bigger website packed full of information
It allows you to target many more keywords and, therefore, attract your audience at different awareness stages
It gives you plenty of opportunities to include internal links, which help Google understand your website structure
Going back to point #6, websites with a blog receive up to 97% more backlinks (read that again) than websites without one
Plus, there are many more benefits to having a blog on your business website, from establishing yourself as an expert to smoothening the sales funnel.
However, since we’re talking about ranking on Google, I can’t stress just how BLOOMIN’ helpful it is for SEO.
SOLUTION: start blogging for your target audience
And I’m not talking about company news or articles written without a strategy.
You need to learn how to:
Or, even better: focus on whatever it is you do best with your business, and outsource your blog to a professional content writer.
How My words will help your website rank higher on google✨
Now that you know the reasons why your website isn’t ranking, there are many issues that you can easily fix yourself (it’s not that bad, is it?).
As a copywriter for female entrepreneurs, I can help with two of the main ones, though:
With my website copywriting services, I’ll create compelling texts that target the right keywords for your audience, optimising them for both search engines and actual conversions
My blog writing services will help your website rank higher for more industry-related keywords while growing your audience, smoothening the funnel, and making you stand out against your competitors
Instead of keeping on wondering “why is my website NOT ranking”, let’s do something to fix it so that you can start reaching your target audience organically. We’ve got this!
More #crafty blog posts on this topic:
