SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which, in a cracked open nutshell, means how you can optimize your content so search engines can easily find and share it. 

To make it so your content/business/Instagram account is easily discovered within your industry/market/interests, you should be choosing commonly searched keywords for your main content pieces so that it will easily reach your audience through the search engines they use to find things.

Think of it this way: when was the last time you went to Google or social media and searched for something?

"grocery stores near me"

"dog groomers in Salida, Colorado"

"murder mystery addict support groups in NYC"

When a user searches on ANY search-based platform - not just Google (Instagram, YouTube, and other content aggregator tools also utilize SEO as a way for their algorithms to properly categorize and distribute content) - the primary subject matter of the search is what gets attributed to pages, posts, and accounts. Optimizing that content with keywords specific to your brand's work is what makes it so search engines know exactly what you offer, where you're located, and what you specialize in doing.

So when you search for "murder mystery addict support groups in NYC," the primary subject matter is both "murder mystery addict support groups" and "NYC," and the search engine will showcase everything it can find on those two topics combined. When it runs out of combined results, it'll start to display results based on the content over the location.

But SEO is more than just the keywords you use, it's also where you use them... 

SEO techniques are best used online, but you can take this knowledge to create better copywriting for your printed marketing materials as well. 

More specifically, SEO can be used in two locations: your website and your social media accounts.

Your website is automatically crawled by Google bots (and other search engine bots) anytime it's accessed and once it's gone live.

So without you even knowing it, your business website is already being indexed by Google and SEO is already either serving or doing a disservice for your business.

To start utilizing SEO today, you need to update the content on your homepage and your blog posts.

Next up are your blog posts.

You wanna assess how useful they are to your audience AND what primary keywords consistently describe the content you're sharing.

You don't need to lose brand personality to create a good blog post, so feel free to write it how best suits your brand's character and your audiences expectations. If you crack jokes, feel free to make a snappy title for the post! Just make sure to also utilize your keyword knowledge so the post breeches the right eyeballs.

Use the checklist below to make sure you're hitting the bullseye:

You likely have other pages on your website that could also be optimized. If you have a Services page, hit it. If you have an About page, tap that. If you have product pages, show 'em some love.

Utilize the same techniques you learned above to get those pages SEO spiffy.

"Search engines" aren't just websites like Google or Quora. They're also any platform that allows for the searching of content. So places like Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit...these are all veritable search engines in their own right. The only difference is that they only search content within their platform, whereas traditional search engines like Google or Quora, search across the entire internet and can include results from social media within their results.

Whichever social platforms you're utilizing for your business absolutely should be SEO'ed.

Your social media profile is the first place social media platforms scan for your relativism in any given topic. You've got the freedom here to be an off-the-wall weirdo with your account and still keep it relevant with all the SEO opportunities social media presents to its users. That said, bullseye-ing it is typically suggested.

Use the checkboxes below to ensure you're hitting the mark:

Once your profile information is optimized, it's time to move onto your content. In the realm of social media content, there are roughly five areas where SEO really shines: captions, hashtags, titles/descriptions/meta data, alt text, and on-screen text.

Depending on the platform you're optimizing, you may not have access to all five of those options. YouTube utilizes all five, but Pinterest only utilizes four. So learn what they each mean and let 'em work for you where available.

Use the checkboxes below to make sure you're optimizing your social media content:

Social media is all about connecting with your audience by showing them what you do and educating them on the finer points of your industry.

Be sure to share relevant content with them on the reg! And by sharing the work of other brands, you draw attention to yours and may even pull in some of their audience. Or even a collaboration! Which brings me to my next point...

Where possible, and where it makes sense to do so, collaborate with other brands.

They don't have to be brands in your industry either...

If you offer legal services, you could team up with your local VA office to provide a free seminar on how to claim benefits.

If you offer dog grooming services, you could team up with your local bakery to offer a special deal: buy two dog biscuits from them and get 10% off your next grooming with us!

How does this help your SEO?

Because when you collaborate with a brand, they share that information on their social media accounts, as you'll do on yours. More hashtags, more keywords, more eyeballs = more ROI.

Choosing the right keywords is based on audience research, pinpointed brand messaging, and organic search results. If you have Google Analytics on your website you can learn a lot about how your customers found your site, and sometimes what searches they entered that brought them there.

In the meantime, and especially if you're just starting out, you can check out our detailed resource guide on choosing the right keywords for your SEO campaign here.

You can also read up on how to create a SEO campaign here.