10 Jan Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Priorities for Craft Businesses
Does your online marketing strategy include SEO? If you haven’t had the bandwidth to explore SEO, this article will walk you through the basics and provide concrete steps to improve your organic traffic performance. First, we review the role of keywords in SEO. Then we offer specific recommendations for where to focus your efforts to make the biggest impact with a modest time investment.
Keywords and SEO
Search Engine Optimization is all about keywords. The point of SEO is to elevate your content on search engine results pages without having to pay for limited-time sponsored positioning. You can achieve this by consistently publishing keyword-optimized, user-focused content across your online sites and profiles.
When we’re talking in the lingo of SEO, a “keyword” refers to the word (a “keyphrase” is a short string of words) that a searcher is likely to use when looking for information related to a product or service. Great keywords share these characteristics:
- Relevance: Keywords should directly relate to the products or services businesses offer. They should match the content of potential customer searches. In general, avoid specific product or brand names; those can limit discoverability.
- Specificity: Targeting specific terms rather than broad ones can help attract more qualified leads. Long-tail keywords (more specific phrases) often have higher conversion rates.
- Intent: Understanding user intent behind certain keywords is essential. Think like your customer. What problems are they trying to solve? What questions are they trying to answer?
- Localization: Including location-specific keywords can be crucial for businesses targeting specific regions or locations, especially for businesses with brick and mortar stores.
Validating Your Keywords
As you’re looking to develop keywords for each page, product, and service, you’ll also want to test those keywords. Stitchcraft has written at length about keyword research previously; see A Quick Guide to Keyword Research. There, we advise starting the process by testing keywords in the Google Search Bar. What results arise when you search each phrase? Pick the phrase that delivers results that most closely match where you want to appear. In the above referenced post, we also explain the value of consulting Google Analytics, SEO Book, and Moz Domain Authority.
Is your website optimized for SEO?
Once you have your keywords, it’s time to integrate them into your online presence. At a minimum, the main pages of your website should use keywords in the heading and introductory text that appears above the scroll. Take a look at these pages on your site and ask yourself if the heading and first lines of text include keywords that are highly relevant to your business:
- Home
- About Us
- Classes
- Online Shop
- Blog
- Newsletter Sign-Up
If you have product category pages, make sure those are keyword optimized as well. For instance, if you have a page that gathers all BERNINA machines, add a heading that includes your BERNINA keyword. Or, if you gather all of your Brown Sheep Company yarns in one spot, that page should include a relevant keyword in the heading and in a few lines of text.
How do you optimize social media content for SEO?
Your social media posting (across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, etc.) should always include keywords. Whether you’re sharing “give” content (e.g. an embroidery stitch tutorial or an ASMR-style video of a longarm running) or direct promotional content (e.g. “new kits are now available!”), the text accompanying that content should use keywords. Specifically, include keywords in these spaces:
- YouTube: Video title, video caption
- Facebook videos: Video title, video caption
- Facebook static posts: Caption
- Instagram Reels and static posts: Caption
- Pinterest: Pin title, pin caption
- TikTok: Video caption
In contrast to evergreen website content, social media content usually ties to specific products or services. In an ideal world, you’d have the time to perform keyword research on each item in your shop. Since that isn’t the case, start by choosing five products or services to prioritize.
To pick these, ask yourself reflective and strategic questions:
- What are you known for with your existing customers?
- What do you want to be known for?
- How do you want new customers to find you?
- What products do you love to sell?
Every time you post about these products, make sure to always include the keyword in the titles and captions. As time allows, add products to your keyword list. Build a keyword library you can continue to grow and reference for the future. It will prove useful as long as you’re posting online.
We hope this provides some actionable steps to optimize your online presence for SEO. We have additional resources on SEO: check out our podcast Is SEO Dead for Search? and grab our free whitepaper Improving Your SEO in 5 Simple Steps.
If you’re ready to update your SEO but don’t have the time on your calendar, Stitchcraft can help! We offer keyword research and site SEO services customized to your needs.
Want to take your crafty business to the next level in 2024? Stitchcraft Marketing is a marketing agency of crafting experts. We customize every program to showcase your brand, engage your customer base, and generate sales in a way that is nothing less than magical. If you’d like more help preparing your online business or boosting how your business performs online, contact us today!
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