Here’s How You Know It’s Time to Hire a Dutch SEO Specialist
In this post, I’ll define what an SEO specialist is, how to tell you need one, and the services I offer.
According to the latest industry statistics, Google owns more than 95% of the search engine market share in the Netherlands. Where does your website stand in its rankings?
There’s no denying that creating a website is hard work. Yet, the real challenge begins after the site is up and running. In a world where there are more than one billion websites out there, how do you ensure that your target audience finds and clicks on yours?
The answer lies in search engine optimization, or SEO.
In short, this is the process of organically boosting the visibility of your webpage through strategic tactics including keyword research, meta descriptions, page titles, content optimization and more.
If it sounds complex, that’s because it is. It’s also critical to the long-term performance and success of your online presence. If you’re unsure how to navigate this tricky terrain, don’t worry. An SEO specialist can help take care of the burden for you.
Today, we’re defining what this expert does and why you need these services today. Ready to learn more? Let’s get started!
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Enter a web page address and the keyword or search term you’re trying to rank for.
What is an SEO Specialist?
Sometimes, we work so closely with a project that we become blind to any of its inefficiencies or shortcomings. This is true across a range of business initiatives and especially applies to website design.
An SEO specialist is someone your company will hire to take a second look at your website. They will note any problem areas that might be affecting its search engine standings, and help you reverse them right away.
Maybe you’ve been hanging around online for a while and still haven’t seen the numbers or traffic you want. Or, perhaps you’re an up-and-coming business looking to achieve expert SEO status from the onset. Regardless, bringing in a fresh pair of eyes to take a look at your design and change it for the better is one of the best decisions you can make.
Here are a few actions you can expect a search engine optimization specialist to take.
Define Your Target Audience
Great content and a dynamic website only work if you’re reaching the people most likely to respond to them. It might be that your SEO efforts are lacking because you’re not focusing them in the right direction.
Through analyzing your business product as well as your website’s traffic patterns, customer demographics, buyer personas, response rates and more, an SEO specialist can help you pinpoint who’s spending time on your site and who is clicking away.
Perform Keyword Research
Now that you know who your audience is, the next step is understanding how they’re accessing your content and data that’s similar to yours. Put simply, what are they typing into the Google search bar?
SEO specialists are well-versed in all of Google’s algorithms and know that despite any other elements that might change, the need for targeted keyword research remains essential.
Through online tools, competitor analyses and thorough research, they’ll help you devise a list of keywords that are the most relevant to your business. These will include a mix of both head terms and long-tail keywords that will help you rank locally for the product or service you provide.
Locate and Correct Gaps
Sometimes, content is tailored and a keyword strategy is in place, yet traffic volume still isn’t where it should be. If this is the case, an SEO specialist will take a careful look at your site design and outreach strategy to find any gaps that can be corrected.
Is referral volume low for a particular search term? If so, that’s a gap. Conversely, is there is a large amount of traffic for a certain industry-related keyword that you haven’t woven into your content yet? That’s an opportunity. An SEO expert will help you close those gaps and maximize the opportunities at your fingertips.
Analyze Competitors
A smart way to see how your site is performing and compare its search engine ranking to those of its peers is to check in on your competitors. An SEO specialist can take a detailed look at their content, landing pages, social media presence, widgets and more to see how those elements stack up against yours.
Then, they’ll examine those components against their site traffic, link profiles and crawl issues to see what’s working and what’s not. These actionable insights can be used as learning tools to help your site improve. This is a time-consuming effort that most in-house teams aren’t equipped with the resources to do on their own.
Provide a Custom SEO Strategy
After the above steps have been performed, an SEO specialist will work one-on-one with relevant business leaders to create a custom SEO strategy designed around specific company parameters.
In most cases, this will include a tailored plan centered on:
- Inbound and outbound link strategies
- Keyword and terminology usage
- Web design components
- Custom URL specifications
- Partnership opportunities
- Blogging schedules
- Site content build
Then, you’ll work with this specialist to determine a timeline for rollout based on certain goals and deadlines you’d like to meet as a company.
How Do You Know It’s Time to Hire One?
If you’re in the Netherlands and seeking to optimize your website’s presence and improve its search engine visibility, it might be time to hire someone to help with this endeavor. Of course, bringing just anyone on board to help configure your website and direct your digital marketing strategy can end up doing more harm than good.
Rather, it’s important to secure the best SEO expert you can, as this is one of the most important parts of your overall online strategy. Here are a few signs you need to take this step today.
Your Site Doesn’t Show Up on Search Results
In a perfect world, any time someone searched for your website, it would appear at the very top of the Google search page. This is a coveted spot and for good reason. Research shows that websites that appear on the first page of results get between 71% and 92% of the overall traffic.
Those websites that don’t show up until the second page? They get less than 6%.
While you can’t guarantee that your site will rank on the first page for every single relevant keyword. Yet, if you find yourself frantically searching for even the most specific long-tail keyword and you’re still coming up empty-handed, it’s time to rethink your strategy and find someone who can get you the visibility you deserve.
This means your website isn’t visible, even to those in need of what your business provides. This low ranking equals low traffic, and those numbers directly impact your longevity and your bottom line.
You’re in the Dark about Keywords
If someone asked you to write a list of keywords that defined your company and your vision, you’d fill a poster board with obscure or generic terms that only halfway describe what you do.
Sure, there are online tools, including Google Adwords’ Keyword Planner, that can point you in the right direction. This will reveal the popularity for the search terms you input. What’s harder to understand, however, is whether or not those keywords make sense for your business.
An SEO specialist can help you make sense of this data and choose only the keywords that best fit your niche.
You Can’t Analyze Your Site
Just seeing your low website ranking isn’t enough to reveal the intricacies of your SEO strategy. You might have a hunch that something isn’t working, but you aren’t able to put your finger on it because you aren’t skilled in detailed website analysis.
A specialist will be equipped with the sophisticated tools required to translate that hunch into actual numbers and detailed feedback, so you can see clearly where you’re falling behind and the steps required to get back on your feet.
Your PPC Strategy is Falling Behind (Or Becoming Expensive)
While it’s possible to boost your visibility and web ranking through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, this model might not work for you. It can also be too costly, especially for a startup or small business.
A well-crafted SEO strategy includes steps to help you gain organic clickthroughs that don’t cost you a dime. If your content is solid and gaining attention, you won’t have to shell out your hard-earned cash to generate site traffic. Your specialist can help you develop this kind of foundation, which is also more stable and effective in the long run.
No One Is Delving Into Your Site
Sure, you might have some traffic driven to your homepage, but how does your user funnel look? If web visitors are finding your site and then quickly clicking off of it in favor of a competitor’s, it isn’t as engaging as it could be.
A chief aim of an SEO specialist is to help bring people to your content. Yet, they will also take this step further and ensure that these same users are spending some valuable time there, as well.
In some cases, this might mean optimizing your landing pages to make sure their content flows with their meta descriptions. Or, it might mean taking a second look at your subpages, blog and more to make sure they’re as interactive and user-friendly as possible.
You’ve Been Dinged By Search Engines
Like racking up demerits in class, you can also be penalized by search engines, most notably Google, if you perform an action that’s considered to be a poor practice by these giants.
Some shady businesses will deploy unethical black hat SEO tactics, such as keyword stuffing or private link networks, to put their page near the top. Others might have simply performed a “no-no” by mistake. Unfortunately, Google’s algorithm crawlers ping both instances the same, regardless of intent.
A specialist will work with you to make sure your SEO strategy is ethical and effective. You’ll also be well-prepared for the next algorithm update and able to quickly respond to any changes. This can directly impact your company’s ability to stay relevant and afloat should a major shift occur.
Not convinced? Consider the case of those who were early adopters of mobile website technology. By optimizing their content for responsive design, they were able to shine when Google rolled out its Accelerated Mobile Pages program in 2016.
You Don’t Have the Time to Handle SEO
In short, you have enough on your plate already. You’re responsible for making sure the business runs at top capacity 24/7. You’re negotiating partnerships, meeting client expectations and trying to crawl out from under an avalanche of emails.
You don’t have the luxury of devoting hours of your day to analyzing your website, researching competitors and trying to figure out how to get on the front page of Google.
Thankfully, that’s precisely what an SEO specialist does. This expert can take the reigns, remove the guesswork and alleviate the burden of handling these tasks internally, so you can get back to more pressing matters.
Let’s Transform Your SEO Strategy Today
Are you ready to take your SEO to the next level? Are you tired of checking the major search engines every day, only to find that your business is still buried at the very bottom, or worse, isn’t showing up at all?
There’s both an art and a science to successful SEO, and it takes someone with experience and knowledge in this sector to help you soar.
That’s where I come in.
I’m an online marketing consultant and SEO specialist skilled in all aspects of SEO. I’ll work with you to help transform your web presence into the interest-piquing, traffic-driving, revenue-generating machine it was meant to be.
Contact me to learn more and let’s take that first step together today.