Starting SEO for the first time can be very daunting. When I was learning about SEO for the first time in 2019-2020, I was overwhelmed with the extent of knowledge on the internet. There is so much with so many technical terms; honestly, it felt like a blur. I was soon, however, whisked into the world of SEO through working with a company that did SEO for therapists. It was a great experience and I became extremely knowledgeable, building courses, training programs, webinars, etc. And, then it all came crashing down, and I had to leave my job because of a toxic workspace, being undervalued, and dismissed. I missed that job because the world of SEO while overwhelming is also empowering and exciting for business owners. It’s been on my mind since I left to continue doing SEO work, but with empty threats, and my fear of being taken out of the competition, I’ve let my knowledge and fear overtake me. Until I had an amazing past client of mine reach out and beg me to work with them. That relit my fire.

My Story with SEO: The Rise and the Betrayal

I have 4 years of expertise in getting results for therapists, coaches, moms, high achievers, consultants, and so on. I am very knowledgeable in SEO and I understand the trends so much so, that my previous job is profiting off of a ten-hour course I revamped right before I left. Unfortunately, I had to take a step back for my mental health, but I am back better than ever. Just like this stressor, SEO is a journey, and you learn and grow as you implement the changes you need for the algorithm, your audience, and your niche. It’s a slow process but a sustainable one. Google ads, affiliate marketing, and social media marketing are good options, but they are not the best. SEO has time and time again with time and effort been one of the most successful ways I have helped business owners rank locally, nationally, and internationally. If you are looking to get on top and build a sustainable strategy, you are in the right place. This guide will help you understand the essentials of SEO, set up realistic expectations, and understand the evolving landscape of SEO.

1. Understanding SEO Fundamentals

On-Page SEO:

Let’s understand SEO strategies. First and foremost, your biggest success with SEO is likely going to be with on-page SEO. What does that mean? It means creating high-quality content, such as a landing page for a service or a blog post. This includes adding links, headings, a clear call to action, an "other services" section, alt text for photos, and so on. This also includes meta descriptions and titles. These are necessary. One big factor that I have found time and time again that brings people to a site to stay is readability. That means writing within a 6th-9th grade level, even if you are a therapist or lawyer. We need to make sure we are writing palatable and layman terms information for our audience. Most people are not coming to us when they are calm—maybe if you are doing e-commerce or selling a product—but for those of you practicing law, counseling, consulting, and coaching, you are likely offering knowledge to people who may be stressed or anxious about their life or business. So, we need to ensure that we are being clear with our messaging, making it digestible. Lastly and most importantly, keywords are what draw people to our site. We need to make sure we are not shooting for the stars, but also not undercutting ourselves. We will discuss keyword research in a bit, but this is what helps make us competitive, long-tail versus short-tail SEO.

Off-Page SEO:

Off-page SEO, what a journey. Let’s not put the cart before the horse here. In the first few months of doing SEO, you are not going to do link-building as much. This is more of a "when I have the rankings I am looking for, I will begin focusing on backlinking options." You can do networking and connect with relevant directories, but make sure when doing this we are not doing all the things at once. Link building is a strategy where other websites link to your website. It's pretty simple but isn’t a quick or easy process. That means you have to reach out to businesses with relevant topics that can help build your authority. Something I will discuss in a different blog, but is crucial, is to never, ever buy backlinks. Scammy sites may link to you (like a porn site, for example, which is a real thing that happened to a client), or Google may find out and deem you as irrelevant. So be careful. Additionally, things that can be helpful, for example, if you are a coach or therapist, are to find directories that help by giving you a backlink and helping draw in additional clients.

Technical SEO:

Technical SEO can be rather scary—trust me, I’ve been there—but hear me out. Something simple you can do is make sure your site is accessible. One quick way to do that is to add text to your photos so that someone with a screen reader can have a comparable experience just like any able-bodied person. Additionally, on your website, you likely have a way to check for mobile optimization. We need to check and see for ourselves how our content shows up on mobile. I tend to work with Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace platforms only, and on each of these, there are ways to preview the mobile site. You may notice when doing this that the desktop version doesn’t always translate to the mobile version. Therefore, we need to check this during each edit we are doing on our site. It's good practice. Make sure the elements are where they need to be and make modifications as needed. While we would like to assume that our website will auto-adjust, I can tell you for certain it’s most likely going to require manual adjustments unless you have some code in your site that will do it for you, but most people don’t have that.

Keyword Research

Importance of Cultural and Environmental Relevance:

Keyword research is the cornerstone of SEO, and arguably the hardest part of developing an SEO strategy. When people come to work with me, it’s very easy to want to rank for the first few keywords you find or the “trendy” keywords that fit your niche. While it’s important to find keywords that help you with your ideal clients, you can’t just rank for any keyword. What do I mean? Here’s an example: if I were a trauma therapist, I wouldn’t rank for trauma therapy immediately in a region like Denver. Why? You are competing with every other trauma therapist that got there first. I am not saying don’t try; I am just saying don’t just rely on general, what's called, short-tail keywords. I’d say diversify your strategy. Let’s say EMDR for trauma or Cognitive Processing Therapy for trauma. If I were a coach, I wouldn’t rank you for life coaching. I would say emotional regulation coping skills would be the keyword. This strategy mixes using short-tail keywords like “trauma therapy” and long-tail keywords like “cognitive processing therapy for sexual assault” as your core strategy. Why? Because long-tail keywords can help you get a leg up on your competition.

Imagine this: if you were in a crowd of people wearing red and you thought to yourself, "I am going to wear red with green stripes." You might stick out a bit, but if I go inversely and wear green in the crowd of red with red stripes throughout my wardrobe, now I am still connected in some way to the group, but I am highlighting my differences and standing out from the crowd a bit more.

The same thing happens when I say I am a relationship coach. That’s great, but a lot of people are. What makes you stand out? From a cultural perspective, I would say I am a relationship coach who helps black women thrive, or I am a BIPOC relationship coach helping women step fully into their identity and find healthy and fulfilling relationships. Niching down makes me stand out. Now I have something more to offer than just relationships and advice.

Tools and Techniques:

I recommend understanding your niche better and then identifying more long tail keywords and maybe some short tail, just recognizing that the short tail being as competitive as they are will take more time to rank.

Long Tail Examples

1. EMDR Therapy for Trauma in Denver

   • This keyword targets a specific type of therapy (EMDR) within a specific region (Denver), making it more niche and less competitive.

2. Cognitive Processing Therapy for Sexual Assault Survivors

   • This focuses on a specific therapeutic approach for a particular audience, helping you reach individuals seeking this exact service.

3. Emotional Regulation Techniques for High-Achieving Women

   • By targeting a specific demographic (high-achieving women) with a particular need (emotional regulation techniques), this keyword helps you stand out.

4. Faith-Based Coaching for Moms Building Businesses

   • This keyword targets moms who are building businesses and prefer a faith-based approach, narrowing down the audience significantly.

5. SEO Strategies for Black Therapists in 2024

   • This keyword is highly specific, targeting a particular group (Black therapists) and a time frame (2024), making it more unique and relevant.

Short Tail Examples

1. Trauma Therapy

   • A broad keyword with high competition, but essential for identifying your general service area.

2. Life Coaching

   • Another broad keyword that many coaches aim to rank for, making it highly competitive.

3. SEO Strategies

   • This keyword is widely used and competitive, covering a broad range of topics within SEO.

4. Emotional Regulation

   • A broad keyword that can attract a wide audience, but is harder to rank for due to its general nature.

5. Faith-Based Coaching

   • While slightly more niche, this keyword still covers a broad area and faces significant competition.

Keyword Research Tools Free and Paid

1. Google Keyword Planner (Free)

   • A powerful tool provided by Google that helps you discover new keywords and get search volume data. It’s excellent for starting your keyword research.

2. Ubersuggest (Free and Paid)

   • Offers keyword suggestions, search volume data, and competition analysis. The free version has limited features, while the paid version unlocks more detailed insights.

3. AnswerThePublic (Free and Paid)

   • This tool provides insights into what questions people are asking about your keywords. The free version gives you limited searches per day, and the paid version offers unlimited access and more features.

4. SEMrush (Paid)

   • A comprehensive tool for keyword research, competitive analysis, and overall SEO strategy. It provides detailed reports and analytics, making it a favorite among professionals.

5. Ahrefs (Paid)

   • Known for its robust keyword explorer and extensive backlink analysis. It’s a great tool for both keyword research and understanding your site's overall SEO health.

6. Moz Keyword Explorer (Free and Paid)

   • Provides keyword suggestions, difficulty scores, and search volume data. The free version allows limited queries, while the paid version offers more in-depth analysis and features.

7. KWFinder (Paid)

   • A user-friendly tool that helps you find long-tail keywords with low SEO difficulty. It’s particularly useful for finding less competitive keywords to target.

By utilizing these tools and incorporating a mix of long-tail and short-tail keywords into your strategy, you can enhance your SEO efforts and better reach your target audience.

Content Optimization and Writing

Content optimization and writing are the secondary and most important parts of SEO optimization. First, we need to ensure our content resonates with our ideal clients. Let’s not write boring content. That means don’t write: "How to navigate dating apps." Why is that so bad? Okay, hear me out. It’s not inherently bad, but what is the content? Is it a how-to guide? Or can we spice it up and say "5 Lessons I’ve Learned from Dating Apps and How You Can Avoid Them." Now that catches my attention more as a consumer. How-tos can be helpful, but are they engaging? They could be, with the right content. But consider what your audience is seeking. If you need some ideas of what I mean, you can check out my blog, Black Bold and Transforming, which is an extension of my coaching business.

Get creative with your SEO Headings

For now, let’s get creative with our titles and make sure we have our focus keyword in our content. When you are writing content, do not focus on more than 2-3 keywords at a time. Keyword oversaturation is a thing. We also want to make sure as we are writing that we are incorporating keywords. That means adding them to headings (title), subheadings, sentences, meta descriptions, and photo alt text. Don’t just slap them on there like a band-aid, but as naturally as possible incorporate them. For example: “Today I want to talk to you all about addressing boundary setting and assertive communication.” Now that is relatively natural. Don’t do this though:

Incorrect Example: "Today I want to talk to you all about boundary setting and assertive communication, which are important for boundary setting and assertive communication in any relationship, especially when boundary setting and assertive communication are necessary."

AI and Content Creation for SEO

Lastly, part of the trends and forecasting I want to highlight is the use of AI. For my blog today, I did use AI, but this block wasn’t generated by AI. My outline was. I also used AI to grammar and flow check me after each paragraph I wrote. Why? Because I am a fan of making my life easier, and I encourage you to do the same. AI can help you incorporate keywords into your writing if you are unsure, and check your tone and flow if you’re worried about not connecting with your audience. AI can write blogs for you too, but what I don’t recommend is posting AI-generated content as Google will flag it. You still need a part of you in your content because you are what makes your business thrive. So be willing to breathe and use your thoughts, feelings, knowledge, and emotions to create high-quality content. Something I will do at times is voice record my content because talking is easier and then have AI write it, as it’s still me and my words. AI is just making it structured and more coherent.

Great AI tools:

• Jasper AI

• ChatGPT

• Gemini

Technical SEO

Ensuring Accessibility

Making your site accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, is crucial. It’s about more than just compliance; it’s about ensuring everyone can access your content. Simple steps like adding alt text to your photos can make a significant difference, allowing screen readers to describe your images to visually impaired users. This not only enhances the user experience but also helps with SEO.

Mobile Optimization

Ensuring your site performs well on mobile devices is crucial for reaching a wider audience. With so many people using their phones to browse the internet, a mobile-optimized site is non-negotiable. Platforms like Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace offer ways to preview and adjust your site for mobile viewing. Remember, your desktop version may not automatically translate well to mobile, so it’s essential to check and make manual adjustments if needed.

Core Web Vitals

Understanding and optimizing for Google’s Core Web Vitals is a must. These metrics focus on user experience aspects like load time, interactivity, and visual stability. By improving your Core Web Vitals, you enhance the user experience and boost your SEO performance. It might sound technical, but tackling these metrics one step at a time can make a big impact on your site's success.

Off-Page SEO: The Power of Backlinks

Backlinks are crucial for maintaining domain authority over time. We want people to notice your website and say, “Hey, this is a great website to link to.” So, we need to consider who would be good authorities to get backlinks from and how we want to do this. A good backlinking strategy is key.

You can do this through guest blogging and using platforms like Pitchbox and HARO. These are organic ways to build links healthily and helpfully for your website. Please never buy your backlinks, as you will quickly find how much they tear down your domain authority. You do not need a random link from an unknown company in India on your website because one scammy link can turn into a hundred real quick. Just be mindful about it.

Additionally, choosing to guest blog or using a backlink-building pitch service can help you build high-quality backlinks. You need quite a few backlinks to help with domain authority; however, the quality far outranks the quantity.

Local SEO: Building Authority in Your Community

Local SEO is crucial when establishing your strategy. I would much rather you focus on terms like "transformation coach in Denver" than "life coaches globally." Hey, I am a coach, and it differs from the restrictions that a therapist has. So I know that you can do national or international clientele. But right now, we need to think about building authority in the community before tackling short tail keywords nationally or internationally.

With that being said, one great ways to establish local authority is to build a Google Business Profile (previously Google My Business). This will help people know everything about your website possible. Now, what if I have an online business? I gotcha! Put your address on there to receive the verification, but make sure it's hidden and just note on the profile that this is a virtual business. Google is finicky about this, so that’s the best workaround I have so far.

Additionally, if you can get 3-5 people to rate your business and let people know about the work they have done with you, that’s a great way to navigate ratings. If you have a job where your ethics go against that and you cannot have clients do this from your push, then ask a pastor, a good friend, a mentor, and so on. It's an honest review, so no, they are not posing as a client.

SEO Analytics and Tools

Tracking Progress: Using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console is essential to monitor your SEO performance. These tools help you keep an eye on your website’s traffic, keyword rankings, and overall health.

Adjusting Strategies: It's all about tweaking your SEO strategies based on the data and feedback you get. These insights are gold, helping you understand what’s working and what needs improvement. For example, if you notice that certain keywords are driving more traffic, you can create more content around those topics. Conversely, if something isn’t working, you can pivot and try a different approach. Regularly reviewing your data ensures your SEO efforts stay effective and aligned with your goals.

Future Trends in SEO

AI and Machine Learning:

The impact of AI on search algorithms and content creation is huge. AI is getting smarter every day, which means search engines are better at understanding user intent and delivering relevant content. Embracing AI-driven tools can help you create more targeted and effective SEO strategies.

Voice Search Optimization:

With the rise of smart speakers and voice assistants, optimizing for voice search is becoming crucial. People use voice search differently than text search, often asking more conversational questions. Preparing your content to answer these questions directly can give you an edge in this growing area.

Video Content:

Incorporating video content into your strategy is a game-changer. Videos engage audiences more effectively, and search engines love them. By creating high-quality, relevant videos, you can improve your rankings and keep visitors on your site longer.

Forecasting SEO Trends for 2024:

Looking ahead, emerging trends and predictions for the SEO landscape include an increased focus on user experience, more personalized search results, and the continued importance of high-quality content. Staying ahead of these trends will help you maintain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving world of SEO.

User Experience (UX) and SEO

Your website should be an easy and enjoyable experience for your ideal clients so making sure your site navigation works well is key. Make sure you don’t have broken links or pages, as it can decrease page time, and cause people to jump off your site faster. Your website load times mustn’t be more than 3 seconds. You can check this by looking at this link.

Good Website Load Time Factors

1. Optimize Images: Use compressed images without sacrificing quality. Tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim can help.

2. Minimize HTTP Requests: Reduce the number of elements on your page, such as images, scripts, and CSS files.

3. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): Distribute your content across multiple servers worldwide to ensure faster delivery.

4. Enable Browser Caching: Allow visitors' browsers to store some data locally, so they don't have to reload the entire page every time.

5. Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML: Remove unnecessary characters from your code to reduce file size.

6. Choose a Reliable Hosting Provider: Ensure your host offers fast servers and good support.

By following these tips, you can improve your website's load time, leading to better user satisfaction and higher search engine rankings.

Special Section: SEO for Black Business Owners

As a black business owner, I've experienced firsthand the lack of support and representation in the SEO landscape. Many black business owners have shared that they sought me out because I could genuinely understand their unique perspective. I understand the importance of messaging and connecting with clients who may carry racial trauma from their personal experiences. When creating content, it’s crucial to integrate and consider the diverse cultures, ethnicities, and identities of your audience.

Community Engagement:

Partnering with other black business owners and connecting with supportive organizations is key. Starting and marketing your business shouldn't be a solo journey. There are people in your community who need your support and are looking for businesses like yours. The black community often faces isolation and mistrust when it comes to marketing services, so it's important to make your presence known and available to meet their needs. For example, if you offer braiding services, post about it in Facebook groups. If you provide transformation coaching for black women, address the specific struggles they face. Connect with your clients' pain points and show them you understand and empathize with their experiences.

Personal Stories and Client Successes:

One of my first black clients back in 2021 worked with black and brown communities in the Bronx, Bed-Stuy, and similar areas. We focused on identifying the specific stressors and struggles their clients faced when seeking therapy services. This led to pinpointing relevant keywords and creating resonant blog content. Over 8 months to a year, this client’s practice became so successful that their clinicians were fully booked, and I was brought on to continue writing and optimizing content to meet the growing demand. By 2024, this practice is still thriving, serving clients and providing a safe space for them to process their experiences.

If you're looking to handle your SEO, I can teach you. My SEO course will be launching soon. For a one-on-one consultation, training, or content writing and optimization services, check out my packages, and let's get started.

Elevate Your SEO Game

Throughout this guide, we've covered essential strategies to enhance your SEO. From understanding the basics of technical SEO to ensuring accessibility and mobile optimization, we've laid the groundwork for a robust online presence. We've also delved into keyword research and content optimization, highlighting the balance between short-tail and long-tail keywords. The value of backlinks, local SEO, and using SEO analytics tools to track and adjust your strategies has been emphasized. Finally, we've explored future trends in SEO, including AI, voice search optimization, and the growing importance of video content.

Taking the Next Steps

Improving your SEO can feel overwhelming, but every small step brings you closer to effectively reaching your audience. Remember, SEO is about connecting with real people who need your services. Implementing these strategies can help you build a strong online presence that resonates with your ideal clients.

Are You Ready to Get Control of Your Marketing Strategy?

Ready to take your SEO to the next level? Join our community of black business owners who are transforming their online presence and reaching their goals. Book a paid 30-minute e-consultation with me today, and let's create a personalized SEO strategy that works for you. Visit my website to schedule your session and start your journey toward better SEO today! Book Now.