There will come a time when you will have to take your SEO into your own hands. And when you do you will need what to do and how to get it done. Most people just hire a Minneapolis SEO but just in case you want to give it a go yourself, here are a few things you can try to get the ball rolling.

The first thing you must understand is that SEO is not advertising. It doesn't cost any money to do and can deliver some serious traffic to your website if you do it right. If you are looking for a short term, quick way to get traffic then SEO isn't for you.  

SEO is a long term investment that takes time to deliver results. The great thing about SEO is that once you rank, you can continue to see results with improved SEO strategies. 

Know your Competition 

You will have to do some homework, and you will need to find out who your competition is. Search for relevant services and products that offer the same thing you do and document down the prominent websites in the search results. The websites that share your idea and or business model are the people you should be aiming to outrank. 

Find out what type of content themes they are lacking in, as well as what they are doing well. Also, look into how interesting they are and how their audience engages with them. 

Make a Plan 

Once you've figured out the competition, it's time for you to plan out your website. Know your consumers so you know how to create your layout and content. Mimic your competitors but try to do it better. Identify pages that are going to be the landers for your potential customers.

Make sure to use long-tail keywords to drive fewer searches. These keywords are super easy to rank for, and you can rank for hundreds of them for one page if you do it correctly.

Optimize your website 

Once you've planned out your website, it's time to optimize. Depending on your budget you might need to outsource the optimizing of your site. All websites should be mobile responsive and should cater to their mobile audience.

Most users use their smartphones which means that you should optimize for those users. Also, remember that Google ranks all organic search results. All rankings depend on site speed and mobile experience. 

Content is King 

No matter how you slice the pie, content is king. You have to produce regular content on a regular basis. If you are running an eCommerce site you don't have to start a blog, but you at least should post updates on a consistent basis.

Content doesn't necessarily have to text. You can post photographs and videos. As long as there is a short description, search engines will crawl and rank according to your keyword. 

Don't Forget Social media

Social media isn't just about being social, it's about building quality backlinks. Backlinks are the juice behind your rankings. Without backlinks, you will have a hard time ranking and you will find it just as difficult to get traffic. Social media lets you connect with your customers while nurturing relationships at the same time.

SEO success means knowing what your particular business needs to thrive in the online world of business. All SEO methods are not created equal, and not all will apply to you. Knowing what will work for your company means knowing how to out climb the competition.