Are you looking to save money yet execute a winning SEO strategy?
Who doesn’t?
Everyone wants to save money anyway.
But how do you do it?
This in-depth guide on how to save money with the right SEO strategy is going to show you exactly that.
Search engine optimization is a vital process for businesses looking to establish a relevant digital presence.
Unfortunately, it’s not an easy process for small businesses and startups. The fact that you’re competing with new and already established businesses makes the whole thing scary.
But that’s not all, you have to spend money and put in all your effort and time to get better results.
What if you’re on a limited budget?
Should you quit and let your business rivalry shine over you?
No, you don’t have to quit. There is still hope.
In this article, you’re going to learn some practical and effective tips to save money with your SEO strategy.
Remember that with putting your business in the face of your potential customers online, you shouldn’t fall for black-hat techniques. You’re going to suffer severe penalties that could kill your business completely.
Read this guide on how to do SEO on a limited budget and implement all the techniques you will learn here then come back and leave a comment- to let us know the results you get.
We promise you, after implementing what you read here, you will see great results.
Grab a cup of coffee and read with us as we share the tips.
How to Build the Right SEO Strategy on Limited Budget
Given the effort, time, and money required to execute a winning SEO strategy, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed and defeated especially for startups or small businesses on a limited budget.
But don’t fret.
The SEO tips you’re about to learn here are a great fit for both small and large businesses on a limited budget.
So without much ado, let’s dive right inside.
1. Learn Keyword Research
Mastering keyword research could help to cut down on the cost you could need to execute a powerful SEO strategy.
Think about it. If you don’t know how to research relevant keywords to target, the only option you have is to hire someone to do it for you.
What if you can do it yourself? Wouldn’t that save money in the long run?
Typically, keyword research helps you achieve the following:
- Identify phrases and terms people are entering on search engines when searching for products or services.
- Know which keywords to target your audience with.
- Know whether your products have a huge demand or not.
- Determine keywords your competitor is outranking you with.
When it comes to running a successful online business, there is no room for guesswork. You cannot assume that you know what people are looking for on the internet unless you do keyword research.
And the only way to save money is to master the art so you can do it yourself.
2. Audit Your Website’s SEO
First things first, before you take the next step with your SEO strategy, start by auditing your website SEO.
You may use Google Search Console (it’s free) to check if you have bugs, broken links, etc.
You may also outsource this task on a freelance basis. You can partner with freelance writers on Upwork and other reputable bid-to-write websites that offer services at affordable prices.
The best part about using Google Webmaster Tool is that it shows you results for both before and after making changes.
3. Take Advantage of Free SEO Tools
This sounds a no-brainer when it comes to executing a successful SEO strategy on a limited budget. However, you will be shocked by the number of small business owners and startups that ignore free SEO tools.
Unlike in the past, today, there is a ton of free SEO tools you can use to take your keyword research to the next level.
You just need to know what these tools are and how to use them to your advantage.
Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tool, Spy Keywords, and Google Keyword Planner, just to mention a few, are some of the powerful SEO tools out there.
Google Analytics provides reports that could help you discover search queries that are doing great in the SERPs.
Spy Keywords, on the other hand, lets you discover keywords your competitor is ranking for.
For WordPress users, Yoast SEO is yet another incredible SEO tool that helps you monitor your posts in real-time.
And if you want to make a comparison of your website’s SEO against three of your competitors you wouldn’t go wrong with SEO Analyzer Tool by Neil Patel.
4. Think Local SEO
If you don’t have the muscle to wrestle the big guys out there, why don’t you beat them locally?
Focusing on improving your website presence on a local level could help you save money as you climb the ladder up to a global level.
So, before you start walking, crawl. Focus on local SEO and as the money starts trickling in, you can then think globally.
Local SEO has become more helpful than ever as it helps startups on a limited budget.
Start with registering your business into Google My Business. It’s free and the process is simple.
If you have a Gmail account, you just need to log in as you normally do when reading or sending emails then enter the details of your business including the name, address, contacts, etc.
The best thing about registering your business into Google My Business is that you will appear on the map in the SERPs.
To appear at the top of the first pages on search results:
- Include your business’ location in the title tag.
- Get the NAP information correct.
- Get genuine reviews.
- Target local searches with local content.
5. Take Advantage of Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is here to stay. It’s free and effective. And many businesses are doing it. If you’re on a limited budget, you could give it a try for your SEO strategy.
If guest blogging sounds like a new thing to you, it’s just simple. It’s the process of publishing your content on other websites with links pointing to yours.
See, the main idea of doing SEO is to establish your digital presence.
Posting blog content on other blogs relevant to your niche with links pointing to yours allows the visitors of those blogs to discover your content.
For better results, always publish guest posts on relevant blogs with huge engagement. Besides, make sure the blogs are reputable.
Remember that, however, even though guest blogging is a powerful technique to establish your digital presence, Matt Cutts, a former Google Webmaster professional warned users about the whole thing. So make sure you follow the rules of the game.
6. Decrease Page Load Time
Your website’s speed can make or break its user experience.
People are going to leave a website with longer load times at the same speed they arrived on it. This can be detrimental to your conversion rate. Besides, it can affect your reputation and Google rankings.
So, you want to make sure your web pages are displaying fast on demand.
To start improving page load speed, test.
There is a ton of tools out there to test your website load speed. These tools test and provide suggestions on where to improve.
To decrease page load time, you may want to:
- Compress images.
- Minify JavaScript, CSS, and HTML.
- Decrease server response time, etc.
7. Target Long Tail Keywords
When starting in business, never try to target short-tail keywords. Even the big guys struggle to get results with these keywords.
Ideally, long tail keywords are helpful for commercial purposes. These are phrases with more than 3 words.
Short tail keywords, on the other hand, have less than three words long.
Once you have mastered keyword research, you can start targeting long-tail keywords.
The SEO tools mentioned earlier in this article could help you discover great long tail keywords.
Typically, long tail has low competition than short tail keywords.
8. See What’s Working for Your Competitors
This is where reverse engineering comes in. Simply put, reverse engineering is looking at what keywords your competitors are targeting users with or the type of content they are publishing as well as the frequency of publishing.
Once you have discovered what’s working/worked for others, you can then try it on your website.
The good thing is that there are free handy tools to help you with this.
9. Publish High-Quality Content Regularly
Content is still king. But it must be high-quality. So you want to produce high-quality and relevant content, regularly.
Ideally, you don’t have to publish new blog posts each day but you need to make sure your target audience is getting new information from you when they need it.
For instance, you could publish a new blog post twice a week or thrice a month and stick to your content calendar.
You may want to publish a combination of different types of content to take care of each user’s needs on your website including videos, infographics, GIFs, etc.
10. Bridge content gaps
This involves examining your competitor’s sites to see what users want that they aren’t giving them.
Here, you need to take a look at their social media activity, read their blogs, etc. to see what they aren’t doing. You can also read comments to see what their readers are saying so you can give them exactly that with your blog posts.
11. Get the Most out of Blog Comments
There are many benefits of allowing comments on your blog.
And when it comes to SEO, allowing people to comment on your blog could help you know what needs to be improved and what needs to be avoided.
Usually, people voice their demands through comments. If you take a close look at your blog comments, you will be able to know what your readers want. Besides, studies suggest that comments, shares, and conversations improve post visibility.
It’s also important to respond to commenters. After all, if they have taken their time to read and comment on your blog, why wouldn’t you take the conversation a notch higher by replying to them?
It makes you look human and can help you understand what your commenters want.
You can also comment on other people’s blog posts. Even though blog commenting isn’t an effective link building technique, it makes people discover your business.
12. Show Up In Local Meetups
Showing up in local meetups is also a great way to build an effective SEO strategy if you don’t have enough money for it.
Participating in business events helps in many ways. First, it’s one of the best ways to network with like-minded people.
It can also help to build a good relationship with experts in your industry.
Besides, you stand a chance to make people discover your business.
You can always set up meetups and reach new customers once you have enough funds.
13. Establish Yourself as Reputable Content Publisher
Becoming a reputable content publisher is easier said than done. However, it’s one of the best ways to increase brand awareness and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
Google wants to give users helpful content and readers want to read the information that helps them solve their problems from your blog.
Once you become an established content publisher, you can win the combination of trust from both Google and your readers.
If you have a business website, it’s important to create a blog within it.
Blogging is a powerful tool to build brand awareness. If you’re not doing it, start now.
14. Enhance Your Social Media Presence
No money is required in this strategy. You just need to commit your time and effort.
See, most social media platforms are free to join. Posting is also free, but you need to know what to post and engage with your followers.
The more you connect with your audience the more you build brand awareness. This ultimately saves the money you could have used to run expensive SEO techniques.
Create the Right SEO Strategy Without Breaking the Bank Today!
It’s not easy to create a winning SEO strategy, but it’s possible. If you’re on a limited budget, you may feel discouraged to execute a successful strategy but that shouldn’t be the case for you now that we have shared with you practical tips to run a great SEO strategy even when you don’t a huge budget.
Remember that SEO needs time. Therefore, even if you implement all the strategies outlined in this blog post, you still need to be patient.
Just make sure you follow the techniques shared here, see what’s working and what’s not working so you can improve as you move your way up the ladder.
Good luck!
Author Bio
Charlie Svensson is a digital marketing nerd and a professional essay writer. He is also a skilled blogger and content writer with interests in SEO, social media, blogging, marketing, and education.
During his free time, Charlie likes playing rugby and taking part in community work.
