Today’s Ask an SEO question comes from Aswin of Silver Spring, USA, who asked:
“Hi, I’m a SEO beginner with basic knowledge. I’m doing SEO for a start-up car rental company.
I think I should start with off-page SEO rather than on-page and start trying to get backlinks.
However, since the company is a startup, they have limitations in terms of services.
I’m stuck and don’t know how to proceed. Can you give me a strategic plan that I should follow?
I did try to register the site on some site submission forums. I tried resource link building, but there aren’t many car rental resource pages.
I try to build broken links, but the competitors are very large compared to startups, so there are pages dedicated to them in the referral site.
The only way to go right now is HARO. Please provide your insights. “
Aswin, while backlinks are part of the ranking equation, if I were doing SEO for a new site, I wouldn’t start here.
There are other things you should do first. But don’t worry, I’ll answer your link building questions later.
This is my first SEO project to focus on.
1. Set up your local listings
I’m assuming that car rental companies will want to attract local business.
So make sure you have declared, verified and Updated your Google Business Profile listing.
Fill in as much information as possible and be sure to add images and videos.
You can also add FAQs to the Q&A area by posting a question and then answering it as the owner.
You should also claim, verify, and update other local directory listings, such as Yelp, Apple Maps, and Bing Places, to name a few.
There are tools you can use to help you with local listings, including Whitespark and Yext.
Check out this article for a full list: 9 Essential Local SEO and Listing Management Tools.
If you have questions about local SEO, be sure to check out the ebook, Local SEO: The Definitive Guide to Improving Local Search Rankings.
Also, there are plenty of local SEO experts answering questions about local search forum.
2. Conduct a technical SEO audit
This is one of the first things I do when working on a new SEO project – I use the analogy of a car to explain it.
Paint, bodywork and trim might look great.
The interior of a car can be immaculate.
But if the engine isn’t tuned or something is broken, the car won’t run.
In this analogy, the engine is the technical part of your website.
You need to open the hood and make sure everything is working properly.
There are many tools to help you with auditing, including built-in samlash, Southeast Rankingand Areves.
If any errors and/or problems are detected, you will need to confirm them manually.
Fix as many as possible and bring in developers to help with more advanced bugs and issues (ie those involving servers or advanced coding skills).
I also have a checklist to help you get started: Technical SEO Checklist for Non-Technical Marketers.
3. Optimize your pages
If you haven’t already, you need to do some keyword research.
There are many resources available, including How to Do SEO Keyword Research: The Ultimate Guide.
Once you’ve identified your keywords, map them to your pages.
Along the way, you may find that you don’t have content to support some of your important keywords.
In this case, you should create a content calendar with all the pages you need to develop.
When you start optimizing your pages, be sure to optimize your page titles, H1s, and body text.
This article will give you more guidance on optimizing your content: How to Create Perfectly Optimized Content: 16 Essentials.
Attract links to your website.
OK, now I’ll answer your original question about how to get backlinks.
I divide links into three categories: easy, moderately easy, and hard (i.e. time consuming).
Start with simple links, such as unlinked brand mentions, which you can find through settings Google Alerts Or use a tool like Semrush.
If you see your company being mentioned on a site, and it’s positive, contact the site, thank them for the mention, and ask if they’ll link to your site.
Other simple links include local and industry directories.Local search expert Phil Rozek has an exhaustive list local directory You should check it out.
He also has a great Link Opportunity Questionnaire This will help you brainstorm ideas.
Some relatively simple link building ideas include creating infographics, contests, and scholarships.
Once these projects are developed, please share them on social media and appropriate directories.
I would also look for any travel or local publications that accept guest authors.
Writing articles for authoritative publications is a great way to get links.
Just because they are time-consuming, harder link building ideas include creating guides, tools, industry reports or case studies.
Interviews on webinars and podcasts can often generate backlinks to your website as well.
While these ideas take more time, they do pay off.
Also, consider using a blog on your website to generate links.
You can publish how-to guides, interviews, expert roundups, and other long-form content.
must check out SEO Link Building: The Complete Guide Get more advice.
Plan your SEO strategy
Finally, when it comes to SEO, you need to develop a strategy and timeline.
While I’ve given you a few things to focus on, there’s a lot more in SEO.
Be sure to download the eBook, SEO Strategy: Year-round Blueprint (+ Template)as it contains information and templates to help you succeed in your SEO efforts.
More resources:
Ask about SEO is a weekly SEO advice column written by the industry’s top SEO experts handpicked by Search Engine Magazine. Have questions about SEO? fill out our form. You may see your answer in the next #AskanSEO post!
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