I started a website selling souvenirs and gifts in Alabama, hoping for good sales, but the traffic is low, and conversions are even worse. I know I should have thought about SEO earlier, but I didn’t, and now I need to fix things fast or I’ll have to shut it down.
I picked a domain that seems perfect for my niche, and I installed plugins like Google XML Sitemaps, Yoast SEO, and WP-Optimize. I followed some good setup guides, so I don’t think I messed up anything major.
I was told to block date archives, author pages, label pages, search pages, 404s, and paginated pages from indexing, but that alone isn’t bringing in new visitors. I read that more than half of local business traffic comes from organic search, so I know SEO is critical.
I found a company online that offers SEO services for businesses like mine, but I’ve never hired an SEO company before. Do these services actually help, or is it just another expense with no guarantee? What do you all do to optimize your WordPress sites? Any suggestions would be great.
Hard to say without seeing your site, but here are some things to check:
Are your meta descriptions properly optimized?
Is your site fast and free of major issues like CLS shifts?
Are images properly sized and tagged with alt text?
Is your theme lightweight, or is it bloated with extra code?
Have you set up Google Analytics, Search Console, and Tag Manager? You can also use Hotjar to see where people are clicking or Google Optimize to test different versions of your pages. There are plenty of ways to collect data and make informed improvements.
I had a similar issue before and what helped was focusing on page speed and internal linking. Also, what kind of content are you posting? That plays a huge role in ranking.
Besides setting up plugins, one of the best ways I improved SEO was by refining my content. Titles, descriptions, and keywords all matter.
I also studied what keywords my competitors were ranking for and adjusted my content accordingly. If you’re running a local business, the homepage is your biggest traffic driver, so make sure it’s well-optimized. Also, don’t overlook product pages—some of them might be popular search terms that bring in buyers.
SEO takes time, and there’s no quick fix. If you haven’t already, make sure you:
Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
Fill out meta tags and descriptions properly.
Check page speed with tools like PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix.
Build local backlinks with other businesses, directories, and local blogs.
For marketing, don’t ignore social media. Facebook and Instagram help, and depending on your niche, Pinterest could be useful too. Offline ads like newspapers and radio might also drive traffic to your site.
If you recently moved your site or changed URLs, don’t forget to set up 301 redirects. Otherwise, search engines might struggle to index your pages properly.
Hiring an SEO specialist can be worth it, but be careful who you choose. Some just take your money and do basic work you could do yourself. If you go that route, make sure they provide clear reports and improvements.
@Basil
Good points, but focusing only on backlinks and not content isn’t great advice. Also, making YouTube videos might be out of reach for small businesses.
SEO isn’t just about installing Yoast and hoping for the best. If you want real results, you need to regularly update your content, keep your site fast, and monitor analytics to see what’s working and what’s not.