It’s unfortunate, but far too common: the fake search engine optimization (SEO) “guru” you meet across the internet.

On their website, they talk about SEO in some obscure and complicated way. They make empty promises, and sell expensive courses that don’t deliver.

We’ve found that the reason why you can’t learn from these “gurus” is because most of them don’t understand the basics of how SEO works themselves, and what they do understand, they over complicate. All in all, almost everyone teaching SEO has no idea what they’re talking about.

Another reason why listening to these “experts” is a mistake: they are doing exactly what other “gurus” are doing. Repeating what others say doesn’t make them, or anyone, an expert in anything. A real expert SEO specialist looks at each client uniquely and has years of experience in successfully working with different types of clients – not just those in their own niche. SEO strategies change on the basis of business requirements, SEO for Lead Generation would need a different framework to work within than the need to increase traffic using SEO. 

Sadly, there are far too many of these gurus out there. And that is what the SEO niche looks like today.

We’re about to tell you something about SEO that, more than likely, you had absolutely no clue about. No, we don’t want your money. Yes, you can learn SEO without a course. It’s not sorcery! 

How to get more traffic, leads, and conversions from Google 

If you’re struggling to get traffic, leads, and conversions from Google on your site, you’ll find this information helpful. That’s it. Want to know how to do it? Read on.

1. Stop optimizing and start solving

Most site owners worry too much about meta and H2 tags. What they should do instead is focus on solving a specific problem for their readers in every article. Ask yourself how you’re helping readers solve the problems they came to your site for in the first place. When you shift from optimizing to helping your readers, the more time readers will spend on your page.

Now, we are not telling you to fully ignore optimization, just don’t prioritize it. Work your keywords naturally into your article only after you’ve solved your reader’s problem.

Solving a niche problem, and doing it well, is a great way to start driving visits to your new startup.

2. Make writing exhaustive

Long form content wins in search and also in problem-solving. So, if the article needs to be long, that’s great. People think short content wins, but long form content is still quite viable (just look at the last time you watched four hours of Netflix in a row).

I’m sure you’ve heard that people's' attention spans have decreased. While this is true, it doesn’t mean your content should be short. It means that your content marketing needs to be epic.

So, how do you that? Create content that gets links. When you have long form content combined with useful information that solves a problem for your readers, people are likely to share it.

People like to share content that: 

Winning in search is all about creating great content worth linking to and getting links to that content. “When it comes to SEO, if you aren’t trying to make the best thing on the internet, don’t bother,” he says.

If you’re interested in writing content that is highly valuable, try the following: 

For a great example of long form content that solves a problem, check out this article on customer identity from Signal.

3. Make your site accessible

Many sites lack accessibility to a large number of people. This hurts SEO and can also hurt the company. But what do I mean by accessible? A website that is accessible removes any barriers that make it difficult for people with disabilities to access the information on your website.

Web accessibility can take on many forms. It can mean that text-to-speech, or text-to-Braille software is being used on a website so that people who are blind have the option to hear the information on your site. Another example includes the ability to enlarge text and images. 

Information should be accessible to everyone. Not making your website accessible is a form of discrimination. Companies like Netflix, eBay, and McDonalds have been sued for failing to develop accessible sites. Who in your business is responsible for accessibility? Everyone. From leadership to the marketing department and developers to designers.

Here are a few examples on how to make your site more accessible: 

Conclusion

It’s not sorcery. It’s not magic. In order to get more traffic, leads, and conversions from Google, it’s all about helping solve your readers’ problems, writing long form, high-quality content, and making your site accessible.

The more reader-focused your article is, the more lead opportunities exist. When you focus more on these three areas, there are higher chances of getting readers to take action, whether that’s to subscribe to your newsletter, sign up for your site, or open that newsletter – not to mention, getting other sites to want to link to your high-quality content.

Ready to learn more about converting leads from Google? Learn how to make a website, while keeping the best SEO practices top of mind. Then, find the top-rated SEO software solutions for your needs – only on G2.