The Interior Designer SEO Cheat Sheet to Get Clients & Traffic Online
What’s Search Engine Optimization?
The search engines rely on delivering the right content to the right people based on the keywords you use.
Search engines...
• Scan your website
• File that information away and then,
• Show your website to someone who is looking for that info
Search Engines Are The New Yellow Pages
This means you need to know exactly what your clients are searching for online.
They are searching for a solution to a problem they are having. Lucky for them you have the solution, your job is to make sure they can find it.
And when you’ve got your site optimized meaning that your design services and blog posts have the proper keywords, you’ll be able to kick your feet up and start having conversations with clients who are ready to work with you.
Think of SEO as building a foundation for your business. Every time you update your website with content Google takes note. Every time you save an image with descriptive keyword your client’s are looking for, Google takes note. You post a blog about something your client wants to learn with a great keyword, Google takes note. That’s why you have to update your website.
Keywords Are Your Key To Gold!
I like to think of keywords as the untapped gold in your business. When you know what problem you solve and then reverse engineer it so you know how your client is searching for the solution to the problem you solve, you’ve hit the jackpot. And you didn’t even need that little leprechaun!
Step Into Your Client’s Shoes
The beauty to this process is that essentially you’re thinking up the phrase that your client would use. And that’s why it is so important to know what problem you solve.
She hates her bedroom. It’s out dated and she’d like to actually put one of those Pinterest boards of hers into action. She thinks she wants to do it herself, but we both know she doesn’t really know what she’s in for. And that’s just perfect.
She may think she wants to do it on her own, but at the end of the day she really wants her bedroom to be spectacular! And she needs your help to do that. So you’re going to make sure you show up in the search results when she is trying to figure out how to design her bedroom.
When she sees you know what you’re talking about, she trusts you and all the stars are aligned, she’ll want to hire you. But if you don’t show up in the search results with the phrase that she’s looking for to begin with, you’ll never connect.
Let’s imagine what your client would search for. She wouldn’t search just for “bedroom decorating” - although she might. But your client wants to know...
how do I decorate my bedroom
That above is a long tail keyword. It’s a phrase of a 4-6 words (sometimes shorter or longer) that is the exact phrase your client is putting into Google to find you.
Plus it’s a lot easier to get your site ranked higher for these super specific phrases instead of a generic term like: “bedroom decorating”!
Ready to get to work? Let’s go!
Step #1 Research Your Keyword
Go to Google.com (the actual page - don’t use the browser bar to search) & search for what your client is searching for online to solve a problem they have related to design.
Examples:
What Is The Best Way To Decorate A Bedroom Ways To Decorate A Bedroom
How To Decorate A Bedroom
Google will start to auto populate the answers for you and giving you long tail keyword ideas aka what actual people are searching for. Genius!
You can also find Google’s keyword tool here: https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/
Step #2 Use Your Keyword
Start Your content with your keyword in the first paragraph.
Then, outline your content with your sub-headlines (H2)using your keyword, then fill in the rest of the post
Finish your content with your long tail keyword again.
For our example we’re using the long tail keyword:
how to decorate a bedroom
Step #3 Ad An Image
You’ll want to add an image to your content because there is that handy Google image search function. If people are searching by images you want to make sure they see your photo that links back to your content.
Don’t Save or Use Images With A File Name Like:
Img2056_978.jpg
No one would ever search for that crazy term.
Instead...
Do Save & Use Images With A File Name Like:
how-to-decorate-a-bedroom.jpg
Step #4 Catchy Headline
You can’t just name your content “How To Decorate A Bedroom”. That would be totally boring and ignored. Instead come up with a catchy headline like...
How To Decorate A Bedroom That’ll Have Your Neighbors Thinking You’re A Madam How To Decorate A Bedroom Like A Pro
Design Tips: How To Decorate A Bedroom
No Wonder She Said ”No”! Learn How To Decorate A Bedroom
How To Decorate A Bedroom Better Than Nate Berkus Himself Have fun with this!
Step #5 Last Details
Page Title (use your keyword)
Page URL (use your keyword)
Article Intro (find a way to use your keyword in a sentence that makes sense)
Sub-Headlines (Sprinkle it into the H2 Sub Headlines)
Meta Description (the brief description that shows up in the search results should have your
keyword)
If you have the Yoast Plugin For Wordpress this is a snap! As you work on your content, you’ll see this as you make your content more optimized...
Here’s a few keys things to keep in mind.
It usually takes 4-6 months to start seeing the results of your SEO hard work. As you continue to improve your existing content and make new content your website ranking will likely improve and so will the traffic coming to your website. Plus, the longer your site is around, the better your ranking gets.
Step #6 Action Steps
1. Research Your Keywords Your Client Is Searching For, here is a link for top SEO keywords for interior designers: https://marketkeep.com/seo-keywords-for-interior-designers/
2. Use Them Throughout Your Website In Pages & Blog Posts (the process is the same)
3. Watch your traffic grow!!
Interested in taking your business to the next level? Is PR right for you? Email us HERE to schedule a business consultation!