Was your website hit by the recent Google March 2024 Core Update or are you seeing traffic fluctuations from the new AI Overviews changes? We’re here to help. We’ve read all the Google documentation so you don’t have to. We’re your TL;DR to the SEO world so you can get back to doing whatever it is you do, that thing that you’re great at. That’s where we’re gonna click. I’m Nikki. I’m great at SEO and terrible at math. I’m amazing at helping businesses get found on Google, but I don’t know how to fold a fitted sheet. We all know what we know. Let’s talk about how whatever it is that you’re great at can get you found on Google.
I’ve been successfully ranking small, local businesses on page one for years. Here’s my biggest SEO secret.
✨Build your website for introverts.✨
That’s it. That’s the secret. Only keep reading if you’re ready to get a bit nerdy with some psychology and marketing stuff, plus a tiny glimpse into my marriage. 🤣 Don’t worry honey, I won’t share anything too exciting.
Let’s get the introvert and tiny glimpse into my marriage thing out of the way first, mostly because I’m sure my husband, the introvert, is on the edge of his seat right now thinking his extrovert wife is going to share something private with the public right now. If you’re an introvert, or married to one, you understand his apprehension. Introverts aren’t typically the first to open up. They’re not crazy about small talk and they don’t usually see the point of sharing their life with strangers. They typically enjoy their own company more than that of others and simply don’t feel the need to engage in human interaction as often as their extroverted counterparts. And most commonly, introverts often feel drained after engaging with others, rather than energized like extroverts. For Chris, making phone calls, running errands, and ‘dealing with people’ can be downright exhausting, especially if it’s already been a stressful week. And it’s 2024, so chances are, it’s already been a stressful week.
A Little Science and Psychology About Introverts
He’s not alone either. Most successful businesses have an introvert mastermind working behind the scenes. I’m certain if you can’t relate to these sentiments as an introvert yourself, you’ve thought of at least one person you know and love who can. According to the popular personality testing company, Myers-Briggs, 56.8% of people around the world prefer introversion. Introverts are loved for their listening skills, decision-making abilities, their aptitude for planning and analysis, and their adaptability. In social situations when extroverts’ brains typically produce more dopamine, the neurotransmitter and hormone associated with pleasure and feelings of satisfaction, evidence suggests that an introvert’s brain tends to produce less. It’s not so much that introverts don’t like people or even that they’re shy. They simply learned early on to employ that adaptability skill inwardly rather than outwardly. They’re problem solvers and they’d much rather solve those problems without bothering anyone else in the process. Here’s where websites come in.
Design Your Website for Introverts
Now that we have a solid understanding of how an introvert’s brain works, I mean as much as any extrovert can understand the inner workings of an introvert’s brain, let’s talk about websites. We’re elder millennials and have been together long enough for me to know that Chris would rather spend half an hour looking at a business’s website for an answer than call them and talk to them for 2 minutes. So, it dawned on me while reading Google’s documentation about their Helpful Content Update in 2022 that if websites were simply created so that introverts didn’t ever have to make a phone call, that would make everyone happy…humans and search engines alike.
E-E-A-T
We’ve known since 2014 that Google rewards websites that are the most helpful and demonstrate E-E-A-T the best with a higher ranking. E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. There are articles galore out there about E-E-A-T. So, I won’t go too deep into that. This is just SEO talk for saying those who are best at answering questions and humble bragging will win the higher ranking spots on page 1.
Google gives us all kinds of questions to ask about the content we write for our websites. The idea is that if we answer yes to these questions, we’re on the right track. I can tell you with certainty and from 6+ years of doing SEO for small businesses all over the U.S., if you just do what Google suggests, which is create and share helpful content on your website, your ranking will improve.
Share Your Expertise
As easy as that sounds, it is hard work. It’s understanding your customer. It’s knowing what they need. The thing that I love about introverts is that they’re lifelong learners. They ask so many questions. The thing that I love about small business owners is that they are so passionate about what they do. They want to share it with everyone. So, if you’re a small business owner who wants to rank higher on Google, stop thinking of it in terms of SEO or website development, which can be intimidating if that’s not what you do for a living. Instead, think of it as saving an introvert from having to make a phone call. Here are a few steps you can take to meet those lovely introverts where they are, on the internet and more specifically, on your website!
Transparent Pricing
We sometimes get pushback from some clients on this, and I can understand why. Some businesses simply don’t have fixed pricing. Everything must be quoted. If you’re uncomfortable or unable to share exact pricing, you can always share a ‘starting at’ or a price range. However, study after study has shown that consumers feel more in control and are more likely to trust companies that are transparent with their pricing.
Add FAQs to Your Website
Even though Google announced in August 2023 that FAQs were going to stop showing up on a SERP (search engine results page) the same way, FAQs are still helpful and I promise people will look for them on your website. It also means don’t just list a bunch to have a bunch. Be helpful.
You can include FAQs on individual service pages and/or a dedicated FAQ page. If you opt to include them on individual service pages, stick to the topic on that page. For example, if you’re a plumber and have FAQs on your water heater repair page, keep those FAQs about water heaters. Then, you can also have a general FAQ page about your business, for example, “Do you work with homeowner's insurance?” This question pertains to your overall business, not just water heaters. Here are a few ideas on where to find great FAQs:
The People Also Ask section of Google is one of our favorite places to get ideas for FAQs. Just google your industry and scroll to the section labeled People Also Ask. With each question you select, more questions will appear. These are actual questions that people have googled, most likely introverts who didn’t want to make a phone call, so you’re already a step ahead!
ChatGPT is also great, using the prompt, “List a few FAQs for a website in the _____ industry.”
Lastly, use social listening skills. This is inbound marketing 101. What are people talking about on social media? What questions are your actual customers asking? What are your competitors talking about?
Start Blogging!
I know, the last thing a busy business owner wants to hear is that they need to start blogging. But with all the help you can get these days from AI, it’s easier now than ever. No, this is not your permission to use ChatGPT to write blogs for you. But you can and should use it as a tool to generate ideas, outlines, lists, etc. Use AI to work smarter, not harder. The real meat and potatoes come from your real life, human experience of doing what you do best!
There is no secret formula for blogs either. Don’t let anyone tell you that you must write 1,000 words in a blog once a week/month/blue moon/whatever to rank on Google. This is a lie. Google just wants you to provide helpful content! Heck, it doesn’t even technically have to be a blog! It can just be a new page on your website. We just say blogs because that’s easier for people to conceptualize than, “just make a bunch of new pages…” That may be another topic for another day though….The bottom line is, Google wants to see that you’re updating your website with content that people will find helpful. Remember, when the introvert goes to your website looking for answers, you want them to be able to find what they’re looking for without having to make a phone call. The idea is that you’re performing a brain dump on your website as often as you can, so that the Google gods, the introverts, and you are all confident that your website can answer questions just as well as you can.
Clear Headers and Strong Service Descriptions
We’ve established that when an introvert wants to know what your business does, they’re not going to pick up the phone and call you. They’re going to scroll your website and look for answers. The headers on your website, the big text, should clearly state what you do. This isn’t the place to be cute or clever. Spare us the inspirational, flowery fluff. Your business may very well be the place for customers to discover their dreams or explore the possibilities, but these statements say nothing about what you actually do.
Google ranks web pages, not websites. So, if someone is looking for a wedding cake bakery in Scottsdale, Google will typically take the searcher to the bakery’s wedding cake page, not to the homepage, not the birthday cake page…the wedding cake page. Don’t rely on Google to land searchers on the starting page that you intended. This means that each of your service pages could be the first page a potential customer may see from your business. The good news is, if they’ve landed on that page, it’s likely because that page is related and relevant to the query they’ve searched. So, it needs to clearly state what you do in the header and then clearly explain what that service entails. If a stranger/introvert can’t quickly confirm that you have what they need after landing on your service page, they’ll just hit that back button and go on to the next business.
Want to Learn More?
Transperant pricing, FAQs, blogs, and strong service descriptions are just a few of the ways you can build your website for introverts to improve your SEO. If the idea of SEO is intimidating to you, I get it. There is a technical aspect to it. But if you can get into the mindset of just solving problems and answering questions for your favorite introverts, which we all know and love, rather than optimizing for search engines, you’re well on your way to a helpful, Google-friendly website.
If you'd like to learn more, we’re total nerds for this stuff. We offer SEO Coaching Classes online. These are 1:1 classes where you and I jump on a Zoom call and talk nerdy about your website. We’re here when you’re ready! In the meantime, join our community on social for more SEO tips!