A Deep Dive into the Importance of an SEO Strategy - The Journey of Anna Colibri

(Growth Marketing Series)

As a business owner, you need to understand that finance is interconnected with other business activities. A holistic approach to business finance offers significant returns to your business. Moreover, to maximize growth, everyone in your team should be a finance ambassador. Your marketing team should know the return of investment for the growth strategies that they use. Effective information management can help you determine future marketing spending.

Among these growth marketing strategies, your company may benefit from search engine optimization or SEO. However, an SEO strategy may intimidate some business owners. You may not know much about it, but don’t let this stop you from exploring its potential. An SEO strategy can help your company grow in the long term.

In this episode, Anna Colibri talks about the importance of a growth marketing strategy. She gives practical tips on developing an SEO strategy to generate more leads and achieve a higher conversion rate. Anna shares tips on what makes a good SEO strategy. She also talks about the necessity of financial knowledge in running a business.

If you are a mission-driven founder who wants to learn more about the importance of an SEO strategy, then this episode is for you!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Learn about the particulars behind SEO.

2. Discover the best way to develop an SEO strategy.

3. Appreciate the importance of financial knowledge.

Resources:

• Visit Christina Sjahli’s website for more insights on business finance and stories about mission-driven businesses on the Her CEO Journey podcast.

• Chat with Christina and set up a time here!

• Her CEO Journey Podcast Episode 101 - Embracing Purpose Entrepreneurship and Becoming a B-Corp - The Journey of Carla Heim and Kasha Huk

• Her CEO Journey Podcast Episode 111 - Reimagining Business Finance: How a Holistic Approach Can Help You Improve Your Business

• Download this Action Guide to help you understand the importance of and develop an SEO strategy for your business.

• Purpose to Prosperity Club on Clubhouse

• Connect with Anna: LinkedIn | Instagram

• Colibri Digital Marketing

Episode Highlights

[06:59] Why Anna Started Her Digital Marketing Company

• Anna had a master’s degree in social welfare.

• Her first pursuit was a yoga, Ayurveda, and massage business. Anna changed gears and started a marketing company.

• They eventually attained B Corp status. With this, they provided lower-cost options and training.

• Anna’s company was able to provide services to women and minority business owners.

• Anna wanted to become a B Corp because she didn’t just want to do marketing; she wanted to make an impact.

[9:54] Prioritizing Marketing in a Business

• Most people think of their products and services first; they aren’t marketing-minded.

• More entrepreneurs are now accepting the need for social media and digital marketing.

• There are various ways to market yourself online, but some may be uncomfortable and intimidated by it.

[12:15] Anna’s Experience in Marketing

• Anna learned marketing through experience.

• She started in marketing before social media.

• Anna took classes on web design, social media marketing, and writing for the web.

• Anna also enjoys collaborating with a team of young individuals who love social media.

• In the beginning, Anna hired an SEO coach. She shares that seeing results from an SEO strategy is gratifying to her.

[14:29] Struggles Businesses Have with SEO

• SEO is complex, and most businesses don't understand it.

• Think of SEO as a human being who has a problem and is looking for a solution.

“And I don't think that the way they have searched has changed. I mean, maybe people are doing more desktop stuff because they're actually out and about less. But overall, no, it's really still like, ‘I have a problem. I'm looking for a solution.’ And you would like to show up in the search engine results as a solution.”

• As a business, you think about what the human will type into the search engine, and you try to be the result.

• Machines are in between you and the human who needs answers. So an SEO strategy helps you influence the outcome.

• SEO is not organic. Some people pay a lot to have an SEO strategy in place.

[19:03] New vs. Established Businesses

• Some mature businesses don’t have good rankings because they haven’t optimized their website.

• Whatever stage you’re at in your business, it’s best to have an SEO strategy.

• Consistently producing high-quality targeted content is important.

• It takes time to build page authority; older sites have better Google rankings.

[23:03] Thinking Long-Term

• Getting a ten-year subscription to your website is a good signal to Google.

• A long-term domain shows commitment to your business.

• Investing in a website means that you have a vision and you believe in your business.

• There is a chance that Google will have strong competitors in the future.

• Anna observes that Google tends to give out results that are profitable for them. Information is getting more and more monetized.

[25:55] Essential SEO Components

• There are different categories of SEO. These include on-page, technical, off-page, local, and user-experience SEO. Tune in to the full episode to learn the differences!

• Google has over 200 metrics, and they change their algorithm at least once a day.

• They don’t publish the algorithm.

• It's critical to focus on your site speed, mobile optimization, SEO title tags, and meta descriptions.

[28:12] The Importance of Location

• Google has a mobile-first policy.

• When people search for businesses on their phones, it will give them the closest result instead of the best one.

• With this in mind, it's good to be in a high-traffic area.

• The pandemic didn’t change how people searched for things.

[29:40] Creating Backlinks

• Buying links isn’t a great way to make backlinks.

• There is black, gray, and white hat SEO.

• Anna’s company is strictly white hat. They conform to Google’s best practices.

“And so all of this is marked by constant change. So actually, no one can truly be an expert in all of this. But we have a team of experts and specialists. And they're always growing and keeping up with the latest best practices, but it's a moving target.”

• Cheap shortcuts to better SEO can backfire, so it's more effective to focus on the best long-term method.

[32:51] Other Methods to Build Links

• Use original pictures instead of stock images.

• These can be more compelling and offer a better user experience.

• When people use your original images, you can make them give a photo credit with a backlink.

[34:35] Why an SEO Strategy Is Worth It

• Simply producing high-quality content weekly is a good start.

“Getting into that rhythm of producing high-quality content on a regular basis also sets you up for success for all of your digital marketing. People say content is king, but we work with a lot of businesswomen, business owners, so I always say you know content is queen. But SEO is basically about content.”

• An SEO strategy has the second-highest ROI of all digital marketing tactics next to email marketing.

“It has the second-highest return on investment of all the digital marketing tactics after email marketing. Without SEO, you're effectively invisible online. And so you cannot generate money that way.”

• You can measure the success of your SEO strategy through analytics.

• Anna's company offers inexpensive SEO strategy plans and training.

[36:41] How an SEO Strategy Relates to Sales

• Having an SEO strategy allows you to gauge how many leads come through search.

• Increasing website traffic has direct effects on conversions.

• When you produce good content, you can repurpose it for the rest of your marketing strategy.

• There is a media production side to marketing.

[39:47] SEO vs. Paid Marketing

• People generally do not like display ads.

• Organic search results have a higher conversion rate, can provide credibility, and are more profitable.

• Investing in SEO can last for years.

• Whereas with ads, when you don’t pay, you won’t get results.

[42:19] User Experience in SEO

• There should be a smooth flow to your product or service.

• You need to have good landing pages on your website if you’re using ads for marketing.

• You want to have high-quality content but still have a lead capturing strategy.

• Reach back out to people. You can do this by offering an incentive.

[44:08] Changes in Anna’s Financial Knowledge

• Anna admits that she didn’t know anything about the finance side.

• She needed to acquire a money mindset even if she wasn’t that interested in it personally.

• Being part of the CEO coaching program helped Anna a lot.

• Anna understands the necessity of having financial knowledge and accountability.

“Even though it's no pleasure to me, I have to build in time to be focused on money and really understand what's happening with my money. And then setting up systems and accountabilities even to yourself, just so that you're always aware of your finance and can manage downturns.”

About Anna

Anna Colibri is the founder and CEO of Colibri Digital Marketing. She believes in balancing mission and profit to create an impact. And so her company is San Francisco's first and only B-Corp certified digital marketing agency. They measure the triple bottom line of people, profit, and planet. In effect, they are committed to providing services that support businesses for good.

Anna earned her Masters of Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. She previously worked on development and marketing for nonprofits, professional societies, and foundations.

Anna is currently serving on the board of the Golden Gate Business Association. Anna’s experiences include small business, nonprofit, leadership, and digital marketing.

To know more about Anna and her work, you may visit Colibri Digital Marketing or reach out to her on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Powerful Quotes

“So for me, it would never be satisfying to just sell widgets or even to just sell marketing. I feel like there needs to be an impact behind it.”

“Because there's a whole huge, larger misconception about digital marketing and about the internet in general, that it's kind of like, you know, a meritocracy or you succeed because you're offering something good. That is not why. The reason is that you put time and money into it.”

“SEO is kind of like real estate. You know how realtors will tell you the best time to buy a home was five years ago, and the second-best time is now. So if you don't have an SEO strategy, certainly get started. Because you know, it's a long game.”

“SEO drives traffic to your site. And then what happens when they get there? So the user experience can cause people to bounce, or it can cause people to convert. So compelling images are really important.”

“I think many, if not most, people are not on their financial game. They're not educated; they don't understand business finance. They don't look at their finances regularly, you know, they can kind of be ostriches about it.”

Enjoy this Podcast?

As a mission-driven female entrepreneur, formulating a marketing strategy can be intimidating. However, learning more about the concepts behind SEO can give you an edge that will allow your business to grow. If you enjoyed today's episode of Her CEO Journey Podcast, then hit subscribe and share it!

Write us a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into the show, then do not hesitate to leave us a review. You can also share this episode with the women you know so they can find financial empowerment and get their ideas into the world.

Have any questions about business finance? You can contact me through LinkedIn or schedule a chat with me at any time. You can also suggest topics you're curious about for future episodes to help your business grow. Thanks for listening!

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To fueling the life you want to live,

Christina