Building A Winning Holistic Search Strategy

The Importance of Having a Holistic Search Strategy

When I started my small business, I thought that having a website and some social media accounts were enough to attract customers. However, after a few months of not seeing any significant growth, I realized that I was missing a crucial component of digital marketing: a holistic search strategy.

A holistic search strategy involves optimizing all the different channels through which potential customers can find your business, including search engines, social media, local directories, and other websites. By having a strong presence across all these channels, you increase your chances of being found by people who are looking for what you offer.

In the rest of this article, I will share with you 3 steps that you can take to build a winning holistic search strategy that will help your business grow.

Step 1: Conduct a Comprehensive SEO Audit

The first step in building a holistic search strategy is to conduct a comprehensive SEO audit of your website. This entails analyzing your website's technical structure, content, backlinks, and other factors that impact your search engine rankings.

For example, you can use a tool like Google Analytics to identify which pages on your site are performing well and which ones are not. You can also use a tool like SEMrush to analyze your backlink profile and identify opportunities to build more high-quality backlinks.

By conducting a thorough SEO audit, you can identify the areas of your website that need improvement and develop a plan to address them.

Example: After conducting an SEO audit, a law firm discovered that their website was not optimized for local search. They implemented a local SEO strategy that included creating Google My Business listings for each of their offices, optimizing their website for local keywords, and building local citations. As a result, their website's organic traffic increased by 30% in just 3 months.

Step 2: Optimize Your Social Media Profiles

The second step in building a holistic search strategy is to optimize your social media profiles. Social media channels, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, are important sources of traffic and can help you reach a broader audience.

When optimizing your social media profiles, make sure that you complete all the fields, including your business name, address, phone number, and website URL. Use high-quality images and videos that showcase your products or services, and post regularly to keep your followers engaged.

Example: A fashion retailer optimized their Instagram profile by adding their website URL to their bio, updating their profile picture to a high-quality photo of their latest collection, and using relevant hashtags in their posts. As a result, their Instagram followers increased by 20% in just one month, and they saw a 10% increase in website traffic from Instagram.

Step 3: Build Relationships with Influencers and Partners

The third and final step in building a holistic search strategy is to build relationships with influencers and partners who can help promote your business and increase your online visibility.

Find influencers in your niche who have a large following on social media or a popular blog. Reach out to them and offer them something of value, like a free product or service, in exchange for a review or shoutout. You can also look for partners who offer complementary products or services and collaborate on joint marketing campaigns.

Example: A fitness studio built relationships with local health and wellness bloggers and offered them a free week of classes in exchange for a review on their blog. They also partnered with a local smoothie bar to offer a discount to their customers who attended the fitness studio's classes. As a result, the fitness studio saw an increase in online reviews and referrals from the smoothie bar.