SEO Tips For Startups With Little Or No Budget

If you have an online business, then getting found on the search engines should be the central to everything you do. But what if you have a great idea but don't have the knowledge? And what can you possibly do if you just don't have enough money to invest in outsourcing?

If either of those scenarios rings true for you, then read on. We'll give you some great ideas on how to SEO your business without spending a fortune.

Learn It Yourself

There is so much information about SEO on the Internet, and if you have the time you can just use it all to teach yourself. The go-to place for many SEO professionals is Moz.com. They have an incredible array of information for all levels of ability and knowledge, and even offer some great tools that you can use to get started. Some of them are paid program, but many of them are free for a 30-day trial. Head over there and check out what's going on. You can also take a look around some of the many SEO forums that people frequent for vital info. Now, we won't name them here because there are some dubious tactics involved, but they can be great places if you take them with a pinch of salt.

Hire A Specialist Firm

SEO companies can be expensive, of that there is no doubt. But there are a new breed of businesses that can reduce your initial costs. Let's say that you need to make more sales to raise money to invest in an SEO specialist. But without the SEO work, you won't get the traffic you need to make your money. In this case, look for a firm like WME, who offer a pay on performance SEO service. It's like a no win-no fee lawyer. If they don't get you onto page one of Google, you won't have to pay them. And, with any luck, by the time you do get to page one, you will have the cash flow to pay them comfortably.

Offer A Stake In Your Business

Many startup companies suffer from a lack of funds, but if you can sell your idea to a specialist, you might be able to persuade them to work at discounted rates. Discuss the option of giving them a stake in the business and you can almost guarantee that they will give it their all. Sure, you will receive less money when you sell up or get funding, but there will be a lot of stages down the line where that will happen anyway. And, if they can help you with your SEO and overarching marketing plan, then it will be more valuable to you than the equivalent in cash. Because, quite simply, you may not get to that stage without it. You will need a good business lawyer in place to tick all the right boxes and keep things legitimate, so make sure you have one in place.

SEO can be expensive, but as you can see, there are different options available to get beyond the chicken and egg scenario many startups encounter. Do you have any other suggestions? If so, let us know.