DIY SEO Best Practices for the Equine Professional

Stand Out Online: How to Get Found in a Crowded Marketplace

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial for any business with a website looking to establish a strong online presence. Since most people research online before purchasing, SEO helps Google find your site and connect you with potential customers seeking the equine products or services you offer.

Whether your equine business is a horse sales or boarding business, an equine products or tack retailer, a large animal veterinary practice, or a therapeutic riding program or horse rescue — remember that proper SEO takes time, and everything you do does not produce results overnight. Be patient. However, there are a few critical actions you can take.

The Fundamentals

One of the best marketing strategies you can leverage is bringing awareness and organic traffic to your website and your business — that is where best practices SEO comes in.

Google’s primary goal is to provide an excellent experience to their search customers. By optimizing your content (i.e., aligning your content with a Google search intent), you are helping Google. In turn, Google rewards you by displaying your content higher in the results.

Why Is This Important?

Let’s sum it up with a simple question…

Where do you hide a dead body? On the SECOND page of Google. Why? Because it’s a place where no one looks.

SEO requires testing and adjustment to get the best results. But once you nail it, the return is impressive and pretty exciting as you make it onto page ONE of the search results for your top keywords.

Using a complex algorithm, Google will rank your website based on many variables, including:

• Overall quality and relevancy of your online content (as it relates to the search)
• Speed and performance of the website
• Quantity of content
• Optimized images with meta-tags
• High-quality links (internal and external) to build authority

The SEO Checklist for the Equine Professional

1. Strong Keywords

Keywords are part of the formula, but you must get this right. Targeting the right keywords is critical. What “words” will your prospect use to search for your business?

• Choose long-tail keywords with local or niche mention (e.g., “horse boarding facility in Lexington, KY”).
• Check the competitiveness of the keywords you choose (validate with tools like Ubersuggest or Google Autocomplete).

Targeting low-competition keywords is one of the best ways to achieve a quick SEO win because you can rank fast and high. Consider three to five long-tail keywords that target specific questions or needs within the equine community. Long tail keywords get less traffic, but they tend to have higher conversion rates because they are more specific.

2. On-Page SEO

Optimize web page content, using the keywords naturally in the content and including the keyword throughout:

• Title Tag: Include primary keyword
• H1 Tag: Reflect or match keyword
• URL: Short, clear, and includes keyword
• Content: 800–1200 words, keyword 2–3 times
• Images: Use alt text with keyword
• FAQ Section: Include related questions

Ensure meta titles, descriptions, and headers include relevant keywords.

3. Mobile Optimization

Cell phone ownership has skyrocketed. With nearly 7 billion smartphone users worldwide, your website must be mobile-friendly. Be sure your website, including images and videos, is optimized for mobile.

4. Google Search Console

Create an XML sitemap and submit it via Google Console. Use the URL inspection tool to request indexing and manually submit the homepage and 1 or 2 key pages. This immediately gets you on Google’s radar without waiting for natural site crawling.

5. Backlinking

To build trust with Google, set up backlinks in the following places:

• Google business profile
• Yelp, Facebook, and LinkedIn
• Begin creating regular blog content and publish it on Medium and similar sites, then link to them (target keywords)
• Look for niche directories that are local and industry-specific

Seek opportunities for backlinks from reputable equine-related websites. Include guest equine blogs or forums on your website.

6. Social Media Engagement

Share your blog content or new website on social media platforms. Encourage followers to engage and share your content.

• Use services like Ping-o-Matic to alert search engines your blog is live.
• Post in relevant forums, communities, and social media groups.

In Summary

Keyword planning and SEO take time to see results (2–3 months), so do not expect to be Google’s #1 result immediately! But the wins are surely going to be worth your effort. Here are some tools that will help not only measure your progress but optimize your SEO:

• Google Analytics: Set up Google Analytics to track website traffic and user behavior.
• Google Search Console: Monitor site performance, search queries, and indexing issues.
• Keyword Tracking: Use tools to track keyword rankings and performance over time.

This SEO primer should give you a solid foundation for optimizing an equine industry-related website for search engines.

Follow these SEO best practices to improve your search rankings and grow your equine business!

Do you need help with SEO, your content strategy, or creating a consistent flow of high-quality SEO-optimized blog content?