Sohrab Vazir
Consultant | Founder | Global Citizen | Writer
Category Archives: E-Commerce
4 Free SEO Keyword Research Tools
Free SEO keyword research tools can be very helpful for new founders or small businesses with limited budgets. Keyword research enables you to understand what your customers are searching for online. Therefore, it’s a tool to also understand what search terms people use to discover products, services or information. In this article, I want to highlight 3 free SEO keyword research tools which you can use to get started. If you want to read more about keyword research, this article by Hubspot provides plenty of information. So, let’s get started with our free SEO keyword research tools: 1. Ahrefs Ahrefs has a comprehensive set of SEO tools, including a free SEO keyword research tool. This tool allows you to discover search phrases across custom countries as well as categorise the keywords via metrics such as monthly search volume. 2. Quora That’s correct, I placed Quora on this list. And no, it’s not by mistake either…. For those who are unfamiliar, Quora is a social question-and-answer platform. In my personal experience as a founder, it has been instrumental in understanding my target market. The benefit of Quora is that it allows you to discover “actual” real-world questions that people have. Hence, you can use this to your advantage. Let’s demonstrate this in an example: Example: You want to discover what people are searching for in relation to resume writing/career advice. By searching for a resume, as you can see in the image, you will see a whole list of different questions around that topic. By being strategic and using this information to your advantage, you can discover plenty of SEO keywords for free. 3. Reddit Similar to Quora, this is another odd one in the group of free keyword research tools. Reddit is also a social platform that works on the basis of questions and answers. The principle is to target social platforms that have a “community” function with questions/answers. These can be beyond helpful in SEO keyword research and planning. 4. Google Trends Google Trends is one of the most helpful free keyword research tools. This tool enables you to analyse and evaluate the popularity of custom search phrases and keywords across different locations. These are some of the most helpful free SEO keyword research tools. If you’re interested in this topic, check out my other article on 5 free awesome SEO tools. Need help with your SEO & Digital Marketing? I have over 6 years of experience in this area and offer tailored services to founders and businesses of all sizes. About My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international student (graduate), I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business, StudyFlats which I scaled to over 30 UK cities. I currently help other entrepreneurs and businesses of all size with the digital marketing strategy around SEO, copywriting and content.
Free Courses For New Founders
In this day and age, free courses for new founders can be super helpful. Starting a new business comes with many challenges and budget is usually the biggest. Therefore, in this article I will share a list of free courses for new founders as a starting point for your entrepreneurship journey. Of course, it must be noted that these courses are primarily centred around digital tools. Therefore, this article may not be applicable to founders seeking a non-digital free course. Introduction to Generative AI | Free Course by Google Great introductory course for founders and other individuals to understand the basics of Generative AI. Introduction to Large Language Models (LLM) | Free Course by Google This is a useful course for founders who wish to develop their own GenAI applications. Google Analytics | Free Course by Google Google Analytics is the fundamental tool that allows you to track your online presence as a founder. Therefore, it’s really important to prioritise learning about Google Analytics as you start your own business. Google Search Console | YouTube Series by Google Search Central Next up is Google Search Console. I mentioned how awesome Google Search Console is in another article about 5 Free Awesome SEO Tools. Google Search Console is the tool that will enable you to track the keywords that your website is ranking for. Of course, the features are far more detailed, but that’s the essential function of Google Search Console Google Digital Garage | Free Course by Google Google Digital Garage offers courses within a number of areas, most notably digital marketing. “The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing” course is free and also comes with a certificate which you can add to your resume or LinkedIn profile too. Digital Marketing Course | Free Course by HubSpot Academy One of the really useful free courses for new founders is the Digital Marketing Course offered by HubSpot academy. It covers the key elements of digital marketing which is very useful for every new business owner. Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace | Course on Udemy Right, so with this last one I wanted to highlight a different angle. So much of the current trends and directions are towards acquiring technical and commercial skills. Over the years there has been increasing attention towards “soft skills”, especially those applicable to the workplace such as emotional intelligence. Therefore, it was worth mentioning a free course for new founders that targets their interpersonal competencies. Introduction to Microsoft Excel | Course on Coursera Being proficient with Excel can go a long way, and therefore this course hosted on Coursera can be very useful to new founders Build a free website with WordPress | Course on Coursera This course is very useful if you wish to build a website for your founders, especially for smaller and more basic projects. Business Growth: Start-Ups, Investment and Negotiation | Stanford Useful course for first-time founders and/or business owners. These are some of the best free courses for new founders… For more insights check out my blog + discover more about my advisory learning programs for new founders below. About | My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international student (graduate), I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business, StudyFlats which I scaled to over 30 UK cities. I currently help other entrepreneurs and businesses of all size with the digital marketing strategy around SEO, copywriting and content. For more info, please visit here.
5 Reasons Why Your Website is Failing You
Are you struggling with lead conversion or a consistently high bounce rate? The issue could be your website and today I’ll share 5 reasons why your website may not be generating results (and what to do about it). Success requires a thorough awareness of where you need to improve. Understanding your website’s issues is the first important step towards better numbers and UX. So, here are 5 areas of potential improvement: Okay so let’s start with an obvious one. If your website’s design is old, too basic or simply visually unappealing, it will take a toll on your conversions. Yes, you could get away with this in the 2000s or even early 2010s. However, with all the tools available today, there’s no excuse for bad design. Solution There are so many design options available that require minimal technical skills. Nonetheless, this is mostly the case if you only require basic functionalities. If you do not require a complex website, Content Management Systems (CMS) are probably your best shot. The most popular example is WordPress. It offers so many different templates. Check Themeforest to get started. Well, I probably don’t need to write too much about this one. We all hate slow computers and websites. In many cases, speed is the primary reason why websites are inadequate. There could be various reasons for this one, and it could get technical depending on how your website is made. Solution As a first step, run a speed test on Google’s free tool: PageSpeed Insights. This tool informs you of the steps you can take to improve your website’s speed. The solutions depend on your website, your technical skills and whether you have a developer or not. The font that you use makes a tremendous difference to the overall feel & UX. Solution Make sure you invest a substantial amount of time and attention to the font that you will use. This is applicable whether you are manually adding a font or purchasing a pre-made template. As well as UX and aesthetics, what your website contains is the ultimate factor. Content is what will keep your user engaged. It also determines whether they will take the next steps on your website. Thus, whether it’s from an SEO or a user retention perspective, your content is imperative. Solution Ask yourself the following questions: If you need help with content creation, especially for SEO, then contact me for help! The majority of users in many sectors visit websites on their phones. It’s so important to take an active approach in optimising your website for mobile use. Hopefully this article should give you an idea as to how you could improve your website . In this day and age, your website is essentially the front office of your business. Therefore, you are losing potential customers If it does not create a positive user experience. If you’d like help with your digital strategy, I’m a business consultant with over 6 years of experience in digital enterprise. Find out more about my services here! About My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international student (graduate), I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business, StudyFlats which I scaled to over 30 UK cities. I currently help other entrepreneurs and businesses of all size with the digital marketing strategy around SEO, copywriting and content. For more info, please visit here.