SEO for Guns – we all know what guns are, but how many know what SEO is? SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving the quality of your website and increasing its visibility in search engines like Google.

With the help of SEO, your website can appear higher up in the search engine result pages (SERPs), get more traffic, and be perceived as more authoritative, and reliable.

Fret not, even though you may be hearing about this for the first time, it is not all that complicated. Today, we are going to take you on a trip to the magical world of SEO.

SEO for Guns: Why Does the Firearms Industry Need It?

Did you know that as of 2023, there are over 16,500 Gun & Ammunition Stores in the US? Chances are that almost every one of said businesses has a website.

Additionally, there are already sites that cover specific firearm topics, be it by writing gun reviews, offering guns for sale, and so forth.

The one thing in common between all of these is that they want more online traffic, to attract more customers, and ultimately to grow their business.

One underestimated tactic of achieving the desired results is through the use of search engine optimization. But what does SEO consist of, and how can you apply it to your firearms business?

On-Page vs. Off-Page SEO

First off, let’s define on-page and off-page SEO. In simpler terms, the first is everything you can do yourself to improve your rankings (content, structure of pages, metadata, etc.).

The latter is anything you can optimize through external factors, like backlinks from other sites, social media mentions, reviews, and so forth.

Now, let’s review some of the main aspects of on-page optimization.

Title Tags SEO

Titles are an indispensable part of every website page, and their tags are too, since they’re displayed as part of the search snippet in a search engine results page.

It gives everyone, both people and bots or crawlers, an idea of what the page is about, and can entice users to click on your page, be it because of the catchy title, or because it matches what they are looking for.

The ideal length of your title tag should be between 50–60 characters, and it must contain your target keyword, for instance, “the history of guns”.

Optimizing your title tags is one of the factors that can contribute to your page ranking higher.

How to Write Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are another important aspect of gun SEO. They provide a short page summary and encourage users to click on your page.

Some of the best practices for writing meta descriptions include:

• Be unique, descriptive, and relevant to your page . It is best if every page has a unique description, so copy-pasting the same information every time is not the best way to go. Also, make sure you make it relevant, instead of going for vague descriptions.
• Add only important information . Be concise when writing your meta descriptions. Readers should be able to tell what the page is about at a glance.
• Keep the length to 105 characters (680 pixels) . If your description is longer than that, it will be cut from the search results.
• Include the target keyword/s . The main keyword in the meta description is usually bolded, making it not only easier to see, but further encouraging users to click on the page.
• Tell your readers what you want them to do (call to action) . Be direct. Tell readers what you want them to do. If they need to click on something, direct them to that. If they want a free trial, then show them where to go.

Internal Linking for SEO

Internal links, or links that lead to other pages on your website, are key to helping sites rank better.

Strategic placement of internal links can benefit page authority. What’s more, it can make it easier for Google to find and index your pages.

The word(s) where you place your links are called anchor texts. It is best to use keywords in your anchor texts. For example, if you mention pistol braces in your text, you should have a page about it that you can link to making it an anchor, just as we did.

SEO Keyword Research

Keyword research is the essence of SEO. If you are just writing, without intentionally wanting to rank well, then you can skip it altogether.

However, if you are serious about boosting the visibility of your firearms, then you need to invest time in researching the keywords that are best for you. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Decide which keywords to target . You need to find the keywords that best fit your website and what you are selling or offering.
• Understand search intent . It is important to understand what the intent behind a search is. Do people want to find information on guns, or are they looking for a specific firearm? Take a look at pages that have already ranked for the search term, and analyze what they have done, then try to create an even better go-to resource.
• Keyword popularity . You might end up ranking on the first page or even be number one for a search, just to find out that there is almost no one looking for that keyword. The search volume or popularity of a keyword is important, as it indicates how many times the keyword is searched per month. While you might not be able to immediately rank for keywords with hundreds of monthly searches, you would also, ideally, not want to target low volume keywords.

Here is an example of keyword volume/popularity, using the keyword “guns for self-defense”, using one of the most popular tools SEO tools, Semrush:

As you can see, “gun for self-defense” has a high volume of 720. It might be logical to think it would be better to target that key phrase, instead of “best gun for self-defense concealed carry”.

While the latter has a much lower volume of 110, it is a long-tail keyword, which means that it is more specific, and you actually benefit from choosing to use that keyword, instead of the higher-volume one.

Content Writing for SEO

You may, or may not, be familiar with the saying that content is king. The truth is that content – or what your site contains – can really make a huge difference in terms of website traffic, and performance in the SERPs. 

Sure, firearms are a serious topic, but that does not mean that your site and its contents need to be dull and unexciting. There are many ways to make content exciting. A blog about firearms is a great way to help your site gain expertise within the industry and show others you are an authority on the subject.

Of course, when you are writing content with SEO in mind, you also have to be mindful of using keywords, as well as other things like proper content structure, formatting, and communicating to your target audience.

Homepage SEO

One of the most important pages on your website is the homepage. More often than not, it is the first page on your site that people will see. Therefore, it should be visually appealing, well-structured, and easy to navigate.

Homepage SEO involves getting your homepage out there and searchable. This includes finding the right keywords to target, writing well-optimized content, building backlinks, etc.

The end goal is to strengthen your website authority, help you rank for branded keywords, and last but not least, make a great first impression on website visitors.

Link-Building Strategies

Getting backlinks to your site is a crucial part of search engine optimization, since they show search engines like Google that your site’s reputable, especially if other high-authority sites are linking to it.

Here are a few ways of getting other sites to backlink to your site:

• Organic link-building . Write high-quality content that adds value to your site, and other websites will eventually start linking to your materials, and resources.
• Paid links . You acquire these links by directly paying for them.
• Guest blogging . You can offer to write posts for other websites, and in return, they link back to your site.
• User-generated links . This is where people mention your website and add a link to it in forums, blog comments, user profile pages, and so on.

Google EEAT

Google EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is how Google determines trustworthiness, and it is vital if you want to improve not only your search rankings but your online visibility as well.

Summary

Firearms SEO is vital to the online presence and visibility of your firearms business. It can be your secret weapon. 

Without the proper search engine optimization tactics, you are practically leaving your entire online business to chance.

Stay tuned for more useful firearms industry marketing tips, and don’t hesitate to become a part of our community.