Small Business Website SEO Tips & Tricks
Learn the Best Marketing Hacks for Small Business Website SEO
My name is Mac Frederick and I used to work for Google. Over the past 6 years I have been running my own small business digital marketing agency helping other business owners with SEO, Paid Advertising, and more!
So you run a small business and would like it to reach every prospective client it possibly can because someday you intend to make it a big corporation. But here comes the already established corporations with their bottomless pockets and their advertising budgets and big banners; and you wonder, how are you ever going to compete with that? In this article, we walk you through simple Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics for small businesses that you can tap into.
Allow us to introduce you to the internet; the great equalizer that enables your small business to have just as much a competitive advantage as the multibillion-dollar companies within your industry. However, when we talk about the internet in this context we are referring to SEO.
You must have come across the term SEO before as an avid internet user; nonetheless, it is a tool that enables your small business to reach as many prospects as possible when they search for your business or products online. When you search for a product on a search engine such as Google, Yahoo or Bing there is always a site that always appears on the top search of the first page. This is not chance, this is SEO in action.
Search engines have algorithms that detect ranking signals such as keyword use that helps them optimize products and content based on relevance, to make their search results more efficient. Your small business can take advantage of this form of efficiency to increase their search engine rankings, generate more traffic to your website, turn these visitors into leads and ultimately boost your sales exponentially. But to do this you need to understand what SEO is, how it works and what it can actually do for your small business.
What is Website SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization which is self-explanatory if you break down the term by each word’s meaning. Simply put, search engine optimization is the process of making your website a priority search within the search engines. As a priority, your website and consequently your product’s visibility online is increased when people use search engines to look for either your products, services, or content related to your business.
How Does it Do That?
Brace yourself, because this is where it gets a bit technical. Search engines use bots that scan through website pages uploaded on the World Wide Web collecting every bit of data and organizing it in files. These files are then analyzed using algorithms within the search engines looking for ranking signals which fundamentally entail keywords, internal and external links, and their strategic use. These signals will help the algorithms determine which site is the best possible solution to a particular query; say for instance, “Where to find dogs for adoption in California.” Based on each sites’ performance on their ranking signals, a search engine ranking is developed and this is what will determine where your site appears when a random person searches for your services, products, or business online.
To bring it closer home; imagine the internet as one big library and the algorithms as the librarian. The bots are library employees that organize the content in files, and the algorithms are the effective librarian that reads all the books and makes sure the books are organized on shelves based on relevance. The most relevant book on a particular section gets the first spot on the shelf, making it the most likely book to be picked up by a curious reader.
Metaphors aside you must be wondering, “What does all of this have to do with my small business?”
What Can SEO Do for My Small Business?
SEO is a highly underrated online marketing tool because most firms do not understand the potential it holds in terms of efficiency and Return on Interest. Most people would go for social media marketing, email advertising, or paid ads. However, all these online channels require a hands-on approach and significant capital regularly injected into the marketing projects before you can realize any return on interest.
SEO on the other hand requires dedication on the onset which may take a while; once the foundation has been laid you require very little intervention to get it going. The most beautiful part is that you only invest revenue on the project at the beginning and once that is done, you get to sit back and watch your return on interest grow exponentially. Think about it, this is ideal for a small business manager who does not have the resources to run multiple hands-on online marketing projects while trying to grow their business.
Save Your Money
A lot of businesses opt for alternative online channels that seem more direct and require a shorter term to apply. A common alternative to SEO is Google Ads, which is paid per click. Other popular alternatives include social media and email marketing. These channels are effective at getting visitors that click on a website but play no part in making them stay. Ultimately, you end up paying for clicks that have not generated any leads.
SEO on the other hand gives you both quality and quantity because if your content ranks higher on Google, it means that it has been verified to have the content that will keep the visitors on your site. This translates to a steady stream of traffic to your website that transforms into leads and sales; and you did not have to break the bank to make it happen.
Watch Your Website Visits Grow
Of course, not every visitor will buy your product; some are just curious, while others are researching before coming to a final conclusion. All in all, if they like your content they are bound to act accordingly. This means that they may come again and again, and even share your link to other interested users who may share to others and it becomes a chain reaction that drives traffic to your website.
Boost Your Leads
Your small business website with SEO now has increased traffic. That is a myriad of internet users that either require your service or product or are interested in the same. With the right website SEO content for your small business, you are guaranteed to capture their attention and thus compel them to act accordingly. This means that they will either buy, your products, share your content, or save your page for when they are ready to engage your business. These are quality leads and website SEO strategies can help you boost them substantially.
Still, need a little more convincing? Check the numbers.
Numbers Don’t Lie
Research has shown that companies that use SEO bring in 68% more leads compared to companies that do not. Unfortunately, a significant number of small businesses have not taken advantage of this merit because they don’t have a website.
A lot of small businesses rely on word of mouth and small-scale social media advertising as more affordable alternatives to their marketing strategies.
These small business managers, however, fail to grasp the concept of the value for money that SEO offers. But if you follow the numbers you will realize why SEO works for the businesses that apply it.
53% of online shoppers always conduct research on a product and vary their options before making a purchase. It just so happens that websites are 74% more popular for conducting such research; making them the most popular channels for online shopping research. With clear online visibility and a high SEO ranking, these shoppers will end up at your site, giving you the first opportunity at convincing them that your product is the best.
How To Get SEO Working For Your Small Business
SEO is constantly advancing because search engine algorithms are constantly evolving to give users more proficient results. Their aim is to get users to stay on the page they display first, rather than drift onto ten other pages due to dissatisfaction. SEO aims to make that page your small business’s website page. To achieve this you need to understand the workings of Small Business Website SEO.
The following is a detailed compilation of the key factors used by Google’s algorithms to determine which site to rank highest based on online user behavior patterns. We chose Google it since is the most popular search engine, garnering over 90% of the world’s searches.
Keyword Use
Consider the words a prospective client will most likely use when searching for your services. This is what will guide Google in setting you up in the right index. These keywords are fundamental to your website’s visibility as it places your business in the right industry context, in a platform where billions of business post their content. Your status is improved by the number of relevant keywords you have on your website content, regardless of whether they are actually English words or slang terms; as long as they are popularly used they are golden. With the right keyword count of between 20 to 50 unique keywords, the goal is to strategically fix them on the content within your website. Now the Small Business Website SEO foundation for your small business has been laid.
High-Quality Content
Filling your small business website SEO with a bunch of keywords will not determine the success of your SEO function. You need quality content, and the Google algorithms can tell. Remember that Google’s aim is to give their users the best quality results hence they will rank your website based on the quality it presents to their users. The trick here is to strategically use the keywords to fit within your content seamlessly; using queries that are common to your potential clients while giving them the most useful solutions.
Use Natural Links
It is good news for your website rankings and indexing if another website links back to yours. Google uses this as a determinant of useful content. However, you cannot trick the Google algorithms by convincing a bunch of numerous random website owners to post your link on their page. These backlinks have to be natural otherwise you will be detected and diminish your rankings even further. You could, however, find a site of a company within your industry and make exchange backlinks. Do your research and make sure it is a worthwhile website and business otherwise you would be making a bad link trade.
Sell Your Brand
On your website, you have descriptions sections and meta-title provisions that are meant to guide your visitors on what your brand is about and whether they are on the right page. Use these sections effectively when it comes to SEO strategies if you want to rank higher on Google. This is the part where you sell your business; describe what you do as candidly as possible and sell your brand’s unique features that make you the ideal business companion for your clientele.
Organize Your Site
Organize your content to make it easier to visit, navigate through, and access modes. To do this start by putting your descriptions on the URL. Having a descriptive URL makes it easier to share your link which would translate to more referrals and visits. Yes, the Google algorithms monitor your visits and referrals because that is how you stay on top of the search engine rankings. Header tags for your content also help organize your website well. They improve your website’s navigation features and provide a strategic opportunity to use some of those keywords.
Now You Know more about Small Business Website SEO!
Once you are all set up, remember that being patient is part of the SEO process, it may take some time to see results, but when you see them you will be glad you chose SEO as a marketing tool for your small business website.
If we have convinced you to leverage Small Business Website SEO for your company, know that this article is only a starting point; there is still much more to learn before you can effectively apply SEO for your business website.
However, the beauty of it is that all you need to know can easily be found on the internet. And in case you find all this overwhelming, worry not; you can always seek out the professional assistance of an SEO agency like Momentum Digital.
You have the knowledge, now go forth and tap into website SEO to make your small business the best it can be.
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