get excited! small business seo gives you the competitive edge

it’s not hyperbole – begin your seo journey or lose business to your competitors

Small business SEO is no joke. Many small business owners are, of course, focused on what they do best. The problem now is that the online world has changed dramatically. Google’s number one priority is to provide searchers with what they are looking for and from reputable companies. The only way for Google to provide the best service possible is to rely on businesses to update their website. Businesses that provide local service and/or retail products must be “Google compliant” in order to attract local business.

Find out how to make sure your business gets in front of consumers looking for a business like yours in our article about Google Map Pack.

seo for small business scare tactics? really?

I’m honestly not trying to pressure or “scare” you into catching up with small business website SEO. You certainly do not have to sign up for thousands of dollars in SEO work. Don’t let that keep you from moving forward. However, you absolutely must create your SEO foundation in order to comply with online standards. It will (if it’s not already) be the only way to get the attention of new consumers and how they search. In our recent article, we talked about how more and more consumers are searching by voice to find local businesses.

Voice searching is (and has been) becoming the normal way for consumers to find businesses just like yours. You have to take some significant steps in order to keep up, though, and there’s help.

Note: There are small sections pertaining to different parts of this topic. Considering many might skip to the smaller sections, there may be some repetition…for those reading all the way through.

a solid small business seo foundation done correctly, your competition won’t see you coming

I predict that at least some of your competitors have been taking advantage of you not being there when your customers search these days. These competitors are gaining more and more new business and repeat business that you are now losing.

No doubt they have been resting on their laurels and have gotten used to the flood of business they’ve tapped into. Take your share of the windfall once you take the first steps toward a small business seo foundation. At the very least. Maybe you’ll decide to go further with SEO. Ya never know!

hopefully you are aware of google and their place in all this…let’s make sure you know the basics about seo

Simply put, SEO is the practice of optimizing a website so that it ranks as high as possible in search engine results pages (SERPs). This means that when someone searches for a product or service related to a small business, their website should ideally appear at the top of the search results. If a small business does not set up an SEO foundation for their website, they risk being buried beneath their competitors in search results and missing out on potential customers.

As a small business owner, you’re likely very aware that your online success hinges on your visibility in search engines like Google. In today’s highly competitive online world, simply having a website is not enough. Your website must be optimized to rank highly in search engine results pages for keywords that are relevant to your business and what you specialize in.

As I’ve mentioned before, there are many factors that influence search engine rankings. One of the most important is the quality of your website content. If your content is not engaging, informative, and relevant, it’s unlikely that search engines will rank your website highly.

See more about this in our article about domain authority.

how can you be sure that your content is optimized for search engine rankings?

In today’s digital age (might as well say space age), having a strong online presence is essential for any small business looking to succeed. However, with so many websites vying for attention, it can be challenging to stand out in a crowd.

That’s where small business SEO comes in. By optimizing your website for search engines, you can improve your online visibility, attract more traffic, and ultimately, gain a competitive edge. I’ll start with the basics from the top so all of this makes sense.

what does ‘small business seo’ even mean?

Again, SEO stands for search engine optimization, which refers to the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Small business SEO involves targeting specific keywords and phrases that your target audience is likely to search for online. By using a combination of on-page optimization techniques such as optimizing your website’s content, meta tags, and URLs, and off-page optimization techniques such as building high-quality backlinks, small business SEO can help improve your website’s visibility and attract more traffic.

If this all seems too technical or complicated, it’s because it is! I completely agree and understand. Don’t go through this by yourself. It’s best to have an experienced SEO consultant or someone on staff that keeps up with SEO for a small business. It’s important.

why is seo for a small business website so important?

With more than 3.5 billion searches done on Google every day in the U.S., having a strong online presence is crucial for small businesses. Done correctly, small business SEO can help you reach a wider audience and attract more potential customers to your website. By optimizing your website for search engines, you can improve your website’s visibility and attract more traffic, which can lead to more leads, sales, and revenue.

One of the main consequences of not having a SEO foundation for your website is low (or zero) traffic. If a site is not optimized for search engines, it is unlikely that it will appear in the top search results for relevant queries. This means that potential customers are less likely to find your website, leading to lower traffic and fewer sales.

Another consequence to consider is reduced brand visibility. When a website ranks higher in search results, it appears more credible and trustworthy to potential customers. If a small business’s website is not optimized for search engines, it will be difficult for potential customers to find the website and learn about the business, leading to reduced brand visibility.

Furthermore, not having a SEO foundation can also impact a small business’s bottom line. Without a strong online presence, small businesses are at risk of losing business to their competitors who have invested in SEO. In the long run, this can lead to a loss of revenue and even the closure of the business.

If you are so inclined, you can read up on Google Search Essentials.

real benefits of a small business seo foundation

online visibility increase

The higher your website ranks on search engine result pages, the more visible your website becomes to potential customers. By optimizing your website for specific keywords and phrases, you can increase your website’s visibility in search engine results pages, making it easier for potential customers to find your website.

site traffic boost

By improving your website’s visibility online, SEO can help drive more traffic to your website. More traffic carefully funneled to your website by your exact target market, the better for your business goals. Once your small business SEO foundation is set, it won’t take long to see results.

enhanced user experience

Small business SEO involves optimizing your website’s content, structure, and navigation to improve the user experience. By creating high-quality, engaging content and optimizing your website’s structure and navigation, you can make it easier for users to find the information they need on your website.

cost effectiveness

Compared to other marketing channels such as paid advertising, small business SEO can be a cost-effective way to attract more traffic to your website. While it may take some time to see results, the long-term benefits of small business SEO can be substantial.

steps toward implementing small business seo

keyword research

The first step in implementing small business SEO is conducting keyword research. This involves identifying the keywords and phrases that your target audience is likely to search for online. By targeting these keywords in your website’s content, meta tags, and URLs, you can improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages.

on-page optimization

On-page optimization involves optimizing your website’s content, meta tags, and URLs for specific keywords and phrases. This includes optimizing your website’s title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and content.

off-page optimization

Off-page optimization involves building high-quality backlinks to your website from other reputable websites. By building high-quality backlinks, you can improve your website’s authority and increase its visibility in search engine results pages.

actual number monitoring and reporting

To ensure that your small business SEO efforts are paying off, it’s essential to monitor and report on your website’s performance. This includes tracking your website’s search engine rankings, traffic, and conversions and making adjustments as needed to improve your website’s performance.

get your seo for small business hard hat on – there’s work to do

Small business SEO can give your business a competitive edge by improving your website’s visibility, attracting more traffic, and improving the user experience. By targeting specific keywords and phrases, optimizing your website’s content and structure, and building high-quality backlinks, SEO for a small business can help you outrank other websites and attract more potential customers to your website.

While SEO may take some time to see results, the long-term benefits can be substantial. By investing in small business SEO, you can attract more leads, sales, and revenue for your business and establish a strong online presence for your brand.

If you’re looking to implement small business SEO for your website, it’s essential to work with a reputable SEO consultant that understands the unique challenges and opportunities of small businesses. With the right SEO strategy in place, you can gain that competitive edge and achieve long-term success online.

please note: I will be constantly updating this article as I find new information, change my mind, or if I hear feedback that I haven’t thought of – by people like YOU. I’ll also update this article if I think of ways to improve it. Keep checking back. Share this article with those who you think could use the help and please write your comments and questions below. It could help me…and others.