SEO Tips and Basics for Small Business Owners

In a study conducted by Hallam Internet, a small business owner of a waste management company saw an 87% increase in website traffic by implementing strong small business SEO strategies, and it’s not hard to see why. With the Coronavirus pandemic keeping everyone inside, a business’s presence on google’s first-page search results is becoming one of the best ways to increase visibility for small businesses.

But small business search engine optimization (SEO) is tricky. It takes time to understand, build, and see the returns. And there are as many strategies as there are businesses. Knowledge of what SEO for smb is and what strategies best suit a business are essential for maximizing that investment.

What is SEO for Small Businesses?

Search Engine Optimization for small businesses is the practice of making small business websites show up on search engines like Google or Bing. This is done through editing parts of your website to make them easier for search engines to find and establishing your site’s legitimacy to users.

1. Websites – A site that loads fast and is easy for users to navigate goes a long way towards boosting SEO for SMB.
2. On-Page – Websites use structured content to tag key features of their content, which search engines use to serve high-quality search results to users. Making sure that your website’s content is structured properly is vital to increasing a business’s web pages rank.
3. Content – Crafting content around what words or phrases businesses demographic will use when searching for a business-AKA Target Keywords-determines what search results in a business shows up in, increasing the quality of the leads.
4. Content Marketing – Good content marketing can turn potential customers into brand loyal consumers. By regularly serving content to their customers, a business keeps their consumer base engaged with their business and creates new opportunities for that base to spread the word.
5. Local SEO – Local SEO is how local businesses can target consumers in their area. By managing their business on directories like Yelp and Google, they tell search engines where they’re located and increase their chances to show up in a “near me” search. 
6. Authority Building – Search Engines don’t just look at what’s on your website. They’re looking at who’s on your site, how they got to your site, and how long they stay on. Through smart link building, content marketing, and good web page design, a small business website can build authority and stand out from its competitors.

Will SEO Help Your Business?

The short answer: Yes, if done right. Our small business SEO company experience shows that it is part of technology, psychology, and art. It requires striking a balance between the three. A website needs to be built well, designed with consumer behavior in mind, and look pretty to do its job well. 

The real question is, what SEO strategy will help my business? 

Issues with SEO that Small Business Owners Meet

The biggest hurdles that small business owners need to overcome with SEO boil down to what we all wish we had more of; time, money, and knowledge. SEO requires a lot of research, planning, and analysis to be effective. And while there are free tools that can be used to create analytics or research keywords, you may need to outsource your web design, content writing, social media management, or any of the other tasks required to keep your spot at the top of a Search Engine Result Page (SERP). 

It’s important that small business owners understand fundamental SEO basics so that they can effectively allocate their resources towards optimizing their presence online. 

Creating Effective Small Business SEO Strategies

There is no one-size-fits-all with SEO for SMB. Depending on a business’s target demographic and what products or services they provide, some strategies will yield high returns while others will be ineffective. While it’s tempting to cast a wide net, the wider the net the more competition there will be. Creating content around commonly used keywords like “dinner” or “burger” may see a small mom-and-pop burger joint competing with the likes of Applebees or TGIF. 

The key to crafting effective small business SEO strategies is to build them around a niche demographic. 

Research Niche

Finding the right combination of words and phrases that describe your business are key component of good SEO. While finding the combos may take some trial and error, there are a few things you can do to get a solid start. 

• Come up with a list of words/phrases that describe your business, your location, and your products/services that people may use to find your business online. 
• Use those same words/phrases in tools like SEMRush’s Keyword Magic Tool to find out how often those searches are made and how many other businesses are using those words on those sites. (What you want is more people searching those words, fewer businesses using them.) 

What you have left is a list of target keywords to craft your online presence around. 

Prepare Your Website

SEO starts with a strong website. In order grow your web presence, your website will need: 

• Web pages with details about your product or service, information about your business, and a way to contact you. 
  • When creating your web pages, don’t forget to edit the meta descriptions for that page! This is what shows up as the snippet on a search results page and is another opportunity to add target keywords to your page!
• A user-friendly design with easy navigation.
• Analytics tools that monitor your website’s performance. 

One of the great things about SEO for small business websites is that a lot of the tools you’ll need are free! All you need to do is create an account and insert some code into the backend of your website. Most website platforms, like Squarespace, Wix, and even a lot of WordPress themes, will have places in their editor for you to put this code with ease. 

• Google Analytics is a free tool you can sign up for that will allow you to look at website traffic, user behavior, site uptime, sales, and so much more. 
• Google Search Console is another free tool from Google where you can submit your sitemap to Google, track your site’s health, and see which pages Google can find and which it can’t.
• Bing Webmaster – Bing’s version of Google Analytics, it will let you see how your site is performing from Bing’s search engine.

Create a Marketing Plan

With your website setup, it’s time to start planning how you’re going to reach out to your target demographic. This plan should include:

• How you will add new web pages to your site in a way that stays consistent with the pages you already have.
• What kind of content you will create to generate buzz about your business.
• When, where, and how often you plan to publish this content. 
• What goals you want your marketing to achieve and how you’re going to track your progress. 

Create Content

Content marketing can do a lot for business. Along with generating interest it can also establish your professional authority and provide a way for your consumer base to engage with you.

Think about the difference between receiving an ad in the mail for a plumbing service with an offer for a free inspection versus googling an article on “5 ways to keep your drain from clogging” with the same offer at the bottom. The mail ad just contains an offer, while the article verifies that the plumber knows what they’re talking about, gives memorable advice, and provides potential incentive for a follow up. 

For your business, this could be any number of things. You could write blog posts, make videos, or post tips on social media. As long as you post consistently and interact with your audience (responding to comments, reviews, or messages), you’re golden. 

Do some Local SEO

Lastly, it’s important for you to claim your business on directories such as Google and Yelp. Oftentimes these directories will create pages for your business regardless of whether or not you have an account with them. Claiming these pages will allow you to update them with information about your business hours and services, as well as respond to reviews. 

• You can claim your business on Google by creating a Google My Business account. 
• You can claim your business on Yelp by creating a business account on Yelp. 

Do some digging into your community as well. It’s possible you may be able to add your business to a local directory like your town’s website.

You Have Website But Don’t See Results

That could be for a number of reasons. Maybe you just recently launched your site, maybe you still need to set up a Google My Business account or you still haven’t nailed down the right keywords to use. SEO is a long game strategy, it’ll take time to build the kind of momentum that brings results. Still, if you’ve hit a roadblock with yourSEO  marketing, consider: 

• Reevaluating your keywords. 
• Looking at engagement on the content you’re putting out. 
• Reaching out to a consultant for advice. 

Should You Hire Professionals To Solve Your Problems?

Small business owners absolutely should consider hiring someone who specializes in SEO for SMB. Doesn’t matter if you’re tech savvy or not, search engine optimization requires a constant eye on marketing trends, search engine algorithm updates, and user behavior. It can be easy to fall behind while you’re running your business. 

This doesn’t mean that you need to hire someone full time. Depending on your level of need, you could try enlisting a consultant or an agency to help you meet your goals. 

• If you’re comfortable managing your own web presence, consider an SEO specialist to do keyword research, audit your site, and recommend changes. Specialists are a great cost effective way to assist you while you take care of the rest. 
• If you’d rather leave the website management to someone else then consider using a marketing firm or agency. Firms and agencies are staffed with professionals that specialize in every corner of marketing from SEO to social media, ensuring that your business reaps the benefit of a robust online presence.
• If you’re a local business, hire someone in your own backyard. With research, any specialist can make a plan that works. But only someone local will tell you why it works. I.e. If you’re selling pizza in NYC, a marketing firm in Cleveland might be able to use their experience marketing for Pizza Hut, but only a digital marketing agency will tell you why your pies are the best in Hell’s Kitchen. 

Summing Up: Why SEO Is Important for Small Business?

Traditional avenues of reaching potential customers are disappearing. Today’s consumers have ad-blockers installed on their browsers, they throw away junk mail, they’re not interested in businesses approaching them. They want what they discover on their own. Whether they see someone share a link to your website on social media, they find a review of your business on Yelp, or you’re at the top of  their next search, SEO is how you get their eyes on your business.