The practice of increasing visibility on a search engine like Google, Yahoo!, or Bing is called search engine optimisation, or SEO. Any online presence and digital marketing strategy must include SEO.
Increasing search engine optimisation (SEO) is a reasonably cheap and easily implemented strategy that helps small businesses grow online visibility for their products and services. This can increase the website’s traffic and the company’s enquiries.
Especially for companies with physical locations, optimising local SEO can be a potent strategy to make sure a business gets people in the region.
SEO's Advantages for Small Businesses
Optimising SEO for small businesses can benefit them in several ways, such as:
- Increasing web traffic is crucial for e-commerce companies in particular, but it can also tangentially result in more people visiting physical stores.
- Increased online visibility: A business’s website’s listing position on a search engine can be enhanced by having a higher SEO ranking. Users are more likely to visit listings that are closer to the top and on the first page of search engine results. In 2023, just 0.63% of Google Search users clicked on links from the second page.
- Better user experience: Since search engine rankings are determined by the algorithm’s assessment of a result’s usefulness, many SEO best practices are also beneficial for organising and describing content on the web in general.
How a Small Business Can Boost SEO
While utilising SEO best practices is a multi-phase, prolonged procedure, any small firm may expeditiously boost its SEO rating by following these measures.
1. Create a High-Quality Website
The quality of a website can be assessed using a variety of factors, which change based on the type of business and industry. Nonetheless, the majority of well-designed websites will be easy to navigate, transparent, and a real reflection of the company’s identity. A strong website, as seen through the lens of SEO, offers the data or resolution that prospective clients seek.
2. Set Up Google Analytics and Google Search Console
Once you have a website, follow these steps to set up a free Google Analytics account.
- Make an account using Google Analytics: This will include changing the preferences for the data you choose to give Google.
- Add a property to the account: Basically, this creates a category for the concerned firm. At this point, you can choose how you want to utilise Google Analytics and specify your reporting time zone, currency, industry category, and company size.
- Include a data stream: This is the URL of your company’s website. Additionally, you can enable or disable “enhanced measurement,” which is another term for additional data collecting.
- To configure data gathering, add tags: Depending on how your website is constructed or hosted, there are direct and indirect ways to accomplish this.
- Configure Additional settings: By doing this extra step, you can make sure that the data you need to measure the desired outcomes is collected. A list of typical settings and their results can be found on Google.
Upon creating a Google Analytics account, you may evaluate website search traffic, identify and address problems, and enhance your ranking in Google Search results by registering for a free Google Search Console account.
Here’s how to do it.
- Create a Google account.
- After adding your website to Search Console, you’ll need to confirm that you are the owner of the domain because it will show private information and give you the ability to alter how Google displays your website.
- Become acquainted with Google Search and Search Console: In order to comprehend the reports and data that Search Console produces, Google suggests familiarising yourself with both Google Search and Search Console’s basic usage guides.
- Every month or anytime the content on your website changes, check Search Console: There’s no need to analyse data every day because users will receive email warnings about any unexpected events with their website (which could signal hacking or other concerns). Nonetheless, Google advises checking in to the Search Console dashboard once a month to assess the health of your website and anytime new content is posted.
3. Create a business profile on Google
Another free option available to company owners to help customers find their establishment on Google Maps and Google Search is a Google company Profile.
It is comparatively simple to set up a Google Business Profile, which provides prospective clients with a wealth of helpful information. Here’s how to install one.
- Create a Google Business Profile by signing up.
- Check Google to confirm your business: Google will contact you via phone, text, email, or video to verify your business after you sign up. It frequently additionally examines verifications and notifies users when the review is finished.
- Make sure the data you have is accurate and up to date. Giving clients accurate and thorough information about your company makes it easier for them to find and comprehend you.
4. Perform a Basic Keyword Analysis
Finding keywords and phrases that are pertinent to your business is known as keyword research. These include terms that consumers might use to look up information about a company and its products online. Making sure your website has keywords can help your business have a more noticeable online presence because a large portion of search engine optimisation is focused on keyword optimisation.
Both free and commercial software are readily available to aid with keyword research and analysis. One helpful free tool for finding and focussing on keywords that are pertinent to your business is Google Keyword Planner. Regardless of the technology you employ, a keyword-targeting approach should strike a balance between the volume of monthly searches a certain keyword or phrase receives and how competitive it is to rank for.
For instance, certain keywords that are pertinent to your company may have a decent monthly search volume despite having minimal competition. You should consider including these into your keyword strategy.
5. Optimise All On-Page Tags
Content, HTML elements, and site architectural elements are some examples of the various components that make up an on-page element on your website.
Every small business should aim to optimise these essential on-page features for search engine optimisation.
- Page URLs: These have to be brief, straightforward, and contain pertinent keywords.
- Page titles, sometimes called title tags, tell search engines and users alike what the page is about. The page title for every page should contain the primary keyword for that page.
- Headers: Also referred to as body tags, these aid in structuring and organising a page’s information for both search engines and readers. When at all possible, headers should contain keywords and be pertinent to the content.
- Alt text: By using alt text with your images, you make it easier for screen reader users and search engines to comprehend what your photos are about.
- Meta descriptions: Relevant keywords can be used in meta descriptions, which should also accurately describe the page and encourage users to click it.
- Material: Keywords related to the business are included in both the alt text and the body of the material that is optimised for search engines. Videos, photos, and other visual content improve the readability of the information and increase the visual attractiveness of the website, which also helps with SEO ranking.
6. Local SEO Is A Priority
Any small business that wishes to draw in local clients should invest in local SEO. In 2023, 28% of smartphone searches for local items ended in a purchase, while 76% of users who made such searches visited a company within a day.
When it comes to local search optimisation, the following methods and resources are crucial:
- An account on Google My Business
- Online reviews
- Complete, reliable, and current company data in online directories
- Location pages (for physical locations) on your website
- Mobile-friendly content and a website with a localised focus. A lot of individuals check for company information on their phones, including reviews, locations, and contact information.
SEO, What Does It Stand For?
Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is the term used to describe the methods and techniques used to make your website and online content stand out and receive high search engine rankings.
Why Do Small Businesses Need Local SEO?
Small businesses, particularly those with physical locations, should place a high priority on local SEO because it makes their establishments more easily found. In 2023, 28% of people who used their smartphone to look for anything nearby made a purchase, while 76% of people who did so within a day went to a company.
Is SEO For Small Businesses Worth It?
Any small business’s digital marketing toolkit should include SEO. It’s an accessible and reasonably priced solution to improve the internet visibility and usability of your business and website.
Which Tools Are Available for Small Businesses to Monitor and Assess Their SEO Results?
Numerous tools, both free and paid, are available for monitoring and assessing SEO performance. Google provides a number of helpful free tools, such as Google My Business, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console.