SEO For Small Businesses: How To Rank Your Website

SEO For Small Businesses: How To Rank Your WebsiteSearch Engine Optimization has always been viewed as a “big brand” tool, until now. Small business SEO is the best kept marketing secret to gain a competitive edge. Small businesses do not typically have large marketing budgets to purchase pay-per-click advertising. SEO allows them to compete at only a fraction of the cost.

The world has seen many changes with varying impacts due to COVID-19. For example, an increase in online shopping has changed the way small businesses should be looking at SEO. With more shoppers turning to resources like Google to make their purchases SEO isn’t a business expense, instead, it has become an investment, even for small businesses.

The primary benefits of small business SEO include maintaining a competitive edge, high return on investment, low cost, brand development, and top-notch site traffic. Small business owners can follow these easy tips to effectively advertise with SEO and maintain a competitive business website.

Evaluate Your Businesses Website

Shoppers will be more inclined to purchase from a website with a professional appearance. They will be more likely to make repeat purchases if the website is attractive with a memorable brand. Use the business logo throughout the website to help with branding. Also, be sure to avoid any fancy designs, which could be distracting to shoppers.

Many shoppers do not use a computer but instead shop directly from their phone or tablet. Small business SEO accommodates for mobile use.
If your business website takes a long time to load a shopper may be discouraged. Make sure your website loads in less than three seconds. Your website should be easy to use and the structure should make sense.

Recognize Keywords

Brainstorm keywords that would be profitable for your business, then implement them on the web. To effectively use small business SEO you want to identify profitable words. These aren’t necessarily highly search words and phrases.

For example, say you own a hair salon. “Haircut” may be a highly searched word related to your business. That doesn’t make the word haircut an ideal keyword. Most searchers that look up “haircut” will be looking for information and not necessarily to get their haircut. Instead try, “best haircut near me”.

Use Separate Pages to Maximize Small Business SEO

Having a separate page for each product allows you to encompass additional keywords, rank higher during a search, and overall will increase your web presence. One big mistake a lot of businesses make is listing all of their products on one page. This can become information overload, and make it hard for a search engine to direct traffic to the webpage.

A good way to structure your website would be to break out each product category from the homepage. For example, if you have a home goods business, you may have individual pages for décor, home office, living room furniture, mattresses, etc. Then within those individual pages, you can create more subsections such as home > décor > pillows. The more specific you can be the better.

Utilize Schema to Maximize Profits

Schema is essential for small business SEO. By structuring data, Google can more effectively direct web traffic to your business’s webpage. Schema helps search engines understand what your business webpage is all about. Make sure your business is using the following three schemas: product, FAQ, and local business. Using schema can help your business webpage rank higher during a search, become a featured snippet, and more.

Keep Your SEO Focus Local with “Near Me”

Small businesses rely on local shoppers, so it is very important your business pops up when a shopper runs a local search. A large portion of local searches is also voice searches. Optimize your business website for “near me” and voice searches.

Online Listings Should be Relevant

Another way to stay locally relevant on the web is to keep all of your online business listings fresh. Make sure the information on your Google My Business and other online review platforms are correct. Small business SEO can help you establish a ranking that will increase web traffic and promote sales.

Take Advantage of Local Backlinks

Optimize local backlinks by asking community members to link their web presence to yours. You can reach out to your business partners and ask them to link to your website. Other avenues that could serve as backlinks include local online press and business directories.

Final Thoughts

Small business SEO is an essential investment, even at a local level, to stay relevant and competitive in today’s economy. COVID-19 has changed the way the consumer shops, increasing the relevance of an online presence. It’s time for your small business marketing plan to change too. Let the Affordable SEO Company help you find future customers and embrace the future of marketing.