In this guide, you will learn:
- What SEO is and how it impacts your small business
- What the best ways to implement SEO are for your small business
- What search engine marketing techniques will help your small business
In this guide, you will learn:
If you need information or want to know the answer to a question, what do you do? Search for it online, right? More people than ever before use search engines to find information, and that’s a big deal for small business owners.
In an increasingly competitive online world, you want your business to show up first on Google’s results page. After all, the higher up your page is, the more people will click on it.
But how do you crack Google’s Top 10 search results? The answer is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO breathes life into your website and gives Google clues as to where to rank it.
If you’re reading this and you think it sounds too technical, don’t worry! We’ve created this guide to teach you the basics of SEO!
Let’s see how you can get your site the competitive edge it needs through SEO!
Email marketing is the act of promoting a business through emails. Businesses often use emails to bring in new customers or reach out to existing customers. They do this by showcasing new offers, products, or services for their business.
Therefore, your email marketing strategy should focus on how to most effectively communicate with your customers.
One of the best ways to increase visibility on Google is to follow the SEO best practices described below. Google also sets its own rules for what you should and should not do in order to rank. Following the Google SEO guidelines increases your chances of being more visible on Google.
Google reads your content and website like a book to see if it provides high-quality and valuable information to the reader. If it does, Google will rank it based on an algorithm and place it somewhere in its search results.
How does Google know if your content is high-quality and valuable? That’s where search engine optimization comes in. Each of the steps you take to optimize your content helps give Google more clues on what the content is all about.
In order to rank on a search engine results page, you need to follow certain rules. Otherwise, the search engine will not know where to place your website. Following best practices can increase your chances of ranking in Google’s coveted Top 10.
Here are some best practices to keep in mind:
Keywords are the words and phrases people use to search for something. Whenever you use Google, you usually type in a few words that convey what you want to find. Therefore, the keywords you use on your website should align with what someone is searching for.
Each page on your site should have a main keyword. You should use this keyword the most on the page. It is especially important to use the main keyword early on, usually within the first 100 words or so.
Remember also to avoid keyword stuffing. That’s when you overload your content with the keyword in an unnecessary amount of space. A good rule of thumb is to have it appear at least once every 500 words for a 1,500-word post.
Google looks for unique content, no matter what. One of its standard practices is to avoid duplicating content from other sources. If you’re writing about something that has been done before, make sure you’re putting your own spin on it. Doing research ahead of time can tell you what others have written before.
Google doesn’t look at images the same way we do. In fact, it doesn’t see them at all. Instead, Google reads certain pieces of information about your images to make sure they pertain to your content.
Writing high-quality and informative descriptions, alt texts, and filenames is a good SEO best practice to follow. If Google reads any of these things and decides they don’t give the user a better experience, you could be penalized for it in the rankings.
Linking is one of the most valuable things you can do for SEO. Therefore, you should use internal links to connect your page to other pages on your site. Doing this allows the user to navigate easier and gives them more information at the same time.
Linking also helps give your site authority, which is something else Google looks at. If you link to an outside source for more information, Google takes that into consideration. Make sure what you link to is a good, reputable site, though. For example, sites ending in .gov, .edu, and .org are more authoritative than just the standard .com.
More and more people are using their smartphones to search for content. Because of this trend, your website needs to be mobile responsive. If users see that your site isn’t mobile-friendly, it could cause them to leave quickly.
Really, most of the SEO best practices boil down to this: Did the user have a good experience? Therefore, if you create and design content with the user in mind, you probably are practicing good SEO.
Was the user able to easily find your site through keywords? Was the information presented what they were looking for? Did it add value to the user? If you’re answering “yes” to these questions, you’re on the right track.
Yes, there is! Because good SEO has a lot of little steps to it, we’ve made a simple, downloadable PDF checklist for you! Our SEO best practices checklist reflects how seriously Frontier Marketing takes SEO and its impact on small businesses.
Check it out!
Does SEO help your small business? For small business owners looking to invest time and money into SEO for their website and content, this is a fair question.
The answer is yes! Tailoring your website and content to appear higher up in Google’s search rankings offers you many benefits. We will discuss a few of those benefits below!
While paid ads might give you a boost, the real bread-and-butter comes from regular search results. After all, 70-80% of search engine users ignore paid ads and go straight for the organic results.
When you’re a small business owner, your brand is everything. After all, you don’t have giant PR firms handling how your business is perceived. Instead, you handle it yourself. That means, the more visible your business is on Google, the more people will know about it.
Following SEO best practices can benefit your brand as well because it can improve user experience. Because of this, visitors will view your brand more favorably. In this way, SEO helps build trust between your business and the customer.
This is where the real payoff for all of that SEO you did comes in. More visitors to your site mean more opportunities to convert those leads. If those visitors see your information as valuable, they’ll be more likely to keep reading to see what you have to offer.
Your competitors are already using SEO to help their businesses. So, why shouldn’t you? Small business owners won’t spend nearly the same amount of money as bigger companies. But, well-practiced SEO is a great way to spend less and remain competitive.
Local SEO refers to people searching for something in their area. 46% of searches include the phrase “near me” or the equivalent. Small business owners use local SEO strategies to be more visible to people nearby.
What should your local SEO strategy be? Here are a few ways to boost your local SEO for better rankings:
How do you implement and track your SEO performance? There are several tools out there for small businesses to work with. Google provides a few for free. One of the biggest ones is Google Analytics.
Google Analytics tells you information about your page, including who’s visiting it, how long they’re staying, and if they’re reading your content.
Another great resource for small business owners is Frontier Marketing! Frontier Marketing specializes in website optimization techniques for small businesses to get them to rank higher on Google. Going with a digital marketing company like Frontier saves you time and money and takes a great weight off your shoulders.
There has never been a better time to use search engines for marketing. After all, everything that goes into SEO boosts your business’ visibility. So, how do you get started? The best way is to plan out a strategy.
As with anything else, a well-thought-out SEO strategy will benefit your business. When thinking about SEO, you need to answer a few questions first:
These are just a few ways to get started using SEO. Above all, remember to keep using SEO best practices. Those best practices will do more for your search ranking than anything else.
Search engine optimization cannot be ignored by small business owners. However, taking those steps to optimize your site can seem daunting. But we can help! Frontier Marketing works with small businesses in Fox Lake, IL, and the greater Chicago region in all things related to SEO!
Give us a call today at 847-254-0837 to find out more about our pricing and services!