16 SEO Tips for Small Businesses

SEO integration is one of the best ways to generate traffic and boost sales, regardless of the size of your business. However, it can be tough to conduct an effective SEO strategy and rank up because search engines like Google use more than 200 factors when ranking websites.

That's why today, we will go over some SEO tips that can help you boost your business' performance.

SEO or search engine optimization refers to a set of practices and methods that you can use to improve the appearance of your website, its position in organic search results, and increase its visibility to customers.

SEO is highly regarded by experts as well, with over 70% of marketers thinking that it is more effective than PPC. Also, it's been reported that SEO is great for customer acquisition as it reduces the cost of new acquisitions by over 87% compared to digital advertising.

SEO does work for small businesses and is a way for them to compete against bigger, already established companies.

This is because search engine ranking cannot be bought, and you cannot pay to rank for keywords organically. So, even if, as a small business, you don't have the resources that big businesses do, SEO gives you the same rank opportunities regardless of your budget. Of course, to achieve this, you have to implement a good and efficient SEO strategy.

Why Local SEO Is Important for Small Businesses?

Local SEO is a search engine optimization strategy that improves your business' visibility in local Google search results.

This means that if you implement a local SEO strategy, your business will rank up better and pop up higher when customers in your vicinity search for a keyword that is relevant to your business.

Local SEO is a widely implemented strategy because over 46% of all Google searches are done based on location, which is a massive pool of potential customers.

Local SEO is essential for small businesses as it helps spread the word about them to local customers and can improve organic traffic. Also, it is even more critical for businesses with physical locations like restaurants, cafes, stores, etc. By showing up in the top results in location-based searches, customers will be more inclined to visit these businesses.

The importance of local SEO is backed up by the fact that around 97% of Internet users use search engines to find local businesses. Additionally, approximately 28% of all local searches result in a purchase, which is something that shouldn't be discarded.

1. Use relevant keywords

If you were a customer and you were looking for the products and services your business sells, what words would you search for? This is an essential consideration you need to remember when choosing the keywords you'll use. With Google Ads, for example, you can select up to 50 keywords and see how frequently they're searched for. However, it's recommended that you use between 10-20 keywords. Make sure to use your keywords on each web page, in your URL, titles, and meta descriptions so that your content is shown to the customers that use the relevant keywords.

2. Emphasize your strengths

Make sure to use keywords that will show off your strengths and the unique features you offer. This will help you stand out in the sea of competitors. Also, offering something unique or having a better product than your competitors will compel customers to buy from you and your competition. However, it would be best if you made sure that customers are informed of this, hence the need to use keywords that emphasize your strengths.

3. Monitor emerging search trends

Create your SEO integration and pick your keywords based on what Internet users search for. This means that you should focus on making content that is new or that offers answers and solutions to questions that are popular and recent. This way, you will be adding value to customers by addressing the lack of information about a topic or a product that you sell on time, which will increase your organic traffic because customers will visit your site to find the answers they need. By increasing organic traffic, you increase your ranking on search engines, which also increases your visibility and credibility.

4. Network with other businesses

Do not look only to big businesses when creating your SEO strategy. Focus on your niche and network with other small businesses in your area to help each other grow. Also, be an active member of your community and engage in local activities that will improve the welfare of all community members. This way, you will spread the word about your business, show people that you care about them and the community, and you will build relationships with other businesses that can be beneficial in the long run for future promotions, collaborations, etc.

5. Post your customer interactions

Write down your customer stories and share them on social media. Include the relevant keywords and links to your social media profiles and website when doing this. This can help you start and elevate your brand and will enable you to reach a broader target market by using different social media platforms for advertising. Social media advertising has become a powerful marketing tool. All companies use it extensively because it has a giant pool of potential customers you can reach, with over 3.9 billion users as of 2022 across all platforms. So, make sure to use social media and post as frequently as possible.

6. Don't overuse keywords

Although keywords are essential for search engine ranking, remember that users are the ones that have to like your website and content and make a purchase, not search engines. So, make sure that the keywords you use are adequately and efficiently placed, and don't include them in content where they don't make sense. This can annoy visitors and can cause them to leave your site because no one wants to read something that is complex and includes words that are obviously out of place.

7. Create links to your site

The more sites that connect to your site, the higher your search engine ranking will be. Request that owners of relevant websites link to your site. In exchange for a link to your site, offer to have a link to theirs. Also, link quality is essential. A single link from a chamber of commerce, university website, research paper, etc., will be more beneficial than a dozen links from unknown blogs. So, choose quality over quantity when building links to your site.

8. Publish high-quality content frequently

Answering questions and providing solutions to customers is an excellent way to increase your traffic and ranking. However, make sure that the content you post, whether it's articles, videos, photos, tutorials, etc., is easy to read, simple to understand, and actually gives the readers what they are looking for. Include quality information only in your content and update it regularly so it isn't outdated. By posting high-quality content, you will earn the respect of your customers and will be credible in their eyes, which will prompt them to trust you and do business with you.

9. Creating a user-friendly website

Web design is crucial for keeping customers on your site for as long as possible. Around 42% of customers will leave a website if it functions poorly, and developers believe that over 88% of customers leave websites that take too long to load. So, make sure to use a simple and interactive design for your website and make it easy to navigate and understand. Also, structure and organize your content and web pages efficiently so that customers can find what they are looking for quickly and easily. You can do this by using subdomains or subdirectories.

10. Mobile responsiveness

It's essential to make your website mobile-friendly because over 54% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. Also, one of the factors that Google takes into consideration when ranking websites is mobile-friendliness. So, having a website that is responsive and optimized for mobile devices will enable you to tap into another large pool of potential customers and also increase your traffic and ranking.

11. Keep track of performance

SpyFu, Semrush, and Google Analytics are examples of free or low-cost tools that will give you additional information about your site's SEO performance and tell you more about your customers. These tools can inform you how customers found your site, whether via a search engine, referral website, etc., where they come from, and how long they spent on each page. You can use this information to make your SEO integration even better and more efficient. Also, it can help you improve your marketing strategy and structure your ads to target your niche better.

12. Use short URLs

Having a short and clean URL will help you improve your SEO because it will make it easier for search engines to know what your website is about. Also, it makes your website look better and more user-friendly on search engine result pages or SERPs. Make sure to include your primary keyword in your URL if you can, and keep your URL under 60 characters.

13. Perform site audits

Website audits can help you keep your website secure, functional, and user-friendly. It's also a great way to catch issues like broken links, orphaned pages, or slow load times that you might have overlooked. Then, you can prioritize and handle problems before they have a substantial impact and make you lose customers or business.

14. Use a mix of internal and external links

Aside from having links on other sites for your content, using internal links as well is good for SEO. Having a good mix of internal and external links across your content helps improve crawlability, user experience, and credibility. Internal links take visitors to different pages on your website. They help search engine crawlers find your content and encourage visitors to spend more time on your site. So, you can use your own content as a means to increase user engagement and website traffic.

15. You won't get results immediately

Patience is the name of the SEO game. Moving significantly higher in search engine results usually takes a few months, so don't be discouraged when you don't see immediate results. Monitor progress from the start, don't give up, and never stop trying. Also, keep in mind that SEO is always changing. So, make sure to follow new trends and developments and enhance your SEO knowledge as often as you can.

16. Be ambitious

The majority of your users will not go beyond the first page of search results. In fact, only around 25% of users actually click on the second search results page. However, almost no one will view your page after page three. So, do not limit yourself and always go for more.

Ahrefs

This SEO tool will show you which parts of your website need to be improved in order for it to rank higher in search engines. You can also use Ahrefs to locate the most linked content in your niche, verify and mend broken links on your website, and obtain an overview of your top-performing pages.

Google Search Console

Is a free tool that allows you to monitor and report on your website's presence in Google SERP. It also allows you to control what gets indexed on your site and its representation. Additionally, it can help you get a better understanding of how Google and its users perceive your website, allowing you to optimize for better performance in the future.

Semrush

Is a set of marketing tools that is easy to use and allows you to assess your rankings, discover new ranking opportunities, identify changes, compare your website to the ones of your competitors, etc. It also enables you to analyze reports regarding your search data, traffic, keywords, domains, etc. so you can understand them better and improve them if needed

KWFinder

Helps in the discovery of long-tail keywords with low competition. You can also use it to locate the best keywords and run backlink and SERP analysis reports. Also, the Rank Tracker tool makes determining your rating and tracking your progress based on one crucial metric simple and straightforward.