7 Tried and Tested SEO Tips Every Small Business Should Know
Posted on 13th October 2021
The increase in people who utilise the internet for their online shopping needs was already increasing, throw a global pandemic into the works that shut down high street shops and forced people to buy online and now, for any business, having a strong online presence is an absolute necessity. As opposed to when the internet originally started and was simply used for the occasional chatroom and blog, now, every business, starting up or established, has a website, social media and online marketing strategy. As such, it can often feel like, no matter your efforts, that your business is not getting the outreach it deserves.
One of the most effective ways to stand out on the internet and what should be a crucial component of any small businesses marketing strategy is the use of search engine optimisation (SEO). This helps customers find your website when they search for specific key phrases or words. If used correctly, you will drive a significant amount of traffic to your website and so long as you have an easy to use and professionally designed page, you will be able to convert that traffic into sales.
So, with the above in mind, here are some SEO tips that every small business should know.
1. Find and Use the Right Keywords
For this step you need to put yourself in the head of your desired client. Think about what they are likely to search in order to come across your business and ensure you are using such phrases in what you publish on your website. This means when they eventually do search for those terms, you’ll rank highly on Google and consumers will be able to find you.
You can ensure these keywords are the right ones by creating a Google AdWords account. This has a Keyword Tool so you can ensure those you are incorporating are predominantly searched. It’s a good idea to make a list of around 20 to 50 keywords that you think would be effective and try them out to ensure they would generate traffic to your site.
2. Focus On Your Unique Offerings
Bear in mind, the reason SEO can be so effective is that it can make you stand out amongst your competition. As such, ensure that what you are publishing highlights what makes you stand out as a business. Ensure that the keywords you use don’t just pertain to your industry but also correspond with your market differentiators, such as what you do which is unique, and the geographic location of your business.
3. Don’t Overuse Keywords
Be sure that when you write and create content on your website, you are creating this content for humans, not search engines. Sure, if you stuff a website with keywords then it might rank highly but it will be borderline unreadable for most consumers, meaning the traffic you generate won’t result in conversion.
Not only could you distort what you are actually trying to say to the consumer but your page could also be marked as spam by Google. Ensure that your priority when writing content is to make your text clear, easy to read and comprehendible.
4. Publish High Quality Content Consistently
When Google is working out which sites should rank highly it is not merely looking for keywords but also for genuine answers to user’s questions. As such, the best online marketing strategy when it comes to SEO is to ensure you are publishing high quality content.
You should also make sure you are publishing this content consistently as this is a key factor when it comes to generating new customers and retaining existing ones.
5. Utilise Social Media
Ensure that there is a social media element to your Online Marketing Strategy as this will be crucial when it comes to expanding the reach that your content has. Not only can you build a following that are waiting to receive updates from you, but at the same time, you are able to connect with these customers and answer questions about your brand and the products you offer.
You can also rank highly using your social media, which again will only act as another driving factor with getting people on your website.
6. Keep On Top of Your Results
You can use free and low costs tools such as Google Analytics to ensure that the content you are publishing is drawing people to your site. This tool is incredibly easy to use and brings up a range of reports so you can see what posts attract people from certain corners of the world, as well as keep tabs on how many visits correlate to sales. This means you can alter the content you produce depending on which is proven most effective. This will be incredibly useful when it comes to developing future online marketing strategies as you will know exactly the kind of content that you should be publishing to generate the most amount of traffic.
7. Have a User-Friendly Website
Generating traffic to your website won’t mean much if you are unable to convert that traffic into sales. One of the largest detrimental factors to websites is that they can be too complicated for customers to use or too slow and ineffective. Consumers today have such endless access to so many things and as such, if you have a website that doesn’t function well, there will be no hesitation by consumers to merely look somewhere else.
Conclusion
Using SEO in your online marketing strategy can be an incredibly effective way at generating traffic to your website and converting traffic into sales. Of course, there are steps you need to take to ensure that the content you are creating is actually beneficial to your business. This includes using the right keywords, promoting your business on social media, keeping track of your clicks generated as a result and having an easy-to-use website.
At It’seeze Portsmouth, we offer affordable website packages to businesses so that when their SEO efforts generate clicks, consumers are met with a professional web design which is speedy and easy to navigate. If you would like to discuss our Portsmouth Web Design services in greater detail then do not hesitate to get in touch and we would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Share this post: