Here are a few SEO tips for small businesses to get you started!
Working with an SEO agency is a great way to attract potential customers and rank higher than your competitors, ultimately giving your small business a bigger presence online, but there’s also plenty you can do yourself!
What SEO Tips for Small Businesses do I need to know?
SEO for small businesses is the process of improving their website’s presence on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) for specific keywords and phrases. The aim is to get your site ranking higher so you are visible in relation to the search queries that are related to what you sell.
SEO is critical for small businesses as it helps to generate organic traffic without spending a huge amount of money on advertising. Not optimising your site can mean competitors will be the only ones showing up, and so customers may not even know your business exists.
Do you need SEO for a craft business?
If you’re looking to build an online presence and sell your crafts online, it is essential you implement a solid SEO plan. SEO doesn’t have to be time consuming and even a few small changes can make a huge difference. Here is a recent chat about SEO with Liane – link to the blog here and watch the IG live.
Using an effective SEO strategy can increase your businesses visibility online, attract a targeted audience and help you to stay ahead of your competitors.
SEO checklist for small businesses; 5 things you need to know
There are a few things you can do yourself to kickstart your SEO strategy and get your site ranking in higher positions:
1. Get an SEO Audit
Your website might look great from the outside, especially if you’ve nailed your branding, but there could be hidden issues affecting how your site performs.
Checking for duplicate content, broken links and changing things to increase the speed of your website will greatly help your site in the long run – this is typically done through an SEO Audit.
An SEO Audit aims to analyse areas of a website that could impact organic search performance – that’s how your business is discovered online through search engines. A full crawl of your website will allow an agency to see where errors are occurring, what impact they have and how to fix them.
Testing, such as mobile friendly, structured data and speed tests, will help to improve the health scores of your site, making it easier for your customers to use and more likely to rank higher in search engines.
2. Optimise your content
On-page optimisation involves including specific keywords and phrases that your customers are searching for. However, this is more than just sticking a few keywords on the page wherever you can.
Think about developing a structure to your content, writing in a natural way that incorporates your keywords and phrases. Ideally, you should be including these keywords in:
- Title tags and subheadings
- Images and videos
- Meta descriptions
- Body content
- Internal links
3. Get high value backlinks
Backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors for any site as it gives authority, and this is especially true for local SEO.
One way is to find directories to your site. This can be time consuming, but it is a great way to obtain quality backlinks. You can also create useful and informative content that other sites will want to link to, including your keywords.
Always make sure that you get backlinks from relevant sites that align with your audience’s interests and search habits.
4. Optimise your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile should be a focal point as a small business. It’s free, really easy to use and it can make a big impact on who finds your site.
It should contain all the important information about your business, such as your contact details, address, images of your business and.or products, website and social links, and even reviews.
In fact, business listings around the web in relevant locations all work to help your credibility, your visibility and also consumer trust. This is why having a business listing on Pedddle is a great opportunity to maximise all of the above.
5. Try to get reviews
Reviews are becoming increasingly important for businesses who want to succeed online, and it has become one of the leading local search ranking factors.
You can improve your conversions by putting effort into ensuring you get reviews and feedback from your customers. Replying to reviews is also a great way to show potential customers that you care and are invested in your current customers.
Extra SEO tips for small businesses
Want to read some other SEO tips for small businesses? Check out our other blogs.