7 Powerful SEO Tips and Tricks for Small Business Owners
Growing an online business is not that easy, especially when we consider the fact that more and more entrepreneurs have turned to the Internet.
You’ll rarely find a business today that runs without a connection to the online consumer base. Some operate through social media channels while others already have a fully-functional website for their tasks.
This basically means that each of us is competing against an army of rivals, no matter what our niche is. Therefore, if you’re not creative enough, there’s a huge chance that you might not be visible to your desired customers. Fortunately, there is a way to get a head of the competition and, consequently, get more leads and sales. What is it? Well, learning about the best small business SEO techniques can prove to be the difference between your success and failure. As you will notice at the end of this article, search advertising is one of the most effective ways to spend your ad budget. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read on to learn more tips and tricks!
How Do You Get High Search Engine Rankings?
Google is a very, very powerful tool for small businesses. This is where most of the website traffic is generated. Google users have a tendency of trusting the first few results more than those on the subsequent pages. Therefore, if you can get on the first page for the keywords relevant to your business, you can guarantee a steady flow of visitors and sales.
Now, there are a lot of things you can do to get high search engine rankings, but the following SEO tips for small business owners are certainly the cream of the crop:
My Top 7 SEO Tips for Small Business
Tip #1: Never Forget Keyword Research
Search engines are all about keywords, keywords, and more keywords! That is why it’s crucial to start your SEO campaign with keyword research. You’ll want your content to not only be relevant to the target audience, but also easily accessible. As such, according to an seo expert freelance, your titles and content body should match what most people type on the search engine.
There are a lot of tools you can utilize, but two of the most efficient and easiest tools to use are the Google AdWords keyword tool and Long Tail Pro.
To find out which keywords are the best to use, you simply need to find the keywords that:
- Are most relevant to your business
- Generates medium to high search volume
- Ideally have low to medium competition
Tip #2: Start with On-Page SEO
What is the use of your keyword research if you won’t use what you found out? That said, you have to go through your website and accomplish the following:
- Include keywords on your permalinks
- Add keywords to your post titles, subheading anchor texts, and tags
- Make sure all your links work
- Ensure your posts’ originality and quality
- Post content on a regular basis
Tip #3: Learn Social Media Optimization Best Practices
Social media have now become an integral part of small business marketing. Nearly every business with an online presence has leveraged the benefits of social media at some point. Remember, this is where most of the online customers can be found easily. If you want to get the most out of them, then you have to remember these social media SEO tips:
- Fill in your About page with useful information, including keywords
- Post relevant content regularly, ensuring keywords are used
- Post images and videos. Learn more
- Link back to your website and other pages
Here is a great video that Josh Bashynski produced on “Mastering Google SEO“. He has included some great tips in this video
Tip #4: Begin a Backlink Campaign
Having your website link scattered on reputable sites all over the Internet will not only give you additional Google search rank points; it will also help you reach more of your target audience. Here are some great backlink methods you should try:
- Writing GREAT content; Not just generic stuff, but content with attention grabbing titles that solves a specific problem for your audience.
- Article directory submission (e.g., EzineArticles and Articles Base)
- Guest posting to popular sites in your niche. This is a great strategy for getting exposure for your business
- Blog and forum commenting
Tip #5: Run PPC Ads
As stated earlier, search advertising can do wonders to your online marketing. PPC ads generally cost some dough to make. However, if used wisely, they can give your small business a nice boost in visitor count, leads, and sales. There are a number of PPC ad networks you can use for this purpose, although the most prominent is Google AdWords.
To get great results from PPC ads, remember to do the following:
- Include your target keyword(s) on the ad title and copy
- Focus on your product’s or service’s great benefits
- Never forget your call to action
Tip #6: Regularly Monitor Your Returns and Modify Your Campaigns
Running a business is like being in a never-ending marathon wherein you always have to keep an eye on your rivals and make sure you’re on the right path toward the finish line. Translated to search engine optimisation, that would mean:
- Regularly researching for keywords (use a keyword rank checker tool)
- Habitually adjusting blog post, backlink, and social media strategies
Tip #7: Consider Getting SEO Help
Sometimes, we just have to accept that “No man’s an island.” If you keep on trying different approaches but keep on getting poor results, then it must be time for you to get some SEO help.
There are many ethical SEO specialists that can help your business get better search engine rankings, more social media followers, and a boost in sales. You just have to find one that:
- Is backed by verifiable expertise and experience
- Offers prices within your budget
- Gives great options, guarantees, and customer service
Search engine marketing can be the key for your small business’ rapid growth and great success. However, you can only achieve great heights when you have the right strategies in place to implement your ideas and make use of the available resources, so why don’t you give the SEO tips mentioned above a try?
