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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps increase website traffic by improving search engine rankings. If you’ve been wondering if your small business really needs to focus on SEO, you’re not alone.
Finished 50% of small businesses they don’t have an SEO strategy and 22% don’t plan to create or implement one in the next year. Given that SEO can help businesses establish authority within an industry and build brand awareness, failing to explore the world of SEO can severely limit growth.
Plus, it’s a great way to organically promote a business for free. Organizations of all sizes can benefit from SEO, whether it’s an online store or a brick-and-mortar business.
Related: 5 Essential SEO Strategies for Entrepreneurs
Benefits of SEO for Small Businesses
As mentioned, good SEO practice for small businesses is a must. Here are just a few reasons why:
Cost-effective: Compared to paid advertising, SEO is a cost-effective strategy for small businesses. You may choose to invest in paid software to help you measure your results, but the benefits will far outweigh the costs.
Improve user experience: By focusing on SEO, you will improve the user experience for your website visitors. This will improve engagement and likely result in higher conversion rates.
Competitive Advantage: By investing in SEO, you will gain a competitive advantage over other companies in your industry. For example, let’s say you run a service-based business and target local customers. Focusing on SEO means your business will appear higher in search results when customers search for local businesses in the same category.
Long-term results: SEO is a long-term strategy that will continue to benefit your business for years to come. Paid ads stop generating traffic once you stop paying, but SEO will continue to deliver results over time.
How to develop an SEO strategy
Without a proper strategy, it will be impossible to capitalize on SEO. Here are four strategies small businesses can use to create a solid SEO strategy that will carry a business into the future and pay dividends in the long run.
1. Keyword research:
Google’s algorithm is always changing, but one SEO strategy that has remained fairly constant over the years is keyword research. When you do keyword research, you look for words and phrases that your target audience will search for on Google.
As your business begins to rank for these keywords, you will begin to get more traffic to your business website. When you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to search for high-volume, low-competition keywords.
This means that a lot of people are searching for that keyword, but it’s still pretty easy to rank for. The easiest way to find this information is through a keyword planner. This software can be expensive, but you can find free tools to use.
Related: 7 Ways Small Businesses Can Use SEO to Increase Customer Service
2. Optimize your website:
Once you know what keywords you are trying to rank for, you will strategically place them on your website. For example, you can use certain keywords in your image alt tags, your post titles, and your page descriptions.
Simply adding keywords to your website will not be enough on its own; you also need to consider how well the website works in general. For example, your page speed is significant classification factor because a fast loading website improves user experience.
Since most people use phones to access the internet, you also need to make sure your website is optimized for mobile. If not, you will likely have a high bounce rate as the website will not format correctly on mobile devices.
3. Get backlinks from high authority websites:
Google gives more weight to credible sources, so another SEO strategy is to get backlinks from high authority sites. One way to get backlinks is to become an expert source for journalists and bloggers.
If you join a free site called Help a Reporter Out (HARO), you’ll see requests from reporters looking for sources to use in the articles they write. You can monitor these requests daily and submit proposals when you have something valuable to contribute.
This strategy isn’t easy, and it’s important to always send high-value submissions. However, if you stick with it, you’ll start getting backlinks and building your domain authority over time.
4. Create new content regularly:
Constantly creating new content is another way to improve your SEO ranking, as Google rewards sites that create high-quality content. However, you need to post new content regularly, not just once in a while.
The easiest way to do this is to create a content calendar and a post calendar. Brainstorm 12-15 potential blog posts you could write and figure out how often you can realistically write new articles. You can also start incorporating relevant keywords into your blog posts.
If you’re wondering if SEO is important for small businesses, the answer is a resounding yes. As a small business owner, SEO can help you increase your online visibility, build credibility, and attract the right audience to your website.
It is a cost-effective marketing solution that delivers long-term results. You won’t see results right away, but with time and effort, you’ll continue to improve your Google rankings.
Related: A Basic Guide to SEO and Its Impact on Online Businesses
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