Whether you own a landscaping company, cannabis cultivation facility, or garden center, flourishing as a brand means establishing an online presence. Some may assume owning a local small business provides all the foot traffic they need to keep doors open. Others may rely on word of mouth to gain customers for e-commerce stores.
However, more and more customers gravitate toward online shopping. Similarly, most would rather read educational information at home than seek advice at a physical location.
Thus, we see why small business SEO should be a key element of your operational strategy. Creating an optimized website for your unique audience can offer you a competitive advantage, boost revenue, and much more! Even better, you can foster customer relationships to establish loyalty and expertise, helping further improve your overall brand.
So, what exactly is small business SEO and what are the best practices? Grab your spade and gloves as we dig deep into rich search engine soil.
What Is Small Business SEO?
In general, search engine optimization (SEO) is a fancy term for tactics you can use to encourage online visibility. SEO is important for any operation, no matter the size. Still, smaller entities (like you!) may have different goals than massive corporations.
For instance, small business SEO is often geared toward attracting a very particular audience. While companies like MiracleGro are interested in any garden-savvy buyer, a cannabis-oriented soil manufacturer likely wants to reach commercial cultivators. Similarly, a locally-based tree trimming expert may only service customers in an immediate area, so they orient SEO efforts accordingly.
Here are some essential SEO terms to know:
- Keywords: These words or phrases are what readers type into search engines. Keyword-based content, copy, headers, and other website elements are vital for gaining visibility.
- Keyword research: Use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to find keywords based on what your audiences want to read or buy.
- Backlinks: Backlinks are a great way to build domain authority, trustworthiness, and traffic. You accumulate these when other sites link to your content.
- Organic search: You want your website to rank in organic searches! This term refers to the results readers receive when they use a keyword.
- Technical optimization: Google prioritizes well-performing websites, so ensure yours is mobile-friendly, fast, and easy to navigate!
What Are The Benefits of SEO for Small Businesses?
An SEO strategy for small businesses is multipurpose. For starters, you can earn online credibility and distinguish yourself from competing brands. Moreover, smart SEO elevates the whole customer experience, from landing pages to checkout.
Effectively, delivering excellent and individualized content based on unique audience needs (e.g., searched keywords, seamless website navigation, mobile compatibility, etc.) displays an authentic devotion to them. In the end, you acquire their and Google’s trust!
Check out these advantages of a successful SEO strategy:
- Increased website traffic: Seeing your page within the first few search results shows you’re a reputable source, making readers more likely to click on your site. Local users may even consider visiting your storefront after checking out your content.
- Better online visibility: Ranking higher on Google equals more views, especially if you appear in the top three. In fact, only 2.5% of traffic actually clicks the tenth URL.
- Enhanced user experience: Formatting headers, landing pages, and general information according to best practices simplifies website navigation. Therefore, SEO indirectly improves the user experience in many respects.
- Raising brand awareness: The higher you rank, the more people learn about your business.
- Competitive advantage: Ultimately, you gain a business advantage when utilizing positive SEO. Just imagine how much attention you can channel by outranking competitors!
6 SEO Tips for Small Businesses: How to Get It Right the First Time
Ready to dip your toes into the waters of small business SEO? If so, you’ve finally made your way to the fun part! Together we’ll learn how keywords, quality, site formatting, and more all work cooperatively to enhance your brand.
1. Target Relevant Keywords
The internet is a vast ether of endlessness, encompassing nearly 35 trillion indexed pages. Consider publishing an article lacking in premise, clear direction, or congruency. Google sees this media type as a massive red flag and no-no.
Now we see why crafting a comprehensible online presence without keywords is unfruitful. First, Google can’t categorize a page appropriately if the intent is missing or unrecognizably muddled by excessive fluff. Second, confusing Google means your audience will never see your hard work—unless they follow a direct link from your website, social media, or other platforms.
A reputable brand should understand the why behind content creation. What do readers attain from this blog? Does this Instagram post answer a specific question? Have I included enough information on this website landing page? Keywords can help you answer these questions.
Let’s say someone wants the “best substrate for vertical farms.” This phrase should guide a particular piece of content. Offer them what they want to know! Enlighten them with your expert opinion while honoring their original inquiry.
Here are our recommendations for finding and targeting industry-specific keywords:
- Know your audience first
- Use keyword researching tools (like we touched on earlier!)
- Explore competitor websites
- Scroll through SERP results
- Read through the “People Also Ask” tabs on Google
- Prioritize high-volume, low-difficulty keywords
- Check out
- Google Trends
2. Write Content for Readers, Not Bots!
Yes, Googlebot matters in small business SEO. Still, you are not creating content solely to please the almighty Google. Instead, customers should always be your top priority.
Continue executing proper SEO maneuvers but avoid sounding machinelike or bland. Incorporate your brand personality into everything to develop a human, approachable, and distinguishable image. Your audience could go to any other business in your niche—make them choose you by connecting with them through written (or typed) words.
These tips can help you craft user-oriented content:
- Use reputable sources for outside evidence
- Incorporate helpful imagery or charts
- Answer their question!
- Bullet-point larger lists (like this one!)
- Stay on message
- Summarize information with intro and conclusion sections
- Keep things personal by using “I” or “we”
3. Utilize Local Marketing
Local marketing is critical for small businesses with a brick-and-mortar building, especially those without an online store. Unlike traditional SEO, this approach bolsters customer interest by focusing on area-based keywords, Google profiles, and community engagement. These extra steps can immediately build awareness among potential buyers within walking or driving distance of your business!
Here are key ways to optimize your website and content for local SEO:
- Create and claim a Google Business listing
- Include your service area in website copy, titles, and meta descriptions
- Look for link opportunities with other local businesses
- Ask customers to leave reviews
- Localize social media profiles
4. Fix Your Website
Remember, Google likes pretty, organized, and grade-A websites. Ensure to optimize each element for readability and don’t forget to integrate photos or videos! Create a blended mix of text and visuals to keep readers engaged and interested. Because who wants to read a 2000+ word article without some form of eye candy?
Additionally, add a tab menu or a top bar to house specific landing pages (e.g., products, contact us forms, blog, etc.). These tools allow users to find the exact information they want and avoid endlessly scrolling through your website without direction.
Here are things to pay attention to on your website:
- URLs: Keep URLs nice and short. Use the primary keyword as your slug to reflect the appropriate content.
- Titles: Titles tell readers and search engines what a page is about. These H1s should also include the primary keyword to help with ranking.
- Headers: Organize your page based on headers. These phrases or questions introduce the content below. Again, incorporate keywords when possible (but be wary of cramming!).
- Meta descriptions: This ~160-character-long snippet describes a specific web page within search results.
- Visual elements: Adding infographics or videos (with alt text!!) helps provide additional keyword opportunities and create a higher-quality website in the eyes of Google. Plus, you further sweeten the user experience!
5. Ensure Your Content Is Useful & Well-Written
Naturally, small businesses hope to secure brand loyalty and relevancy in their industry. However, achieving this class willy-nilly is… well, not quite possible. You have to position yourself as a member of the elite strategically and thoughtfully.
Small business SEO is grounded on “quality over quantity.” As we’ve highlighted numerous times throughout this article, everyone benefits from intelligent, purposeful, and sound content.
Search engines can easily crawl, index, and rank your page. Then, customers can discover your awesome “how-to” guide, ebook, or blog with the right keywords. Finally, you can revel in all the attention, credibility, and EEAT garnered through your unwavering efforts.
6. Build Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are basically a digital sendoff to another website for more information about a particular topic. Imagine someone pointing finger guns toward you when customers ask them a question. What better way to establish a positive reputation?!
Perhaps most importantly, Google notices when credible businesses or online entities link to your website. This exchange indicates your ability to deliver relevant, valuable, and evidence-derived facts. For small business SEO, just a handful of favorable backlinks can make a big difference!
Check out these ways to build healthy backlinks:
- Get listed in local directories
- Guest post on compatible niche-specific websites
- Ask businesses directly for collaborations
- Publish content other websites want to include in their own media
- Post more ultimate-guides
In Conclusion
Small business SEO can appear quite intimidating at first glance. For some, going up against the sheer mass of competing websites can be blood-curdling. But, don’t get your overalls in a bunch!
Practical planning and creativity can secure your place among industry leaders. While achieving this rank takes time and commitment, the results are well worth the wait. Just stay the course and monitor successes (even baby ones) to keep motivation high!
