From reaching your target audience to overcoming the competition, small businesses are confronted with a plethora of challenges in their daily operations. While there is a long list of potential solutions, one of the most promising is search engine optimization (SEO).
With the help of experts like Exposureland, small businesses can implement a successful SEO strategy. This will help in conquering search engine results and being on the top of the mind of consumers. Read more and we’ll talk about what is SEO and how it works in small businesses.
What is SEO?
SEO is the art of ranking high on a search engine site. It is the process of optimizing online content so that it shows up on the top of the search engine results when people look for a certain keyword related to your business.
For instance, let us say that you have a vegan restaurant in New York. For sure, the competition is tough. There are many other vegan restaurants with their websites, social media pages, and a well-established online presence. With the help of SEO, you can overtake them. When people type “vegan restaurant in New York,” you will be on the top of the search results if you implement a successful SEO strategy. If you are at the bottom or next page, there is a low chance that you will captivate the attention of your potential clients.
There are three main elements in SEO – your business, the search engine, and the person conducting the search. Your goal is to be recognized by the search engine, and in turn, it will be easier to reach the person who is searching.
As you try to understand the basics of SEO, it is also important to know that there are two types available:
- On-Page Optimization: This is focused on the website of your business. You will have greater control of this as it includes the elements of your website, such as keyword optimization, meta description, internal linking, title tags, and internal content.
- Off-Page Optimization: It includes the strategies outside of the website geared towards increasing your online visibility. It includes backlinks, social signals, and pay-per-click, among others.
What are the Benefits of SEO?
One of the most common mistakes about SEO is that it is a strategy exclusive to big businesses. The truth is that regardless of how small your business is, as long as you are online, and if you want to captivate the attention of your target audience, SEO is a must. It can deliver plenty of benefits, including the following:
- Build Brand Awareness: Especially if you are new in the business, SEO will help you build awareness by being on the top of the search results.
- Create a User-Friendly Website: The goal of SEO is not just to improve visibility, but to also increase the user-friendliness of the website. This is focused not only on being recognized by search engines but also on offering a better experience to the customers.
- Overtake the Competition: SEO does not just help you build your customer base, but it is also an effective strategy to knock down the competition!
- Increase Traffic: As your website becomes more visible, you can expect an increase in traffic. In turn, this will improve conversion rate, and in the end, will positively impact business performance.
- Minimize Cost: SEO isn’t free. However, the good thing is that it is cost-efficient, especially when compared to other more conventional and popular forms of marketing.
How Do You Implement a Successful SEO Strategy?
By now, you are most probably convinced that SEO is a necessity for today’s businesses. The next important thing to know is how it is implemented. Below are some tips and tricks you must know.
- Start with an SEO website audit. This will give you an idea of where the business currently is versus where it wants to be in the future. It grades the website based on its ability to rank in search engine sites, providing the motivation to pursue a more solid strategy.
- Conduct keyword research. This is one of the most important steps in an SEO strategy. You need to identify the monetary value and popularity of the keywords. You need a keyword tool, which will give you a clear idea of what people are searching for online. These keywords should then be incorporated into your content.
- Research your competitors. This is also crucial for guiding your strategy. This can provide you with an idea of what you should be doing to replicate the success that they are enjoying. This will also let you know how you can differentiate your business from all others.
- Add a unique meta title and meta description on every page on your website. It should not exceed the length before it is truncated by Google. More so, it should be relevant to the content so that it can offer value to your visitors. It is also a good practice to include relevant keywords.
- Write not just for the search engine but for your visitors. While it is important that your content is optimized to rank, you should also emphasize the needs of the readers. Take the time to curate relevant and engaging content to stand out.
- Invest in link building, which is an important component of your off-page SEO. Contact authority websites and work with them so that you can publish articles that will link to your website. Being part of a directory listing can also help in link building.
- Work with the experts. While some of you might attempt to do it by themselves as a way to cut costs, this isn’t always a good idea. It is better to spend money and work with the experts to guarantee results! This will also give you time to focus on the more important aspects of running your business.
Conclusion
In sum, SEO is all about improving your online visibility, specifically by being on the top of search engine results. From using the right keywords to having appropriate meta tags, it includes a wide array of strategies, which are best left to the experts!