SEO for small businesses: What it is and simple tips

The more a search engine knows about your business, the greater your chances of ranking at the top of the search results. So, the main idea behind SEO is to make it as easy as possible for search engines to:

• Find your business
• Understand what it’s all about

Let’s say a customer is looking for a gluten‑free bakery in Edinburgh. They log on to their favorite search engine and look up “gluten free bakeries in Edinburgh”.

The search engine will use a program called a web crawler to scour the internet for related content. It’ll then make a list of the most relevant web pages. So, if you run a bakery in Edinburgh and have gluten‑free options, you’ll want to make sure search engines know this.

Of course, while this is the basic idea, there’s a lot more to SEO. Google uses more than 200 factors to decide how websites rank in search results. And while some factors are common knowledge amongst SEO specialists, others are controversial or even pure speculation.

That said, if you stick to the following basic principles, you can’t go too far wrong:

• Make it as easy as possible for web crawlers to read your website. Use simple, clear language and descriptive headings to describe what each page is about.
• Make sure your website is as user‑friendly as possible. In particular, it should:
  • Be simple to navigate
  • Have simple, error‑free code
  • Work well on both desktop and mobile
  • Load in three seconds or less. If a page takes longer than three seconds to load, around 53% of mobile visitors will leave.
• Create quality content. As a rule, this means content that’s:
  • Relevant and useful to the people you want to become your customers
  • Easy to understand
  • Actionable
  • Accurate
• Build your authority. If search engines think your website is an authoritative source of information, it’ll have an advantage over others. Regularly publishing quality content is half the battle. But you’ll also want to get your content shared and win backlinks to other quality websites.

The biggest benefit of SEO is that it helps you get found more quickly on the web.

Think of it this way: a letter can reach its intended recipient only if it’s addressed correctly. Well, if your online presence were a letter, good SEO is the right address and a first‑class stamp.

But SEO also has other small business benefits. In particular:

It has a high return on investment (ROI)

Many SEO techniques are relatively simple to implement and cost little or no money. But the results can be staggering.

Consider this. One recent analysis suggests that about 94% of clicks on Google go to organic results, while only about 6% go to paid ads. In other words, investing in SEO helps you show up where most of the clicks actually happen.

It will help you make more sales

SEO‑friendly websites are fast, easy to navigate, useful and easy to read on any device. This encourages users to stay, browse and make a purchase.

By contrast:

• If a page takes too long to load, more than half of mobile visitors are likely to abandon it.
• Mobile visitors are far more likely to leave a website that isn’t mobile‑friendly, and around 40% will switch to another result if the first site doesn’t work well on their phone.
• Studies show that a large share of a website’s credibility is judged on its design, and many users avoid sites that look outdated.

It gives you an edge over your competition

It doesn’t matter if your competitors are bigger or have more resources than you. If your website is SEO‑optimized, it’ll rank better and get more exposure than a website that isn’t.

It’ll help your business grow

Good SEO makes you more visible online. Which means you’ll get in front of more potential customers.

SEO specialists can make or break your website. Reputable professionals will help you boost your online presence. But if you pick someone that uses dodgy practices (called black hat SEO), you could quickly find yourself plumbing the depths of page 20.

So what should you look for when choosing an SEO specialist?

Here are four tips:

1. Have a goal in mind

SEO is a vast area, so you need to get specific. Do you want to rank better for certain keywords? Make your website more user-friendly? Or increase your backlinks? Knowing what you want to achieve will make it easier to choose the right specialist.

2. Discuss the process

How does the SEO specialist plan to reach your goals? What keywords will they target? Which techniques will they use? And, most importantly, will they track performance and measure results?

3. Ask them: “Can you get me to rank at the top of Google? And how long will it take?”

These are trick questions. There are no straightforward answers. So if an SEO specialist is overpromising, there’s a good chance they’re inexperienced or plan to use black hat tactics.

4. Is it easy to communicate?

SEO is a long-term project, so you need to choose someone you’re comfortable communicating with.

While an SEO specialist can help you improve more quickly, there’s a lot you can do yourself for little or no money. Here are five simple SEO tips you can start using straight away:

• Sign up for Google Search Console. This is a free tool that’ll show you any issues you should fix to improve your website’s SEO. Bing Webmaster Tools can also give you invaluable insights.
• Claim your Google Business Profile listing and fill it out as best as you can. This will boost chances of appearing in local search results. Other useful directories include:
  • Bing Places for Business
  • Yelp
  • Apple Business Connect
  • Nextdoor
• Find out what your customers are searching for. Brainstorm potential keywords. And, once you’ve written a few down, use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, AnswerThePublic or Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (free) to build out your keyword list.
• Start a blog and update it regularly. Websites with a blog tend to have roughly 434% more indexed pages, which greatly improves their chances of appearing in search results.
• Get active on social media. Social media is a great source of traffic to your website. Research suggests that the more people visit and engage with your website, the stronger signals you can send about its usefulness, which can support your overall search performance.

All set?

Time to conquer Google’s page one.