Top-5 SEO Tips for Small Business

There are many times where people ask me how they can get better SEO results fast. I always answer back in the same way. I let them know that there are some things that they can do that will give them results quickly, but that they might be small quick wins. If they are looking for a more considerable sustained advantage, they will have to do other things. SEO isn’t a one-and-done type of deal. It is competitive, and there will always be people fighting you for the top spot. Now with that being said, I will let you in on 5 SEO tips for small businesses that will get you some quick wins and some sustained results. 

Have The Best Content Out There

I can’t stress this enough. If you read anything that I have written, you know that aiming to have the best content out there is the quickest way to get to position one or page 1. When someone asks me why they aren’t ranking, I always ask to see the content they created to rank for the keyword. It is usually a less-than-300 word, not proofread, cookie-cutter piece.

How can you expect to rank with that? The only way to do content is to google the search term you are trying to rank for and look at every page on the first page. Think critically? What is it about these pages that are causing them to rank on page one for this term? Model your content accordingly. If the average word count is 2000, and you have 300, don’t expect any miracles. If you have the best content out there, it will get rewarded.

Fix Crawl Errors

Imagine that you have spent all this time and money on creating great content. A user loves your article. You’ve included links within the article to help your reader altogether understand your content. The user clicks on a link, and it results in a 404 error (not found). How unfortunate for you and the user. The user can no longer continue through your predetermined funnel. That next piece of content could have been what closed the deal. It could have been.

Checking the crawlability of your website for both your users (most important) and website crawlers (Google, Bing, Yandex, etc.) should be on your weekly to-do. Websites change all the time, and links change. Having the most up to date links on your sites will let your users know they can trust your site.

Optimize Your Meta Titles and Page Titles

You can call me old fashioned on this one. I know that Google can change your meta-descriptions if they see fit, but I can’t go on chance. If you manually update your page titles and meta descriptions, Google will typically put what you chose in those fields. This is why I think it is essential to take your time and craft catchy titles and enticing meta descriptions. This is where you put your salesman hats on. 

Be accurate and enticing. What is your page about, and why should people think it is the solution to their search? It is easier said than done, but the answers will come if you sit down and think about it. This is an ongoing process. You must test each time you change from one description or page title to another. This way, your page titles and meta descriptions will get better over time and bring you the best quality traffic.

Get Citations, Optimize, and Google My Business

Get listed anywhere that people might be looking for your types of businesses. What directories are your competitors on, and what local citations do you need? Make sure to get listed there. Ask your customers how they heard about your business and optimize for those listings. Include pictures, and fill out everything that the specific listing allows you to. You want to put your best foot forward to let your potential customers know what you have to offer.

One of the most important places that you need to get listed is on Google My Business. This is Google-owned, and since most people who read this blog are trying to optimize for Google, it makes sense to have GMB. As with the other directories, make sure to optimize it to its fullest potential. Add pictures, fill everything out, and monitor your reviews. Let people know how good you are!

Get Links

If you follow the action items listed before this, links will come much easier. If you are putting your ‘face in place’ and the best content out there, you should naturally get links. This is where a lot of SEO power comes from. When someone links to the page you are trying to optimize for, they endorse you for it. If they are a trustworthy source, then that will help your SEO out enormously. 

All the links are not just going to come to you. You are also going to need to do continuous link building. You will need to find other sites out there that might have synergies with yours and see how you both could work together. Link building is one of the hardest things to do right. This is because many people want the easy and quick way out. Keep in mind that even though it is difficult, it will be worth it. Depending on how much traffic their page gets, you could see a noticeable increase in yours from people clicking on the link to your website from theirs.

So there you go. Doing these five things properly, I can almost guarantee that your SEO will improve. Think about it this way. You are everywhere that you need to be. You entice people that might be on the fence about You have the best content out there. You’re getting links because other people think you are a useful resource on the subject. What else could you possibly be doing, right? Maybe you could focus on your small business website design? Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or ask me to go more in-depth.