Big SEO Strategies Designed For Small Business Success

Search engine optimization (SEO) is part of a strong foundation for small business marketing success. If you do SEO poorly (or don't do SEO at all), you may end up like a TV show airing on an obscure channel in the dead of the night - your show is great but no one is watching.

Similarly, you can have an amazing business, but if Google does not display your website on the search engine results pages (SERPs), potential customers will struggle to find you (or not find you at all).

But when you get SEO right, you'll see improvements in brand visibility, as well as increases in website traffic and revenue.

With assistance from your local digital marketing agency, you can build a strategy that grows your online presence via SEO. Also, consider the following approaches to digital marketing.

Focus On Technical SEO

Technical SEO optimizes the structure of your website so that the crawlers can 'read' and index your site. Crawlers determine the quality of your site. If your pages load fast, have quality content and all the links work, they will promote your website.

But even if your content is good, technical SEO problems will hamper your website's ranking abilities. So, before you focus on good content, focus on the technical aspect of your website. If you don't have a technical background, try the following:

• Prune or improve pages that don't perform. If your website has plenty of pages that don't get traffic, your rankings on the SERPs may suffer.
• Create a sitemap and submit it to Google. Manage your presence in the search results by submitting your sitemap to Google via Google Search Console.
• Optimize your images. Use relevant, high-quality photos with appropriate captions.
• Fix old and broken links. SERP crawlers downgrade content that consistently sends readers to broken your outdated links.

Improve Your Local SEO

Nearly one-third of all mobile searches are location-based queries, such as "low-carb pasta seller near me." Even if the searcher does not add the "near me," Google's algorithm prioritizes local options. SERPs use local SEO to boost small businesses, which is why capitalizing on the opportunity should be your priority.

Start by setting up your Google My Business (GMB) profile. Claim your GMB listing and make sure to fill everything out, including your local address and phone number. The information you enter will show up in the SERPs.

You'll receive more alerts as more customer reviews as customer reviews come in. Respond to these customers so you can start an engaging conversation, which can improve your standing in the community.

Optimize Your On-Page SEO

On-page SEO focuses on the content of your web page. While the main goal should always be to create engaging content that incorporates your chosen keywords, it's also important to give your posts an optimized structure. This increases your chances of being found in the SERPs.

• Optimize your titles and headlines. The headline is an important factor in terms of click-through rates, aka the percentage of people who view your headline. Write a catchy headline about 60 characters long so that it doesn't get cut off.
• Use proper header tags. The headers you use for each section of your post should contain relevant keywords.

Build Authority With Links

SERPs prefer websites that have other sites link back to them. This is because Google understands that the quantity (and quality) of backlinks is an indicator of the website's quality.

To build local links, you need an outreach strategy. Start by creating a spreadsheet that includes names, numbers and emails of potential contacts. Your contacts can include bloggers, local newspapers and non-competitive businesses.

Another way to find good places for backlinks is to see where your competitors are getting their links. Doing so enables you to target the same places.

Streamline Content Marketing

Content marketing takes energy and time, which results in small businesses being strapped for resources. Get the most bang out of your marketing buck by following these tips:

• Use videos. Generally, it's faster to create a video than write content. Internet users are also avid fans of video content, so using video content is a good idea, even if it consumes much of your time.
• Use templates. Some of your landing pages or articles can follow the same format every time, which reduces the need to come up with new ideas.
• Leverage social media and other distribution channels. Don't depend on organic search alone. Share your content on social media and identify other channels where you can post your content.

SEO should be a big part of your small business marketing endeavors. With a proper SEO strategy in place, it won't be too long before your small business becomes a big one.