Editor’s Note: This article has been summarized from its original format. It was first published here.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a low-cost, high-ROI marketing technique that can help your brand overtake the competition. Even without a big budget, your small business can beat big competitors — a feat not possible through other marketing channels like PPC ads.
Below are some important SEO tips to help you rank your small business well.
1. Create a professional, mobile-friendly website.
Make sure to use your business logo and branding. Since over half of local searches are mobile, make sure your site is mobile friendly. Use a clean, minimal design and make sure it’s easy to navigate.
2. Identify profitable keywords.
SEO success depends on targeted keywords, so you need to make sure you’re choosing the right ones. Consider this: Some keywords may have high search volume but low profitability, while other keywords could be profitable but have small volumes.
The profitability of a keyword depends on the searcher's intention. For example, when a person searches “hot tub” on Google, they want to know about hot tubs, which means it has informational intent. But when a person searches for “best hot tub near me,” the person wants to use or buy a hot tub. This will be a profitable keyword for you to target.
3. Have a separate page for each product.
Often, small businesses will list all of their products on one page — but for better SEO, you should have specific pages dedicated to each product. This way, you can rank higher for each product page for multiple keywords. This can boost your business’ rankings and revenue with reduced effort.
4. Use schema.
Google can better understand web pages with structured data. It can help your business rank higher and get the advantage of other SERP features like featured snippets and knowledge graphs. Product schema, local business, FAQ and others are must-use schema types for small businesses.
5. Optimize for ‘near me’ and voice searches.
Approximately a third of all searches are local “near me” searches, and half of those are coi e searches. Make sure to optimize your website for both.
6. Keep your business listings updated.
Business listing profiles, including Google My Business, are crucial for small businesses. An updated, informative listing can help you rank better on Google and get new customers.
Keep things up-to-date with current working hours, images, phone numbers and other contact information. This way, users can reach you and easily find what they’re looking for.
7. Acquire local backlinks.
Local backlinks and citations are important parts of a successful local SEO campaign. Ask your business partners and local business directories to link your business.
If you want to survive and continue to grow in the future, it’s worth investing in SEO now.
