Small Business SEO 101: 10 Tips & Strategies That Work

Running a small business is not a small task. With limited resources, it can be hard to make your voice heard and attract the customers you need to keep your business thriving. On the one hand, your small and local approach is your superpower—it’s what differentiates you from big retailers and allows you to connect with customers on a personal level. But it also means that you don’t have the same resources that nationwide companies have at their disposal.  

The good news is that there is a way to gain a competitive edge without breaking the bank— through search engine optimization (SEO). Small business SEO has become one of the most important tools for small businesses to grow and succeed in today’s digital landscape. It’s one of the most effective ways to improve discoverability and get your company in front of the right eyes. And the best part is that you don’t need expensive tools or years of experience to get started. 

In this article, we’ll walk you through all the basics of small business SEO—from why it matters to tips and tricks you can use to improve your online presence.

What is Small Business SEO?  

Small businesses often struggle to compete with larger corporations that have bigger advertising budgets, better brand recognition, and more manpower. Everybody wants to rank first in the search results—it’s how you keep new business flowing. But it’s usually not realistic for small businesses to rank first for hard-to-get keywords. 

So, what’s the secret to ranking for impactful keywords that will help you draw in business? If you guessed small business SEO, you are correct. 

Small business SEO refers to the process of optimizing a small business’s online presence to drive more traffic and leads from search engines like Google. If you’re not optimizing your online strategy for search engines by using keywords, creating quality content, and building quality backlinks, you’re going to struggle to build a presence. 

What about local SEO? Local SEO is a digital marketing strategy that focuses on helping businesses of any size get discovered on a local level. Meanwhile, small business SEO is a subcategory of SEO that is tailored specifically to small businesses. It targets a smaller geographic area but is more concerned with direct revenue generation for small business owners.

Small business SEO encompasses various tactics that can improve a business’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs), such as content marketing, keyword optimization, and link building. 

Benefits of Small Business SEO

Before you implement any new marketing tactic, it’s important to understand the potential benefits. Let’s talk about what small business SEO can do for your business. 

1. Improved visibility.

One of the most significant benefits of SEO for small businesses is improved visibility. Thanks to the internet, people have endless options at their fingertips—you need to grab their attention before you can win their business. By optimizing your website’s content with targeted keywords, search engines like Google will rank the site higher in SERPs. When your business appears higher in SERPs, it becomes more visible to potential customers who are searching for the specific products or services you offer. This increased visibility can lead to more website visits, which in turn can generate leads and increase revenue.

2. Increased leads.

Small business SEO will help you attract visitors who are searching for products or services like yours. Through compelling calls-to-action, social proof, and clear messaging, you can convert those visitors into leads who are interested in learning more about their products or services. And because SEO aims to bring interested visitors directly to your site, it’s a more efficient way to generate leads than some other marketing methods.

3. Increased conversions.

Leads are ultimately worth nothing if they don’t convert, right? By targeting specific keywords and phrases, small business SEO helps you attract visitors who are most likely to be interested in their products or services. Visitors who find what they are looking for on a website are more likely to make a purchase or engage in a desired action. If you prioritize a high-quality website design, user-friendly navigation, and engaging content, you can create an experience that encourages visitors to convert.

4. Increased traffic. 

Lastly, small business SEO can increase website traffic, which is a crucial factor in generating brand awareness and increasing revenue. By optimizing your online presence and producing website content with relevant keywords and phrases, you can rank higher in SERPs, which leads to increased website traffic. This higher traffic volume means better brand awareness and more sales—a double win. 

How to Develop an SEO Strategy for a Small Business

You don’t need to be a seasoned marketer to create an SEO gameplan. That being said, if you’re just getting started in your SEO journey, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed—there’s a lot to learn. If you follow the four steps listed below, you’ll be well on your way to climbing the search engine rankings. 

1. Do keyword research.

Keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEO strategy. It’s essential to understand the phrases and words your potential customers are searching for when they look for your products or services. Keep in mind that some keywords are more difficult to rank for than others. For example “plumber” is going to be a lot harder to rank first for than something more specific like “24/7 emergency plumber.” You can use free keyword tools like Google Keyword Planner or Moz to identify relevant keywords that will help you rank higher in search results.

Once you’ve identified a list of keywords you want to rank for, you can start coming up with a content strategy to target them. 

2. Audit and optimize your website.

Next, you’ll want to check your website for existing SEO issues and opportunities. This includes technical issues like broken links, website speed, and metadata. You’ll need to ensure your website is mobile-friendly and optimized for search engines.

By optimizing your website, you can gain favor in the eyes of the big search engines, which will improve your website’s rankings, drive more traffic, and ultimately boost conversions.

3. Optimize your content.

Content optimization means creating high-quality, relevant, and valuable content that resonates with your target audience. There is a lot of content on the internet, so it can be difficult to capture someone’s attention. Don’t just create mediocre content for the sake of creating content. Create content that speaks directly to your customers’ pain points, solves problems, or entertains them. 

To optimize content for SEO, you must include keywords in your titles, descriptions, headers, and throughout your body of content. Additionally, make sure to use a variety of multimedia, like images and videos, to enhance your content and increase engagement.

4. Get backlinks.

Backlinks are links from other websites to your websites. They signal to search engines that your website is reputable and authoritative.The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more likely you’ll rank higher in search results.

Getting backlinks can be challenging for small businesses, but it’s not impossible by any means. To get backlinks, you can collaborate with other businesses, guest post on authoritative blogs, and participate in online communities related to your industry. You can also get backlinks organically by creating high-quality content that other websites want to link back to.

Small Business SEO Tips to Drive More Traffic and Leads

The steps listed above will help you get the ball rolling, but there are plenty of other things you can do to build a rock-solid online presence. Here are 10 additional tips that will help you reign supreme in the search results.

1. Use Google Search Console.

Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google that allows you to monitor your website’s performance in search results. By verifying your website on Google Search Console, you can get insights into how Google crawls and indexes your website, and identify any issues that may be affecting your rankings. Additionally, you can use the tool to submit new content or URLs for Google to crawl and index.

2. Set up Google Analytics.

Google Analytics is another free tool provided by Google that allows you to track your website’s traffic and user behavior. By setting up Google Analytics, you can get insights into how visitors are finding and interacting with your website, and use this data to optimize your content and user experience. For example, you can identify which pages are getting the most traffic and which pages have high bounce rates, and adjust your content and design accordingly.

3. Make your website mobile-friendly.

Data indicates that over 60% of the global population uses their mobile device to browse online, which means that having a mobile-friendly website is a must. A mobile-friendly website is one that is optimized for viewing on smaller screens and has fast loading speeds. Google rewards mobile-friendly websites with higher rankings on mobile search results, so making your website mobile-friendly will help you attract more mobile traffic and improve your rankings.

4. Make your content unique.

One of the most important factors for ranking high on SERPs is having unique, high-quality content. As we mentioned earlier, you need to focus on creating valuable and original content that meets the needs of your target audience. Don’t just copy what everyone else is doing. By researching and understanding your audience’s pain points and interests, you can create content that resonates with your ideal buyers and encourages engagement and sharing. 

5. Research your competitors.

You should always keep an eye on your competitors’ online presence and SEO strategies. By researching your competitors, you can identify what keywords they rank for, what type of content they create, and what backlinks they earn. While you don’t necessarily want to copy everything they do, knowing what they’re up to can help you find opportunities to optimize your own strategy and rise in the ranks more quickly.

6. Optimize your Google Business Profile.

Google is the most popular search engine by a longshot, so it’s not surprising that optimizing your Google Business Profile can help you attract more customers. Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing that customers will see when they search for your company—you want them to like what they see. To optimize your profile, make sure you fill out all the necessary information, including your business name, address, phone number, website URL, and business hours. Also, don’t forget to add high-quality photos and respond to customer reviews promptly.

7. Improve your customer reviews.

Reviews influence 88% of consumers in discovering a local business. Having positive reviews can be a game changer for your business, while not having them might send people running in the other direction. In the same vein, positive reviews can help you rank higher in local search results, while negative reviews can harm your reputation and ranking. You can encourage your customers to leave reviews by providing excellent service and asking them to leave feedback. You can also use review management tools like Podium to monitor and respond to customer reviews.

8. Fix basic SEO issues.

We already mentioned the importance of conducting a website audit—that audit will be worthless if you don’t act on your findings. Basic SEO issues such as broken links, missing meta descriptions, duplicate content, and slow loading speed can hurt your rankings and traffic. Small problems add up, so try to fix them as you find them rather than putting them off for later. 

9. Take the most out of listings.

Listing your business on directories, such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and Angi, can go a long way when it comes to improving your online presence. However, it’s not enough to simply list your business; you need to optimize your listings by providing accurate and consistent information across various platforms.

10. Track your site’s and content’s performance.

You need to track your website’s and content’s performance regularly—otherwise, you’ll have no idea whether or not your efforts are paying off. Use analytics tools to monitor your website traffic, bounce rate, average session duration, and conversion rate. Also, track your content’s performance by analyzing the ranking, engagement, and social shares of your blog posts and articles. Then, use this data to optimize your content and improve your SEO strategy. Making adjustments to your strategy doesn’t mean you’ve failed—it means you’re learning, and that’s a good thing. 

SEO & Growth Solutions for Small Businesses

Growing a business is a tough job, and building an online presence only adds to your to-do list. Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone. Podium is a marketing and communications platform that was designed specifically for small and local businesses like yours. 

Podium’s Reviews tool is a game-changer for small businesses looking to build a rock-solid online presence. With Podium, you can easily manage your online reputation, collect more positive reviews, and respond to reviews faster and more easily with help from AI. Plus Podium makes it possible for you to collect payments via text, generate more leads from your website, communicate with customers via the channels they prefer, and so much more. 

Have you ever wished it were possible to get more done in less time? Well, thanks to Podium, it is.

Interested? Try Podium for free.