Why SEO For Small Businesses Is Vital

SarahHughes

March 18, 2021

Quite simply, all small businesses must use SEO, and if you’re not, you need to start straight away. As a small business owner, you’ve a lot on your plate, especially now. Chances are you’ve already got a website, but are you getting the most out of it? SEO may not be on your radar, but a strong and long-term campaign can help make your enterprise thrive. Here’s how.

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation is simply any action you take to improve your website’s performance through search engine results. Ever looked on Google and wondered why some sites always appear at the top of the rankings and others don’t? One way is to pay and take one of the various options available as advertisements. The other way is to use SEO and get your site high up the rankings via organic search results – that is, the results you see that aren’t paid ads.

The 3 SEO Approaches:

On Page SEO – Making changes to your site that affect your ranking. For instance, using keywords, writing quality blogs and getting your pages and posts optimised.

Off-Page SEO – Improving your SEO score with activities away from your website. Amongst other things, using social media to share your posts, linking to other websites and content marketing.

Technical SEO – Changes you make to your website to help search engines “crawl” your site, improving your organic ranking. Examples include optimising your site to work equally well on desktop, tablet and mobile devices, eliminating duplicate content and maximising site loading speed.

Why does my small business need SEO?

In the digital era, the internet has become the primary medium for businesses. More and more enterprises are choosing to sell products and services online. Whatever what you sell, no matter how big your business is, consumers are searching for you – and they’re going online to do it. Google, the most popular website on the planet, receives 5.6 billion searches per day. Mind-boggling numbers – but what does it mean for you? Consider these three stats:

46% of all Google searches are seeking local information

97% of people go online to learn about a local business before making contact

92% of searchers pick businesses on the first page of local search results

That’s why SEO for small businesses is a must – it enables consumers in your area to find you before they find your competitors. What local business wouldn’t want to be on page one of Google?

Building Your Brand

To establish or reinforce your business as a well-known brand in your area, SEO is essential. The more times you appear on the first page of a search engine, the more people will recognise your brand. And when they see you there, it will make you more trusted and credible. When people see a business ranked high on Google – they believe it has earned the right to be there. This means they will be more likely to click on your site and consider you.

The User Experience

When you focus on SEO, not only will you rank higher, but your website itself automatically improves. Your site will be better structured, cleaner, faster-loading and far more user-friendly. Better content will keep visitors engaged and if your site is useful to your customers, the search engine algorithms will recognise that too. Get your SEO right and it is a win-win situation for everyone.

Beating The Competition

Most people search for goods and services online. SEO gives you a much better chance against your local and even national competitors. The higher you ride in the rankings, the more traffic and potential business you will take from the competition. Maintaining a great position will also defend your business from up-and-coming rivals. Should you be competing against a national company, a SEO can level the playing field. Search engines want to provide users with the best answer to their question. This means if you are offering great products and services locally, a strong SEO strategy can see you ranking higher than a big company based miles away.

Getting New Customers

The endgame! Running a website and all your marketing boils down to getting enquiries and sales that grow your business. Investing in SEO will help you reach new audiences. Using SEO, small businesses will gain more customers than competitors on search engines that don’t. SEO will also improve your customer targeting – you’ll only be hitting people actively looking for your product or service.

Cost-Effectiveness

Local businesses normally have limited budgets for marketing. Trying to compete with bigger fish can be an expensive and often unwinnable battle. But while they might be able to out-spend your marketing, with a great SEO strategy you can beat them in the search results without spending a fortune. True, it is a long-term commitment and something you may need to hire an SEO specialist to design, implement and maintain. But keep your site ranking high and your efforts will have an ongoing shelf life. While ad campaigns are an excellent way to drive traffic, you may need to buy less of them.

Final Thoughts

SEO for small business is all-important in building your brand and generating those vital leads and sales. It is one of many marketing methods you should use. SEO is ever-changing and keeping your site fresh and updated is a must to keep your rank high – you should never stop optimising your website. Getting it right needs time and resources on a long-term basis – and Muve Media & Marketing are here to assist with national and local SEO services.

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The more times you appear on the first page of a search engine, the more people will recognise and use your brand.

Rhys Hughes

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97% of people go online to learn about a local business before making contact