SEO Tips for Small Businesses

It’s a common misconception to assume SEO is still simply about keyword optimisation, it is so much more than this now. So what does SEO stand for and why do you need it?

What is SEO?
In simple terms Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is anything we do to improve the ranking of our website on search engine results. So that's everything from your website design to your content.

• Metadata - Website metadata such as page titles, content descriptions etc... all help to ensure search engines receive important information about the content of each page of your website. This must be relevant for your website to come up in search results.
• Alt tags - Alt tags provide text information for images to allow search engines such as Google to read the information and include the images on the search engine rankings.
• Internal links - Another essential for SEO, internal links help search engines navigate your website. Good internal links will lead search engines and visitors to your most important pages.
• External links - If another website has a link on their page that takes the user to your website then this is what’s known as an external link. This is a great way to improve your website's rankings; your designer will utilise all marketing strategies to help build external links to your website.
• Blogs - Any blogs you write also help to boost your website's ranking. Content needs to be relevant; mobile friendly to ensure you reach all your customers, and regularly updated.
• Mobile friendly website - Over 50% of internet browsing takes place on a mobile device so to really make sure your website is reaching a wide audience you need to ensure it is optimised for mobile devices.
• Domain age - When it comes to SEO it really makes a difference how old your website is so choose your domain name carefully, you want it to last!
• Content - In order to boost your rankings your content needs to be unique and relevant.
• Social interaction - Engaging with your audience will vastly improve your search engine rankings. Consider creating new campaigns to promote and share on social media; post engaging content on social media; be conversational but most importantly be yourself!
• Use power words - Words that draw your audience in and direct them to your site are a great way to improve your SEO. Some examples of power words include: Insane, Best, Scientifically, Fast, Effective. All these examples have an emotional draw that encourages the audience to click for more.

 
How to prepare content that is SEO ready for your website
In order for your website content to improve your SEO it’s essential you have relevant keywords and key phrases:

• Make a list of key phrases that focus on your products and services - do your research to ensure you don’t miss any great keywords.
• Make sure you use web resolution image files (lower resolution than you would use for print).
• Make sure you structure your content - think Introduction, Main Body and Conclusion. Write it in a way that reflects your personality to really engage your audience.
• Call To Action (CTA) - always end any content with a great Call To Action, whether that’s as simple as a ‘Buy Now’ button or a more subtle question you ask your audience to keep them interested.
• Word count - some SEO experts say 1000 or 2000, some are more, some are less; content around 300-500 words is not too much that it puts the reader off but enough to keep their interest and keep them coming back for more.

 
Most importantly, seek out a good web developer and marketeer and discuss your needs with them. It’s low cost with the potential to boost your business and it’s an essential way of keeping ahead of your competitors.
 
Got any burning SEO questions relevant to your existing website? Drop your questions below, we are happy to help.