What is SEO? 

SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it is the process of getting your web content or website to appear at the top of search engine results. We want to clarify that this article will be focusing on SEO specifically regarding Google’s search engine because Google is the most used search engine globally and SEO operates with slight differences across various search engines. SEO involves constructing your website in a way that increases the amount of organic search traffic that the website receives. It is important to understand that SEO revolves around websites being organic, which means that sites find their way to the top of search results pages. There is also the option of choosing to have your website be a part of paid ads on search engines, however, for a small business like yours, it may be wiser to allocate your finances elsewhere. After all, SEO works for those businesses that put in the effort, and why wouldn’t you want to capitalize on all the free ways to increase your sales? 

Why is SEO marketing important for your business? 

SEO is an important aspect of marketing your services because it helps your consumers find you. It’s incredibly common for consumers to rely on Google to connect them to the products or services they’re seeking, with around 46% of product searches beginning on Google. Depending on the area and industry you’re operating in, you may face several competitors that are similar to you. In order to compete against other businesses, you need to have a visible online presence for your target market. Generally, consumers will focus their attention on the first few results that appear. In fact, around 90% of people using Google never even click past the first page of results. If you don’t appear as one of the 10 search results on the first page, your target market may never find you! Effectively optimizing your website can ensure that it doesn’t get lost in the unfortunate Google abyss.

Tips on how your business can get started

Tip 1: Identify your unique selling proposition and choose the appropriate keywords

As you will be competing against similar businesses, it is crucial that you identify your competitive differentiator. Once that is done, you can start to narrow down potential keywords customers will search in Google for your service. BDC recommends that you “make a list of 20 to 50 keywords” and then use Google Ads to “validate that the keywords you chose are frequently used in online searches.” Ensure that these keywords can be found throughout different pages on your website. However, “the process of putting keywords on your websites to use on your website is typically done through blogs” (Forbes).

Tip 2: Generate blog content

The most optimal way to increase the ranking of your site on Google is to generate blog content. Blog content should have two purposes. The first is, as previously mentioned, to promote the keywords you’ve chosen and advertise your business’s value proposition. The second is to “convey your expertise and authority, pushing your visitors down the sales funnel.” While your business won’t be able to generate the same amount of content compared to a bigger business, “there’s likely plenty of information about your business and its product/services that can’t be found on your website at the moment.” 

Tip 3: Improve your website design and navigation

While our first two tips ensure your website has the information your customers want, it is not enough to secure a high ranking on Google’s pages. In addition to the content you publish, “Google wants to serve pages with good usability, that load fast and look great on mobile,” according to Tim Soulo from Ahrefs, a popular SEO tool. For this reason, it is important to make your website easy to read and navigate, while also delivering results with a fast loading speed.

While SEO marketing can seem intimidating and overwhelming, we believe that the tips provided will be a great framework and start for your business.

Written by Riddhi Upadhyay and Rahul Guhan