5 Ways Your Small Business Can Win With SEO
When you’re competing against big companies with decades of content and millions of inbound links, you may think that it’s impossible for small business to have a chance at ranking when it comes to SEO. But with the most recent Google updates, search engine optimization is more focused on what is relevant for the searcher and less on sheer volume.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a key part of any business’s digital marketing strategy. And for small businesses that don’t have the budget for expensive paid search campaigns, it is a cost-effective way to drive targeted, inbound traffic to your website.
In this quick guide, we’ll walk you through 5 ways that your small business can win with SEO and increase your number of inbound leads without draining your marketing budget.
5 Ways Your Small Business Can Win With SEO
1. Long tail Keywords
Let’s say that you are running an e-commerce store that sells shoes. When you first start looking at search volume, you might be tempted to target commonly searched keywords, like “women’s shoes” or “shoes for women.”
But these general keywords are hard to rank for, and you might find that you aren’t showing up in search results when you target these. There is a lot less competition for long tail keywords, which is one of the biggest reasons that they are valuable to small businesses who are trying to rank in organic search.
Let’s go back to the e-commerce shoe store example. Instead of targeting short, general keywords like “women’s shoes,” you can target longer search phrases, such as:
- running shoes for women
- where to buy dress shoes for women
- black open-toe sandals for women
Although long tail keywords are used less frequently in search, the visitor that uses them is more likely to buy your service or product.
2. Social Media Engagement
Social media engagement (comments, shares, hashtags, etc.) all contribute to the overall organic ranking of your website. The more proactive you are with your social media strategy, the more likely your page will attract followers, and the higher your pages will appear in search.
Examples of what to share on social media platforms to increase engagement include:
- Sharing new products and promotions
- Posting blog post content from your website
- Sharing online content that is relevant to your followers and your target audience
3. Target the Right Keywords
Discovering the right keywords to target for SEO can be a daunting task, but it is definitely worth the effort. Once you know how many people are searching for your product or service and how much competition you have, you’ll be able to develop a successful SEO strategy for your business.
One of the most common keyword research tools is Google Keyword Planner. Because a large majority of people are using Google for searches, this tool is generally accurate and can provide you with valuable insights on the best keywords to use for your business. (Plus, it’s free to use!)
4. Improve Page Titles and Descriptions
Page titles and descriptions are just one of the elements that search engines use to determine what your site is about and where it should be ranked. Typically, search engines give more weight to title tags and page heads than any other element on a web page.
Title tags should be about 50 – 60 characters (without spaces) in length and contain phrases that your prospects are likely to type in search engines. Page descriptions (or meta descriptions) should be no more than 155 characters (without spaces) in length.
5. Cultivate Backlinks
Backlinks are essential for moving your site to the top of the search engine results. These are links that come from other sites and serve as a “personal recommendation” to help the search engines identify the best content.
In order to build back links, you need to produce content. One way is to issue regular press releases through a syndication service such as PRNewswire. Another common technique is to get your content published on relevant industry websites or forums.
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