Are you a small business owner who wants to increase traffic to your website and climb the search engine rankings? If so, you should at least be familiar with search engine optimization. Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. In fact, I’m going to show you some optimizations you can start implementing on your small business website today! 👉📅
Keyword Research
Let’s start with the basics: keywords. Keyword research is the basis of SEO. It’s about identifying the words and phrases that people use to search for your products or services. In other words, the expressions that your potential customers use to express their needs and questions, as well as to find businesses like yours!
📌 If you don’t know your keywords, you’ll struggle to optimize your content for search engines.
So, how do you do keyword research? It’s simple. Just think like your customers. What would they search for when they’re looking for your business? For example, if you run a bakery, your customers might search for “cupcakes,” “birthday cakes,” or “wedding cakes.” Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or Keywordtool.io to find relevant keywords and take note of them.
On-page Optimization
Once you’ve identified your keywords, you need to optimize your website’s content… page by page!
On-page optimization is the practice of optimizing individual web pages to rank higher in search engine results and earn more relevant traffic.
This includes optimizing your page titles, meta descriptions, headings, images, and content.
Here’s a quick checklist for on-page optimization:
- Include your primary keyword in the page title and meta description
- Use your primary keyword in at least one heading (H1 or H2)
- Optimize your images by using descriptive filenames and alt tags
- Use your keywords throughout the content, but don’t overdo it
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly
Link Building 🔗
Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks from other websites to your own. Backlinks are like votes of confidence for your website. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in search engine results.
However, not all backlinks are created equal. You want to focus on acquiring backlinks from authoritative websites that are relevant to your industry. Here are some ways to build high-quality backlinks:
- Guest post on relevant blogs in your industry
- Reach out to influencers and ask them to link to your content
- Participate in online forums and include a link to your website in your signature
- Create shareable content, such as infographics or videos, that people will naturally link to
Don’t Forget About User Experience 👤
SEO is not just about search engine optimization. It’s also about optimizing for the user. After all, what’s the point of attracting traffic to your website if users leave quickly, don’t interact with your content, complete your forms or make a purchase?
At the end of the day, SEO is all about providing a great user experience. If your website is slow to load, difficult to navigate, or lacks high-quality content, users are unlikely to stick around or engage with your business.
Make sure your website is easy to navigate and understand. Use clear and concise language, and make sure your pages load quickly. No one wants to wait around for a slow website to load. Also, make sure your website is accessible and easy to use for people with disabilities.
Implement Schema Markup
Schema markup is a type of structured data that helps search engines better understand the content of your web pages. By adding schema markup to your website, you can improve your chances of appearing in rich snippets, which are enhanced search results that provide additional information, such as ratings, reviews, and images.
Think of schema markup as the seasoning on your website’s content. It adds a little extra flavor and makes it more appealing to search engines and users.
Wait, before you rush off to implement these optimizations, let me give you a bonus tip: don’t forget about local SEO.
Local SEO is crucial for small businesses that rely on local customers. By optimizing your website and online presence for local search, you can increase your visibility to users in your area and attract more foot traffic to your business.
Here are a few local SEO optimizations to prioritize:
Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing
Google Business Profile is a free tool that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including search and maps. By claiming and optimizing your listing, you can provide users with accurate and up-to-date information about your business, such as your address, phone number, website, hours, and reviews.
Get Listed in Local Directories
There are numerous online directories, such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and TripAdvisor, that allow businesses to list their information and gain exposure to local customers.
By getting listed in these directories, you can improve your local search rankings and increase your chances of being discovered by potential customers.
Build Local Citations
A citation is any mention of your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on another website, such as a local directory or review site.
By building local citations, you can improve your online visibility and credibility, as well as your local search rankings.
📌 Make sure your local citations are consistent, i.e. written in the exact same manner across all platforms.
Encourage Local Reviews
Reviews are a crucial factor in local SEO, as they provide social proof and help build trust with potential customers. Encourage your happy customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google and Facebook, and respond promptly and graciously to any negative reviews.
Just remember, local SEO is like the cherry on top of your SEO sundae. It may seem like a small addition, but it can make a big difference in attracting local customers and growing your business.
Monitor Your Progress
Finally, make sure you monitor your progress. SEO is an ongoing process, and you need to track your results to see what’s working and what’s not. Use tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to track your website traffic and see where it’s coming from. This will help you make informed decisions about where to focus your efforts.
If you’re not seeing the results you want, don’t give up. SEO takes time, and it’s not always easy. But with a bit of patience and persistence, you can climb the search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your small business website.
Here are the most profitable SEO optimizations for Quebec SMEs in 2023. Now, go ahead and optimize! 👩🏽💻
But don’t forget to take breaks and have some fun along the way. After all, SEO may be important, but it’s not worth sacrificing your sanity or your sense of humour for… 🙃
And if all else fails, just remember the wise words of the great philosopher, Dory from Finding Nemo: “Just keep swimming.” Or in this case, just keep optimizing.
You’ll get there eventually. 💯
