You may have heard of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. It’s defined as the methods used to boost the ranking or frequency of a website in results returned by a search engine, in an effort to maximize user traffic to the site. But many small business owners still aren’t quite sure how it works or how to do it correctly.
You’re not alone.
Many small business owners feel overwhelmed by SEO, and what they need to do to get noticed on the web. Fortunately, small business SEO doesn’t have to be complicated. It all comes down to two very important things: keywords and backlinks. Let’s look at each.
Keywords
Keywords are what searchers type into the search box, and they can help determine whether or not your website gets found. When it comes to SEO marketing, it’s about helping visitors find you.
So how do you know what keywords to use? Like any well laid plan, you start with research. Think of what your target customers will be searching for when looking for a business like yours. Use sites Google AdWords Keyword Planner or Uber Suggest to help discover how many people are actually searching for the keywords you come up with.
Once you find the keywords you want to target in your small business SEO, use them throughout your content. Make sure to not over-use them and to make them sound natural in your content. Remember quality over quantity!
Backlinks
Another key to great small business SEO is links. Links are very important for getting ranked in the search engines. It shows search engines that your site is worth linking to; which makes it look very good in Google’s eyes.
You can get links to your site in a number of ways.
Natural links happen when others find your content and link to it. To do this, make sure your content is worth linking to.
Doing outreach is another great method. You can also secure links to your content by reaching out website owners and asking them to link to your content. Again, your content needs to be something worth linking to for this to work.
Writing your own content on other sites also works. You can create content to be posted on other sites that accept guest authors. You can also link to your posts in forum signatures, question and answer forums, blog comments and user profiles.
Small business SEO is necessary to get your business website found by online searchers. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. By doing some keyword research and using your words naturally, and securing links by writing great content, you stand a much better chance of getting your business site found.
