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Last Updated August 19, 2024
Small business SEO uses key steps to improve website visibility in search results. It includes creating content and getting backlinks to drive more traffic. Learn how our experts use it to help small businesses grow their online presence.
SEO takes months to deliver results. And with so many brands competing for top positions on search results pages, you can never be sure if your site will even rank.
This is where understanding SEO for small businesses helps. While you won’t see the results in days, following the fundamentals does position you for sure and faster results.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the fundamentals of SEO for small businesses and how to rank on Google.
What is SEO for small businesses?
SEO for small businesses involves optimizing your website to rank higher on search results pages. Search engines like Google and Bing show two types of results: Organic and paid.
When people search for anything related to what your business offers, good SEO helps your site appear in the free or “organic” search results.
It involves improving your website’s content and design to match what your target audience is looking for and expecting. This way, more people find your business online and what it offers — products, services, or information.
For small businesses, this is a practical way to reach more people without advertising costs.
Costs for small busines SEO
If you’re running a local business and just need to boost your presence in the neighborhood, the cost is around $500 to $1,000 monthly. Full-service SEO can range anywhere from $3,000-$10,000/month.
To keep your small business growing, you’ll need to invest in ongoing SEO services. Keep in mind, the right investment could mean a world of difference for your visibility and sales.
How to improve SEO for small businesses? 11 tips
Here are some key small business SEO tips:
- Target long-tail keywords for specific reach
- Optimize your site for ‘near me’ searches
- Form local partnerships for quality backlinks
- Create content that speaks to your niche
- Regularly update your content for freshness
- Leverage SEO tools for better results
- Strategically place internal links for better navigation
- Make your website mobile-responsive
- Implement structured data for more space on the search results page
- Continuously monitor and enhance site speed
- Actively seek and showcase customer reviews
1. Target long-tail keywords for specific reach
To reach a more targeted audience, use long-tail keywords. These are longer, more specific phrases customers are likely to search for.
(Image: raventools.com)
Long-tail keywords are relatively less competitive and attract visitors looking for exactly what you offer. In comparison, the keyword difficulty for shorter and more generic phrases is high.
So, for a local bakery, targeting “artisan sourdough bread in Atlanta” rather than just “bread in Atlanta” could bring in more relevant traffic. Incorporate these target keywords naturally into your website content, titles, and meta descriptions.
You can use SEO tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to find long-tail keywords.
Further reading: Short-Tail vs. Long-Tail Keywords 101
2. Optimize your site for ‘near me’ searches
Make your business easily discoverable in local ‘near me’ searches to attract nearby customers.
Incorporate location-based keywords into your website’s content and tags, such as “florist near Central Park” for a flower shop in New York.
Keep your Google Business Profile updated with accurate location details, operating hours, and phone numbers. This helps search engines understand your location, making your site more likely to appear when someone searches for services or products in your area.
3. Form local partnerships for quality backlinks
Backlinks from other reputed websites have a big impact on your SEO. These links increase your site’s credibility in search engine eyes.
Local businesses should focus on acquiring backlinks from relevant local sources and industry authorities.
Do this through networking, project collaboration, guest posting on reputable industry blogs, or participating in local community events.
4. Create content that speaks to your niche
Creating high-quality and comprehensive content is the most important search ranking factor. So, build a robust content calendar and maintain a consistent publishing cadence.
This means publishing blog posts and articles that address your customers’ specific needs, interests, and pain points.
For instance, if you own a pet grooming supply store, create content about unique pet care tips or reviews of the latest pet products.
Also, instead of creating generic content already out there, try personalizing your content for your target audience to establish authority in your niche.
A more authoritative (and trusted) brand name has an advantage on the search results page. They get more clicks, which subsequently boosts their search ranking.
Further reading: 7 Types of Content Marketing to Grow Your Audience
5. Regularly update your content for freshness
Regularly refreshing your website’s content means revisiting existing pages and posts and updating statistics, facts, and information to ensure everything is current.
Remember, SEO for small business websites isn’t just about adding new content, but also about enhancing what’s already there.
This could involve revising old blog posts to reflect newer trends, adding recent customer testimonials, or updating product descriptions and photos.
Refreshing content keeps it useful for visitors and tells search engines your site remains a valuable resource with up-to-date information.
6. Leverage SEO tools for better results
Using the right SEO tools can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your strategy.
These tools aid in keyword research, competitor analysis, and website performance tracking.
For instance, an SEO tool like Semrush can identify which keywords drive traffic to your competitors. And Google Analytics can provide information about what keywords bring traffic to your site. This leads to more informed decision-making and improved results for your business.
At HawkSEM, we use ConversionIQ, our proprietary marketing technology that gives our search engine marketing strategy an edge through actionable insights.
ConversionIQ streamlines data and reporting, tracking every step of the buyer journey. This helps us understand what aspects of the strategy are working and what needs further improvements, which allows us to deliver our clients better ROI.
All active HawkSEM clients get access to this tool for free. Get in touch with our SEO consultant to know more.
7. Strategically place internal links for better navigation
Internal linking (linking one page to another within your website) helps search engines and users navigate your website easily.
It helps search bots discover and crawl more web pages on your site.
You also guide visitors to relevant information (and increase their time on your site) by linking related pages within your content.
For example, a blog post about healthy eating on a nutritionist’s website could link to related recipes or a page about nutrition consultation services.
This improves SEO and enhances the user’s journey through your website.
8. Make your website mobile-responsive
Most online searches are now happening on mobile devices. Your site must adjust seamlessly to different screen sizes. This ensures a smooth browsing experience, keeping potential customers on your site longer.
Use responsive design so your website looks and functions properly on desktops and mobile devices.
For instance, if you run an e-commerce business, customers should find it easy to view products, read descriptions, and purchase from their phones.
Use your website across various devices to test its compatibility and user-friendliness.
Further reading: How to Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly (& Why It’s a Must)
9. Implement structured data for more space on the search results page
Structured data makes your content easier to understand for search engines.
It’s a code added to your website’s HTML to define specific types of content, like products, reviews, or events.
For example, if you have an online bookstore, use structured data to display book titles, authors, ratings, and prices directly in local search results.
This can lead to rich snippets that stand out and improve click-through rates.
Tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper can help you implement this feature.
10. Continuously monitor and enhance site speed
Website speed is a search ranking factor. Slow-loading sites are often penalized in search rankings and can frustrate visitors, leading them to leave.
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to regularly check your site’s speed and identify areas for improvement.
Simple changes like optimizing images, reducing redirects, and enabling browser caching can improve loading times.
Faster sites improve keyword ranking for respective pages and provide a better experience to your audience.
11. Actively seek and showcase customer reviews
Ask your customers to leave reviews on your website or third-party platforms. Customer reviews boost your website’s trustworthiness and SEO.
Respond to these reviews to show you value customer feedback. Also, displaying reviews on your website can also improve conversions.
For example, a small coffee shop can encourage patrons to leave reviews on Google about their favorite coffee blend and then feature these reviews on its homepage.
Authentic reviews provide real insights into your business from the customer’s perspective.
Further reading: 8 Effective Ways to Use Customer Reviews in Marketing
Key components of SEO for small businesses
There are five core components of SEO:
Let’s break them down.
1. Keyword research
Keyword research discovers words/phrases potential customers or target audiences use when searching for products or services similar to yours.
This means finding relevant search terms that have a good search volume but aren’t overly competitive.
You can tailor your website’s content to match what your audience is searching for by understanding the intent behind keywords.
For example, informational keywords mean folks are looking for content to help them learn before they buy. Commercial intent keywords mean folks are looking to buy now, so it’s better to have a landing page that guides them to the finish line.
Also, matching search intent increases your site’s chances of appearing in search results when using those keywords.
2. On-page SEO
On-page SEO refers to optimizing elements on your website that affect search engine rankings. This includes optimizing title tags, headings, content, and images to align with target keywords.
It’s also about organizing your site for easy navigation. And linking your pages to each other in a way that makes sense.
Working on on-page SEO factors makes your website more user-friendly and accessible for search engines to crawl and understand. Well-optimized pages are more likely to rank higher, leading to increased traffic.
3. Content creation
Content creation involves producing valuable, relevant, consistent content that attracts and engages your target audience. It typically comes under the on-page SEO category.
You can create blog posts, articles, videos, or infographics.
The key is to publish relevant content (using the phrases identified in your keyword strategy) that answers your audience’s questions and meets their needs.
High-quality content helps with SEO, yes. But it also establishes your business as an authority in your field, building trust with your audience.
Remember, even search engines recommend creating content for users, not bots. So, keep the needs and requirements of your target audience at the center when creating your SEO content strategy.
“AI content is everywhere now. Brands are publishing AI-generated content that is generic, unhelpful and lacks personality. And this is bad in the long run, both for SEO and brand building,” says Sam Yadegar, CEO of HawkSEM.
“At HawkSEM, we’ve reinforced our commitment to human-created, human-edited, and human-first content for our clients. We have an experienced team of content specialists, bloggers, and copywriters who work in sync with SEO specialists. This gives our clients a competitive advantage and assures long-term, sustainable returns.”
Learn more about our content marketing services or book your free consultation.
4. Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO focuses on external factors influencing your website’s ranking in search results pages.
The central part of this is getting backlinks, which are links from other websites to yours.
Think of backlinks as recommendations. When other websites link to yours, they’re saying your site is useful and worth visiting.
To get more backlinks, create interesting and helpful content others will want to share. You can also directly ask other website owners in your industry to link to your site.
In addition to link building, being active on social media and writing guest blog posts can also help.
Good off-page SEO tells search engines that your website is popular and trustworthy, which can make it rank higher on the search results page.
5. Technical SEO
Technical SEO involves the behind-the-scenes aspects of your website that impact its search ranking.
This includes website speed, mobile-friendliness, indexing, crawlability, site architecture, and structured data.
Ensuring your website is technically sound means search engines can easily crawl/index your pages and content.
A fast, mobile-friendly site also provides a better user experience, reducing bounce rates (percentage of site visitors that leave after viewing one page) and increasing engagement — both are search ranking factors.
SEO vs. local SEO for small businesses
Regular SEO focuses on reaching a broad, often global audience, using general keywords. On the other hand, local SEO for small businesses targets people in a specific area.
So, while both SEO and local SEO can increase a website’s visibility in search results, they target different audiences.
This distinction is important for small businesses — especially those serving local communities like cafes or repair shops.
Local SEO includes tactics like listing your business on Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) and using location-specific keywords.
(Image: searchenginejournal.com)
For small businesses with a physical location, local SEO brings in local customers who are more likely to visit their facility. It helps them foster a solid online presence in their local market.
Why use SEO for small business websites?
Here are some of the benefits of organic SEO for small businesses:
- Drives traffic cost-effectively
- Builds credibility and trust
- Provides a competitive advantage
- Boosts local engagement and visibility
- Delivers long-term results
- Paves the way for a better user experience
Drives traffic cost-effectively
SEO is a budget-friendly way for small businesses to attract online visitors. The traffic generated through organic searches is free.
Unlike paid ads, where costs can quickly add up, SEO mainly requires time and effort at the start.
Once your website ranks higher in search results, it can continue attracting visitors without ongoing expenses.
This is particularly suitable for small businesses with limited marketing budgets. It offers them a sustainable way to gain online visibility and customer traffic.
At HawkSEM, we offer SEO services — get in touch with us to learn more.
Builds credibility and trust
People often trust organic search results more than paid ads.
For small businesses, appearing naturally in these search results through effective SEO (for relevant keywords) can enhance credibility and trust among potential customers.
Best SEO practices, such as providing valuable content, ensuring easy website navigation, and securing backlinks from reputable sites, help establish your business as a trustworthy and authoritative source.
Provides a competitive advantage
SEO can help your small business stand out in a crowded market.
You get a spot in the organic search results — the ones people see first — by optimizing your website. Many potential customers may scroll past ads and look at these organic results.
A solid SEO strategy can even put your small business on par with bigger competitors, leveling the playing field. It can make your business just as visible online as larger companies.
Boosts local engagement and visibility
Local SEO helps small businesses with physical locations pop up in searches when people look for services “near me” or in a specific area.
This means your shop or service can appear on local maps and in directories, making it easier for people nearby to find and visit you.
So, like how PPC ads send a targeted audience to your website based on your business location, local SEO can do the same for you. All you need is the right strategy that focuses on the right keywords.
Delivers long-term results
Investing resources in SEO brings lasting benefits to your business.
Yes, SEO requires continuous work. For instance, you may need to update your content regularly and track your backlink profile.
But unlike ads that stop showing the moment you stop paying, a well-implemented SEO strategy keeps working for you.
This ongoing impact means the improvements you make to your website today can continue to attract new customers and drive traffic for years. This also means a high-quality article published today (preferably on an evergreen topic) can bring you organic traffic for years.
Paves the way for a better user experience
A great user experience is key to turning first-time visitors into loyal customers.
How?
SEO for small business websites isn’t just about pleasing search engines. It’s also about providing an excellent experience for your visitors by ensuring mobile-friendliness, quick loading times, and straightforward navigation.
This makes visitors stay longer and engage with your content, which increases the chances of converting visits into sales.
How to find an SEO agency for small businesses?
Creating (and implementing) an effective SEO strategy has nuanced challenges. This is why small business owners are usually recommended to get help from SEO experts.
If DIY isn’t your thing and you want to work with specialists, here are four important things to consider when looking for managed SEO for small businesses from an agency:
Affordability
The average cost of SEO for small businesses varies. It depends on the needs and requirements of the project.
Find an agency that delivers affordable SEO for small businesses, which fits your exact budget. Ask for detailed quotes and check for hidden fees to ensure affordability.
A good agency will provide scalable technical, on-page, and off-page SEO services, allowing you to start small and increase your investment as your business grows.
Experience
A local SEO company experienced with small businesses will better understand your specific needs and limitations.
They can create a more effective strategy tailored to your size and market.
Check their history with businesses like yours to ensure they can handle your unique SEO challenges and deliver on your goals.
Previous successes
An agency’s track record with other small businesses gives insight into their effectiveness.
In addition to checking their SEO services list, review their client testimonials and success stories to see if they have a history of improving online visibility and driving traffic for small businesses similar to yours.
This will give you confidence in their ability to help you with SEO.
Regular reporting
Choose an agency that offers comprehensive weekly updates and is open to meetings to discuss progress. These reports should clearly show the impact of their work on your website’s traffic and ranking.
This consistent communication is essential to ensure the agency is accountable and focused on meeting your business’s goals.
Regular insights allow you to understand the value you’re getting from the SEO efforts and ensure that the agency’s approach aligns with your business objectives.
Team up with SEO specialists
HawkSEM is a full-service digital marketing agency. We offer end-to-end SEO services, which include everything from keyword research and technical optimization to content creation, link building, and SEO tracking.
Over the years, we’ve worked with the biggest brands like Microsoft and Verizon, as well as SMBs across different niches.
“Working with small businesses is always an exciting experience. There are nuanced challenges in planning, budgeting, and execution that our SEO team thrives on,” says Yadegar. “We treat every client, irrespective of their budget, with just as much care and personalized support. And this is truly one of the things that make HawkSEM stand out. It is one of the reasons why so many small businesses trust us with their growth.”
We helped Prismatic, an integration platform for B2B software companies, increase the top 3 keyword rankings by 228%. And another client Moneta Group, a wealth management firm, increased its net organic keyword portfolio by 326%.
Want to be our next success story?
Book your free consultation today. We offer comprehensive, custom, and affordable SEO services with dedicated account managers and strategists for every project.
The takeaway
Search is the biggest discovery channel for small businesses. And it’s also free.
But it requires an effective SEO strategy that gets your website to rank higher (and maintain that position) for the right set of keywords meaningful to your business.
The first step?
Hiring specialists for SEO audit services. Get in touch with us today.