I used to think Search Engine Optimisation was some sort of arcane digital marketing wizardry, a mysterious code more difficult to unlock than the Beale Ciphers. Not so! For sure, the well is deep, but you can paddle in the shallows and still reap rewards. So small business owner, how can it help you? Here are our top 5 benefits of SEO for small business. Check it out.
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Top 5 benefits of SEO for small business. Is it worth it?
1 – Get found.
If you’re online you need people to find you. A search engine like Google uses an algorithm that operates a bit like a set of rules for a digital popularity contest. SEO best practice is a list of stuff to help you win some much needed popularity.
There are 1.7 billion-ish websites, so as they say, if a website doesn’t employ an SEO strategy and no one ever finds it, did it really exist? Yes, but who cares.
How to get found: The mighty backlink. If another site with a high level of authority links to yours, this signals to the search engine that you’ve got the right stuff. A good backlink is like an endorsement for your business.
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2 – Get found (part 2) by the right people
So, we know SEO can help people find you, but who are those people? Rather than wandering aimlessly into the content marketing wilderness, an effective SEO strategy will teach you to optimise your content for the audience you seek.
Target the right audience and you’ll convert more of that tasty, organic traffic into new customers. Don’t forget about your conversion rate!
How to get found by the right people: Good old fashioned keyword research. Rank for the keywords you want to rank for.
Find terms you can compete on and use keyword research to inform the direction of your content. Keyword stuffing is a thing of the past though, remember that quality content is king.
3 – Be more useful
Any successful SEO strategy has user experience at its core. Search engines like Google want to pair users with information that is relevant and helpful. Create valuable content your target audience actually wants, and you will be rewarded in the search engine.
An effective SEO strategy will help you identify questions and problems facing potential customers in your market. Be useful and people are more likely to hang around on your site, click through to other pages, and share your content. Good for business and another way of informing the algorithm that hey, we are worthy.
How to be more useful: Understand the customer buying cycle.
Where is your target audience in the buying cycle? This will help inform the type of content you create. For example, content you create for people in the discovery phase will be different to those in the decision phase.
4 – The Feedback Loop
A major bonus of adopting an SEO strategy is that, if done right, you’ll learn how to analyse and utilise data. SEO and data analysis are like fish and chips, made for each other.
If you’re optimising for the search engine, you’ll want to see if it’s working, right? Understanding why (or why not) will then help inform the content you create moving forward. And around and around we go. Analysing data is the next logical step after implementing SEO basics.
How to make the most of data: Google analytics. A free and very powerful tool.
5 – Small investment. Big payoff
If you’re running a small business, SEO lays a foundation you can build off and benefit from long term. It’s about sustainable growth, and for a small business with a small budget, it’s excellent bang for buck.
If you get all of your SEO ducks in a row, then when it does come time to put some coin down on an online marketing campaign, you have the content, the data, and the foundation.
Small investment example: The mighty Blog! When it comes to bang for that hard earned buck, blogging is up there. A blog is a way to connect with your audience and build a real following. The modern consumer is online and has plenty of questions. With a blog you can provide the answers with nothing more than a simple website.
Conclusion: 5 reasons small businesses should use SEO
So there you are, the benefits of SEO for small business are clear. It’s not a trick, a shortcut, or a hack and you don’t have to do it perfectly from the get go.
Even if it’s simply performing some basic keyword research, the point is to start somewhere and build your strategy over time. Do it early, do the basics right, and the payoffs will come as your business grows. A great place to start is with MOZ. Check out some of their free training -> https://moz.com/training
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