2 minute read
Evolving Technology
BY ASH YOUNG
Our tech expert with a guide to developing strong SEO visibility
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TOP 8 SEO TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.
Are you a small online business wanting to get started with Google SEO? For small business promotion, there is little that can compete with high, organic search engine visibility.
It may seem daunting to begin but I’ve put together the top actions you can take to get started:
1Create a Google My Business Listing Google My Business (GMB) is important as it helps to increase your chances of showing up in organic rankings for local businesses and Google Maps.
2Sign up for Google Search Console Google Search Console is a free service that provides information on how you’re ranking, what search terms bring people to your site, your site map, link errors and much more. It also monitors the health of your website and makes recommendations for basic improvements.
3Conduct initial
keyword research
Understanding what your potential customers search for is key to effectively optimising your website. To do this, you can use Google Keyword Planner (part of Google Ads), or Moz Explorer.
Identify your core terms, by using your own judgement. What services or products do you sell? Think about how you would search for it. Plug those in to discover average monthly search volume and similar keywords. Even very simple keyword research can help you to guide on the structure and optimisations for your site.
4Keyword to page mapping Now you have a list of keywords to target, do you have an appropriate page on site for each term? This will help you to rank higher for keywords relevant to that page, and provides a targeted landing page that matches user intent.
5Crawl your site The free version of Screaming Frog will crawl 500 pages, usually enough for a small business. The output will allow you to review your URLs, page titles, meta descriptions and H1 tags, and make sure they’re optimised for your focus keywords.
6Add location pages If your company has multiple physical stores, then I would recommend a page for each of these locations. This will help to develop strong local SEO visibility.
7Conduct a page speed and mobile-friendly
test
You can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Google’s Mobile Friendly Test, and this will provide a report for potential optimisations to improve your site.
8Local link building Gaining links back to your site from external authoritative websites can help to improve your search rankings. Do you have any existing partners locally? Do you provide a service or products to a local company? Do you have a wholesaler, manufacturer, or distributor? Any of these businesses may add a link back to your site.
