Here are seven small business SEO
tips to help earn more business through traditional organic search rankings.
1.
Onsite SEO is Necessary But Not Sufficient
Yes, optimizing title tags, site
structure (keep it flat) and load-speed are important. Many experiments have
shown these elements are in the Google algorithm.
Don’t obsess. Hire someone to
run an assessment and tune up the site; then move-on. Far too many small
businesses get stuck at the starting line.
2.
Website Content & Experience Are Critical
We have all read that “content is
king,” but what does that really mean?
Your website must have engaging
content for the end-user. The importance of this can’t be overstated. It will
impact time-on-site, conversion and SEO (engaging content is more likely to be
shared and linked to).
It is also critical because it
orients the small business webmaster towards offering something of value. Thin
content leaves a bad footprint, both onsite and offsite.
3.
Use Content Marketing to Earn Backlinks
Most small business owners are savvy
enough to know that 70 percent of their search engine rankings are the result
of backlinks. Being a pragmatic bunch, they then ask “where can I buy some?”
Don’t buy backlinks - it also leaves a bad footprint.
Small business marketers need to
earn links, and content marketing is extremely effective for gaining earned
links. The trick is in the trade. Something of value must be offered.
Quality content containing humor,
information, controversy, politics or training usually brings backlinks - and
is definitely considered acceptable SEO.
4.
Know Your Backlink Profile
There has been healthy debate
recently about the changing role of anchor text
in the Google algorithm. Even if the importance is fading, it is clearly still
a factor.
Small businesses should know their
backlink profiles. A lack of branded anchors and brand mentions is a clear
signal of manipulation, and therefore a rank killer.
Healthy businesses market their
brands through press releases and are discussed in forums by name. This all
leaves a good footprint.
Co-citation
is also a sign of a natural backlink profile. Strong companies are mentioned in
the same paragraph as other strong brands.
Articles with a single anchored link
to a website with low domain authority sticks out like a sore thumb. Google can
spot these insubstantial articles and weighs the links accordingly, or worse. Read
about the Penguin update for more.
5.
Create Buzz Through Community Building
While the term link bait is perhaps
overused, it is considered an acceptable activity by Google. This is because
the activity is aimed toward creating a positive end-user experience.
Without a community element, link
baiting is hard to distinguish from content marketing. Developing a community
(best if done onsite) is perhaps the best link bait of all because the
community starts to develop the content in ways no SEO consultant could ever
think of.
This is truly organic, extremely
natural, and helps SEO. Read up on Latent
Semantic Indexing if this concept is confusing.
6.
Quality Over Quantity
It is tempting to fall for the email
solicitations for large quantities of inexpensive links. But we all know where
that got JCPenney.
The SEO industry isn't like the
automobile industry, where automation is praised as a gain in efficiency.
Automation in SEO is bad because Google says it is. They believe it results in
a poorer end-user experience, an argument that has merit.
Small businesses may not like this
rule, but they do need to respect it if they want to see increases in rankings.
7.
Review the SEO Reports
Small business owners are busy, but
that is no excuse for not knowing what the SEO consultant is doing. It's
important to digest the monthly reports for a couple of reasons:
- The results should be moving in the right direction.
Don’t expect miracles, just monthly progress.
- The monthly reports should demonstrate that the SEO
team is executing with a disciplined process. Small business should not
foot the bill for experiments. There is enough risk facing small business
owners already.
