Owners of small businesses take pride in making their entrepreneurial dream a reality. Of course, each aspect of running that business involves numerous challenges on a daily basis. Ultimately, those challenges lead up to one thing – getting more customers! When it comes to your website, such challenges can seem complex, assuming web development isn’t your business.

As you hopefully already know, search engine optimization (SEO) is essential to getting your website to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs) – which means that people searching for what you have to sell will find you faster (and assume your business is a leader). According to Walmart Business, studies show that nearly three-quarters of all clicks happen thanks to organic search results – links that Google deems important enough to display. But how to go about it? We offer these six SEO secrets to demystify the process!

1. Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Formerly known as Google My Business, your Google Business Profile is where most of your potential customers learn about your enterprise. Making sure that you make the most of it will give people the information they’re looking for! An optimized Google Business Profile allows consumers to discover your business in keyword searches, visit your website, learn more about your products and services, request a quote, schedule an appointment, make a reservation and more. You also can track clicks to your website, appointment or menu link using UTMs and Google Analytics.

Here are the basics:

•  Complete your profile – Ensure your business name, address, phone number, and other essential details are accurate and complete.
• Service area selection – Choose the right service areas to target your local customers.
• Upload high-quality images – Visuals help attract attention and give customers a better understanding of your business.
• Respond to reviews – Engaging with customers shows you care and builds trust.

Our blog post – “How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile” – covers this topic in detail.

2. Perform Keyword Research

Google’s increasingly complex algorithms are now much better at understanding user intent when they type a query. Knowing what Google “looks” for can give your website – and your business – a big advantage. Start by doing the following:

•  Identify relevant keywords – Understand what customers are searching for when looking for businesses like yours.
• Use tools like Google Keyword Planner – This and other similar tools – such as  Ahrefs and Semrush – can help you find keywords with good search volume and manageable competition.

3. Create Quality Content

Copy on your website should be relevant to what members of your target audience are looking for. Even if the keywords are there, you’ll quickly lose readers if they think your website’s copy rambles, focuses on information they consider irrelevant, etc. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Focus on helpful and not salesy content – Provide valuable information that answers customer questions and establishes trust.
• Keep blog posts around 750-2000 words – Aim for in-depth content that covers your chosen keywords or phrases.
• Include relevant images and alt tags – Optimize images for SEO by including alt text.    
• Use internal linking – Link to other relevant pages on your website to improve navigation and SEO.

4. Make Sure Technical SEO is in Place

What your potential customers don’t see is just as important as what they do see! Optimizing the technical aspects of your website is an absolute must! Here’s what to have in place:

• Optimize site speed – Fast loading times are crucial for user experience and SEO.
• Optimize mobile-friendliness – Ensure your website is responsive and accessible on mobile devices.
• Add schema markup ­– Structured data helps search engines better understand your content.
• Check for crawlability – Ensure Google can see your pages and index them correctly.

5. Pay Attention to Local SEO

•  Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile – This is essential for local visibility.
• Build local backlinks ­– Acquire links from local websites and directories.
• Understand the importance of NAP (Name, Address, Phone) – Consistency across online listings is key.

Our blog post – “What is Local SEO and Why Do You Need It?” – covers this topic in greater detail.

6. Build Backlinks

Backlinks are links on other websites that link back to your website. Search engines – especially Google – look for your website’s backlinks to see how your pages are related to each other, and in what ways. Backlinks from high-quality sources increase your site’s authority and ranking.

Resist the temptation to buy backlinks. This is considered “black hat SEO,” and banned by Google. Never mind that for some reason, sellers of backlinks can be found in Google’s search results. Just don’t do it! Our blog post – “The Importance of Backlinks in SEO” – details legitimate ways to get backlinks. Here are some basic tips:

• Build a positive collection of backlinks: Search engines see backlinks as signals of trust and authority.
• Leverage competitor backlinks: Analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles to identify opportunities.

The Take-Home Message

So the secret’s out on how to get the best possible SEO for your small business’s website! For small businesses, key SEO secrets include optimizing your Google Business Profile, conducting thorough keyword research, creating high-quality content, improving site speed, and focusing on local SEO. Additionally, building backlinks can significantly boost your online visibility.

By now, you’re probably wondering how you’re going to do all of that and run your business! That’s what Virtual Stacks Systems is here for! Our full-service digital marketing agency does it all – including experienced website design, website redesign, SEO services, content marketing and much more! Contact us today to learn what we can do for you. We’re ready to be your partner in success!