SEO for Small Businesses in 2023

What is SEO?

SEO (search engine optimisation) dictates your website’s ranking on search engines. SEO is vital for generating organic search traffic to your website. All traffic to your site will allow you to increase engagement, sales and build your customer base.

Without SEO, your website will not appear on search results for engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo without spending money on PPC advertisements. 

SEO has developed quickly over the years, and it can be difficult for small businesses without a dedicated digital marketing resource to keep up with the speed of the industry.

We have created a quick and easy-to-understand resource for small business owners to begin SEO when unsure where to start; this can dramatically help your marketing efforts.

Your website is the foundation to great SEO

One easy way to approach SEO, which doesn't require a deep understanding of Google algorithms or how to optimise a website, is to create user-focused pages. User-focused websites are easy for the user to navigate and contain information that is useful to them. As a digital marketing agency in Hull, we push this as it is both best practices, great for the end-user and much more manageable for the client.

Firstly, think about your target audience. What is your audience searching for? What would they find helpful?

By understanding your audience, you ensure you have pages on your website that clearly explain your services and encourage users to contact you. These pages should have a good mix of text, images and videos if you have them available. 

Your website should also be simple to navigate; it should have a straightforward menu, search bar, and headings. Ensure your website loads quickly and is optimised for mobile devices. New customers should be able to use and search your website easily -if they can’t, they won’t stay on your website. 

Now, consider what makes your business unique and make sure this is reflected in your online content. Remember, you are competing against other companies for attention online from prospective customers.

Okay, that’s sorted. What’s next?

The next step to increase your SEO is to expand your website's content. You need to demonstrate your expertise around your services and business. The easiest way to do this is to write articles on your blog covering these topics.

It is now time to consider some of the more technical aspects of SEO. This includes the use of keywords, internal links, and meta tags. 

Keywords

Consider what keywords and phrases your audience would use to search for your product/services. Would they use formal language or slang? Now make a list of these keywords and phrases.

Once you have identified keywords and phrases, create high-quality blog content, including these. Search engines will recognise that your content is relevant to these key search terms. This will increase the likeness of your content appearing on search results for these keywords, allowing potential customers to find your website. 

Internal links

When writing informative and helpful blogs for your audience, you should also mention your services in the content and link to your service pages. Ensure you review your website and put a clear call to action on your service pages. A call to action is an attention grabber on the page that shows the user how to contact you about your service. Examples include buttons, banners or images.

Internal links to service pages make it easy for customers to see what your business offers and how to contact you - increasing the likelihood of them performing conversions, such as filling out a contact form. 

Search engines will also recognise internal links to related pages on your website. This increases the relevance of your blog post in the eyes of the search engine, making it more likely to appear in search results. 

Meta tags 

Meta tags and meta descriptions are essential for helping search engines show your website in search results that are most relevant to your business and audience. 

A meta title is the heading shown on search results for a page on your website. Make sure your meta title includes keywords which accurately describe what is on that page of your website.

A meta description is only visible on search results and summarises the page showing on the search result. Keep your meta description concise, accurately describe your page, and use keywords.

SEO is a gradual but long-term method of promoting your website's visibility. Be patient; over time, you'll see that your blog traffic will build up and flow into your website's other key areas.

Where a marketing professional or agency can help

Once you have your basics covered, you'll benefit from having somebody with the expertise to optimise your website and content. Marketing professionals have access to tools that can track the performance of your website within search results. Tracking performance actively optimises pages whilst measuring the impact of their activity.

Content writers are skilled in creating website copy that can engage your users and keep them on your website. They can ensure that content is written with target keywords as a focus and optimised with links.

A technical SEO expert can look through your code and ensure that Google can read all your content to guarantee your pages are found. They can also give recommendations for improving the speed of your website and its accessibility.

Finally, an SEO professional can use digital PR and other link-building campaigns to improve your website authority. Link building is the process of getting other websites to link to your website to get traffic and improve performance on Google.

Increasing your SEO is a long-lasting marketing strategy that you can begin working towards yourself. For the best results, SEO experts are an excellent resource. Eyeweb can work to increase your web traffic while you work on the everyday running of your business.

Eyeweb is a web design and digital marketing agency in Hull. For SEO advice or other digital marketing expertise, contact our friendly team today or call 01482 628830.