SEO for Small Businesses
What exactly is SEO?
SEO according to Wikipedia, is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. Simply put it means your website or business will rank very high when a web search is performed using certain keywords.
Now you may be thinking if SEO is right for your small business. Well, it depends on where you want your business to go. In Canada, approximately 96,000 new businesses open each year. Of that 96k, statistics show that 93% will fail in the first year. SEO may give your small business the visibility it needs for your business to be promoted on the Internet. It can give your business an advantage and help it to avoid that dreaded 93% statistic.
What SEO strategy should you consider?
SEO is the future of digital marketing and it should be a consideration. I guess it comes down to options, should you attempt to do it on your own or hire a consultant to assist you. The importance of SEO cannot be stressed enough. Your SEO strategy should consider the following:
- Your location: Is your company ranking in its local area?
- Your industry: What product or service are you offering?
- Website: Is your website mobile-friendly?
- Content: How are your products and services being displayed?
- Blog: How are you driving traffic to your website?
- Optimization: Are you choosing appropriate page titles for your content?
- Credibility and testimonials: Do you have clients that can provide feedback on their experience with your business. Testimonials can help a potential client make up their mind. Everyone wants to know, someone else tried a product or service before and liked it.
Is SEO right for your business?
Most people unless they know about your business directly or what you have to offer, will use a search engine to find your business online. Most businesses are found by their potential clients using a search engine. SEO is a great approach but there are a few things to consider like:
- Cost. What is your budget allotted to SEO?
- Speed. In competitive markets, SEO can take up to 6 months to provide results.
- Ads. Ads occupy a lot of screen space and are a source of competition.
- Competition from big companies. Some keyword searches might already be dominated by bigger companies and competing proves a little difficult.
If you are looking to get your Business’ name out there immediately, SEO is a little slower. A Pay-Per-Click digital marketing strategy is a consideration. This strategy may be a little more cost effective. You get to control your budget since you determine how much you want to spend daily. Your ads are visual and because of placement on the pages, clients will see them.
Ideally a combination of SEO and PPC would deliver the best results. While you may not rank quickly with SEO, if that is the avenue you choose, the sooner you get started, the faster you can benefit from organic visibility.
Should you hire a freelancer to work on your SEO?
A freelancer is a great place to start where your SEO is concerned. A freelancer is a professional with an additional benefit: they are not full-time personnel. It is a cost-effective option.
When choosing a freelancer, here are a few things to consider:
- Clear answers regarding how they will improve your current SEO such as page speed and optimization, content optimization and keyword searches.
- Examples of previous projects they have worked on.
- Clearly set guidelines of your expectations.
- A contract to solidify everything.
Here is a list of SEO Freelancers:
Should you hire a consultant to perform your monthly SEO activities?
Still on the fence about SEO, here are a few more guidelines when considering an SEO consultant.
- You can have a team dedicated to your SEO campaigns.
- Your organic ranking can improve.
- Your results will be tracked and monitored.
- You will have clear communication of your monthly expectations.
- An SEO consultant may be a one-stop shop since you may be able to also get services for: Web design, Email Marketing, Content Writing, Pay-per-click advertising (PPC), Social Media Marketing & more.
An SEO professional is highly recommended to take your business to the next level.
Book a free consult today to see if SEO is right for you.
Can you do SEO yourself?
For the most part, you can attempt to do SEO yourself. If you have a website, you probably are already doing SEO. However, I would recommend a professional that is knowledgeable in the field and can generate results at a faster rate. When running a business there are so many other things that you can direct your attention to, pass along SEO to the professionals.
However, there are a few recommended resources if you still want to go the route of DIY or if you just want to read up on the topic to gain a little more insight into what it is and how it works.
SEO Resources: