How would you rate your small business SEO performance, and what should you focus on next for greater success?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of enhancing your website to achieve higher rankings in search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
Your aim is to reach the searchers who might become your customers.
It’s essential for your business to appear in various search results, including Google Maps, organic listings, Featured Snippets, images, and videos, to maximize your visibility.
Small business SEO presents unique challenges because you likely don’t have a dedicated SEO team or the time to stay updated on the latest search developments.
You are not only competing against other small businesses but also against publishers, big brands, and other informational sources in search results.
Additionally, you certainly don’t have the budget those larger competitors possess.
What can a small business do?
In this article, you’ll find an 11-point SEO checklist for small businesses that will help you prioritize and concentrate on the SEO tasks that will significantly impact your results. This includes:
– What to address.
– Why it’s essential.
– The tools to use.
– The time commitment involved.
1. Nail Down What Problems You Solve for Customers
Before delving into SEO, you need to understand how people search. It’s easy to waste money in paid search by targeting the wrong audience or delivering the wrong message to the right people.
Knowing who you’re trying to reach and understanding the problem you’ll solve for them is essential.
Start by asking yourself questions like:
– How, when, and where do customers realize they need your product or service?
– Is it when they are away from home using their cell phone? Or at home using a desktop or tablet?
– Is it driven by a personal desire, like enjoying good food or finding a great place to relax?
– Or is it triggered by a disruptive event like a home or personal issue?
These questions will shape the language your customers use to find your business.
This information will guide your keyword research and content creation, among other tasks.
2. Fix Your Technical SEO Issues
Your small business website might look fine on the outside with appealing graphics, colors, and fonts.
However, if there are technical problems beneath the surface, it will likely affect your rankings and traffic.
Before undertaking content or link campaigns, spend time correcting the foundation.
You need a solid website structure so search engines can accurately crawl and index your web pages.
Some common technical SEO issues involve:
– Speed.
– Duplicate content.
– Broken links.
– Improper use of canonical link elements.
3. Optimize Your Pages
On-page optimization exceeds merely placing a target keyword strategically on a page.
It involves developing properly structured, high-quality content written naturally that incorporates your targeted keywords.
Use every reasonable (non-spammy) opportunity to include your targeted keywords appropriately on your website.
Otherwise, you’re missing out on important ranking signals. That means you must optimize your:
– Title tags and subheadings.
– Images and videos.
– Meta description.
– Body content.
– Internal links.
4. Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) strategy should be a focal point for any small business. It’s free, easy to update, and can have a significant impact.
Ideally, your Google Business Profile will provide all the information a potential customer needs to contact you, get driving directions, order online, or otherwise convert directly from the listing.
The first step towards optimizing your Google business listing is claiming and verifying it.
Ensure that you fill out as many fields as possible and include photos and videos to enhance your listing.
Selecting the correct categories for your business is crucial, as the primary category guides which attributes and other features are available to you.
For advanced optimization, take the time to create questions and answers for your listing.
In local search results, there is a section on your listing where people can ask questions and get answers.
As a small business, staying on top of these questions is vital.
You can even create your own questions and provide the answers to proactively provide information that might help searchers convert.
5. Find Out What Competitors Are Doing & Do It Better
Online competitors might differ from those in your local area.
For SEO purposes, the most relevant competitors are the websites appearing in the top five to ten positions of Google search results for your targeted keywords.
These are the competitors you want to analyze.
When conducting a competitive analysis, use tools to discover:
– What those sites are ranking for.
– How many pages they have indexed.
– Their website structure.
– The quality of their backlink profile.
– Whether they’re ranking for long-tail keywords you could target.
Also, note that page speed is a factor in Google’s ranking algorithm.
Run their landing pages through speed analysis tools to identify areas of weakness.
For example, are their pages running slow? Are there keywords they have overlooked that you can target?
6. Manage Local Business Listings & Citations
In addition to Google Business Profile, you need to manage the accuracy of your local business data.
Consistency is key.
Data aggregators share information about local businesses, including the name, address, and phone number (NAP).
Ensure that your business’s NAP information is consistent and accurate. Local business listings and citations (i.e., online mentions of a business) can enhance your local presence.
Consider signing up for a service or using a local citations tool that will distribute your NAP information and monitor for inaccuracies.
7. Get Links From Websites in Your Local Area
Most small business owners never consider links.
However, acquiring links to your site can help improve your rankings.
This can translate to more sales and customers.
My approach to “link attraction” has always been more of a publicity angle.
What can we do to promote our business, educate others, and engage with the community?
8. Add Schema Markup
Schema markup helps search engines better understand different page components, such as:
– Business name.
– Address.
– Phone number.
– Ratings.
– Business hours.
– Currencies accepted.
– Area served.
– Number of employees.
Using this markup can enhance your appearance in rich snippets in the SERPs.
9. Focus On Getting Reviews
Even my kids are conditioned to check reviews before making a purchase.
Local reviews were one of the leading local search ranking factors in 2021.
Additionally, you can boost your conversions by focusing on obtaining reviews and feedback from your customers.
Platforms can help you organize and manage a review campaign.
Alternatively, you can simply encourage customers to leave reviews on major online review sites.
Be sure to respond, too. Your answer, or lack thereof, is visible to the person who asked the question and to all other local searchers who see the review in the future.
Even negative reviews provide an opportunity to connect with the customer and demonstrate your commitment.
10. Create Videos & Images For Competitive Keywords
Websites need content, which means words, so search engines understand their purpose.
Content goes beyond words and should include images and videos.
In fact, if you are struggling to show up for competitive keywords, why not try a properly optimized video or an image?
11. Mix Paid With Organic To Get Going
If you are just beginning with SEO, it might take some time to see results.
SEO is a fantastic long-term strategy, but sometimes you need to generate leads right away. That is where paid search can truly help.
While you are building up your SEO efforts, set aside a budget for paid search to keep the leads coming in.
Even after securing a steady flow of organic traffic to the website, consider running a paid search campaign alongside.
PPC ads can augment your organic presence by providing placement where you struggle to break into the top organic search results due to competition.
Summary
Even if the list of tasks seems overwhelming, the important thing is to start taking action.
Begin with the first goal you know you can achieve.
Over time, you’ll discover local SEO tools that can simplify and expedite the tasks that are making a difference for you.
You’ll build more inbound links from relevant, reputable local sources.
You’ll add new blog posts and other content to your website, helping you rank on a greater variety of search terms.
Once you’ve tackled the introductory items on this checklist, you’ll be ready to further develop your SEO strategy.
More resources:
– How to Create a Winning Local SEO Strategy for Your Business
– 15 Local SEO Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
– Local SEO: The Definitive Guide to Improve Your Local Search Rankings
Featured Image: Deemka Studio/Shutterstock
