If you're a business owner, blogger, aspiring digital marketer, or aspiring entrepreneur, odds are you hear the term "SEO" all the time.
So, what is it, and why is it a business buzzword? SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, and it is how businesses increase their visibility.
When you search for a term, say “best laptops 2024,” and TechRadar, CNET, and Tom’s Guide show up as the top three results (not sponsored results), that is a result of a solid SEO strategy.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO for short) simply means optimizing your website, business, or online presence to improve its visibility and show up when people search for certain words—your name, business name, your niche, your industry, your product, etc.
Why is SEO important for small businesses?
I believe by now you can guess why SEO is so important.
As a small business with limited funds, SEO is how you stand out online.
Other reasons include:
Increased Visibility: SEO increases your business’s online visibility and the chances of your business being found for relevant search terms.
Cost-Effective Marketing: SEO is mostly free (if you don’t count the cost of hiring an SEO specialist) compared to paid advertising. Unlike ads that require consistent spending for quick results, SEO provides long-term benefits without the ongoing costs of paid advertising.
Credibility and Trust: Did I mention that showing up in the top 10 results makes customers perceive you as a trustworthy source? Well, it does.
Competitive Advantage: A strong SEO strategy will help your small business level the playing field and compete with larger companies.
Targeted Traffic: SEO allows you to attract users who are searching for terms related to your business, increasing your leads.
Higher Conversion Rates: SEO creates a flywheel effect: good SEO = higher, targeted traffic = more leads = higher conversion rates = more brand awareness = more traffic = more leads.
Improved brand awareness.
Improved Reach
Sustainable growth
Improved Customer Base.
Basic Principles of SEO
SEO seems a bit overwhelming, right?
I get it—it feels like a lot. You just wanted to run your business, blog, or profile, and now there’s more to handle?
The good news is, that while SEO may seem complicated, there are simple steps you can take.
I call them the basic principles of SEO.
Keyword Research: This is the bread and butter of SEO, the fundamental of the fundamentals, and the captain that gives your SEO strategy direction. It involves identifying relevant keywords related to your cause—keywords that your audience and potential customers are searching for—and using them strategically.
On-Page Optimization: This refers to the improvements you make on your pages (on-page, you get it? 😉). Improvements include page titles, meta descriptions, headers, keyword density, linking, and more.
Mobile-Friendliness: A lot of people surf the web on their phones (me, hehe), and many businesses miss out on potential leads by failing to optimize their websites for mobile devices.
Page Speed: Unless you’re a very big brand (and maybe the best/only brand out there), no one will wait 20–30 seconds for your website to load. Always optimize your website for faster load times.
URL Structure: URLs (Uniform Resource Locators, more commonly known as links) are the addresses used to access various resources on the internet. Keep your URLs short, clean, and keyword-rich. This helps search engines understand what your content is about and improves rankings.
Optimized Images: Images can be heavy, with the average size ranging between 3 MB to 5 MB. To improve core vitals, SEO, and user experience, it’s best to keep images under 1 MB.
Quality Content: Create high-quality, engaging sales copy or informative content that satisfies user intent and answers their queries.
Schema Markup: This is often neglected during Search Engine Optimization. Schema markup is a structured data vocabulary that helps search engines better understand what your web pages are about. By implementing schema markup, you can improve how your website appears in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
Fresh Content: Update your content regularly. Google and users love fresh content; by keeping your content updated, you increase the chances of people returning and your rankings improving.
Analytics and Monitoring: Monitor your traffic, track your keyword performance, and use the data to improve your SEO strategy.
Conclusion
SEO is a broad and ever-evolving subject, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it right the first time. Alternatively, if you have your hands full, feel free to outsource to an SEO specialist, as SEO can be very time-consuming.
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