The world of search engine optimization can be fairly overwhelming for those trying to market their small business. While more advanced technical SEO is still best left to SEO experts, there are SEO basics that any marketer should know in order to do well online.
Whenever we start working with a small business owner, we ask them this question: “If someone was looking for a business like yours, what search phrase would they look for?” Seems simple doesn’t it, but it’s amazing how many people really don’t have a solid grasp on what keyword phrases people would use to find them. Let’s take our humble little marketing company. Based on keyword research, here are a few phrases we found:
If you haven’t done any kind of keyword research, this is SEO basic #1 to do right now. There are lots of free tools for keyword research including:
Now that you’ve figured out what terms prospective clients would use to find you, create compelling content pages on your website for this content. Be sure to make it user-friendly and easy to read; avoid industry jargon and lengthy, run-on sentences. Write easy to understand content. Yoast SEO has a few great suggestions to do this:
Remember, you’re trying to get people to connect with you through the content you provide.
This is where a lot of marketers fall short. You need to not only make your content user-friendly, you need to make it search engine friendly (the “S” and “E” in “SEO”!). Here are the basics:
Here’s a great checklist for on-page optimization.
Here’s a great list to ensure your images on your web page are SEO-friendly and optimized:
There are several free programs to help you correctly size your images.
Confident that you’ve used the right keywords, created fantastic content and correctly added it to your website? Let’s make sure! Use a host of free tools to check site speed, page load speed, mobile friendliness and more. These tools are all great and free to use!:
Screaming Frog – overall tool to help you look at optimization
Page Speed Insights – great tool by Google!
Mobile Friendly Test – another sweet yet simple Google tool
When you’re creating a new page for your site, simply step through each one of these suggestions to ensure you’re hitting the SEO basics. This is a great list of core tasks that any small business marketer can follow. Following these will help your website rank better and attract more prospects to your site.
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