5 SEO Secrets to Boost Your Small Business
Sometimes running your business feels like being back in high school, it is all about being visible and doing everything in your reach to get noticed by your crush, or even better getting asked to go out to prom! Fortunately, it is just a feeling that kicks in when our content is not getting the results we want but it is easy to fix. Learning how SEO improves your brand visibility is an exciting part of your entrepreneurial journey – ok, maybe not as exciting as going to prom, but almost- but discovering the 5 SEO secrets that get you greater visibility on Google, well… that feels like being crowned queen!
Every small business owner knows that search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential marketing technique for businesses of all kinds and sizes, from multinational corporations to solo consultants. In the digital age, when consumers increasingly go online to search for companies, services, and products, ensuring your small business shows up on that coveted first page of search results is the ultimate form of word-of-mouth referral.
The question we always get is if there are SEO secrets to rank faster or lower ad cost, the short answer is no. There are guidelines, best practices, and tactics to optimize your digital presence, and those are the ones that are often overlooked. Before telling you the 5 SEO secrets to boost your small business ranking, let’s do a quick recap on what your SEO strategy should include.
SEO Best Practices
If you are a small business looking for online visibility, you already know that SEO is one of the most misunderstood and overhyped marketing strategies.
First, it is frequently misunderstood because it is so powerful that it can take a product to fame and fortune overnight or bury it in Google’s black hole of search results where it is never found.
Second, it is overhyped because of its technical aspect. Everyone is looking for SEO secrets to rank; but you need time, dedication, and creativity to implement those “secrets” and fine-tune your online presence. Which most small business owners do not necessarily have, or they need to focus on growing the business. SEO is not a magical cure for online visibility; it is a marketing strategy that helps position a brand in search results.
Create Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are the “oil” that keeps your SEO crank turning, and they are the fuel that keeps your SEO engine running and brings traffic to your website.
Unfortunately, many business owners and marketers have a feeble understanding of backlinks and how they work. Often, the emphasis is on the number of backlink acquisitions rather than the quality.
But, an excellent backlink is more than just a link to your website; it is a piece of Google’s trusted network of websites that point back to yours. This means that your backlink will have a higher chance of being spotted by Google, which could boost your search engine optimization (SEO) optimization and a rise in your website’s Google ranking.
Tip: 3 rules for creating quality backlinks
- Target sites with similar content – When linking to another website, focus on the main topic of that site. Target sites that have a lot in common with yours increase the chances of your backlink being noticed and acted upon by Google.
- Use Internal Linking – That is, linking from one page to another within your website. Great examples are links from one page to another within your blog or between different sections of your website.
- Collaborate as a guest author/blog – Target high-quality and high-traffic online media outlets that align with your business values and industry for backlinks referrals. This increases website traffic and your page quality.
Make Your Website Load Fast and Friendly
One of the most important factors that Google considers for ranking results is loading speed. If your website takes too long to load, Google will assume that the site is faulty or broken and will lower your website’s rank accordingly.
Although loading speed is not a direct reflection of your SEO, it indicates how your site is performing and whether users are having any issues with the load time.
Tip: Think Mobile First!
- Use a website builder with responsive layout themes- Many website owners are hesitant to use a website builder because they think it will take away from their SEO. However, website builders are excellent and can actually help with your SEO.
- Use images in .jpeg format and logos in .png to reduce loading speed. Of course, you can be more thorough and convert your images to WebP format, but as they say, “work smarter, not harder.”
Write Great Content
Content is king, and engagement is queen! If you’re going for conversion rates, focus on higher-quality content over quantity.
And, since Google desperately seeks content that is relevant to what end users look for, your website will be given a boost in the form of better rankings.
Google favors content that provides answers and a great user experience. Make sure to divide the content into easy-to-read paragraphs, include images, and have a reasonable length of between 900 to 1,500 words.
No matter how you feel about it, good or bad, SEO marketing does boost your small business.
Following SEO best practices gives your brand a fighting chance to get that coveted Google ranking. But if you want to supercharge your marketing strategy, start with these 5 SEO secrets of SEO marketing right away to boost your rankings:
Secret #1 Meta Tags
While your content is incredibly important, your meta tags are the best-kept secret.
A Meta tag is an element on your web page that you can’t usually see without going into your web browser’s settings and viewing the HTML source code of the web page, and it is visible only to search engines.
You need to pay attention to two meta tags: Title and description.
The Title tag is the head section of a web page, the first line that appears in the search result.
Tip: How to write Title tags that rock!
- Keep it short, no more than 60 characters.
- Descriptive with emotion, eye-catching, that provokes a reaction.
- Each title should be unique per page, no more than 160 characters.
Description Meta tag, literally, describes what the page is about. Every website builder has a specific section to include the meta description. You can use a plugin that helps you optimize your meta.
Tip: How to write better Description Meta tag:
- Each description should be unique per page.
- Don’t duplicate the Title tag. It is premium real estate don’t waste space.
- Keep the length to 1-2 lines, no more than 160 characters.
Secret #2 Use Google Analytics for on-page analysis
Don’t be afraid to log in to your Google Analytics accounts and start monitoring visitors, sessions, bounce rate, time on site, and referrals on a page-by-page basis.
Yes, use the dashboard as a starting point, but pay close attention to the performance of pages you have products or services you want to rank for. With your Google Analytics data, you can identify these areas and adjust your strategy as necessary.
Secret #3 Add Schema Markup to your Website
One of the most important SEO tips you will ever hear is to use schema markup.
Schema markup is the code that tells search engines what your content is and allows them to present your content better.
If you are using WordPress, adding a schema markup is effortless with a plugin like Yoast SEO that takes care of it for you. If you use Wix or other website platforms, you need to do that manually.
Secret #4 Longtail Keywords
Focusing on long-tail keywords is another top SEO tactic because they can push your content out when there is a lot of competition in your market or for the exact keywords you want to rank for.
With Google’s changes in search results, small businesses can benefit enormously from this strategy. It helps attract visitors with a particular query/question, thus, increasing leads and conversion rates.
Secret #5 SERPs matching
The best way to coveted search engine results page (SERP) ranking is to match your products and services with what consumers are actively looking for, understand the query’s intent, and include keywords short and long that respond to that phrase.
Conclusion
As you can see, SEO is a nuanced and delicate practice that requires dedication, precision, and a healthy dose of creativity to succeed.
Pay attention to your SEO, and with a few easy edits, you can get your small business on the right path towards greater visibility on Google.
Whether you need a one-time service or looking for a marketing partner, we have options that fit your needs and budget. We work with women-owned small businesses in the following niches: coaching, professional services, education, and organic/natural beauty care niche.
You can have an SEO marketing partner that helps your business have more visibility, attract more clients, and increase customer referrals.
Focus on growing your business while we focus to improve your SEO.
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