Being a small business, you need to take advantage of every opportunity and strategy you can to compete and succeed. One of the most effective weapons you have at your disposal is search engine optimization. It is your SEO that can drive traffic and business to you in a way that no other strategy can. And it can do it even if your operating budget is the proverbial shoestring.
- Because 30% of the population clicks on the first search result, it is important to put together a long lasting strategy aimed at having your company show up on page one of any search engine. You must first pay strong attention to both your internal site structure and your ability to engage on mobile devices. The key is to have fully functioning and engaging landing pages. It must be simple and clean. This way, the search bots will be more apt to easily locate you because of your organizational structure. These days, search is about being mobile first since close to 70% of all searches originate with a phone or tablet. The search engines search mobile first so being optimized for it is not an option.
- Ensure that your content is informative and engaging and use everything from short form to long form to infographics to sizzling video. Podcasts are also great as well as are live events. It is all about engagement and dialogue. It is all about showing people how you can solve their problem and/or bring added value into their lives.
- Backlinks within your site are hugely important especially to Google. Take care with them and develop the quality that will give your SEO a serious shot of adrenaline. Build those relationships so that you are seen as an expert and specialist in your field or industry. Plus these will allow you to gain some crossover traffic with potential customers you may otherwise not thought of or been able to reach. Finally, always be evaluating and measuring what is working and what is not especially your site’s load speed. Anything that is slowing you down has to go. Knowing where you are, where you want to go, and how you can get there, is the only way to keep your SEO, and your future, ahead of the competition.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
