Basic Rules About SEO for Small Business

6 Rules for Best Practices in SEO for Small Businesses

SEO continues to evolve as top search engines seek to make the user experience easier, faster, and more credible.  To help you achieve greater success with your investment, here are some general “Rules to Follow” to get the most from your SEO investment.

Rule 1:  Investing in a Well-Developed Website Upfront is Investing in the Foundation for Success.

I encounter two common misconceptions about small business owners and their perspective on the value of their website.

1. I just need something to tell people how to reach me – like an online business card.
2. I can build my own website at a cheaper price with XYZ, and that will be fine.

Unfortunately, this type of personality is missing the fact that literally everything related to digital marketing they’ll try to do down the road should be tied to their website. Without a solid foundation in this area, the rest of their digital marketing efforts will cost more and perform less.

For those looking to save money, please remember that your time is valuable and that unless you’re well-skilled in development or web design, you’re simply adding to the potential problem. Here’s another way to look at this…

How much would you expect to pay for the best, well-trained version of yourself that works 24/7/365 as a customer service ninja and collects data on every visitor that comes to your website?   Now, if you think that’s you, are you okay with “free or a fraction of what you’re worth?”  Probably not.  However, a really good web developer who understands the marketing process can create a digital employee for you that can save you efforts in other areas of your business.  What may be an investment now will likely save you a ton of money down the road.

Good web development doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Still, before you invest time or money in speaking with anyone (web developer or digital marketer), I recommend speaking with a Digital Strategist.  A Digital Strategist understands how all of the online tools work together and can direct you with priorities that make sense for your brand and budget so you can “earn as you grow”.

Rule 2:  Start Slow with Keywords

Ad programs are built in a way that allows them to track the usage of search terms, as well as the number of clicks they receive.  After your ad begins to run, Google AdWords will make “suggestions” of keywords that can be easily added to your campaign.  If you think your budget will gradually carry you through the entire month, creating a slow drip of new business, then I strongly recommend avoiding the temptation to begin adding all kinds of keywords suggested by Google.  Why?

Adding more keywords may seem logical and somewhat exciting, especially if a program like Google suggests it.  But adding too many keywords without also increasing your budget may set you up for failure.

Here’s why…

The more keywords you use, the faster you will burn through your advertising budget.  Without money to spend, your ad will stop showing altogether.  To enjoy a lucrative harvest from your ad budget, I personally recommend sticking to just a few keywords to start, then better manage/monitor the performance of your ad.  This allows you to follow better the use of the ad and the exact keywords that are working on helping capture and convert leads.  It also allows you to target and identify negative keywords or improve your sales process without just blowing away your ad spending without benefit.

Rule 3:  Claim Your Local Listings, But Start Where You Know You Can Get Clients and Where You Can Manage Your Brand

There are literally thousands of directory programs available online.  Adding your listing to these directories could take a person an enormous amount of time to do manually.  Therefore, some SEO experts use programs that will “update your listing across all of these platforms” and charge you substantially for the cost to maintain this service.  However, before doing so, you should really ask two questions:

1. Do you really need to be everywhere?  Again, it may sound like a great idea to have your company information in a few thousand directory listings, because it can create a backlink to your website, which is good. Still, you have to think of where these directories are and how much of your ideal market is really using them.  With search engines continually refining their programs with a user-first perspective, there is great value in exploring your brand from the user’s shoes. In this case, perhaps even how the company might perceive it, keeps online. Aligning your brand with a credible site has a greater user impact than the fraction of credibility your site might get from the backlink.  It’s always better to focus on helping your customers understand why you’re better than the competition that shows up in the local search with you, than to be listed in a thousand directories they may never use.
2. Are these sites truly credible?  Maybe at one time, but many of these sites were created years ago from random data sources that are now outdated.  Those communities that lack proper management are often used to harvest information for SCAMS.  Many have wrong information, which some SEO providers do offer to help fix if yours is bad, but depending on the nature of your business, opening up your brand to these sites that are not managed well can actually put your company at greater risk as a target for SCAMS or hack attempts. Data management should be a priority for your business, and managing how third-party companies handle your brand should be on top of your list to minimize risks.

Rule#4:  Be Cautious About Anyone Guaranteeing First Page Placement

I caution the average small business owner when someone offers you this type of premium placement for a really inexpensive rate. I feel pretty confident in telling you that it may be less than a legitimate situation. Why? Their strategy tends to be ‘come in low, and then when they have you hooked, keep you paying for mediocre results or ask for more money to get better placement’.

Even the most talented SEO professionals who have developed a solid strategy of delivering fairly consistent placement on the first page of the search results will also tell you to be cautious.  First, SEO involves too many variables out of their control to be able to offer such a guarantee.  While it is possible to get on the first page, maintaining that placement can get expensive because it takes a unique focus of skills, tools, and dedicated time to retain that strategic placement.

Rule 5:   A Digital Strategist Can Actually Save You Time and Make Your Advertising Investment More Profitable

Most people are impressed by the number of clicks an ad delivers to their website; however, when those clicks are Empty, you’re losing money. An Empty Click is when someone clicks on your ad, goes to your website, and fails to actually convert to a lead or sale. For most, it just becomes a number that your Ad Network or Marketer reports, but knowing how to convert those clicks to something more profitable is where Strategy comes into play.

A Strategist will help you determine a “process” through which you can measure customer engagement and give you more strategic insight into your visitors’ decision-making process based on their activity. This process is designed so you can focus on improving their experience with your brand and making those interactions created through digital marketing investment more profitable.

Rule #6: Learn How To Set Up Your Pages Correctly Before Creating Content

Creating additional content for your website is really helpful for a variety of reasons.  In addition to SEO, and having something to share on Social Media, it creates a way for people visiting your site to learn more about you and your company. It may even help them experience your brand personality to see how you differ from your competition.  It also gives your website branches – like a tree – to reach new people differently based on the topics they are searching for.  That said, if you are uncomfortable with writing, you can work with a good SEO trained copywriter to help you create content.  They should know the specific techniques required to help search engines better categorize, deliver, and display your content to the right audience.  While some website tools can help you with this process, there is value in time spent working with someone talented in SEO.

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My hope is that by sharing this information, you can begin to take measures to expand and grow your business using the great tools available to you through the internet. To consult with me on ways to help you improve the performance or relationship with your current providers, the best way to contact me is through our Contact form or a DM through LinkedIn.

Until next time, “get out there and prosper!”