A decade ago, many small business owners didn’t have a clue what SEO meant. And if they did, their knowledge was limited to, “that’s Google stuff, right?” Nowadays, search engine optimization is one of the most common services requested.
If you’re a small business owner on a budget, we’ve put together a few quick tips to boost your site’s SEO. (If you want a broader overview of SEO in general, read our SEO primer.)
Tip 1: Cite Your Service Area
It be can’t overstate how important it is to have a strong service areas page on your website to help your business rank for local keywords. If you have an overarching services page, consider breaking each individual service out into its own page, and add local keywords there, too.
Tip 2: Update Your GMB
No surprise here, but… Google likes when your Google My Business (GMB) page is correct and complete. Create or update your GMB page here. Although GMB is the most impactful, you can build other business listings such as Yelp, Apple Maps and others. The main thing to keep in mind is to be sure your listings are consistent across all platforms.
Tip 3: Post Your Community Involvement
Dedicate some space on your website to feature any involvement with your local community. By establishing your business as an important partner in your region, plus adding local-relevant keywords, you’ll enhance your local SEO even more.
Tip 4: Get Others Talking
Reach out to local websites that compile “Top 10” lists or get featured on regional industry-specific sites and blogs. It’s okay to reach out and ask for this – often these organizations are hungry for content and ideas. Make sure that they provide a backlink to your site.
Tip 5: Post Fresh Content
Google interprets old, stale sites as inactive. Refresh your site with new content on a regular basis, whether that be changing up the copy on your pages or adding new blog posts.
Tip 6: Hire an Agency
So we’re a little biased here, but do you really want to spend your valuable time fixing broken links, installing schema and writing meta tags? If you’re serious about SEO and improving the overall usability of your website, we can help. Email us at hello@reifycreative.com and we’d be happy to conduct an audit of your site.
