Small Business SEO Services: What Does it Entail and Is It Worth It?
As of October 2019, 4.48 billion people were active internet users. That’s 58% of the world’s population!
Every day, potential customers search for your product or service online. They have questions and hope you can provide the answers. With small business SEO services, you can attract those prospects to your website and show them you’re there to help!
That’s only one way SEO services can benefit your businesses, though.
If you’re thinking about outsourcing your small business SEO needs, keep reading! In this guide, we’ll review everything you need to know about SEO, available services, and whether or not it’s all worthwhile.
Continue reading to learn more about SEO for small businesses.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization, or SEO, allows your website to appear on search engines like Google. People search online every day for answers to their questions, to research products and services, or for fun, engaging content. SEO makes it easier for you to appear for the searches that are relevant to your business.
Without SEO, however, potential customers will have a difficult time finding your business.
Instead, they’ll end up finding your competitors!
According to Internet Live Stats, there are over 1.5 billion websites online today. With SEO, you can stand out from your competitors by providing them with the content they’re looking for.
By hiring a company that offers small business SEO services, you can develop the right strategy for reaching your target customers. If you don’t have experience with SEO, however, you might find your efforts are futile.
Proper SEO requires numerous pieces. As Google’s search engine algorithm changes, you also have to keep up with white hat versus black hat tactics. Otherwise, you might end up penalized for trying to cheat the system.
Small business SEO services will improve your search engine ranking. As a result, you can rank higher on search engines like Google. The top position on search engine result pages (SERPs) can help you reach a larger target audience.
When you rank higher on search engines, you can reach people who are more likely to become paying customers. You’ll also appear before your competitors, which gives you an invaluable chance to attract new business.
Without small business SEO, however, your ranking will sink.
How will people discover your business if they can’t find your website online?
What SEO Services are Available?
Now that you have an idea of what small business SEO can do, let’s discuss the specific services available. Here are a few examples of SEO services you can add to your overall SEO strategy.
1. A Complete Site Audit
A professional small business SEO company will start by completing an initial site audit. They’ll want to take stock of your website’s current SEO as well as your content. A full website audit will include:
- Crawling your website
- Scanning for any indexing issues
- Setting up your Google Search Console
- Checking for any duplicate pages and content
- Searching for any broken links
- Analyzing your website load times
You can check your website’s current speed by using Google’s PageSpeed Insights. A slow-loading website will impact your search engine ranking.
Google prioritizes its users. It wants to provide them with the best possible user experience. For that, you need to make sure your pages and content load quickly.
This website audit will identify any issues that could make your site difficult for Google to read and understand. If Google can’t understand your content, it won’t place you on its search engine.
2. Industry Research
You don’t want an SEO company to blinding start optimizing. Instead, they need to know your industry and your customers.
For example, what problems are your customers facing each day? What questions are they asking online? How are they phrasing those questions?
Voice search is becoming increasingly popular this year. By learning how your customers are phrasing their search queries, you can optimize for SERP featured snippets. Featured snippets display your website content in a more prominent space at the top of SERPs.
Taking up this space can help you attract more site visitors.
Researching your competitors is important as well. What SEO tactics are your competitors using? What content are they ranking for, and why?
Understanding your industry will help strengthen your SEO strategies.
3. Keyword Research
Many SEO tactics rely on long-tail and short-tail keywords. To create a thorough SEO strategy, you’ll need to know what your customers are searching for and why.
The why indicates your customers’ search intent. By understanding their search intent, you can create content that matches their needs.
You can use Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMRush, and Google Trends to start your keyword research.
4. Front-end & Back-end SEO
Many small business SEO services can help you rank higher on search engines. However, you need to prioritize your website before you can start creating content.
Your front-end SEO involves what your site visitors see, such as your page design and navigation. Other front-end changes include your content and links.
Back-end SEO involves what they can’t see, such as your code, XML sitemaps, URLs, alt text, and meta descriptions.
These components all work together to help you rank higher on search engines.
Without these pieces, however, Google will fail to index your website.
5. On- & Off-Page SEO
On-page SEO refers to the front and back-end optimization we already discussed.
Off-page SEO, however, gets a little more difficult. For example, you need to create an inbound link building strategy to show Google your site is a credible authority. Social media marketing can also help you gain website traffic.
These tactics can strengthen your overall SEO strategy.
6. Local SEO
50% of customers who search for a business using their phones will visit that business within one day. With local SEO, you can appear in front of more local customers.
A small business SEO company can help you optimize for local SEO. This can include updating your Google My Business listing and other directories. You can also create content that’s optimized for your company’s physical location, such as a city or state.
For example, if you’re looking for an SEO company in St. Petersburg, FL, they might use the keyword “SEO company in St. Petersburg, FL” within a blog post.
7. Mobile Optimization
People are relying on their smartphones to find information while they’re on the go. However, a website that isn’t mobile-optimized can scare off users.
Google also uses mobile-first indexing when ranking websites on SERP.
An SEO company that has web design and development experience can help you optimize your site for search engines.
8. Content Marketing
Content marketing is an essential component of SEO. Without it, you won’t provide content for your target audience to find online!
When searching for an SEO company, make sure their small business SEO services include content creation. They’ll use the data from your industry and keyword research to create content that resonates with your target audience.
Google prioritizes content that’s unique and relevant to what people are searching for.
Without unique, regularly updated content, you’ll fail to attract people to your website.
9. Constant Optimization
Google’s search algorithm updates throughout the year. If you’re not keeping up with the latest SEO trends, your search ranking will take a hit. An experienced search expert can provide the small business SEO services you need to keep up with the competition.
The SEO company will also provide frequent optimization.
As you create new pages on your website or post new content, you’ll need to optimize those pages with the right keywords. Otherwise, how will Google find and index those pages properly?
10. Frequent Reporting
A professional small business SEO company will provide you with frequent updates. They’ll let you know which SEO tactics are working and which they need to improve. Using data from your Google Search Console will help them make informed decisions for further optimization.
Is It Worth It?
One way to determine if SEO is worthwhile for your business is a quick equation. Multiple a keyword’s search volume by the expected click-through rate. Then, multiply that sum by the average conversion rate times the average order value.
You can use Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to get these numbers.
The sum equals your total revenue per month if you rank at the top of the page for that keyword. Then, consider that sum against your ideal ROI.
To calculate a range, change the clickthrough rate. A lower CTR means your pages are attracting fewer website visitors. Try comparing a CTR of 0.3% versus 30%.
This range is how much you could ideally make from using SEO for a particular keyword.
If you’re still unsure if small business SEO services are worth it, let’s review some of the benefits of using SEO.
1. Brand Awareness
Strong SEO will help you rank higher on SERPs. When consumers see your website and company more often, brand awareness will build. In time, consumers will begin to recognize your brand on-sight.
Providing your customers with valuable content can help you build brand trust and loyalty as well.
Building your brand awareness and credibility will help you boost your SEO ranking.
2. Increased Web Traffic
55% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing strategy. Optimizing your content with the right keywords will help you attract potential customers to your site.
Using small business SEO can benefit your other marketing strategies as well. For example, you can use your keyword and customer research to develop a stronger pay-per-click (PPC) advertising plan. As people click on your digital ads, you’ll gain more website traffic.
This additional website traffic will tell Google that you’re providing desirable content. The more visitors you gain and the higher your CTR, the better your SEO ranking.
3. Company Credibility
The higher your website ranks on SERPs, the more credible you appear in front of customers.
People don’t look at websites on the 20th page of a Google search. Instead, you need to appear on the first page to look like a trustworthy resource. With small business SEO services, you can increase your site ranking and show consumers they can trust your company to solve their problems.
4. Better User Experience
Improving your website for search engine optimization also improves it for the customer’s user experience (UX). UX web design makes it easier for people to use and explore your site. When your site is easy to use, people are more likely to stay and click around.
This will decrease your bounce rate and increase your clickthrough rate. Both are factors Google uses to determine your site ranking.
Then, you can turn those happy website visitors into paying customers.
5. Data-Driven Decisions
Making random choices won’t help your company. Instead, you need data to determine how to improve.
SEO provides you with that data. You can learn more about your customers, what they’re searching for, and what information they value. Then, you can provide your customers with a better experience on your website.
6. Keep Up with Bigger Competitors
SEO allows you to keep up with competitors, even if they have thousands of dollars to spend on marketing. SEO evens the playing field.
Hiring an experienced SEO consultant can help you develop a strategy for keeping up with your competitors. Otherwise, you risk falling behind. If your search engine ranking falls below the first page, you’ll miss out on valuable website traffic.
7. More Conversions
82% of people search for information on their phones before making an expensive purchase. Meanwhile, 45% check for online reviews before buying.
Improving your SEO will help you attract more people to your website. Then, you can provide them with valuable content that can encourage them to make a purchase. As a result, you’re increasing conversions and sales while improving your ROI.
Worth the Search: Your Guide to Small Business SEO Services
With small business SEO services, you can increase website traffic, your company’s credibility, and your ROI. Otherwise, you’re falling behind the competition!
It’s up to you to decide if that’s worth the cost.
Eager to see your SEO ranking soar? Contact our team today to get started. We’re happy to help!
