AI’s Strengths For Content Creation

AI offers numerous advantages when it comes to content creation.

Image by rawpixel

Its main strengths are increased speed and efficiency, enhanced content quality, and cost effectiveness.

1. Increased Speed and Efficiency

• AI tools can help brainstorm ideas and suggest topics, providing a starting point for content creators.
• They can research specific topics and generate research summaries, first drafts, and outlines in minutes.
• AI tools can quickly translate and localize content for different languages and locations.
• AI tools can efficiently repurpose existing content by reformatting it into different content types (e.g., blog posts into videos, articles into social media snippets).
• Tasks like image and video editing can also be expedited using AI tools.

2. Enhanced Content Quality

• AI can help improve content quality by providing data-driven insights and recommendations.
• It can analyze vast amounts of data to create personalized content recommendations, tailored to individual user preferences and interests.
• AI tools can identify and correct grammar, spelling, and style issues, leading to more polished and error-free content.
• Some AI tools can also analyze readability and suggest ways to make content more understandable and engaging.
• AI can help maintain a consistent brand voice, tone, and style across all content channels and platforms.

3. Cost-Effectiveness

• AI can analyze content performance, tracking metrics like engagement and conversion rates, and provide valuable insights that can be used to refine content strategies.
• It enables the production of large volumes of content, efficiently scaling to meet demand.
• Free and paid AI tools are available. Paid subscriptions offer more features and functionality, and are often cheaper than hiring writers.

AI’s Weaknesses For Content Creation

While AI offers remarkable capabilities when it comes to content creation, it also has some weaknesses.

Image by rawpixel

1. Lack of Genuine Creativity, Sensitivity, and Originality

• AI excels at mimicking and summarizing existing styles, patterns, and ideas, but struggles to come up with truly novel suggestions, unique perspectives, or original creative concepts that go beyond its training data.
• It lacks the capacity to understand and replicate complex human emotions, cultural nuances, satire, and irony due to its limited emotional intelligence and contextual understanding.
• This can result in content that is technically correct but generic and formulaic, emotionally flat, tone-deaf, or insensitive in certain situations.

2. Reliability and Accuracy Concerns

• AI models are trained on vast historical datasets. If that data contains inaccuracies or biases, the AI may inadvertently propagate misinformation or errors.
• It can struggle with topics that require deep analysis, critical thinking, or subjective or intuitive decision-making.
• AI can “hallucinate,” producing fabricated yet seemingly convincing information.
• Fact-checking and human review are essential to ensure the accuracy of AI-generated content.

3. Plagiarism, Over-Use, and Ethical Issues

• AI’s ability to generate content based on existing material raises concerns about the potential for plagiarism or copyright infringement if proper precautions and attribution aren’t given.
• Excessive reliance on AI for content creation can stifle human creativity and critical thinking, leading to content that lacks a distinctive voice or authentic connection with the audience.
• If the training data used to develop the AI models is biased, the generated content can reflect and even amplify those same biases, leading to discriminatory or stereotypical representations.

How To Use AI to Create Content

Here are some things you can do to overcome AI’s weaknesses while taking advantage of the many benefits it provides.

Image by rawpixel

1. Clearly define your brand’s unique messaging, tone, and style. Write it down and share it with your team so you’re all on the same page and helping your brand to stand out. Ensure it inculcates everything you say and do.

2. Use AI as an assistant, not a replacement for your unique voice, personality, and perspective. Leverage AI for tasks where it excels, such as creating outlines, editing, and summarizing content. Augment it with details from past experiences and personal stories that bring your unique perspective home and help make your brand more credible, relatable, engaging, and memorable.

3. Balance AI-driven insights with human intuition. If your gut tells you something isn’t right, it probably isn’t. Double-check facts, statistics, and references provided by AI against reliable sources. Be aware of inherent biases and ethical considerations, and point those out for your audience’s consumption. Get to root causes and be transparent so your audience can trust the information provided.

4. Never forget search intent. Search intent is key to audience satisfaction and ranking success. Embed intentional checkpoints throughout your content creation process to ensure you’re addressing underlying audience motivations and delivering relevant, actionable value.

You're reading Can I Use an AI Tool Like ChatGPT to Create Content? originally posted on the B-SeenOnTop Small Business SEO Blog. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash

What Are SEO Keywords?

The term “keyword”, by itself, means similar and related things to different people.

In computer programming, a keyword is a reserved word or phrase that has a predefined, specific meaning and purpose within the programming language. For example, “while” is a keyword used to create a logic loop that is executed repeatedly as long as a specified condition is met.

For students and librarians, keywords are specific words and phrases used to search for information within a library’s catalog or database. An example might be “musical theater,” which would surface publications about musicals like West Side Story, Hamilton, and Les Misérables.

In search engine optimization (SEO), a keyword is two things:

• a word or phrase used to search for digital content; and
• the main focus of a piece of content wanting to rank for that term.

For example, the SEO keyword “what small business owners need to know about SEO keywords” is the primary focus of this blog post. If that keyword phrase were to be entered into a search engine, it would surface this blog post as well as others dealing with this same topic.

Why Are SEO Keywords Important?

SEO keywords are important because they connect searchers, search engines, and content providers. The best way to grasp what I mean by this is with an example.

Let’s say I live and work in Wayne, PA. I want to find an orthodontist who is experienced in treating adults. I’d prefer one with a practice close to my work and home.

I type the keyword phrase “orthodontist for adults near me” into Google’s search engine.

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

Google takes that keyword and searches its index of all the content it knows about on the Web. It looks for matches- entries related to orthodontics, adults, and Wayne, PA. The ones deemed relevant are ranked in order of usefulness, quality, authority, proximity, and more.

In this example, the top-ranked results are all relevant. They all have part of my keyword phrase (“orthodontics”) in the business name and listing category, they all have practices located in Wayne, PA, and their websites all clearly state that they offer orthodontic services for patients of all ages, including adults.

Content doesn’t have to be an exact match to appear in search results. Search engines try to provide searchers with the most relevant, accurate, and useful information possible, so close matches and synonyms can also appear in search results.

The SEO keyword phrase “orthodontist for adults near me” is the common thread in this transaction. It serves as a critical link between what a searcher wants and what search engines deliver. It tells search engines exactly what the user is looking for, and makes it possible for them to identify relevant matches.

For businesses hoping to be among those results, this creates an opportunity: by crafting and optimizing content around the keyword phrases that best align with the products and services their business offers, they can improve their chances of being discovered by the very audience that seeks them.

SEO keywords act as a bridge. They connect searchers with the information they need, and help content creators reach the right audiences.

More details below.

How Are SEO Keywords Used By Search Engines?

Search engines use SEO keywords (also known as search queries) to help them understand what a searcher is trying to locate online and how they intend to use that information, once found. In the SEO world, this intended action is known as “search intent”.

Armed with an SEO keyword and search intent, search engines review the vast and ever-growing quantity of information available on the Web to identify ranking candidates. Again, their goal is to provide users with the most relevant, accurate, and valuable information possible.

Because search engines can’t possibly rank every known piece of content each time a query is submitted, they remove irrelevant entries from consideration using SEO keywords. Content related to “musical theater”, for example, would be considered irrelevant and not ranked for my “orthodontist for adults near me” search query.

The narrowed-down list of relevant candidates is then ranked. Search engines automatically assess each candidate’s quality, reliability, authority, and potential usefulness for a given search query, ultimately assigning each one a position in search results. Ranking algorithms analyze various factors, including the content structure, scope, and depth, the experience and expertise of contributors and authors, the searcher’s language, intent, and location, who recommends (links to or mentions) the content, and how searchers behave after they find it.

Search engine ranking algorithms are dynamic and complex. Results change continuously.

How do Website Owners use SEO Keywords?

Internet users are bombarded with information daily, and many businesses are vying for their attention. It’s hard to stand out.

This is where SEO keywords come in. If you identify the words and phrases your audience is searching for, you can create compelling content or advertising that will stand out and resonate with them.

SEO keywords present a unique opportunity for website owners. Using a series of interconnected SEO processes and tools, you can:

• identify the exact terms and phrases your audience uses to search for your products and services,
• develop content that directly addresses their needs and search intent, and
• improve your chances of appearing in search results by signaling to search engines that your content is relevant, high-quality, and valuable.

In short, effective use of SEO keywords helps your content rise above the noise. It puts your business in front of the people actively looking for what you have to offer.

Example Keyword Research Tool

SEO starts with a solid understanding of your business and keyword research. Keyword research helps you identify the keyword phrases people use to search for your products and services so you can strategically incorporate them into your content. It also helps you better understand the demand for your products and/or services and set content development and promotion priorities.

Is Keyword Research Hard?

Keyword research can be time-consuming and challenging, especially for beginners and time-strapped small business owners. It is, however, crucial for successful content creation and website optimization. Without it, you’re shooting in the dark and can waste a lot of time and money only to achieve very little.

Successful keyword research involves identifying the “best fit“ keywords for you and your target audience. Best-fit keywords are the ones that are most relevant and beneficial based on a search intent that aligns with what your target audience is seeking and what you have to offer. In other words, the best SEO keywords align with what your audience is searching for, and what you do best- your unique value proposition.

SEO keywords act as a bridge between searchers, search engines, and content providers. Photo by Chad Peltola on Unsplash

In the previous example, I was looking for an orthodontist experienced in treating adults and with a practice close to where I live and work. A keyword phrase like “musical theater” would not have been a good fit for me, nor would it have benefited any of the Orthodontic practices near me.

In addition to considering “fit”, it helps to identify SEO keywords with high search volume and low competition, especially if you’re a small business with limited time and resources. These keywords can be time-consuming and laborious to identify, but the process can be eased and simplified with the right approach and keyword research tools.

Moz, a keyword research tool provider, has many helpful resources to help you overcome the learning curve and efficiently choose the right keywords for your business and audience. It offers an excellent 15-minute video (below) outlining the keyword research process, explaining what you need to think about as you approach the task, and how to narrow your options. It uses its paid proprietary keyword tool as an example, but the concepts learned can be applied to any keyword research tool available on the market today.

Please forgive the pixelated video snapshot above. It’s an older video.

Bear in mind, you can always hire an SEO company to do keyword research for you. Just don’t divorce yourself entirely from the process. Educating SEOs about your target market and product and service offerings is important so they can make the most appropriate keyword choices. Please be sure also to ask them to explain their keyword research process, tools, and selections so you can be confident in their recommendations.

Common Keyword Research Mistakes

The two most common mistakes I see small business owners make when attempting keyword research are:

• failing to optimize for search intent, and
• not doing the analysis needed to understand what is (or isn’t) working and why.

Let me explain.

Understanding why someone is searching for something is crucial.

Optimizing two or more pieces of content for keyword phrases with the same search intent sets you up on a hamster wheel to compete with yourself for rankings. Niche audiences often know precisely what they’re looking for. Failing to optimize for that can lead to missed opportunities.

Licensed from Jon Carter >> cartertoons.com

Delivering value should be your #1 goal when producing content. Your target audiences and search engines demand it.

Remember that Google searches its index of all the content it knows about on the Web when deciding what content to rank. For your site’s content to be included in that index and, therefore, search results, it must first be original and high-quality.

Google is becoming increasingly selective about the content it includes in its index. Many SEO experts, including me, believe that Google prioritizes original, high-quality content and filters out spammy, low-value pages. Creating excessive amounts of overlapping or redundant material is, more often than not, a waste of time and resources; it is likely to be ignored by Google and never reach their index or your search audience. The best way to ensure visibility is to focus on your specific target audience.

• Identify the SEO keywords they use and the reasons they are searching for that information.
• Create unique, high-quality content that satisfies their information needs.
• Localize and personalize your content. It enhances your credibility, relatability, and ability to connect with readers.
• Convince audiences why they should pick you and not the competition by clearly demonstrating your relevant experience and expertise.

Surgeon Demonstrating Expertise Sought By His Audience Medicalstudent1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Audiences seek reassurance that you have a deep understanding of the topics you write about. Demonstrate expertise through detailed insights, well-researched points, and authoritative messaging to reinforce trust and strengthen engagement. Employ subtle humor, inside jokes, and thoughtful observations to further elevate your content and help it rank for nuanced searches, especially in localized and conversational queries.

Neglecting analytics is another missed opportunity.

Small business owners should never overlook their analytics when choosing SEO keywords. Analytics offer invaluable insights into what audiences are searching for, what content is resonating, and what still needs improvement. Ignoring this data means missing out on opportunities to refine strategy, enhance visibility, and better connect with potential customers.

SEO isn’t about guessing the correct keywords—it’s about making informed decisions based on real user behavior.

How Does AI Factor Into All of This?

Artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and large language models (LLMs) play a massive role in shaping search results by making interactions more accurate, efficient, and relevant.

Artificial intelligence isn’t new to search. Google has been using it for over two decades. Early AI-driven innovations used machine learning for spelling correction, language translation, search query interpretation, and more. Today, Google significantly integrates AI into its search engine through features like AI Overviews and AI Mode. AI Overviews provide concise summaries of search results, often with links to relevant websites. AI Mode offers more in-depth, personalized responses and planning capabilities. These AI features leverage Google’s Gemini LLM and are designed to improve search efficiency and user satisfaction. 

When it comes specifically to SEO keywords, AI helps search engines anticipate multiple search intents and follow-up questions using keywords combined with searcher behavior, location, and past searches. Searchers are presented with more personalized rankings, and content creators earn more referral traffic from search and AI sources combined.

Number of Unique Domains Receiving Referral Traffic from Chat GPS, Worldwide clickstream data, per SEMRush, illustrated by A16z

The bottom line is that while AI tools have evolved search, the starting point – SEO keywords – remains the same. You still have to understand what audiences are trying to find, and you still have to deliver value.

In Conclusion

SEO keywords serve as a vital link between searchers, search engines, and businesses. Used strategically, SEO keywords can boost your website’s rankings, making it easier for prospects, customers, and peers to find your content and services online. Thoughtful keyword research and ongoing optimization ensure your business remains competitive and earns high visibility in search results.

Remember, your ultimate goal should be to create content that delivers originality and genuine value, not simply to churn out more of it.

You're reading What Small Business Owners Need to Know About SEO Keywords originally posted on the B-SeenOnTop Small Business SEO Blog. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

What Is Holistic SEO

Holistic SEO is more than just a collection of tactics; it’s an overarching strategy that sets out to improve every aspect of your website, resulting in a seamless and positive user experience that is more valuable than the sum of its parts. It’s like when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr came together as The Beatles. Their collective creativity, chemistry, and mystical talent produced something far greater than what each member could have achieved on their own.

EMI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How Does It Work?

Holistic SEO starts with a comprehensive understanding of your business. It dives deep into why people might want to choose you over your competition, buy your products and services, and advocate on your behalf. Holistic SEO ensures your website clearly and convincingly communicates what you do, why you do it, and how potential customers benefit from doing business with you. It results in a website that is high quality and produces meaningful, memorable, and effective results for both you and your target audience.

What Does It Produce?

Holistic SEO results in successful, high-quality websites that exude an overall impression of exceptionalism and quality. These are characterized by:

• a clean, modern, and visually appealing design with consistent branding and a professional layout;
• an easy-to-navigate and understand site structure and robust search capabilities that help people find the information they came looking for quickly and easily;
• high-quality content that meets the information wants and needs of your target audience;
• fast-loading pages that minimize wait times;
• mobile-friendly, responsive, intuitive, and interactive layouts, elements, and content that adapt seamlessly to different devices and ease and enhance user interaction;
• a secure connection indicated by a padlock icon in the browser address bar;
• a clear privacy policy and terms of service statement;
• accessibility for all, including those with disabilities;
• easy-to-use forms for contacting you, subscribing to your content, submitting feedback, and purchasing goods and services;
• videos, animations, and other forms of multimedia that enhance the user experience; and
• regularly updated content and features that keep the website relevant and engaging.

High quality content engages visitors and satisfies their search intent.

The sum of these elements creates a positive and memorable experience that encourages search engines to rank your website well in search results and website visitors to engage with your website and return. Examples of high-quality websites include: 

• Amazon for e-commerce (selling products and services);
• Medium for online publishing (content distribution);
• Wikipedia for forum (facilitating online discussion); and
• Slack for business communication (messaging).

A Holistic SEO will assess all these technical as well as on and off-page elements when evaluating your website and recommend an action plan to bring about improvement.

What Are The Limitations of Holistic SEO?

While holistic SEO can be highly beneficial for many companies, certain types of businesses might not be as well-suited to this approach.

Image Courtesy of Christopher Paquette on Flikr.

• Businesses with Very Limited Resources: Businesses with very limited budgets and manpower might find it challenging to implement a comprehensive, holistic SEO strategy. The time, effort, and financial investment required for content creation, technical optimization, and continuous monitoring might be too demanding or expensive. 
• Businesses with Low Online Interaction: Companies that primarily operate offline or have limited digital engagement might benefit from less extensive SEO efforts. For example, a local hardware store with customers who prefer in-person shopping might not engage much with the store’s online presence, if it even exists. A focused local SEO approach might be better suited to this type of business. 
• Businesses with Rapidly Changing Products or Services: Small companies in industries where products or services change frequently. For example, a small fashion boutique or technology center might find it difficult and resource-intensive to keep up with the rapid pace of change. 

It is important to self-assess before engaging an SEO company. Be sure you can clearly articulate who you are, who your customers are, and your unique value proposition. Realistically assess your time, financial and skill-set availability so you can effectively do your part to ensure SEO success.      

Why Is Holistic SEO Important For Small Business?

Photo by rawpixel from Freerange Stock

Holistic SEO is particularly important for small businesses with limited resources for several compelling reasons:

• While holistic SEO requires an initial investment of time and effort, it can be more cost-effective in the long run. Holistic SEO focuses on creating a sustainable, long-term strategy that maximizes return on investment (ROI) and future-proofs your website by focusing on best practices that align with the fundamental principles of search engines, such as providing valuable content and a great user experience. This reduces the risk of being negatively impacted by algorithm updates.
• Rather than addressing isolated issues one at a time, holistic SEO takes a comprehensive approach to improve the entire website ecosystem. This means that efforts to enhance content quality, user experience, and technical SEO work together synergistically to produce more significant and lasting results.
• Holistic SEO emphasizes creating high-quality content and building a strong online reputation through positive reviews and backlinks from reputable sources. This helps small businesses build trust and credibility with their audience, which can lead to increased customer loyalty, brand recognition, and word-of-mouth referrals.

By addressing multiple aspects of SEO simultaneously, small businesses can avoid the need for frequent and costly piecemeal optimizations and instead benefit from a more efficient and integrated approach.

In The End

Holistic SEO is a comprehensive approach that ensures every element of your website works together to create a seamless and effective online presence that resonates with search engines and users. When you adopt this approach, you’re not just fixing isolated issues; you’re nurturing the entire ecosystem of your website. This can lead to sustainable growth, improved search engine rankings, and a better experience for your visitors.

When you first engage with an SEO company, ask them about their approach to SEO and why they think that is the best approach for your business. Be realistic and open about the time and resources you are willing and able to commit. This will help you and your SEO company better align expectations, set a realistic budget, and manage any strains that might get in the way of your future success.

^{1. Ahrefs: What is Holistic SEO↩}

You're reading Holistic SEO: Why It’s Important For Small Businesses originally posted on the B-SeenOnTop Small Business SEO Blog. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Discovering the Hidden Gems of Kyoto, Japan

When people think of Kyoto, they often envision the famous Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) or the bustling Nishiki Market. However, my recent trip revealed a side of Kyoto that few tourists experience—places that even the locals cherish.

Sagano Bamboo Forest at Dawn

Most visitors flock to the Sagano Bamboo Forest during the day, but visiting at dawn offers a completely different experience. The mist rolling through the towering bamboo stalks creates an ethereal atmosphere, and the absence of crowds makes it feel like you’ve stepped into another world. As the sun begins to rise, the play of light and shadows is truly magical.

The Unseen Temples of Ohara

Nestled in the northern hills of Kyoto, Ohara is home to lesser-known temples like Sanzen-in and Hosen-in. These temples are surrounded by stunning gardens and peaceful landscapes, offering a serene retreat from the city’s hustle and bustle. The journey to Ohara itself, through winding roads and picturesque villages, is an adventure worth taking.

Local Cuisine at Nishiki Warai

While Nishiki Market is famous, hidden away in a side alley is Nishiki Warai, a small restaurant where the chef serves up traditional dishes with a modern twist. The chef, a Kyoto native, shares stories of his childhood as he prepares dishes like yuba (tofu skin) and kyo-yasai (Kyoto vegetables), adding a personal touch to each meal.

Why is this Content Unique and High-Quality?

1. Original Insights: The content provides personal experiences and recommendations not typically found in standard travel guides. Visiting the Bamboo Forest at dawn, exploring Ohara, and dining at a hidden restaurant all offer fresh perspectives.
2. Deep Knowledge: The details about lesser-known temples and local cuisine demonstrate a deep understanding of Kyoto beyond the usual tourist attractions.
3. First-hand Experience: Sharing personal stories and experiences adds authenticity and credibility, making the content more relatable and engaging for readers.
4. Exclusive Information: The insights provided are unique and hard to find elsewhere, giving readers a reason to visit this blog over others for insider tips and hidden gems.

Unique content like this stands out because it goes beyond providing just surface-level information. It offers readers something imaginative, engaging, valuable, and memorable.

Something to aspire to.

You're reading An Example of Original High-Quality Website Content originally posted on the B-SeenOnTop Small Business SEO Blog. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Hubspot surveyed 1,500 Marketers in 2021. They learned lead generation was both a top priority and a key challenge faced by many business leaders.

This is no surprise to small business owners. They are acutely aware of the difficulty of trying to increase leads and sales with limited time and resources. This is especially true now after close to three long, hard years of a pandemic and widespread economic disruption. Most small businesses understand that search engine optimization (SEO) can help, but are reluctant to invest because it is hard to understand, slow to produce results, and yet another financial strain on their wallet.

Any bit of free and useful SEO advice small business owners can get their hands on as they head into 2023, would probably be greatly appreciated.

Advice Available Now

I looked at the top Google search results for “SEO tips for small business owners” and discovered that while a lot has already been published, the bulk of it shares some of the same problems as the service, meaning it is difficult to understand, time-consuming to implement, and costs more than many small business owners are prepared to pay.

The list below is different. It is a culmination of the best SEO tips and advice I routinely share with busy, budget-conscious small business owners. While there is some overlap with what others have already said, this list emphasizes things small business owners can do on their own or with the help of some free and/or low-cost SEO tools. It is grouped and categorized so you can decide what you want to try to tackle first. While some tips do involve some technical skill or ongoing time and effort, I have called those out and explained their benefit so you have the information you need to set priorities.

Limitations

Before you start, you should be aware of some of the limitations of SEO. For example, SEO won’t fix a flawed product or service. If customers don’t like your products and/or services, throwing time and money into SEO won’t help. SEO outcomes are usually a reflection of your online business reputation. If your products or services are lacking, you’d be far better off focusing your time and attention on addressing those concerns first.

Also bear in mind that, just like reputation building, SEO takes time. None of the SEO tips shared below are going to immediately skyrocket you to the top of search results. Each is an essential building block of a large and complex puzzle. How long it takes before you begin to see meaningful results will depend on where you are starting from, who you’re competing against, and the amount of time and effort you are willing to put in to bring about improvement. In most cases, the needle will start to move somewhere between 4 and 12 months. For highly-competitive industries and topics, it will take longer.

Best SEO Tips and Advice

Below are my top SEO tips for busy, budget-conscious small business owners. Tips are grouped in order of importance starting with the essential ones first.

Essentials

Essential tips are things that must be done in order to achieve SEO and content marketing success.

1. Know Your Audience

Google’s purpose in life is to help people help themselves. It helps by giving people the information they need to do whatever it is they’re trying to do. It does so quickly and with minimal distraction.

People search for a reason. For example, they might be trying to find directions to get from A to B, music to listen to, or a place to buy a pizza. They enter a query into Google and browse the top search results. They click on what appears to be the most relevant and useful search result.

This means Google wants your content to provide answers to their search audience. More specifically, Google wants your content to provide clear and helpful, high-quality answers to the questions and concerns of your specific audience. It means your first challenge is to figure out who those people are, what they might be searching for, and, most importantly, why.

Make a short list that clearly and concisely identifies and defines your search audience. Don’t create a list of names. Instead, group and characterize your audience according to their broad interest and intent. Characterize them by their rough demographics (gender, age, income, location), where they like to “hang out” online, how they like to consume information (images, text, video, chat, podcast), and what they plan to do with the information, once provided.

Next, create a rough list of the information your audience is looking for. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine the questions they might want answers to at each stage of their buying journey. Most people like to start with a short list of options and gradually narrow them down based on discoveries they make along the way. For example, if I’m shopping for a car, I might want to start with a broad categorization like an SUV, sedan, coupe, or hatchback. Then I might narrow it down to a specific manufacturer and want to identify dealers near me. Finally, I probably would want to review what they have on the lot and reviews of their sales and service staff.

The more you know about your audience and the information they want and need, the greater the likelihood you’ll be able to recognize, empathize with, and provide helpful meaningful answers. If you do a good job, Google will be able to tell based on how searchers behave after landing on your website. They will reward you with higher rankings.

2. Know Your Competition

For SEO purposes, your competition consists of the websites that show up in search results when people are searching for the goods and/or services you have to offer. These are the businesses vying for the attention of the same audience as you – the ones you want to outrank in search results.

The quickest and easiest way to identify your competition is to open a private browsing window and search for various combinations of the 3-7 word phrases you want to rank for. Using a private or incognito window will ensure your past browsing behavior does not influence search results.

Don’t search for a single-word phrase. Those phrases are nearly impossible to rank for and aren’t usually used by serious shoppers anyway. Think about how you search yourself. If I’m shopping for a vehicle and was serious about buying one, I would you search for the make and model of the vehicle I was interested in and dealers near me rather than just “car” or “automotive”. Search results for those terms would turn up generalized local results and national brands that are nearly impossible to compete with. Your best prospects and customers aren’t likely to pick from that group either. They will instead add words to their query and choose from the narrowed-down list of options. You should do the same when trying to identify your closest competition.

Then, look at the top 10 search results. What are the websites that keep popping up, over and over again? Look at those websites and figure out what differentiates them from you; what their value proposition is. Pay particular attention to the type of content they are sharing with their search audiences. Does the content provide substantial value? Would you be willing to bookmark it or recommend it to others?

Keep track of what you have discovered. We will put it to good use in subsequent tips.

3. Know Your Value Proposition

People are inundated with options on the Internet. If they click on a link to your website, they want to immediately learn three things:

• who you are;
• what you have to offer; and
• why they should consider doing business with you and not your competition.

Your value proposition should speak to all three. It is a statement that clearly identifies the benefits your company’s products and services deliver to customers. It is the first thing that helps you stand out in a sea of competition.

DuckDuckGo Has an Immediate and Obvious Value Proposition – Search Privacy

Nielson Norman Group did a study in 2011 that showed visitors usually leave a website in 10–20 seconds if its value proposition is not immediately plain and obvious. If you want to be able to capture and hold the attention of your search audience, you need to clearly and succinctly demonstrate you understand their problem, and you can help them solve it.

DuckDuckGo (shown above) does a very good of getting across its value proposition (search privacy). It immediately states the problem website visitors are trying to solve (tired of being tracked online) and clearly explains how they can help (free, seamless privacy protection). The black background is non-distracting; the white text is crisp and clear.

You only have a few seconds to convince website visitors that you are worthy of their time and consideration. You must know your value proposition and be able to communicate it effectively.

4. Understand the Basics of SEO

There are lots of good reasons for you to be able to, as a minimum, understand the basics of how SEO works.

Understanding SEO is important because:

• SEO drives relevant and qualified traffic to your website. The more traffic you earn, the greater the opportunity you have to convert visitors into repeat, loyal, and paying customers.
• SEO is complex and multifaceted. The more you know about it, the greater the likelihood you’ll be able to devise strategies that make you successful.
• If you are considering purchasing SEO services or doing it on your own, you will need to be able to recognize what is worth doing and what is going to be a waste of your time and money.
• Understanding the basics of SEO will help you more appropriately align your goals with what is reasonable to expect when.
• The more you understand, the greater the appreciation you will have for why SEO is a long game. You’ll be less likely to “pull the plug” prematurely and throw away hard-earned gains.

Matthew Yohe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Steve Jobs was notoriously impatient. He had no tolerance for anyone who was not fully on board and committed to his goals.

Yet, the opposite was also true. Jobs had endless patience for anything that was going to advance his vision of a great product. The original iPhone was a concept that took approximately 3 years to come to market. It was a hugely successful product for Apple with more than 100 million phones having been purchased in its first four years on the market.

Take the time to acquaint yourself with SEO basics. It will save you time and money in the long run. It will help drive your success.

Practicalities

Practical tips include activities that will qualify the extent of your SEO and content marketing success.

5. Make Sure Google Knows About You

Google maintains an index of all the content it has discovered and deemed worthy of ranking in search results. It’s important for your content to be in Google’s index because if you’re not in there, you won’t get ranked and you won’t show up in search results.

There are many reasons you might not be in Google’s index. The easiest way to figure out if you’re in there is to type “site:yourdomainname” into Google’s search window. If you’re in the index, Google will display a quick summary of the number of pages it has indexed and a rank-ordered list of the ones it considers most important.

The example above demonstrates what Google knows about Wikipedia. I searched for “site:www.wikipedia.com” and Google returned results indicating it has indexed approximately 39,900 pages from the Wikipedia website, and a rank-ordered list of the pages it considers most important starting with, not surprisingly, the Wikipedia home page.

If a website has no content in Google’s index, you will see a message that says “did not match any documents”.

Search for your domain. Check to see if the number of results is roughly equivalent to the total number of pages, blog posts, and portfolio items you have published on your website. A number that is significantly more than that could indicate you have a duplicate content problem – a situation where substantive blocks of your content are published in more than one place, either on your website or on a different website altogether. A much smaller number could signal Google considers some or all of your content low quality and not worthy of ranking.

Both duplicate and poor quality content get in the way of your site’s ability to rank, and rank well, in search results.

6. Learn How People Search for Your Products and Services

The words and phrases people use to search for your products and/or services are called keywords. If you offer SEO tips for small business owners, for example, people might search for “SEO tips”, “SEO tips for small businesses”, “SEO tips for beginners”, and more. Each of these different keyword phrases has a different search volume and level of difficulty when it comes to ranking.

In the example below, I’ve used Google Autocomplete to show you some of the different keywords people types into Google when searching for SEO tips. Google Autocomplete is a free tool that works in conjunction with Google Search to “predict” common and trending searches related to the characters you type into the search engine.

The number of times people search for keywords can vary dramatically and in surprising ways. In the example above, for example, people search for “SEO tips for small businesses” more often than they search for “SEO tips and tricks”. I know that because Autocomplete displays suggestions in descending order of keyword search volume so you get a sense of which keyword phrases are the most popular.

Google Autocomplete doesn’t share specific search volumes or how hard it is to rank for keywords but there are free and paid SEO tools that do. For example, Ubersuggest is a free and paid SEO tool you can use in conjunction with your Chrome browser for this purpose. It is free up to a small daily limit.

As a small business owner, your goal should be to identify keyword phrases for every unique piece of content that you want to rank well in Google search results. Google ranks pages and not websites, so you should identify a target keyword phrase for every unique piece of content on your website.

The ideal keyword phrase best represents what it is your content has to offer, has a good search volume, and low competition. “Fit” is more important than volume and competition because you want to attract relevant audiences – people who are going to be interested in what it is you have to offer. That way, there is less chance that visitors will land on your website and leave disappointed. This behavior can signal dissatisfaction to Google and result in lower rankings – the exact opposite of what we’re trying to achieve.

7. Use Target Keywords Strategically

Once you have targeted the keyword phrases you want to rank for, the next step is to position them strategically throughout your website so you are deemed relevant when Google is deciding who to rank where in search results. Just like businesses use street signs to get people’s attention and highlight their offerings, you can use keywords in your content to signal your relevance to Google and search audiences. The best way to do that is via SEO copywriting best practices.

SEO copywriting best practices are a blueprint for when and where to use keyword phrases in your website copy. For example, this post uses the keyword phrase “best SEO tips for small business owners” in its title because that’s the phrase we want to trank for.

It is a good idea to review SEO copywriting best practices before you create your content so you have a mental model for when and where you should be using target keyword phrases. Displaying sought-after keywords in the “right” places in your content not only helps Google when it comes to rankings, it also helps website visitors. They can land on a page of your website and quickly confirm they are in the right place because they’ll see what they were searching for prominently displayed at the top.

8. Publish Lots of Sought-After, Unique and Valuable Content

Google wants to find high-quality content that satisfies search queries so it can earn repeat customers and revenue from the ads shown to them.

Google displays results from search queries in less than a tenth of a second over 3.5 billion times a day (2022). One of the ways it manages to do so is by using automated ranking algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI). AI helps Google better understand language – both in terms of what people are searching for and in terms of the content that is competing for top rankings. AI helps Google’s algorithms understand language more like a human than a machine would.

For our purposes, this means small businesses have an opportunity to out-rank some of the bigger brands when their content is tailored specifically to their audience and is better than anything else that is currently out there. Given the huge quantity and variation in search queries, the more high-quality, unique, and valuable content you can publish, the greater the chance you’ll show up and display prominently in search results.

RIA Novosti archive, image #168856 / Sergey Pyatakov / CC-BY-SA 3.0 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

• Sought-after content is content your specific audience is searching for. It is content that has optimized for the search queries your audience uses.
• Unique content is content that is substantially different from the competition’s published content and from anything else that can currently be found on the Internet.
• Valuable content is high-quality content that satisfies search intent. It gives people the information they need to do whatever it is they were trying to do when they decided to search.

Content should be well-organized and written, easy to navigate and understand, and a pleasure to read and use. It should be so good that people will want to tell others about it by sharing it on social media or linking to it from their own website. It should be something you are proud of.

How much and how frequently should you publish? Ideally, you would publish approximately 50 blog posts in the first six months of SEO. That works out to be around 2 blog posts a week. More is better but what is really important, is that you set a goal you can commit to and meet. Your publishing schedule has to, first and foremost, work for you.

Sought-after, unique and valuable content helps more than just your audience. It gets across and reinforces your value proposition, differentiates you from the competition, and demonstrates evidence of your knowledge, expertise, and ability to satisfy and delight customers. Unique and valuable content helps everyone – prospects, customers, Google, and you. It helps Google earn revenue, gives searchers the information they came searching for, and contributes positively to your online reputation and bottom line.

A win-win, all around.

9. Use High-Quality Visuals

Audiences want, expect, and pay attention to high-quality photos, charts, graphs, videos, and screenshots that reinforce page messaging. High-quality visuals increase reader enjoyment, understanding, retention, and click-through rates – behaviors that signal visitor satisfaction to Google and help increase your rankings.

High-quality stock photos work well. Original imagery is best. If you sell products, for example, capture images of them being stocked, sold, used, assembled, disassembled, and used. If you sell services, snapshot your experts at work satisfying clients. If you’re a travel blogger, take pictures of your travels. The possibilities are endless.

Wikimedia Commons is a good source of free media content.

There are many free and paid high-quality image sources on the web. I like to use Unsplash, 123rf, Shutterstock, Adobe, Wikimedia Commons, and (for local SEO) Google or my own photography.

A quick word of warning. Don’t make the common mistake of assuming everything posted on the Internet is free for you to use. Content is automatically copyrighted when it is published so you will need to make sure you have permission to reuse published media. The Content Marketing Institute shares guidelines for when and how you can use content that isn’t yours.

Also don’t rely solely on imagery for content, no matter how good it is or how visual your business is. I see a lot of small business websites doing this. Google excels at understanding text so be sure to use lots of it. Pictures can tell a great story but words are much easier for humans and search engines to understand.

10. Embrace Customer Reviews and Testimonials

This next SEO tip gets back to building your online reputation. All things being equal content-wise, the business and website with the highest online reputation will almost always outrank the competition.

Search engines use online reviews (amongst other things) when making ranking decisions. Almost all consumers (97 percent) use online media to research and compare product and service offerings in their local area. Ninety-three percent say online reviews influence their buying decisions.

Reviews are important. With one exception (on Yelp), you should be asking your customers for them.

Many people feel uncomfortable asking for reviews. The key to reducing discomfort is to proactively and systematically ask for them in your day-to-day dealings with people. It gets easier once it becomes a procedure, a habit and not just another hard-to-remember add-on to your already over-taxed day. Most satisfied customers don’t mind leaving a review. You might just have to prompt them a few times as almost everyone is busy and preoccupied with their own lives.

You should also continuously monitor and respond to reviews – both positive and negative. Doing so lets people know your business is active and you care about customer satisfaction. It gives you a direct line of communication with your target audience and an open venue where you can express thanks or make things right in the event of customer dissatisfaction.

11. Publish Privacy and Terms of Use Policies

Privacy policies are required by law in many countries, including the United States. A Terms of Use policy is something a user must agree to and abide by in order to use a website or service. Both should be used on websites that store personal information. They help build trust because you are telling search engines and people what you plan to do with any information that is shared with you online. They give people the confidence they need to comfortably use your website.

Personal information is any information that relates to a specific individual. Obvious examples include someone’s name, address, phone number, and credit card information. Some privacy frameworks consider anything that can help determine someone’s identity, such as online identifiers or Internet browsing history, to also be personal information.

Most e-commerce and social media websites have prominent privacy and terms of use policies, often displayed in the site footer. Every website should have them. Make sure your site does too.

The good news is there are lots of free privacy policy creation tools available on the Internet to help you. If you use WordPress, it has a built-in generic privacy policy template you can quickly and easily customize for use on your own website. The same goes for Terms of Use policies.

12. Create Business Listings

Business listings succinctly identify and describe unique businesses by name, address, and phone number. Listings are typically presented in searchable online directories grouped by business category and/or location. Business directories make it quick and easy for people to identify different options and to locate or get in touch with businesses.

Every small business owner should ensure his or her business is listed on Google and other high-traffic and reputable online directories. Doing so helps Google validate you are who you say you are and gives searchers the reassurance that comes from knowing your business has been verified by an organization whose viability and income depends on providing accurate and up-to-date information.

A huge part of SEO is geared toward building your online reputation. People are more likely to trust businesses that have a listing on these high-traffic and trusted digital platforms.

Don’t try and game the system when you are creating your listings. Name your business consistently and accurately using your legal or doing-business-as (DBA) name. Pick the business category that most succinctly and accurately characterizes your business. Fill in as much other detail as you can and go through the verification process.

There are hundreds of places you can acquire listings. Not every listing is valuable. Start with the ones mentioned above and then consider using a citation building service to acquire other high-quality and relevant ones that are in your geography, industry, or ones you know your audience frequents. Quality is more important than quantity.

13. Participate on Social Media

Even well-established brands need to remind people of their existence and usefulness.

Find out where your audience likes to hang out online and spread the word about your business. Share your and others’ content. Be helpful to others. Social media should not be viewed as a sales platform. Get involved, educate and help others. It will increase your exposure, brand recognition, and online reputation.

You also don’t have to participate on every social media channel. Small business owners are strapped for time. Pick one or two social media sites and/or forums where you and your audience go to stay learn about industry news and gossip, ask and answer questions, and learn about and share information that might be of interest to others. Decide what you can commit to and stick with it.

Technicalities are tips you’re going to need some technical skill and knowledge to be able to implement.

14. Enable Analytics

Behind the door in my kitchen there is a large tape measure. When my son was growing up, he looked forward to the tradition of measuring just how much he had grown, year after year.

Website owners want to be able to view progress on their websites too. The good news is there are a couple of sophisticated (and free) tools on the market that enable accurate measurement of website progress. Things like:

• how many people visit your website
• when and where they visit from
• how they found you
• content viewed
• conversions (e.g. purchases, form completions, downloads)
• and more.

Google Analytics is a free analytics service offered by Google. It tracks and reports website traffic and sourcing, visitor behavior, and conversions. Google Search Console is another free Google tool that helps you measure search traffic. It also helps identify and fix issues Google might have with the all-important indexing of your website.

Every small business website owner should have both of these free tools enabled on their website. Your website development company may have done this for you already. If not, speak with them. They should be able to get you set up with both for a small fee. Alternatively, you can Google how to do it.

Once installed, learn how to use them. This is how you will know if you making progress and what opportunities await you. Don’t rely on guesswork or make assumptions. Use data.

15. Structure Your Website For Quick, Easy Access

Have you ever been at a restaurant where they handed you a large, unstructured menu that had too many options to choose from? I have. When that happens, rather than take the time to endlessly meander through all the different meal options, I often ask for a fall-back like a caesar salad or the daily special. It detracts from my overall dining experience.

A large unstructured menu (and website) is not helpful.

A website can be like that. When a visitor (and Google) arrive on your website, they expect to see a few familiar and important options like a main menu that includes information about you, your products and services, and a contact page. They expect to be able to quickly and easily navigate from there, find what they came looking for, and leave again, quickly and sated.

A well-structured website facilitates a streamlined and enjoyable experience. It groups, interconnects, and presents content in a way that makes life easier for everyone.

• Search engines can quickly find and index your most important content.
• Searchers have the choice to jump straight to the information they came looking for, or to leisurely roam around and discover what might be of interest to them.
• Website owners can enjoy low-cost website maintenance and the ability to gather meaningful insights from their data.

Learn how to structure your website for SEO.

16. Deliver a Good User Experience

User experience is a whole collection of items that ensure website visits are safe and enjoyable. These items include securing your website, ensuring it is mobile-friendly, free of pop-ups and intrusive interstitials, fast loading, and stable.

I’ll explain each of these items in a bit more detail below. If you need help with any these, your website development firm or SEO should be able to help you.

16.1 Secure Your Website

A few years ago Google made it its mission to push for site security for all. It gave website owners a deadline to convert their sites over to an Internet communication protocol (HTTPS) that protects the integrity and confidentiality of data that passes between a computer and the server on which the data is stored. Website owners were told their content would not rank well unless it met the deadline.

Savvy website visitors caught on to what was happening and grew to expect it.

The HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) protocol ensures users can connect to your website and share personal identification information without having to worry about whether their data is being accessed or used without their express permission. HTTPS encrypts data exchanges so it is unintelligible to anyone who does not have express permission to use it. It ensures data cannot be modified (or modified without being detected) while it’s in the process of being transferred. It authenticates users to protect against 3rd party impersonation.

How do you know if your website uses the HTTPS protocol? It’s actually quite easy. In the image above, I have highlighted in red where Wikipedia’s website address appears when you’re browsing. To the left of their website address (wikipedia.org)  you can see a closed lock icon. The closed lock signifies the website is protected with the HTTPS protocol. You can also double-click on the website address so it expands and displays the full address including the communication protocol (https://www.wikipedia.com).

Most websites today are HTTPS. If yours is not, get in touch with your SEO, website provider, or hosting service provider and work with them to make it happen. As mentioned above, most people expect website security and will not visit or stay on your website unless it is obviously protected.

16.2 Make Sure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly

Over half of Internet traffic comes from mobile devices. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, it won’t rank well in search results and it will be difficult for people to navigate and use.

A mobile-friendly website works exactly the same way regardless of whether it is used on a desktop, tablet, or hand-held computer. It might look slightly different on each of these devices because content has to shift around to fit the screen size, but the information shared and the functions you can perform are exactly the same. You should not have to squint, scroll across, or pinch the screen to be able to see anything that might be illegible or out of view.

Make sure your website is responsive.

16.3 Don’t Use Intrusive Pop-Ups or Interstitials

Popups are self-contained windows of content that appear over top of the main content on the page. They can appear suddenly, repeatedly, and without prompting.

Non-intrusive interstitials are similar but have built-in frequency capping and are displayed between different pieces of content or at a natural application transition or breaking point.

Google does not approve of intrusive pop-ups and interstitials that get in the way of a helpful user experience. They could lower your rankings. It’s best to avoid them.

16.4 Block Malware

Malware refers to computer software that has been specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to networks, computers, and data. Examples of common malicious intent software (malware) include viruses, trojans, worms, ransomware, adware, spyware, botnets, and more. Malware most commonly spreads via email attachments and shared file servers and networks.

One of the worst feelings in the world is getting a notification that your computer or website has been compromised. Given the prevalence of malware and the threat that it poses to so many businesses and consumers, it is important for small business owners to be aware of what can be done to detect and prevent infection.

There is no bullet-proof protection against malware but most reputable website hosting companies have tools and procedures in place to mitigate the risk of infection. As a small business owner, your best bet is to shop around to make sure malware protection is included as part of your hosting package. As a minimum, you want to make sure there are routine recoverable backups, periodic reviews of server flags and warnings, and procedures in place for assessing and fixing problems if and when they are detected.

You should also be updating your website regularly to ensure foundational software (like your content management system, theme, and plugins) is clean and up-to-date. Outdated software is often a pathway for malicious players to get into and corrupt your website.

You should also audit administrative users of your website from time to time and remove permissions from people who no longer need access to the site. Ensure strong passwords are used and take advantage of special software to mask your server IP and website login addresses.

If you are concerned your website might have been hacked, Sucuri offers a free tool that can be used to conduct a quick malware and security check. If problems are detected, get in touch with your website support and/or hosting company immediately.

16.5 Ensure Your Website Fast, Stable, and Ready to Interact

In the Spring of 2020, Google introduced a series of metrics called Core Web Vitals that score how quickly a page loads, when it is ready to receive user input, and whether it is visually stable. Their purpose is to help improve user experience on the Web.

Core web vitals include largest contentful paint (LCP), first input delay (FID), and cumulative layout shift (CLs).

• • LCP quantifies how quickly the largest, above-the-fold item takes to appear on the page. The goal is to have it render in 2.5 seconds or less on a 3G network.
  • FID calculates how quickly a visitor can interact with a page. The goal is to be able to scroll, click, or enter data within 100 milliseconds.
  • CLS evaluates the visual stability of a page. It assesses how often content jumps around on the page when you are looking at it. A CLS of 0.1 seconds or less is the goal for ensuring a good user experience.

Google has a free tool called Google Page Speed Insights that will let you check your page’s core web vital scores. Wikipedia’s core web vital metrics are shown below as an example.

Note there are more than just three core web vitals. For now, we’re only interested in the three in the top row – LCP, FID, and CLS.

Remember that when you’re trying to improve your rankings on Google, you should be comparing your scores to those of the top 10 pages that are currently ranking for the same target keywords as you’re trying to rank for. The other thing to note is that this is a fairly new initiative by Google and many websites are still struggling to achieve the targets set by Google. Don’t be disheartened if your scores are not yet in the green range. You’re not alone.

17. Measure and Adapt

SEO is an art and a science. There isn’t one single roadmap that is going to work for everyone. It really depends on where you’re starting from, who you’re competing against, and how much time, skill, and effort you are willing and able to put into making things better.

Zorkow, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Once you do start down the road of optimizing your website, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting value from your investment. Assuming you have Google Analytics and Google Search Console set up and you know how to use them, you should be able to gather data that will tell you whether you are making progress.

Start simple. Measure only traffic and conversions. If you are publishing content regularly, you should expect to see slow and steady improvement. If after 6 months you still have not made any progress, then you need to revisit your plan. You may have missed something, the market could be transforming, your competition might be ramping up their own SEO efforts, or changes to Google’s ranking algorithms might have thrown a wrench into your ability to rank.

How To Prioritize

I know this is a lot to digest.

Try not to get overwhelmed. Instead, start with a quick review of this list of tips to get a sense of the number and types of activities that are going to need to be undertaken. Assess whether you have the skill and time needed to work on SEO or whether you might need additional help or training. Then, start with the essentials. Work your way down from the list.

Come back here if you have questions. I usually get back to people within 48 hours.

Finally, here is a downloadable list of these tips. Use it to prioritize and keep track.

Good luck with your rankings!

You're reading Best SEO Tips for Small Business Owners Heading Into 2023 originally posted on the B-SeenOnTop Small Business SEO Blog. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Small business owners are notoriously strapped for time and money. Every investment decision must be carefully weighed and considered.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a long-term investment, a process that requires significant time, effort, and dollars to produce sustained and meaningful results. As such, it begs the question, “is SEO worth it for small businesses”?

Why Even Consider It

Small business owners aren’t the only ones who are watchful about how they spend their time and money. With run-away inflation and COVID-forced physical distancing, consumers everywhere are looking for ways to quickly and easily find and compare product and service offerings by availability, features, reviews, and price and they’re finding one of the best places to do that is online. Whole consumer segments have shifted to online shopping for the convenience, safety, and greater selection it provides.

Whole consumer segments have shifted to online shopping.

Even before the pandemic, in December 2020, Raydiant surveyed 1,000 US consumers and learned that 54% prefer to shop online rather than in person. 48% of respondents said they had replaced products they typically purchased at a physical store with competitors’ online alternatives in just the past year. 25% said they switch brands more often today than ever before.

So what are marketers doing to optimize their digital marketing strategies? Late in 2019, Ascend2 surveyed 278 marketers to ask that very question. They learned respondents’ top two objectives were to increase sales leads (54%) and acquire more customers (49%). Roughly half said they considered SEO (49%) and social media / blog posting (47%) to be the two most effective digital marketing tactics available to help them achieve those objectives.

That is not surprising. SEO has many benefits. It increases organic discovery and high-quality website traffic. It offers an impressive return on investment (ROI), increases your brand awareness, credibility, and trust, and lets you promote your goods and services 24/7, 365 days of the year. Not only that, SEO optimizes visitor experiences with your website so they leave satisfied and are more likely to tell others about you and advocate on your behalf.

So what is SEO?

What Is SEO

SEO stands for “search engine optimization”. It is the process of improving your business’s visibility and rankings in search results so you can attract more visitors to your website and turn them into brand loyalists and customers. It improves the user experience with your website by helping people find the information they came looking for and ensuring they leave satisfied.

Blog posting and social media are integral parts of SEO because they open pathways to your website where you can provide free and useful information to your target audience.

SEO is not black magic and it is not a trick. It won’t generate demand where demand doesn’t exist and it won’t sell bad products or services. What it can do though, is get you in front of highly-qualified, ready-to-buy customers when they are searching for the information, goods, and/or services you provide. It increases your visibility, awareness, and appeal by highlighting and reinforcing your brand relevance, authority, and trustworthiness. It effectively showcases the quality of your business and website to the people who might be interested in engaging with you.

How Difficult is SEO

Bad SEO is easy. Good SEO is hard.

Gone are the days when one could quickly and easily manipulate Google into positioning you at the top of search results with mediocre content and a few easily acquired backlinks. If anyone is telling you that today, they are living in a time-bubble from the 1990s or optimizing a business with very little to no competition.

If you are a small, local e-commerce business, it is not reasonable to expect you could possibly outrank a global e-commerce giant like Amazon.com

SEO can have a noticeable positive impact on your business but you need to bear in mind that its potential is only as good as your business. If you have a business that produces goods and services that nobody wants, there aren’t any tricks an SEO can provide to create demand and increase sales. If you are a small, local e-commerce business, it is not reasonable to expect you could outrank a global e-commerce giant like Amazon.com. As Google’s Maile Ohye has said, “SEO helps you put your best foot forward so that it ranks appropriately, in the spot where an unbiased potential customer would expect your site to be seen“. So before you even consider starting, align your expectations accordingly.

Then, for SEO to be successful, the experience prospects and customers have with you, both on and offline, must be differentiated, value-driven, and outstanding. A good SEO will examine your website holistically, starting from when a searcher begins their search through to the point where they have accomplished what they set out to do. Your website’s technical architecture, content, and online reputation are reviewed from the perspective of a searcher and search engine. It is compared to your brand promise, other options available in the marketplace, and a strategy developed to close gaps and take advantage of opportunities. Finally, approved tactics are implemented.

Keep in mind the world does not stand still while all this is taking place. Google changes its ranking algorithm as much as nine times a day. Demand rises and falls. Competitors compete. A good SEO must be prepared to adapt to changing circumstances in order to keep pace.

SEO is not easy. Nor is it cheap.

How Expensive Is SEO

If you haven’t guessed it already, good SEO can be expensive because the amount of work that goes into accomplishing success is substantial, and the number of people who know how to do it and do it well, is small. To be a successful SEO, you need technical, analytical, creative, strategic, and communication skills, all rolled into one. You need to keep up with ever-changing technological advancements, search engine ranking algorithms, and the marketplace. You need to carefully and simultaneously balance the needs and best interests of searchers, the business, and yourself.

It takes time to build this kind of expertise. It takes time to come up with a unique strategy for every business. And it takes time to implement the strategy, bearing in mind that you may need to change direction along the way.

As such, SEO is a process, a series of ongoing activities that are all geared toward helping both you and your target audience. I draw attention to this important distinction because, in my experience, many small business owners believe SEO is something that can be done quickly and for little cost – like flipping a switch on and off. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. SEO is hard work. It takes a long time. It requires continuous upkeep and maintenance. And it can be expensive.

Is It Worth Doing If You’re a Small Business

So, is SEO worth it for small businesses?

Yes. SEO is worth the time, effort, and dollars for small business owners because SEO is the best investment you can make to gain visibility with the vast majority of people who enjoy the convenience, safety, and greater selection of online shopping. You’ll need the right partner and strategy to make it work, but it is definitely worthwhile.

Here’s why.

• Every small business needs a website. A well-designed website provides evidence you are a legitimate business, showcases your product and service offerings, and gives you an opportunity to begin to convince people you can help them.
• Second, an unoptimized website has limited value as an online brochure. An optimized website, on the other hand, increases your online visibility and credibility by demonstrating evidence of your know-how and effectiveness. A majority of the US population (79% or 263 million consumers) shopped online for goods and services in 2021 and, as previously mentioned, 54% prefer to shop online. An optimized website opens a doorway to those consumers.
• Third, roughly half of US marketers consider holistic SEO, the process of improving all important aspects of a website including its technical architecture, content, and online reputation, to be the most effective digital marketing tactic available to help them increase sales leads and acquire more customers. SparkToro did a study in 2018 that revealed Google is the single-largest traffic driver to websites. It accounts for 57.8% of traffic to an average website.
• Holistic SEO delivers sustained and compounding value over time. That value can and has been measured.
  • Profitworks estimated that the average return on investment for its SEO services in 2015 was 275%.
  • In 2020, Terakeet calculated the SEO ROI for its clients was between 500 and 1,220%.
  • Last year (in 2021), FirstPageSage determined its average 3-year ROI for SEO as 748%.

The best alternative to SEO is Google’s Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. PPC advertising also requires skill to implement effectively. It can, however, be set up fairly quickly and the results measured. The problem is, a vast majority of people ignore PPC ads (source and source) and the results are only short-lived. (Advertisements stop displaying in search results as soon as you stop paying for them.) PPC should definitely be considered as part of your marketing strategy – especially if you want to build awareness quickly – but it does not negate the long-term value SEO can bring to your business.

Photo by Nam Hoang on Unsplash

So yes, it is worth doing SEO if you’re a small business because you need a website anyway and holistic SEO increases your online visibility and has been proven to be the most effective marketing tool to increase leads and acquire new customers – the top two goals of most businesses.

How to Structure Small Business SEO Investment

So then the question becomes, what is the best way for small business owners to structure their SEO investment so it doesn’t become overly burdensome.

There are a few things you can do.

First, I always recommend an initial consultation with an SEO so you can quickly gauge the size of the mountain you’re going to have to climb to see meaningful results. Some SEO companies offer free consultation you can take advantage of to help figure this out.

Second, if you have the time and the skills but not the budget, SEO can be learned. Aleyda Solis has created an extremely helpful online roadmap to help guide you through the process of learning SEO or expanding your SEO knowledge. It covers everything from SEO strategy to measuring and reporting results and more. Google also shares some good do-it-yourself (DIY) resources on their Search Central Blog:

• • • an SEO starter guide describing much of what an SEO can do for you and how you can go about it;
    • details on how Google crawls, indexes, and serves the web;
    • a video series on how to build an online presence for your business; and
    • Google Webmaster Guidelines.

Third, some SEO companies offer coaching services that can help you climb the learning curve faster and avoid some of the problems most people encounter when they’re first starting out. Google has recommendations for how to choose a good SEO in their starter guide and on Youtube. We also have some suggestions for how to vet a SEO company so you get what you want and need.

If you don’t have the time or skills needed to be successful at SEO, then it becomes a financial consideration. Forbes has written an excellent article on how to go about calculating the return you’ll earn from your investment versus the cost of an SEO alternative, PPC. Then, I always recommend a website and competitive assessment. This won’t be free, but it will help you get your head around how much change is needed and whether you can realistically support an ongoing SEO process. It will also help you determine a realistic budget and time commitment. Based on that, you can decide how much you’re willing to invest, if anything, to see results.

Summary and Conclusion

So that’s it.

Is SEO worthwhile for small businesses? Yes. Done well, SEO increases your brand awareness, visibility, and rankings in search results. It helps you turn website visitors into brand loyalists and customers. It has an excellent return on investment.

That said, good SEO isn’t free. It costs time, effort, and dollars which can be an expensive and daunting proposition for many small business owners. You would be wise to get an initial SEO consultation and to consider alternative options including learning how to do it yourself, SEO coaching services, and pay-per-click advertising.

If you’re interested, B-SeenOnTop offers free consultations and coaching services to small business owners. Call us at (484) 437-7977 or fill out our contact us form and we’ll be in touch.

Featured Image: Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

You're reading Is SEO Worth It For Small Businesses? originally posted on the B-SeenOnTop Small Business SEO Blog. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.