Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important marketing activity for every small business. A good SEO strategy will help your business be seen online. Without one, your website won’t show in search results, and it will be almost impossible for potential customers to find you.
If you get your SEO right over time, you will see increases in your website traffic, brand visibility, and revenue. So, organic SEO is the key to growth and sales opportunities.
All you Need to Know about Small Business SEO
If you are starting a business, think about and create your SEO strategy while building your website. Having your strategy in place from the very start will save you time later on. It will also ensure you have the full potential to grow your online presence from the day you launch.
SEO search marketing has become very competitive in almost all industries for both B2B and B2C companies. So, your SEO strategy needs to take into account what your competitors are doing.
What is search engine optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization is the practice of optimizing your business’s website so that it can be found and indexed by search engine crawlers. SEO, thus, increases the quality and quantity of traffic to your website. Search engine crawlers are bots that crawl the entire internet, finding and ranking the most relevant content, based on the searcher’s query.
SEO activities result in organic search results. While many businesses pay for advertisements in search results, performing well organically is a more sustainable and cost-effective way of marketing.
It is also highly recommended to have a good SEO strategy in place before setting up PPC ads as it will complement your efforts and act as a solid base. There is no point in paying for PPC if the website you take customers to is not optimized to meet their expectations.
Successful SEO involves several components including content marketing, keyword research, technical optimizations and on-page optimisations.
As a small business, it will be important to master the fundamentals of SEO, so you can increase traffic to your website and grow your online presence.
Good SEO can help your business be friends with every search engine.
How much does SEO cost for a small business?
If you’re a small business owner, you likely have a large number of overheads, maybe even more money is going out than in? So how can you possibly afford another expense?
The good news is with some training and research a lot of SEO can be done for free. DIY SEO is less complicated than you might imagine. The real issue is time. SEO takes a lot of time.
The reality is, most small business owners have bigger things to think about.
So, how much should a small business pay for SEO? Well, like everything it depends. An SEO expert usually starts by running an audit on your website. They then recommend optimisations, in order of priority. You will then need to decide what optimisations are most important to you and how many you can afford. Most SEO freelancers (including myself) charge by the hour but will create custom price packages based on your needs and budget.
You can get a lot of SEO done for a once-off fee, but it’s important to consider that SEO should be seen as an ongoing activity. Things change quickly online with regular Google updates and competitors entering or rebranding. At a minimum, a yearly site health check should be carried out. If your budget allows for it, monthly checks and optimisations would ensure continuous growth.
For more information on our SEO services visit the SEO page, or get in touch here.