Being an owner of a small to medium-sized business – you may or may not have heard of SEO.
Most are aware but often do not care enough to look more into it – well, I’m here to tell you SEO is the heartbeat of your online presence. Take care of it.
Guilty? Don’t worry – a recent survey, found that roughly 60% of small businesses have their own websites, but of that amount, less than 30% have ever considered search engine optimization (SEO).
In this growing digital era, it is imperative now more than ever that you harness the power of SEO and set your website up for the long haul.
Failing to use SEO strategies on your website is as crippling for your business as shutting your doors and disconnecting your phone lines – I’m serious.
So what does SEO do? What does it mean? And Why the hell am I writing about it?
Think about how you search for things online. You Google it. Plain and simple.
Now put yourself into the shoes of your target audience – how are they finding you? Are they searching Google? If so, where do you show up? Are you even on the first page of Google’s SERP (search engine results page)?
If you answered no, you cannot see yourself – you need SEO – like now.
Now let’s dive into my top five reasons why every business should place a heavy focus on SEO in 2022.
Traffic, also known as users that visit your website will differ depending on your SERP rankings.
Now third-party backlinks and guest post referrals are excellent – however, for the purpose of this article let’s focus on organic traffic. Meaning users that search in Google and find you – directly.
Depending on your industry, product, or service you are offering, Google is the place you need to show.
Fun fact, 90% of Google users NEVER venture passed the first page – think about all that lost opportunity your business is suffering from not being on page one.
By restructuring your website and fixing any errors, warnings, or issues, you will be on track to rank more favorably in the eyes of Google.
Now, at the end of the day Google does take the information into account so employing SEO efforts may not always suffice if the desired keyword (or topic) is overly saturated.
You must provide value – more value than other websites ranking on page one.
The fun thing about SEO is that besides your time and fees paid to a consultant or agency the results are essentially free.
Not to mention you are setting yourself up for evergreen results, organic traffic (when SEO is maintained) has the ability to increase traffic on your website passively.
This allows you to free up more time on your calendar to focus on things that matter – growing your business.
That’s it for this section – saving money is always good and that deserves to be a benefit.
After getting your hands dirty with SEO, you will begin to understand that it’s all about keywords, which when you think about it are just words and phrases that people are searching on Google.
The main objective of SEO is to produce online content where keywords are used in a strategic manner, making your website more efficient as well as ranked higher on Google’s SERPs.
Being a small business comes with the notion and ill-mentality of not being able to compete with big brands and corporations online. “I can’t touch that budget!” We’ve all been there.
However, with the correct implementation of SEO – this notion goes right out the window.
Sure, big companies might have more manpower behind the keys, but that just means you’ll have to work a little work and produce better content.
The saying “If you build it, they will come” has never been more prevalent when it comes to search engine optimization in this digital era.
One amazing tip that I found when starting out my career in digital marketing is to start with “low hanging fruit” for lack of better terms.
What I mean by that is, that there are a plethora of tools online that can help you research the specific metrics on your target keyword(s).
SEMrush for example is my favorite tool – you can target keywords or phrases with moderately high to medium traffic BUT low levels of competition.
This allows SMBs to get their foot in the door with Google.
Most of the time, as an SMB you have more of a niche within a specific industry. So focus on narrower topics instead of broad 2-3 word keywords. Think more granular
For example, if you sell wallets do not go after “wallets” or “men’s wallets”, below of some things so can target if you are an SMB:
As it turns out most users today are more willing to shop with a local or smaller business that provides a good service. Brand loyalty is fading in 2022 – now is your time to capitalize.
To be frank – it’s 2022. If you are not investing time, money, and resources into your websites you are either a billionaire already, extremely stubborn, or ignorant to the times.
I know that sounds rough but SEO is a no-brainer.
Most of the time, the implementation is seamless and today’s rates and fees are extremely manageable considering the payoff.
Search engine optimization is and will always be the meat and potatoes of not only your online presence but your reputation. The more people see your content online, the more they trust you.
Some business owners I talk to say, “Business is great” or “I don’t want to rock the boat – things are fine right now”.
Sure – things may be “fine” but what happens if CPCs go through the roof or a flood in your town happens.
You need a backup plan, a life raft if you will – and SEO is a god damn yacht just waiting for you a few months away.
SEO is evergreen – it’s not a trend or a fad. It is here for the long haul so buckle up and get to work.
Google holds roughly 80% of the overall search traffic on the internet. Being at the forefront of this somewhat monopolized traffic source is what will make or break your website efforts.
Again – Google favors well build and informative websites. Taking the time and going the extra mile to create the perfect experience for your users is what Google loves.
For the most part, SEO takes about 6-12 months before you REALLY start seeing overall effects.
Now optimizing blogs and pages can get you on page one within a few months but generally speaking – the entirety of your domain should take about a year to optimize if well established.
The best thing about SEO is that the changes you make today will continue to pay off again, again, and again
So what are you waiting for?
As I’m sure you’ve seen all over the site I offer a completely FREE SITE AUDIT – check the button below to get started. Let’s do this!
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