Many small business owners avoid search engine optimization because they worry that it will cost too much money and give them only marginal results. However, just the opposite is true. A reputable SEO expert can increase your ranking, your page views, and your sales in just a few easy (and economical) steps. Here are a few tips for getting the most SEO for every dollar.
Search Engine Optimization On A Budget Video
#1 Fill in the blanks.
Many people ignore the importance of page descriptions, photo tags, meta tags, and other overlooked nooks of your website. You need to make sure that your keywords are being used and being used consistently, especially in these less noticeable areas that have a huge impact on search engine crawlers. Your customers may not see them, but the search engines crawlers do. It costs nothing and takes just a few seconds to fill in the blanks on a new webpage, so don’t neglect it.
#2 Go for progress, not perfection.
One common misconception that holds back many businesses is the idea that if they aren’t number one (or even on the first page), SEO hasn’t been successful. This would be true if you were operating a website on Mars, but down here on Earth there is a lot of competition—and you can bet they care about their SEO just as much as you do. Of course the larger, more established businesses are going to be ranked ahead of you, but every increase in page rank increases your piece of the pie. Aim to slowly increase your rankings and don’t get discouraged if it takes a little time.
#3 Slow and steady wins the race.
Any SEO consultant that promises overnight success is either lying or using some really shady tactics. While you might see immediate results, this is not a necessity. SEO is a long-term strategy to keep customers coming for a long time, and it will take a while to make the necessary changes, get them crawled by search engine bots, and evaluate the results. If your site is new or started out with a very low rank, you may have to spend months gradually modifying and perfecting your SEO strategy before you see the end product that you want.
#4 Focus on conversions and sales.
The whole point of SEO (in a universal sense) is to increase your income. Many people forget this and get a little obsessed with traffic, even if that traffic doesn’t magically turn into a sale. Their Page Rank climbs even as their conversion rate slips. Bottom line: if your conversions are increasing steadily, your SEO is working. Traffic is certainly important, but getting the right traffic is just as essential.
#5 Find the right keywords.
Accessing any one of the many keyword tools on the internet is a great place to start, but you need to constantly monitor their performance. If a keyword is not drawing traffic, or if it is drawing traffic that doesn’t convert, drop it like a hot potato. It’s better to be #10 for keywords that make money than #1 for keywords that don’t.
#6 Don’t forget your customers.
While SEO is important and conversions even more so, you need to build your website so that it makes customers happy. While you might see short term results from certain strategies, you also need to evaluate them based on how they will work with your customer base over the long term. The assumption in many cases is that what works best for search engines—relevant content, good organization, etc.—also works well for usability. However, this is not always the case.
#7 Use your time wisely.
If you are already an SEO expert, then you might be able to maximize your website in a fast and effective manner. However, the average small business owner doesn’t even know where to start. As in many areas of marketing and branding, you may get the most bang for your buck if you hire an SEO consultant, at least to get you started. This will often cost less than doing it yourself, especially when you consider time and energy. A good consultant can structure your website in a way that makes it easy for you to maintain and update it.
#8 Think fast.
One of the greatest advantages of a small business is that it can move and change faster than one of the well-funded global corporations. You don’t need to spend months in committee before reaching out to a new market or introducing a new idea. You can just do it. Don’t procrastinate and let opportunities sail by; think fast and take action faster to maximize the inherent benefit of being one of the little guys.
#9 Watch the competition—but not too much.
Just when you think you are making real gains, you see a top competitor shoot ahead of you in ranking for several key terms. This often means that your tactics aren’t working as well as they once did. Assess what they are doing and see if it can be duplicated in your own operations. However, don’t panic about it. There is key information that you don’t have about your competition, such as how much they are spending on SEO and whether their high ranking is even profitable for them. Too many small business owners spend their days obsessively checking page rankings when they feel the heat from another company. Remain calm, do what you can to stay competitive, and wait for your methods to work.
#10 Be realistic.
Even if you get a #1 spot, you probably won’t have it for long before someone with a new plan and a bigger budget bumps you. SEO is a process, not a destination. As in all areas of small business, you will need to modify your plan on a regular basis to adjust for changes in the market. The key is to put your SEO budget—however limited—in the places where it will make the most impact, not just for your search engine rankings but for your actual profit.
