Creating off-site content—an extremely important technique for creating natural links and establishing authority with Google—is where small companies can beat the daylights out of big SEO competitors. Google has become good at identifying and rewarding authoritative and useful content. FindLaw Legal Blogs FindLaw's Legal Blogs bring you access to the latest legal news and information. Both consumers and legal professionals can find answers, insights, and updates in the blogs listed below.
This article is originally published on Galactic Fed.
Are you a small business owner wearing all of the hats? SEO Tips for Small Businesses
Are you by chance the Director of Customer Services, the Business Development Specialist, and the Finance Manager?
In addition to all of your strategically balancing hats, are you also trying to figure out how to reach more customers online?
The trick is to take advantage of the benefits of being small and nimble. Here are four tips to help small business owners and websites compete against the big guys – and win. It's hard to beat chain stores on prices and selection, so find other ways to make your products and services stand out. Step 1: Get a Domain Name. A domain name is your website’s unique address. While it is very common for businesses to have domain names that are the same as their business names (such as walmart.com), you can pick a domain name to include any text phrase you want, as long as it’s not already been taken.
Here at Galactic Fed, we know time is a precious resource for all of you small business owners, and you can have a lot on your plate at any given time. That’s why we’ve pulled together our top tips for ranking higher on search engines – aka, Search Engine Optimization (SEO.) We’ve partnered with a ton of small businesses over the years, helping them scale their SEO, which has given us a firm grasp of what works.
Don’t panic. Let Galactic Fed act as your guide to the small business SEO galaxy. Make it easier for customers to find your small business online and launch your sales into an ever-increasing revenue orbit.
If we’ve already lost you, it might be worth looking at our Beginners Guide to SEO to brush up on core SEO concepts and basic SEO terminology. Now, let’s explore the best ways for your brick and mortar or service-based small business to rank higher on Google and engage more customers in the process.
The Essentials:
Tools to make SEO easier
First things first, you need the right tools for the job.
Set up Google Search Console and Analytics accounts to develop benchmarks and track your progress. These tools will also give you insight into how new and repeat customers engage with you online and how Google sees your small business website.
The skilled art of SEO-focused keyword research
We’re not going to beat around the bush. SEO-focused keyword research done well takes skill. Your best bet with nailing the right keywords as a small business owner is to partner with an SEO expert. To have a go at it on your own, both Google and Moz offer keyword explorers for developing an SEO-focussed keyword strategy. Although you need to create a Google Ads account for the former, it is possible to use the tool for researching SEO-focussed keywords, not just keywords for paid ads.
If we can stress one thing, it’s not to overdo it. Stuffing your small business website with keywords can harm your ranking. We recommend using target keywords in headings and title tags, where it makes sense to do so – i.e., it reflects the content in that particular area of your website.
On-page & off-page SEO:
SEO is the method of improving the quality and quantity of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.
There are 2 main ways to do this – through on-page SEO and off-page SEO.
Our recent blog details the difference between the two practices. To keep things simple, we’ve divided our top tips for small business SEO into the same 2 categories.
On-page SEO tips for small businesses
On-page SEO focuses on improving your small business website’s aspects within your control, including page speed, headings, and keyword placement. Making these improvements to your website helps search engines pick up and index your site.
Monitor your page load speed
Put your small business website URL into Google’s PageSpeed Insights to analyze your load speed and get suggested fixes to make your site load faster on desktop and mobile.
Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) don’t like slow and sluggish websites (and neither do customers;) compressing large files like videos and images is a great place to start to address a slow-loading site.
Use headings and subheadings
Search engine bots love headings and subheadings, they notice them, and they can help you rank higher. Make sure to include relevant keywords in subheadings that reflect the content of your copy that follows them.
Crawl your site for broken links
Providing a link that takes visitors to a dead end can hurt your search engine ranking. Go through all of the links on your site and check they are in working order.
Address any site map errors
Site maps are critical and often overlooked. Don’t fall victim to a low ranking due to site map errors on your small business website.
Search engines don’t like to rely on sites with site map issues; check if your site has any errors by submitting your URL through Google’s Search Console.
Weed out duplicate content
Having duplicate content on your website could be stopping your business from ranking higher on search engines. Perform a content audit and double-check nothing appears more than once on your site.
Ensure your site is user-friendly
This one’s a biggie. Rumors are Google will launch an algorithm update focusing on user experience (UX) next year. Get your site in top shape now to ensure the Google search bots won’t penalize you.
Responsive web design is the industry standard, so make sure your small business site is mobile-friendly. With more people surfing the web on their phones, pared-down mobile versions of sites are becoming more common, to respect bandwidth.
Use clear and simple words to ensure the most significant number of customers can read your content. People read 25% slower on a screen than reading on paper, so keep it brief and write content for scannability, using bullet points, lists, buttons, and bold text.
Off-page SEO tips for small businesses:
Off-page SEO is an online activity that happens away from your small business website. Research conducted by Moz explains that off-page SEO-related actions carry more than half of your SERP ranking weight:
Source: Moz
Get other websites to link to yours
When a website provides a link to another website, it’s known as a backlink. SERPs are big fans of backlinks because they indicate your content is the real deal, and they’ll reward your small business site with a higher ranking.
Online business listings are a quick and easy way to build backlinks if you’re entirely new to them. You can also ask your suppliers or clients to refer to you on their stock lists or testimonials.
Watch out for toxic links that can hurt your SERP ranking. SEMrush gives an excellent overview of developing a link building strategy. To avoid negatively impacting your search ranking, we suggest working with a team of SEO experts who know the ins and outs of effective link building (cough, Galactic Fed.)
This year we helped digital signage software company Enplug achieve first-page ranking and increase their backlink profile by 34% with our tailored content strategy.
Get Social
Social media activity and guest blogging can also influence where you end up on your target SERP. Before you spend time creating profiles on every social media platform that exists, ask yourself what content you have to share, and if it’s a good fit for a particular social media platform.
If you’re a service-based biz supporting other small businesses, LinkedIn may be a good place to invest your time. If you’re selling a product to people, link-building through Facebook and Instagram might be where you’d get the most traction.
Google My Business and local SEO
If you’re a brick and mortar small business that relies on customers close to you, it’s worth getting a Google My Business account to boost your local SEO.
You can post product updates with photos, make announcements, and launch special offers. Customers can leave reviews for you, and you can reply directly to reviews, building customer trust and brand credibility. Having an active Google My Business account can positively impact your off-page SEO, and best of all, it’s free.
Help your small business reach more customers through SEO
There you have it, folks. From getting the right tools to research your customers and see how Google rates your site to using both on-page and off-page SEO activities and tactics, we hope that following our SEO tips helps your small business rank higher on search engines like Google.
Are you already thinking about your next SEO strategy? Let us help you! We’re seasoned experts at assisting small businesses to reach more customers. Sit back and watch your small business grow online with effective SEO, guided by Galactic Fed.
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Mike Gaudreau is the owner of The Wealthy Boomers, a site devoted to helping seniors make money online. Mike resides in Montreal Canada.
You should assume the owner of this website has anaffiliate relationshipand/or another material connection, to any suppliers of goods and services that may be discussed here and may be compensated for showing advertisements or recommending products or services, or linking to the supplier’s website.
Every small and local business owner knows that their competition isn’t limited to fellow small businesses. There are giant brands represented in cities and towns across the country, meaning you’re left to compete with other local shops plus the corporations with big marketing budgets and even bigger name recognition.
These larger companies can easily overshadow small businesses, both physically and in the digital world. But, while it may seem like you’re fighting an uphill battle, there are plenty of advantages that small businesses have over their larger competitors.
So, how do you win when you’re going up against a household name brand? I’ve got 12 small business marketing tips to help you get noticed.
1. Establish a Solid Digital Presence for Your Small Business
With digital marketing, it’s easier than ever for small businesses to create an oversized presence. Getting your name out there used to involve expensive traditional advertising. Today, though, there are many free or low-cost ways to get more customers.
Organic social media marketing is a tremendous way to increase your footprint online, meet consumers where they are on various platforms, and share your business’s unique voice and personality.
Digital marketing approaches like Facebook advertising and pay per click ads provide you the opportunity to reach new audiences for a minimal investment compared to traditional television and radio advertising.
Plus, you can take advantage of those tried and true avenues of marketing, like print ads and direct mail, while using modern data and analytics techniques to find the best audience for these conventional channels.
Most consumers need to see a brand’s name seven times before they even think about doing business with them. So, the more you can get your name out there with local customers, the better shot you have at standing up against the big brand that already has name recognition.
2. Test Out Marketing Trends
Sure, the big brands might have the budget to go all-in on the latest marketing trends, but small businesses have a big benefit here: With a smaller staff and fewer processes in place, you can be more nimble when it comes to your marketing strategy – maybe even test out new trends before the big guys can get their CMO to approve their budget.
Your small business might not have the bandwidth for massive new ideas, but it does have the advantage of executing and iterating quickly — which is the key to getting the results you want.
With less red tape to cut through and a more centralized location to brainstorm, plan, and execute, your small business can actually use innovation for its competitive edge over big businesses.
3. Build Your Business’s Reputation
Being a big business doesn’t necessarily mean being seen as big. There are many large corporations out there that have a mediocre presence across the nation. (Hint: Try Googling reviews for your local big box store – you might be surprised by what you see.)
Alternatively, there are many small businesses out there that have a big name in their community. Being a small business with a well-earned reputation in your surrounding area can be much more rewarding than a larger business that may not enjoy such benefits.
Focus a little time and effort into building up your business’s online reputation by asking for customer feedback, getting more reviews, responding to all reviews, and looking for ways to continue building on your success.
4. Deliver Excellent Customer Service
As a small business owner, you have the ability to develop a deeper, stronger, more personal relationship with your customers. Customer service has just as much value as any product or service you offer. In fact, 90% of people use customer service as a factor when deciding whether or not to do business with a company.
Customers appreciate and pursue relationships and experiences, not just end results. If your customers know you provide a relationship they can’t get at that big business, they’ll come to you first — even if it costs them a little extra.
5. Make Improvements Based on Customer Feedback
If you’re working on creating the best customer experience and managing your online reputation, you may receive constructive feedback from customers on ways your business can improve.
If you’re not proactively receiving this information, you might consider reaching out to some of your loyal customers and asking for their feedback on ways you can improve.
From there, you can implement procedures and processes to improve your business. Maybe your customers want you to add curbside pick-up for your business, or maybe they have similar questions about a service that you can answer on a page on your website.
This shows your customers that you care about their experience and their feedback and sets you apart from the big brands that don’t have the easy ability to tap into customer feedback and make real changes quickly and efficiently.
6. Segment & Refine Your Target Audience
While bigger businesses focus on reaching a broad range of demographics, being a small business gives you the opportunity to reach specific markets more effectively.
The competition may be making purchases and investments based on national or regional sales trends. You, however, have the advantage of knowing what your local customers want most.
Think about different ways you can segment your target audience and the best ways to market to them effectively. This might help you attract even more new customers and grow your audience online.
Tip: Take advantage of lookalike audience targeting on Facebook to show your ads to prospective customers with attributes most similar to your current customers – increasing the likelihood that they would want to do business with your small business.
7. Leverage Branded Content for Your Local Business
How Your Small Business Website Can Beat A Corporate Giant Eagle
Another great way to continue to get your name out in front of local customers is through branded content. Branded content is a fun, creative way to gain attention for your brand, beyond the bounds of traditional advertising. It allows you to tell a story about your business and share your values and mission with your audience.
Start by thinking about the issues that matter most to your customers, then find a great way to link your story up with the things they most care about. The final piece of the puzzle is finding the right digital marketing vehicle for your branded content, which can be anything from a social media campaign to a series of banner ads to drive people to your article, quiz, infographic, and more.
Watch how branded content helped this business owner build trust with prospective customers in his local community:
8. Step Up Your Design
How Your Small Business Website Can Beat A Corporate Giant Grocery Store
When it comes to branding, people have a tendency to judge a book by its cover. One of the best ways to level the playing field with the big guys is to have professional-looking design elements. A great logo, clean website, and appealing social media assets can help you gain positive attention.
While this may feel daunting for a business owner who doesn’t have a background in design, the digital age and ability to collaborate with skilled designers has made it easier than ever to find skilled professionals who can elevate your brand.
Here’s an example of a local business website with a great design that could easily help them compete with bigger brands.
From helping you select the right color palette (read more on the impact of color in branding in this article) to designing banners, logos, and assets tailored to each social media channel, a good designer with a great digital marketing agency can make a world of difference in how your brand presents itself online. (If you’re looking for help with your site or design assets, check out our web design services.)
9. Create a Customer Loyalty Program
While many big brands have customer loyalty programs or memberships, you can create a customer loyalty program for your small business that gets customers excited about visiting you again and again.
My local donut shop recently added a customer loyalty program, and it makes me excited to keep visiting them so I can get a discount on my future order.
Make sure to play up the local business angle so customers can feel good about supporting a local business and getting something in return.
How Your Small Business Website Can Beat A Corporate Giants
10. Get Involved in the Community
One of the biggest advantages any local business has over a national brand is the fact that they are local. No, you don’t have the budget or marketing power of the big guy, but you do have that personal connection to your community.
Think about ways to get involved in the local community. Donate products or services to auctions for a nearby school. Get your team together to volunteer monthly or quarterly at a deserving local charity.
Take the time to get to know your neighbors and learn a bit about their personal lives. Create the kind of personal touch that a big brand can only hope to replicate. It’s not digital marketing per se, but word will still get around.
11. Run Local Promotions & Contests
People love a good contest or promotion. Because your small business can easily come up with ideas, promotions, and giveaways without consulting a corporate office, you can develop a regular promotions or contest schedule.
Think about seasonal sales you can run, deals of the day or week, and social media contests to promote your business, engage with your customers, and get more people into your location or calling your business.
12. Attract the Best Employees
Your employees can make or break your business. The better team you have, the better service you can deliver to customers, the easier it is to have a good brand reputation, and the more you can rely on your team to keep things running smoothly even if you’re not always on location.
While big businesses will have more employees and different benefits, think about how you can build a fun, supportive, and attractive culture for your team. Consider perks that the big guys just wouldn’t be able to offer, like team outings, flexible schedules, and more.
Don’t Let Big Brands Swallow Your Business
When you’re a small business fish in the local pond, you’re also swimming with the national brands that have chains nearby. But that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get swallowed up. When you get smart about your marketing and use your small, local status to your advantage, it’s possible to out-swim even the biggest of fish. Contact us today to learn more.
Here are those 12 ideas for small businesses to compete with big brands:
- Establish a Solid Digital Presence for Your Small Business
- Test Out Marketing Trends
- Build Your Business’s Reputation
- Deliver Excellent Customer Service
- Make Improvements Based on Customer Feedback
- Segment & Refine Your Target Audience
- Leverage Branded Content for Your Local Business
- Step Up Your Design
- Create a Customer Loyalty Program
- Get Involved in the Community
- Run Local Promotions & Contests
- Attract the Best Employees