If you have a virtual store, for smaller that it may be, you have probably heard the word SEO more than once. This technique is essential to position your business on the Internet and grow regarding sales, traffic, and dissemination. But what is SEO and how can you take advantage of it? That is what we will talk about today, in this Seo guide for small businesses.
First, we will review some fundamental concepts and take a look at the statistics, to learn more about the importance and impact of this strategy in the digital era of commerce. Then we will show you how you can take advantage of SEO for small businesses to grow your business, and we will give you the best tips.
What is SEO for Small Businesses?
As you know, the acronym SEO means Search Engine Optimization. As we explained in our blog, it is a series of strategies to promote the positioning of your business in the search results of Google, Yahoo, Bing, and more.
However, these strategies do not affect large companies in the same way as local businesses on the Internet. So here you will find a useful SEO guide for small businesses, so you can take advantage of the differences with the most important firms and use them in your favor to position yourself on the Web.
SEO statistics for small businesses that support the importance of this practice for your business
Having said the above, let’s get to know the most important statistics of SEO for small businesses so that you can understand what is important in this practice for your commercial proposal, and why you should implement it immediately:
86% of consumers turn to the Internet to find businesses in their city:
- 86% of consumers turn to the Internet to find businesses in their city.
- 29% of users search the Internet for information on local businesses at least once 7 days a week.
- 72% of consumers say that searching the Internet is their first choice to find information about local businesses.
These statistics prove that search engines, such as Google, have become the primary source of information about local businesses. For this reason, implementing SEO strategies to ensure a proper web positioning is currently a necessary condition to compete.
Local business searches on Google
- Google captures 85% of searches that happen on the Internet from computers and 94.5% from mobile devices.
- 46% of Google searches are local.
- 75% of users never go beyond the first page of Google search results.
These numbers indicate that appearing among the top Google search results related to your niche is critical to commercial success.
What is the importance of local searches for your business?
- The location of a business is the most searched in the category of local searches.
- Local searches take 50% of mobile phone users to visit a business within 24 hours of the search.
These statistics allow us to answer the question:
What is SEO for small companies?
SEO for small companies and local businesses is the fundamental tool to compete and reach its maximum potential regarding user’s utility, diffusion, and promotion of the products/services.
6 Key tips to take advantage of SEO for small businesses and boost your business
After reviewing the numbers and understanding the relevance of SEO strategies for small businesses and local businesses, we will share with you the best tips to make the most of this practice for the benefit of your business. Take note!
1- Create an account on Google My Business
Google My Business is a fundamental tool (and free) to position your company in Google. With it, you can manage your presence and information, both in search results and services such as Google Maps. That way you help people to find you and learn more about your commercial proposal.
When you create a profile in Google My Business, your listing will appear when people search your business on Google or search related to your sector. Besides, you can also keep your profile always updated to make sure you reach your audience with the right message.
To create your business tab in Google My Business and sign up for free, click on this link.
2- Choose and point to the Keywords that large companies do not take into account when competing on the Internet
This type refers to the possibility of taking advantage of the Keywords or Keywords that the most important companies do not optimize for their benefit, either because they find it impossible, do not consider it necessary or have decided to postpone. These Keywords can be:
- Searches or specific categories: a great company dedicated to travel and tourism as Trip Advisor will optimize the keyword “Buenos Aires tourist guide,” but not more specific keywords, such as “the best antiques businesses to visit in San Telmo. Get to the point!
- Comparative keywords: the big companies usually prefer not to compare themselves with the competition or look at what keywords they position, but when you have a small business, this can be very useful. Keep in mind that analyzing your competitors can teach you a lot about the market and what your audience expects from you. Take a look at your competition’s website, the titles of your page and the Alt Text of your images to know which keywords you are trying to position, and match or exceed your strategy.
3- Focus on content that is difficult to monetize
Following the previous example, a giant site like Trip Advisor seeks to provoke more direct conversions, since it has a size and a level of diffusion such that it does not need to reaffirm its prestige or reputation. But your local business does need it!
For this reason, we recommend you optimize your content strategy so that it provides added value to users, through which you can progressively establish the authority and reliability of your business in your niche. Conduct interviews with experts, provide valuable and specific information. Be useful in a unique way.
4- Seek authority and association of brands in a very specific niche
Following what we said above, another excellent way to take advantage of your small business quality to enhance your SEO strategies is to capitalize on the specificity. For example, Trip Advisor can point to travel in general. But a small travel agency can optimize and compete on keywords like:
- Specific itineraries within a city, such as “old neighborhoods of Mexico City.”
- Specific information related to your niche, such as: “Yoga Centers in Guatemala.”
- Exclusive content, such as “interviews with customers of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires”.
Plus, you can generate competitive advantages such as:
- Depth in your content, for example including numerous photos taken by you or your team, reviews and tips to visit each place.
- Local prestige, p. Ex. Associating with brands linked to your niche and very well positioned, to have a legitimate reference in your city that will not hesitate to direct your audience towards your commercial proposal.
5- Build strategic and personalized relationships
Due to their size and scale of operations, large companies lack depth when building relationships with users and local businesses that may be relevant. But small companies can do it!
Thus, we recommend you to take advantage of your local condition to forge interpersonal relationships in benefit of your positioning. You can partner with local brands relevant to your business, following the example could be a restaurant, and speak directly with the owners, to build strong and loyal long-term links.
6- Take the concept of Value Added to the maximum with contents that the big companies miss
A significant advantage of local businesses regarding content is that they can focus on highly specific topics, much more than large companies. This is because, at scale, small companies have the real means to achieve a far more significant depth regarding specificity and added value.
So for example, we advise you to define the 10 most important keywords for your business, and provide useful, valuable, unique and specific information about each of those keywords or search terms. That way very soon you will become a benchmark for your niche in your city.
As you may have noticed, not all are factors against when competing with big companies in your niche. In fact, from the right perspective (which is what we try to convey in this blog post); these differences can become decisive advantages to take your commercial proposal to the top.
To finish with this article on what is SEO for small companies and why it is essential for the marketing strategy of your local business, we will say that having a proper web positioning is an indispensable condition for find your target audience on the Internet and compete in the market. Apply these tips and then tell us!
To know more about positioning and SEO strategies for local businesses and businesses, we recommend the following readings of our blog:
- SEO for Blogs 101: the Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization
- SEO for Beginners PART 2 -> How to Improve SEO Ranking on Google: How to Increase Page Rank
- 4 Essential Tips for Your SEO and Social Media Campaigns
- 8 newest SEO techniques that will take your business further on Google
- How Can Social Media Content Help SEO Positioning
- How do reviews written by users influence the SEO of your site?
That’s all for today! Did you find this article helpful? What SEO strategies do you apply on the Internet to position your business? Which has worked best for you? Tell us your opinion! And please, remember to share this post with all your contacts. 🙂