Guide to SEO for Small Businesses

It is fascinating to see small businesses excel and compete with larger firms. But have you ever wondered how these small companies with low budgets, fewer facilities, and a handful of employees manage to hold their own in a highly competitive market?

The secret of their success is in search engine optimization. Businesses in today’s world operate online, and having a robust online presence can make or break a company. Larger, well-established firms can sometimes appear lackluster in front of a small business with a well-planned SEO strategy.

Let’s take a closer look at small business SEO. In this article, we will break down how these local companies use affordable SEO services for small businesses to create their space in the market and compete with bigger corporations. 

Let’s start!

Understanding SEO for Small Business

As you are already aware, Search Engine Optimization is a collection of techniques to improve the online presence of your business website. The aim of SEO is to make your website appear at the top of search engine results. 

Hence, SEO for small companies can be understood as a more targeted approach for companies with limited resources to achieve the same aim. It is important not to confuse small business SEO with local SEO. The latter focuses on location-specific search engine results, while the former is more general in nature. However, SEO for small business websites can look towards local search results to leverage website traffic. Given below are the SEO benefits for small businesses:

Increased Visibility

If you are an e-commerce store owner being constantly overshadowed by other corporations with better resources, you need affordable SEO services for a small business website. Using keywords relevant to your products allows your website to rank higher on the search engines. 

Did you know that only 0.063% of searchers go on to the second page of Google? It just goes to show how important it is to appear on the top. When you appear on the top, more customers are likely to click on your website. It also increases your brand awareness and builds a stronger customer base.

Increased Awareness and Traffic

Choosing affordable SEO packages for small businesses can transform your online business into a well-known brand. As your website’s visibility increases, people become more aware of your products and services. With increased awareness comes greater rewards, such as customer reliability and trust. 

Moreover, an optimized website leads to greater traffic that can potentially be turned into customers. Ensure greater brand awareness and guarantee more traffic when you use effective SEO tips for small businesses.

Cost-Effective

Rather than spending thousands of dollars on ad campaigns, why not try low-cost SEO services for small businesses? Social media, newspapers, and billboards are a thing for larger firms who can afford to invest in advertising. For small businesses having limited funds, SEO is a more effective alternative. 

A carefully laid strategy with relevant keywords, optimized content, and off-page SEO techniques will most certainly turn the search results in your favor. It may take weeks or months, but it is an affordable and reliable solution responsible for the success of millions of companies. 

Competitive Advantage

SEO is by far the easiest way to create an edge for your business in the market. Having a competitive advantage over the competitors is essential for online store owners who operate on platforms such as Shopify. There is no need to introduce a new product or provide competitive offers; simply optimize your website as per the customer’s search patterns and see your business gain attraction like never before. 

Now that we have discussed the benefits of SEO for small businesses let’s see how your company can achieve the same. 

Top Tips and Best Practices For Small Business SEO

Building the perfect SEO strategy for small businesses can at first feel like a daunting task. However, after going through the guide given below, you will not only be able to understand each of its elements but will be in a position to implement them in your business. Here are the best practices:

Conducting Keywords Research

Arguably, the most important aspect of search engine optimization is keywords. To put it simply, People put specific terms or phrases while searching on Google and other engines. These terms are referred to as keywords. To optimize your website, you need to incorporate those exact terms that are most used by people while searching for products or services your business offers.

You may wonder, how do you know if a keyword is efficient enough to be used? For that, you need to pass it through the criteria of search volume, competitiveness, and search intent. 

Search volume shows how many times that keyword has been used within the last month. Search intent refers to the intent of the customer, whether he or she was looking for a product or was it a generic search.

Those keywords are used organically throughout the website so when a customer uses them in a search engine, your website also appears in his results. For small businesses, keywords are often local, specifically linked to a location where the business is based. 

Having a Logical Website Structure

Next on the list of best practices for SEO strategies for small businesses is having a robust website design. Nothing irritates a user more than a website that is malfunctioning or difficult to navigate. 

The key is to link the homepage with all other important pages such as the About Us page, the Services page, etc. A rule of thumb is that users must be able to access each page of your site in four clicks or fewer.

Focusing on Local SEO

Small businesses must look to target the local customers. Have you ever searched for a product or service in your area; e.g. “plumber near me” or “dentist clinic in Singapore”? These are examples of local searches. Having local SEO for small businesses is essential as it helps them penetrate the native market. 

Using native keywords relevant to a specific location can optimize your website for a local audience. Moreover, if you also include your phone number and address, your website can dominate the local search results.

Setting Up and Google Business Profile

When looking for the best SEO tools for small businesses, never forget Google Business. The app allows you to build a profile for your business and present it to the users. Having a profile on Google Business is crucial in today’s environment, as the app influences how your business appears on the Google search engine. Business owners must complete their profiles 100% to ensure better results.

Optimizing On-page SEO

Your website holds all the cards when it comes to attracting new traffic and ranking higher on SERPs. The best practice to ensure optimization of various front-end and back-end components of your website is called on-page SEO. Here are a few critical elements your website must ensure:

• Visual Content
• Page Titles
• Headers
• Meta Descriptions
• Image Alt-Text
• Structured Markup
• Page URLs
• Internal Linking
• Mobile Responsiveness
• Site Speed

The Benefits of Local SEO for Small Businesses

According to Nectafy, 88% of the searches for local businesses on mobile devices result in visiting the location within 24 hours. The trend corresponds to a more than 900% increase in “near me” and “close by” keywords since 2018. In other words, over 46% of all Google searches aim toward nearby shops and restaurants. In response to the high demand, many marketers and small businesses started opting for local SEO. Here are some of the main benefits of local SEO for local start-ups:

Improved Visibility 

The understanding of improved visibility has long gone beyond its traditional meaning. Now, listing your business online is almost mandatory, as you’d want it to appear at the top of local search results. Thanks to local SEO, you will attract more local customers searching for your products or services.

Moreover, Google Maps optimisation will increase the inflow of clients in your vicinity. With the help of mobile optimisation, your business will easily fit into browsing coming from such devices. As a result, you stand far better odds against other local companies regarding local searches.

Converts Traffic into Profit

As expected, the higher the number of visitors, the better the chances to turn your visibility into sales. For example, someone did a local search for “interior designer near me” or “HDB renovation services near me” and found your listing.

Since you’ve listed your contact details, clients have direct access to your products and services. Ultimately, you will significantly increase the traffic and conversion rate of local searches into successful purchases.

New Customers And Customer Retention

Selling high-quality products or offering expert services is not always enough to give your business the popularity it deserves. Luckily, a listing can quickly fix this and even bring you more potential customers. Typically, it works by allowing clients to leave ratings and reviews. Positive feedback will undoubtedly increase the likelihood of people returning to you for another purchase.

Solid Business Reputation

Of course, having quality ratings and reviews will undoubtedly make your business look more trustworthy and reliable. Moreover, search engines will give your listing a push above others. Thanks to local SEO, you will increase the potential reach in your vicinity and turn it into profit.

Easy Listing  

After all, optimising your business visibility with local SEO is a seamless task that does not require expertise. Thanks to the Google My Business tool, you can manage your presence across Google without a hassle. Usually, the process is straightforward, but best of all – it’s completely free. You can easily add or update details related to your business from a single dashboard and track and respond to customer reviews.

Case Study- Heating Style

Developing an SEO strategy for a small business helped Heating Style achieve success. Heating Style is an eCommerce business on Shopify that supplies high-end equipment like radiators, heating elements and towel rails all over the UK. 

Challenges Faced

A plethora of issues were identified by their SEO agency; the first among them was the lack of foundational keyword research. The website also had very few backlinks and no content strategy. Additionally, duplicate content and hundreds of duplicate pages meant poor website structure.

The Solution

The relevant SEO service provider conducted thorough keyword research and incorporated them into category pages. A canonical code was added to ensure the right pages were ranked on the search engine. Moreover, the SEO agency also found relevant FAQs and used them as part of a blog to educate the visitors. 

As a result of this well-planned SEO strategy for small businesses, Heating Styles was able to increase the organic traffic on their website by 500%, going from 1000 per month to 5000. Moreover, the company also saw 3 times the return on investment. Lastly, their organic sales also increased by 350%.

See the best SEO agencies in Singapore for all your digital marketing needs.

Find a Small Business SEO Agency in Singapore

SEO for small local businesses is an essential part of businesses with limited funds and resources. By implementing the strategies mentioned above, ecommerce stores and small businesses can not only increase their customer base but also compete with the larger firms in the market. The key is to utilize SEO services for small businesses in an efficient way, depending on the nature and needs of your business. 

Leading Solution is one of the top SEO agencies in Singapore, specializing in SEO services for SMEs and small businesses. If you are looking to boost your website with our tested and proven SEO strategies, consult us today. We also provide the full suite of digital marketing services such as website development as well as professional photography services.