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Writer's pictureKellie Crawford

What is SEO and how can small businesses can use it?

Updated: Mar 24, 2023

SEO stands for search engine optimization which includes the content and technical features you add to your website in order to rank higher on relevant search results - for free.


For example, when you search "what is seo", you'll see 700million results. There is no way for you, the reader, to go through all of those results, so Google has done the work for you. Google reads every website, ranks each one for every Google search, and presents the results to you within a second. SEO is how you set up your website to make it easier for Google to find your content, evaluate it, and rank you among the other millions of pages.


The reason that being at the top of the relevant Google search results is two fold:

  1. Because of intent. People who are performing a Google search are intending to find something - directions, information, make a purchase.

  2. Because of the amount of trust people have in the Google's ability to present the "best" results.

If you can rank #1 on relevant search results it will in turn build trust in your brand because of that Google seal of approval and lead to much more traffic to your website.


How can your business leverage SEO?


Step 1: Build a website that people find valuable.

  • Make it easy to use - especially on a mobile device (i.e., mobile friendly).

  • Make it easy for customers to understand. Reduce the jargon. If your sister, who is not in your industry, reads it and can understand what you're saying and the value you bring, then you're on the right track.

  • Make sure your website is indexed on Google.

Step 2: Research keywords that you want to rank high for.

  • Research which search keywords you and your competitors rank high for today.

  • Start a list of keywords that you want to compete directly with your competitors on.

  • Research topics to identify keywords you want to try to rank high for. Don't forget long-tail keywords that have less competition and activity, but are easier to rank higher for. For example, "black t-shirts" vs "black t-shirts made of 100% cotton in a size large."

Step 3: Optimize your website for those keywords.

  • Start technical changes like title tags and meta descriptions.

  • Then build out your content to feature some of the long-tail keywords. Blogs are a great way to capture this content.

Step 4: Be patient.

It takes Google some time to crawl all of the websites and content out there and rank that content. If you're interested in faster results, use your keyword research and new content to run Google Ads.


Looking for a professional to help you optimize your website?

We can help. Our marketing professionals have been helping businesses of all sizes optimize their websites and create new content, and we can help you too. Let's schedule an introductory meeting to get to know each other better and discuss your goals.


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