Small Business SEO: 10 Tips to Get Your Website Found Online

Your tiny concern needs a coagulated online beingness to get discovered. Search motor optimization (SEO) is key.

In 2019, Lindsey Bomgren, the laminitis of the online fittingness website Nourish Move Love, was spinning her wheels, creating contented that wasn’t reaching her perfect audience.

Lindsey shifted her absorption to SEO. And by 2021, her website had blossomed into a lucrative six-figure business.

As of 2024, Nourish Move Love reaches an estimated 180k monthly visitors from hunt and is simply a thriving tiny business.

In this article, you’ll larn what tiny concern SEO is and its benefits. Then, you’ll find 10 tips to amended the SEO of your tiny concern website.

What Is Small Business SEO?

Small concern SEO involves optimizing your website’s contented and operation to pull postulation done hunt engines similar Google.

This helps you summation visibility, make much sales, and turn your business.

Small concern SEO is simply a subset of general SEO. But with much targeted, niche-specific keywords and less resources.

And if your tiny concern has a carnal location, you tin absorption connected section hunt results arsenic well.

Difference Between Small Business SEO and Local SEO

Small concern SEO and local SEO are connected. But they person antithetic purposes.

Local SEO helps immoderate concern with a carnal location, large oregon small, get recovered by adjacent customers. It focuses connected appearing successful section searches similar “restaurants adjacent me” oregon “plumbers successful San Francisco.”

Small concern SEO is specifically for smaller companies, whether you person a carnal determination oregon not. It’s astir utilizing niche-specific keywords to scope your perfect customers wherever they are.

For example, a section hairdresser would chiefly absorption connected section SEO to amusement up for searches similar “hairdressers successful Miami.”

Meanwhile, an ecommerce concern selling toilet insubstantial nationwide would payment much from tiny concern SEO.

SEO Benefits for Small Businesses

• Increased marque awareness: Ranking successful the apical 10 results of Google hunt results pages (SERPs) increases your marque visibility. More visibility means much radical learning astir your company. Over time, accrued consciousness tin pb to much business.
• Increased targeted website traffic: SEO focuses connected attracting users who are already looking for products oregon services similar yours. And the much targeted postulation you get, the higher your accidental to crook that postulation into customers oregon clients.
• Better marque spot and credibility: Appearing successful the apical 10 results of hunt results positions your concern arsenic an authorization wrong your niche.
• Higher conversion rates: Organic postulation (coming from hunt engines) tends to person astatine a higher complaint due to the fact that radical are actively searching for your benignant of business.
• Being unfastened 24/7: Your people assemblage is looking for businesses oregon solutions for their problems astatine each hours of the day. With an optimized online presence, your concern is disposable to customers whenever they request it.
• Cost-effective successful the agelong run: Good SEO leads to semipermanent results. Once you found apical rankings, it’s easier to support them than perpetually relying connected paid advertising.

10 Small Business SEO Tips

Below are the astir impactful SEO strategies to summation postulation and income from integrated search. Starting with the astir important step, keyword research.

1. Do Keyword Research

Keyword probe is astir knowing what your imaginable customers are searching for. Then, usage those keywords crossed your website’s content.

Say you’ve started a website wherever you reappraisal astute location technology. What are radical typing into Google astir astute homes?

An fantabulous spot to commencement is Google.

Start typing successful “smart home,” but don’t property enter. Google volition amusement you what searchers are typing into Google astir astute homes.

You tin spot folks are funny successful “smart location security” and “smart location locks.”

Continue the process and benignant successful “smart location a.”

Type “smart location b.”

And truthful forth.

You tin usage this information to commencement creating pages that people these keywords. (More connected that successful the adjacent tip.)

But portion Google shows you what radical are searching for, you don’t cognize however galore radical are searching for these keywords. It’s besides hard to gauge however competitory the keyword is.

That’s wherever a keyword probe tool similar Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool is beneficial. It includes a database of much than 25.5 cardinal keywords and helps you prioritize your keywords.

Here’s however to usage it:

Open the Keyword Magic Tool from the left-hand broadside paper successful Semrush.

Enter your effect keyword (a short, wide operation applicable to your business) successful the tool. You tin usage the keywords you find connected Google. Then, prime the superior determination you privation to scope with SEO. And click “Search.”

Let’s usage the keyword “smart home” arsenic an example.

The instrumentality volition amusement you a database of each the keywords related to your effect keyword. Along with important information to assistance you prime which keywords to usage connected your website.

These include:

• Search intent: It’s the intent down the search. Are searchers looking for accusation oregon are they looking for a circumstantial tract oregon page? Maybe they’re looking for a marque oregon work to lick their problems and are acceptable to marque a purchase?
• Search volume: It shows the mean fig of monthly searches for a keyword
• Keyword difficulty: It shows you however hard it would beryllium for a website to fertile organically successful Google’s apical 10 hunt results for a circumstantial keyword. The little the percentage, the easier it volition beryllium to execute precocious rankings.

Pick the keywords you’d similar to people by selecting them and clicking the bluish “Add to keyword list” fastener astatine the apical close country of the screen. Then, sanction your database successful the “Create a archetypal list” container and click the greenish cheque people to prevention them.

You tin navigate to the “Keyword Strategy Builder” instrumentality astatine the left-hand broadside paper to find your database later.

Alternatively, you tin manually make a database of keywords utilizing our escaped Keyword Research Template. Which looks similar this:

2. Create Content That Speaks Your Audience’s Search Goals

Now that you person people keywords, make contented that resonates with your audience’s hunt intent.

Think astir what is the underlying question oregon occupation a searcher is trying to solve. Are they seeking accusation (e.g., “how to cook bread”) oregon are they acceptable to bargain (e.g., “best astute location speaker“)?

In fact, high-quality contented that satisfies hunt intent and is based connected your first-hand experiences is 1 of the apical Google ranking factors.

Google highlights this successful its important update, known arsenic E-E-A-T:

• Expertise: Back up your contented with first-hand acquisition oregon by showcasing recognized experts successful your field
• Experience: Highlight applicable lawsuit studies, testimonials, oregon results
• Authoritativeness: Cite reputable sources and backmost up claims with information wherever applicable
• Trustworthiness: Provide wide writer accusation and beryllium transparent astir your concern practices

Here are a fewer ways to recognize what your assemblage needs:

• Customer interviews: Talk to immoderate of your existing customers oregon clients. Ask astir their challenges, the solutions they’re looking for, and however they went astir uncovering them.
• Surveys: Use online survey tools similar SurveyMonkey to inquire a wider assemblage astir their symptom points and what benignant of accusation they find helpful.
• Online forums and communities: Observe the questions radical inquire successful applicable forums oregon industry-specific online communities. This volition springiness you insights into communal problems and the connection your people assemblage uses.
• Competitor analysis: See what benignant of contented your competitors are creating. What bash they bash well, and wherever are the gaps you could fill?
• Google Trends: Use the escaped Google Trends instrumentality to place trending topics and hunt queries applicable to your business.

Once you person a bully grasp of your audience’s needs, commencement brainstorming contented ideas that reply their questions oregon lick their problems.

3. Make Sure Your On-Page SEO Is On Point

On-page SEO focuses connected elements wrong each leafage of your website that you tin straight change.

Optimizing these elements helps hunt engines similar Google recognize your contented amended truthful they tin amusement your pages to the close people.

These include:

Title Tags

Title tags are displayed arsenic leafage titles successful hunt results. Like this:

Create titles that accurately picture your page. Incorporate your superior keyword, and entice radical to click connected your leafage successful hunt results.

Keep your rubric tag nether 60 characters. Titles supra 60 characters won’t afloat show successful Google hunt results.

Meta Descriptions

Meta description appears successful hunt results close nether rubric tags. Like this:

So, concisely summarize your leafage to assistance searchers recognize what your leafage is about. Include a call-to-action to entice users to click.

Keep your meta descriptions nether 160 characters.

Header Tags (H1, H2, etc.)

Help Google and readers recognize your leafage operation by organizing your contented with header tags.

Include your people keyword people successful your superior heading (i.e., leafage rubric oregon H1 tag).

And different applicable keywords successful H2s, H3s, etc. Add a array of contented connected your website to assistance readers navigate to the headers and work sections that involvement them the most. Like this:

Images

Include descriptive record names and alt substance (copy that appears connected a webpage successful lawsuit the representation doesn’t load).

Use applicable keywords to amended your image SEO.

These texts assistance Google recognize what your webpage is astir and see them successful applicable searches.

Internal Links

Internal links link antithetic pages wrong the aforesaid website. And assistance readers observe different pages connected your site, expanding your website traffic.

These links assistance hunt engines recognize that the contented connected your website is connected and relevant.

Strategically nexus betwixt related pages connected your site. Like we bash it here:

In our illustration above, radical who are speechmaking our on-page SEO usher and are funny successful learning much astir rubric tags tin click the nexus successful our content. The nexus volition pb them to a dedicated nonfiction wherever they tin work much astir rubric tags.

Make definite to person applicable keywords successful your anchor text. Anchor substance is the clickable substance that takes you to different page. Like “title tags” successful our screenshot above.

How to Optimize On-Page SEO

You tin manually cheque pages connected your website for rubric tags, meta descriptions, images, interior links, etc.

Alternatively, you tin usage Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker to place on-page SEO issues connected your website. And get actionable proposal connected however to resoluteness them.

Automatically.

Here’s however to usage it:

Click connected “On Page SEO Checker” successful Semrush’s left-hand menu.

Enter your domain and click the greenish “Get ideas” button.

The instrumentality volition make a report. And amusement an overview of optimization ideas to amended your on-page SEO.

Navigate to “Optimization Ideas,” wherever you’ll spot a database of each pages that request to beryllium optimized. Click the bluish “# ideas” fastener successful the “All Ideas” file to spot the breakdown of each idea.

Here, you’ll spot each the ideas for improving idiosyncratic pages. Including what you’re already doing right.

Identify the missed opportunities and commencement improving your on-site SEO with the assistance of the provided recommendations.

4. Identify and Solve Technical SEO Issues

Technical SEO is the signifier of optimizing your website to conscionable method requirements of hunt engines. In different words, making your website accessible to hunt engines by addressing factors similar tract structure, speed, and mobile-friendliness.

Common method SEO issues include:

Crawlability

Can hunt engines easy navigate your site’s operation and find pages connected it?

If hunt engines can’t crawl your site, your pages won’t look successful hunt results.

Use Google Search Console (GSC) to place crawlability issues.

Open GSC and participate your domain.

Then, navigate to Indexing > Pages from the left-hand broadside panel. You’ll spot which pages connected your website are indexed and which are not.

From there, scroll down and cheque the “Why pages aren’t indexed” section. Then prime each idiosyncratic crushed to find retired which pages connected your website person that circumstantial issue.

Here’s however to amended crawlability of your website:

• Clear navigation: Use a logical navigation paper operation that helps some users and hunt engines recognize your tract hierarchy
• XML sitemap: Submit a sitemap to Google Search Console to supply a nonstop representation of your pages

Broken Links

Links that pb to 404 errors (known arsenic broken links) make a mediocre idiosyncratic acquisition and confuse hunt engines.

Broken links awesome hunt engines that you neglect website maintenance.

So, marque definite to execute tract audits each six months to a year.

Identify your breached links by entering your domain successful Semrush’s Site Audit tool. And click “Start Audit.”

The instrumentality volition crawl the pages connected your website and emblem the breached links.

Click the fig crossed the “Broken” statement nether “Crawled Pages.” This volition unfastened a database of each the dormant links connected your website.

Next, hole breached links by updating their URLs. Or, if the leafage is nary longer applicable to your website, region the link.

Slow Site Speed

Slow tract velocity leads to mediocre idiosyncratic experience. And tin harm your rankings.

Visitors person abbreviated attraction spans and whitethorn not hold for your dilatory website to load. This signals hunt engines that your tract isn’t optimized for idiosyncratic experience.

Check your tract velocity with Google’s PageSpeed Insights. Enter your domain successful the instrumentality and click “Analyze.”

The instrumentality volition amusement you the leafage velocity overview for mobile and desktop devices.

Scroll down to spot elaborate diagnostics. Click the issues 1 by 1 to grow their descriptions and find solutions.

Mobile-Friendliness

Mobile postulation often accounts for the bulk of website visits.

Does your website accommodate good to antithetic surface sizes? Is your tract casual to usage connected smartphones and tablets?

To marque definite your website is mobile-friendly, take a website taxable oregon template designed to accommodate to assorted devices.

Test your website connected desktop and mobile devices to spot if the plan and layout acceptable the surface size. And if the buttons and links are ample capable and spaced for casual tapping.

Security

A unafraid website (with HTTPS protocol) protects visitors and builds trust.

HTTPS is simply a spot awesome for some users and hunt engines. And deficiency of information whitethorn effect successful warnings successful browsers.

To amended your website security, get an SSL certificate from your hosting provider. Or usage a trusted WordPress plugin (like Really Simple SSL) if your website runs connected WordPress.org. Most website builders similar Wix already see information certificates.

5. Get Relevant Backlinks

Backlinks are links from different websites to your own. Search engines presumption them arsenic votes of credibility, boosting your website’s authority.

A nexus to your website signals to Google that your tract is simply a trusted root of information.

Backlinks tin besides thrust referral postulation and assistance radical observe your website organically.

Here are a fewer strategies you tin usage to get backlinks arsenic a tiny business:

Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is erstwhile you constitute articles for websites successful your niche. And see a earthy nexus backmost to your tract wrong the content.

So, find websites applicable to your concern and scope retired to them, offering invaluable contented that answers their audience’s needs.

Broken Link Building

Broken nexus building is uncovering links to missing websites and getting those links changed to constituent to your website instead.

But marque definite that the leafage you connection your nexus to is applicable to your business. And the taxable you’re linking people fits into the leafage you privation a backlink from.

Again, let’s accidental you person a blog reviewing astute location gadgets and would similar to spot your backlink connected different akin website.

To find breached links, participate your domain successful Semrush’s Backlink Analytics instrumentality and click “Analyze.”

Then click “…” and “Competitors.”

You’ll spot a database of “Domain Competitors.” Click connected your apical competitors’ domains 1 by 1 to research their backlinks.

Then, navigate to the “Indexed Pages” tab. And tick the “Broken Pages” filter.

You’ll spot a database of dormant links. And the fig of pages that nexus to them successful the “Backlinks” column.

Click the fig successful the “Backlinks” file and filter for “Active” backlinks. This volition amusement you the websites that are inactive referring to this dormant link.

Then, export your results to prevention them successful a spreadsheet.

Repeat the process for different competitors, too. Finally, paste each your results into 1 spreadsheet to reappraisal them successful 1 place.

Backlink Gap Analysis

Use Semrush’s Backlink Gap instrumentality to find prospects who tin nexus to your website.

Start by adding your domain and the domains of your competitors (up to four). Then, click the “Find prospects” button.

The instrumentality volition amusement you the prospects you tin see successful your backlink strategy.

Select the astir applicable ones to your concern and click the “Start outreach” button.

The pop-up volition appear, prompting you to prime your task and nonstop prospects to the Link Building tool.

These domains volition spell to the “Prospects” tab successful the Link Building tool.

6. Add Schema Markup

Schema markup is an HTML codification you adhd to your website. It tells hunt engines what your contented is about.

When you intelligibly specify your content’s intent for Google, it tin enactment it successful beforehand of radical actively searching for what you offer.

And this tin pb to a boost successful website postulation and conversions.

When you usage schema markup, you tin look successful peculiar results successful the SERPs, called rich snippets.

How affluent snippets look successful SERPs varies from 1 contented class to another.

For example, it looks similar this for restaurants:

And similar this for stories:

To sum it up, affluent snippets instrumentality up much SERP existent property compared to regular results.

There are respective ways to adhd schema markup to your page. You tin usage a WordPress plugin oregon schema markup generators.

Let’s reappraisal some ways.

If your website is tally connected WordPress, plugins similar Yoast and Rank Math tin automatically make schema markup for free.

Enable Schema Markup with WordPress Plugins

WordPress plugins connection the easiest mode to get schema markup. You acceptable them up erstwhile and they instrumentality attraction of the updates connected your website automatically.

They usage metadata similar leafage rubric and publishing day to update Schema markup.

Yoast SEO

Install Yoast SEO and Schema markup settings volition automatically beryllium applied.

Rank Math

Go to Rank Math SEO paper > Dashboard > Schema (Structured Data) and toggle the power to alteration it.

Enable Schema Markup with Generators

If your website is based connected Webflow, Squarespace, Duda, oregon immoderate different platform, you’ll request to make your ain schema markup and adhd it to idiosyncratic pages.

Let’s reappraisal however to bash it.

Schema Markup Generator (JSON-LD) by Merkle

The Schema Markup Generator (JSON-LD) by Merkle is simply a large instrumentality for tiny businesses. Especially if you’re caller to schema markup.

It makes it casual to make a schema for articles, breadcrumbs, events, FAQ pages, and how-to content.

Select your contented type.

Then, capable retired the guided fields with accusation astir your page.

Once you capable retired the fields, transcript the codification disposable connected the right-hand broadside of the screen. And paste it successful the <head> conception of your website.

7. Optimize Your Website for Customers

User acquisition straight impacts hunt rankings. A user-friendly website keeps visitors engaged and signals worth to hunt engines.

Here are the cardinal areas to absorption to optimize your website for customers:

• Fast loading speed: People don’t similar waiting. Optimize representation sizes and minimize bulky codification to marque your pages load quickly. Use Google PageSpeed to cheque your tract velocity and spot what needs to beryllium improved.
• Mobile responsiveness: More than 60% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. Ensure your tract plan adapts seamlessly to antithetic screens similar smartphones and tablets.
• Intuitive navigation: Make it casual for visitors to find what they need. Use wide menus, a functional hunt bar, and logical contented organization.
• Readable content: Break up substance with headings, usage slug points, see applicable images, and simplify your sentences.

Use a instrumentality similar Hotjar to recognize wherever radical click and scroll connected your website.

This instrumentality provides a heatmap and recordings of your idiosyncratic sessions, allowing you to spot however users navigate your site.

Heatmaps usage ocular overlays to amusement wherever visitors click, scroll, and walk the astir clip connected your website.

This reveals what they genuinely find engaging and wherever they brushwood problems.

It looks similar this (scroll representation connected the apical and determination representation connected the bottom):

Overall, heatmaps tin assistance you optimize:

• Content: Make definite the astir important accusation sits successful areas wherever radical people look. This boosts the effectiveness of your pages.
• Navigation: Identify if users are struggling to find circumstantial sections. This helps reorganize menus oregon marque important elements much visible.
• Design: Identify plan elements that mightiness beryllium distracting alternatively than helping visitors to research your site

8. Set Up and Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (GBP) is an important portion of section SEO. GBP lets you negociate however your concern appears connected Google Search and Maps. This includes:

• Business information: Name, address, telephone fig (NAP), hours of operation, website, and concern description
• Photos: Showcase your location, products, oregon services
• Reviews: Collect and respond to lawsuit reviews to physique trust

An optimized illustration makes it easier for imaginable customers to find your business. And instrumentality the adjacent step, whether it’s visiting your store oregon making a purchase.

Start gathering your concern illustration by entering your concern sanction and its category.

Then, participate your concern code truthful that customers tin find you.

Once you participate each your concern details, verify your concern by entering your mailing address:

Next, grounds a video of your concern showing your location, equipment, and impervious of management. Your video won’t beryllium shown publicly. It’s lone indispensable for Google to verify your section business.

Then, adhd your services.

And concern hours.

Finally, adhd a concern statement and photos representing your concern determination and products oregon services.

Once you’re verified, your Google Business Profile volition go publically visible.

Use Semrush’s Listing Management instrumentality to simplify the absorption of your concern listings crossed assorted platforms similar GBP, Facebook, Apple Maps, TripAdvisor, and Bing.

Once you adhd oregon update your NAP successful the Listing Management tool, it volition automatically update your concern accusation crossed 150+ directories.

Plus, respond to reviews from aggregate platforms similar Google Maps and Facebook successful a azygous dashboard.

9. Encourage Customer Reviews

Positive reviews physique spot and credibility.

And caller reviews tin amended your section hunt rankings. It’s one of the signals Google takes that radical prosecute with your concern implicit and implicit again.

Reviews besides connection invaluable insights into what your customers emotion and wherever you mightiness person country for improvement.

So, promote your customers to permission affirmative reviews.

The champion mode to get reviews is to supply the champion service. Then, punctual the blessed lawsuit to permission a reappraisal portion their affirmative acquisition is inactive caller successful their minds.

You tin either inquire them verbally. Or person the motion astatine your determination with a QR codification directing customers to reappraisal sites similar Google Business Profile and TripAdvisor.

You tin besides nonstop automated email follow-ups aft a acquisition oregon service, including a nonstop nexus to permission a review. And see your reappraisal links connected your website and societal media.

10. Track Your Rankings

Tracking your hunt motor rankings tin assistance you recognize whether your SEO efforts are paying off.

Use Semrush’s Position Tracking instrumentality to spot which keywords you’re already ranking good for and wherever you tin improve.

Start by opening the Position Tracking tool. Enter your domain and click the “Set up tracking” button.

Then, configure your targeting settings by adding a people determination and language. And selecting the people hunt motor and device.

If you person a section business, you tin optionally see your concern sanction for the section representation pack.

Next, adhd your keywords 1 per enactment oregon abstracted them by commas. And click the “Start Tracking” button.

The instrumentality volition analyse your website and amusement your rankings organisation by position.

The “Keywords” tab shows you however galore of your keywords fertile successful the apical three, 10, 20, and 100 positions.

And the “Top Keywords” tab lists your highest-ranking keywords.

Use SEO to Boost Your Small Business’s Visibility successful Search

SEO mightiness look intimidating, but adjacent insignificant improvements tin output important results.

By implementing the strategies we’ve covered successful this article, you tin enactment your tiny concern successful a bully presumption to pull visitors to your website.

The adjacent measurement is to execute an SEO audit. Use our 15-step SEO audit checklist to amended your tiny concern SEO.