10 SEO Tips For Small Business Owners & Startups

May 22 2024

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10 SEO Tips For Small Business Owners & Startups

Small business owners with an online store have to be aware of how and why to implement some SEO elements if they are looking to grow their digital presence.

We are in a world of confusing digital acronyms, especially for anyone who is new to the industry but my advice as an ecommerce consultant is to get the basics right as a starting point.

First of all though, let’s start with the major obvious question if you are brand new to the online business sphere:

What is SEO?

Put simply, SEO (search engine optimisation) is the process of optimising your website to make it as easy as possible for Google’s crawlers to understand what your site contains. This can feel like you’re going down a rabbit hole when you read a lot of information about it which is why I’ve made this SEO tips guide for beginners to ensure you’ve got the basics right and get started on the right footing. I have an earlier post answering Why Is SEO Important?.

1. Use Correct Meta Fields

If you are using a CMS like Shopify or Woocommerce to list your products / categories, you should be able to access Meta Title and Meta Description fields relatively easily. These are critical for SEO. They are one of the first indications to Google to understand the content that is on your page, whilst also giving them a visually appealing look in Google to encourage clicks from potential customers.

Ensure each page has a unique meta title and description that reflects its content

  • Meta Title: Keep it under 60 characters and include your primary keyword
  • Meta Description: Aim for around 155 characters and incorporate your keywords naturally.

2. Avoid Keyword Stuffing

It is very important to include keywords relevant to your products / services on your page but please do not overload your text with them. This is commonly known as ‘keyword stuffing’ and can actually harm your wider SEO efforts. A historic tactic was to cram as many instances of the keyword onto your pages to play the system and help your keyword rankings. However, Google now encourages us to write for the user first to give them a better experience.

  • Natural usage of keywords: Introduce keywords where it is relevant for the copy
  • Synonyms and related terms: Incorporate synonyms and related terms to avoid repetition

This example below shows an example from an online retailer called Bad Rhino who in my opinion have too many instances of the brand Lyle & Scott throughout their category pages and it doesn’t appear to help their ranking.

Example of Keyword Stuffing For SEO

3. Do Not Buy Links

If you take one thing away from this article, please let it be this. If you buy links, it will come back to bite you later down the line. Severe Google penalties can be distributed by search engines, removing your website from the search engine results pages entirely. Instead, focus on building real links from real sites. Ensure your content is relevant

  • Target Quality Over Quantity: A few high-quality backlinks from reputable sites are more valuable than many low-quality links.
  • Guest Blogging: Contribute valuable content to reputable sites in your industry to earn backlinks and trust.

4. Ethically Build Backlinks

In direct contrast to the above point, you should look to build links to your site ethically. Gaining links from authoritative, niche sources is instrumental for long-term SEO success. Engage in strategies that naturally attract links to your content.

  • Create Shareable Content: Develop content that others find valuable and want to share, such as infographics, comprehensive guides, and original research.
  • Network with Influencers: Build relationships with industry influencers who might link to your content.

5. Content Optimisation

Ensure your content is better than your competitor. It should be optimised for clear reading as well as having relevant keywords to rank well in the search engines. It should be high quality and following the advice above that it contains relevant keywords but reads naturally.

  • Quality and Relevance: Focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that answers your audience’s questions.
  • Keyword Placement: Place keywords in strategic locations like headings, subheadings, and the first paragraph, but ensure it reads naturally.

6. Improve Site Speed

Google confirmed in 2018 that a fast-loading website was now a ranking factor in itself alongside providing a better user experience. In may occasions, simply ensuring that you optimise your images for use online can drastically increase your page speed.

Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GT Metrix to check your site’s speed and identify areas for improvement.

  • Optimise Images: Compress images to reduce load times without compromising quality.
  • Enable Caching: Use browser caching to improve load times for returning visitors.

Google Page Speed Insights For Mark Logan Digital

7. Mobile Optimisation

With more users accessing the internet via mobile devices, ensuring your site is mobile-friendly is essential. Nobody in 2024 should have a site that does not look good on mobile and you will be losing customers if you are one of them.

  • Responsive Design: Ensure your website design adapts to different screen sizes.
  • Mobile Usability: Check for mobile usability issues using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.

8. Use Internal Links

Internal links help users navigate your site and establish a hierarchy of information. Imagine Google comes along and finds your site. How does it know what pages are important and carry more value than others? Internal links also distribute page authority across your site.

  • Logical Linking: Link to relevant pages within your content to guide users to additional valuable information.
  • Anchor Text: Use descriptive anchor text that includes relevant keywords.

In the example below you can see various ways that ASOS are using internal links throughout their product pages. All have descriptive text to try and get customers to the right parts of the site as quickly as possible as well as guiding the search engine crawlers.

ASOS Use of Internal Linking To Boost SEO

9. Local SEO

If you have a physical location or serve a specific geographic area, optimising for local search is crucial. Using Google My Business as an add-on to your business can be a huge driver of local traffic as well as helping brand awareness.

  • Google My Business: Claim and optimise your Google My Business listing.
  • Local Keywords: Include local keywords in your content and meta tags.
Google My Business Helps Local SEO

10. Regularly Update Content

Search engines such as Google prefers to see fresh content on your site. Regularly updating your site with new and relevant information keeps it appealing to both search engines and users. It is tricky to maintain but if you can schedule some time in your weekly calendar, you’ll find it makes a difference if you keep chipping away at it. Consider sharing these articles / content on your social platforms to gain even more from it.

  • Blogging: Maintain a blog to continually add new content.
  • Update Existing Content: Periodically review and update older content to ensure it remains relevant and accurate.

By implementing these SEO tips, small business owners can enhance their online presence, attract more visitors, and ultimately grow their business. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, and staying updated with the latest trends and best practices is key to sustained success.

As always, if you would like to discuss your online journey with me to see how I can help you scale your business, I can be available to discuss at short notice. Options are on my contact page

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