SEO Basics: A Simple Guide for Small Business Owners

SEO helps small businesses appear at the top of search results, making it easier for customers to find you online. Here’s what you need to know:

• What is SEO? It’s about improving your website so search engines like Google show it to more people.

• Why does it matter? SEO increases visibility, builds trust, and drives traffic to your site.

• Key areas to focus on:

  • Website structure: Easy navigation.

  • Content quality: Helpful, relevant information.

  • Technical setup: Fast loading and mobile-friendly.

  • Local SEO: Attract nearby customers.

• How to start:

  1. Research keywords people use to find your services.

  2. Optimise your site’s titles, descriptions, and headings.

  3. Set up a Google Business Profile for local searches.

  4. Get customer reviews and ensure your business details are consistent online.

SEO takes time but pays off with better rankings and more customers. Start small, focus on basics, and build from there.

SEO Basics for Small Businesses

Core SEO Elements

Learn the essentials of SEO to improve your website's search rankings.

Finding the Right Keywords

Keyword research is key to building an effective SEO strategy. Walnut Wasp explains:

"Keyword research is an incredibly important practice in today's digital age. It allows you to define words and phrases to target for bespoke content, paid advertising and SEO purposes."

When selecting keywords, focus on these three categories:

• Informational keywords: These help showcase your expertise. For example, "how to maintain a beautiful lawn".

• Commercial keywords: Target users comparing options, such as "best sleeping bags for camping".

• Transactional keywords: Attract customers ready to make a purchase, like "house painting near me".

If you're a local business, combine your services with location-specific terms. Instead of going for broad keywords like "London plumber", aim for more precise phrases like "emergency plumber in Islington" or "boiler repair Camden Town".

Once you've chosen your keywords, optimise your website to make it more visible to search engines.

Making Pages Search-Friendly

Focus on improving these key page elements:

Marcus Miller highlights how technical SEO ensures search engines can easily crawl and index your site.

Website Technical Setup

A strong technical foundation is essential for SEO success. Focus on these areas:

Speed and Mobile Performance

• Compress images to keep file sizes under 100KB for faster loading on mobile devices.

• Test how your site looks and functions across various screen sizes.

Monitoring and Analysis

Use tools like Google Search Console to:

• Track which keywords drive traffic to your site.

• Identify technical issues that may hurt your rankings.

• Monitor your site's overall performance in search results.

Lastly, maintain a clear site structure to make navigation easy for users and search engines alike. As Eric Ward pointed out:

"Connect what should be connected."

SEO for Local Business

Local SEO helps nearby customers find your business. According to recent stats, 98% of people search for local businesses online, and 87% rely on Google to evaluate them.

Setting Up Google Business Profile

To succeed in local SEO, you need a strong Google Business Profile. Here's what to focus on:

Make sure your details match across all platforms. This consistency enhances your credibility and complements broader SEO efforts.

Managing Reviews and Business Listings

Customer reviews and accurate business listings are crucial for improving local visibility. Google has confirmed that both the quantity and quality of reviews influence your local rankings.

Best Practices for Reviews:

• Share a direct link with happy customers to encourage reviews.

• Respond quickly to all reviews - whether positive or negative.

• Avoid offering incentives for reviews, as it breaches Google's policies.

Additionally, listing your business on trusted UK directories can further boost your local presence:

When creating these listings, ensure consistency in your:

• Business name

• Address

• Contact details

• Trading hours

• Website URL

"A local business's ratings and reviews can impact how well it ranks, including how many reviews (text-based and numerical star ratings) and the actual scores. This is straight from Google's mouth. So take reviews and ratings seriously."

SEO Steps for Beginners

Here’s how you can start applying SEO basics with practical steps designed for beginners.

Website SEO Check

Run an SEO review every three months to spot areas that need attention:

"Ensuring you lay a solid SEO foundation will typically deliver around 80 percent of the results, for only 20 percent of the effort, for small local businesses."
– Marcus Miller, SEO & PPC consultant

You can also use Screaming Frog’s free version to scan up to 500 pages. It’s a great tool for identifying broken links, missing meta descriptions, and poorly written title tags.

After your check, focus on organising your content to maximise both user experience and SEO benefits.

Planning Website Content

Write content in a way that resonates with your audience:

• Arrange pages logically by services and locations.

• Use clear, keyword-rich headings.

• Add internal links between related pages.

• Optimise images with descriptive alt text.

When creating page titles, make sure to include your main keyword, location (if relevant), and a persuasive call to action. These steps help align your content with your broader SEO goals.

"Understanding the language of your customers is the foundation that good search engine optimisation is built on."
– Marcus Miller, Contributor

Once your content is polished, shift your focus to building strong backlinks.

Getting Other Sites to Link to Yours

Quality backlinks can boost your site’s credibility and authority:

Set up Google Alerts for your brand name to track unlinked mentions. When you find one, reach out to the site owner and request a link.

"The goal with link building should never focus solely on links; you want those links to translate to traffic, too."
– Amelia Willson, Owner at AWCopywriting

Next Steps for Better SEO

Once you've started your SEO journey, keeping up the momentum is crucial. Regular monitoring and timely updates are key to maintaining and improving your performance. Set up a clear schedule to stay on track.

These tasks build on your earlier efforts, helping you maintain steady progress in SEO.

Use reliable tools to monitor your progress. Moz Pro is a great option for tracking keyword rankings and overall site performance. For free options, tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and PageSpeed Insights can provide valuable insights.

"SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it practice." - Mirza Abdullah Baig 🎯

Stay aware of algorithm updates, as they can have a big impact on your rankings. For example, a major update reportedly cost Leaf Group (formerly Demand Media, Inc) around £5.1 million in lost traffic. To avoid such setbacks, focus on these recurring tasks:

• Review on-page elements every 1–2 months

• Publish new content at least once or twice a month

• Conduct quarterly technical audits

• Update your SEO strategy every six months

Mario León Rojas, Performance Marketing Specialist at Banco del Sol, emphasises the value of tools like Semrush:

"Semrush is like a keyword research tool, Google Trends, Moz, Hootsuite and SimilarWeb in one"

Google updates its algorithms daily. To keep up, prioritise website speed, focus on creating high-quality content, and address technical issues quickly. Regular monitoring ensures you catch problems early, before they significantly impact your rankings.