Is Small Business SEO Worth It?

We love working with small businesses, especially local businesses who we may already visit or use. However, when speaking with many local businesses it always amazes me how many say they don’t need SEO (search engine optimisation), or sometimes even a website!

Being a small business can be tough, long hours can sometimes mean that there is no time to think about any marketing, let alone something that can seem as daunting as SEO! However, a good SEO campaign can make a huge difference to your business and sometimes be the difference between success and failure!

What is SEO?

Search engine optimisation is a broad, ever-evolving term for the process of improving the presence of your website on the major search engines; Google, Bing, Yahoo etc. In other words, improving the number of potential customers who can find your website. After all, if nobody can find you, your site will not help you to achieve your business goals!

Any good SEO agency will first need to understand your business and of course your targets. Each business is unique and there are no “one size fits all” solutions. Your small business seo package should be tailored to you!

There are a number of factors which go into a good small business SEO campaign, some of which are:

• Website – A well designed, functional website which is fast, secure and mobile friendly is essential. There is no point in turbo charging a banger!
• Content – Optimised content is also essential. This should be targeted to your selected key-phrases, but should also be written in the style of your business. Most importantly it needs to tell any visitor what you do and why they should choose you.
• Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn.. Like them or loathe them, in 2018 social media plays a huge part in your online marketing efforts. It is important to maintain and grow your followers who will react and share your news, helping with your search engine efforts too!
• Links & Citations – Incoming links from relevant authoritative websites are essential. This lets Google et al know that your website is relevant to searchers on the given topic.
• Reviews and Feedback – Allowing and encouraging your customers to leave reviews on their experiences is another important part of the puzzle. This can not only improve conversions (users trust reviews more than your word), but also give the search engines another thumbs up.

Why Do Small Businesses Need SEO & Online Marketing?

The reasons small business owners give for not needing SEO are usually quite similar. However, if you are a small independent local business, or a huge multinational corporation, the benefits of SEO are similar. A good local SEO company will soon give you great results

Here are some of the reasons given for not needing SEO:

• “I’m too busy already” – Being busy is great, and is half of the battle, however, the question is, are you making as much profit as you would like to? A good SEO campaign can help target a certain type of business which is more profitable so you can be less busy but make a higher margin.
• “My customers already know I’m here” – Again that is great that you are established, but don’t you want to grow? Fair enough, some businesses aren’t interested in expansion, but for most, that is the key goal. Keep your established customers happy, whilst also making new regulars!
• “I can’t afford SEO” – Small businesses often don’t have much to spend on any form of marketing, but making sure the essentials of your website are right can often yield great results. This can free up extra funds for total local search engine domination! Again this comes down to business goals!
• “I’m just a local business, SEO isn’t needed” – You may be a local shop, or even a local service provider. I guarantee that there are lots of potential customers in your area who either don’t know what you do, or have never tried you. A local SEO campaign with social media campaign could help your business get noticed even more and capture more of the local market than you ever imagined existed!
• “I have a mate who can do it!” – This is the answer which web designers and SEOs fear the most. Leaving the fate of your business in the hands of a friend is dangerous, both for your business and the relationship with your friend. Unless your friend is a full time web designer or marketer you really are asking for trouble. It may not cost as much in the short term, but the missed earnings in the long term could cost you dear. Would you get your friend to fix the brakes on your car because he did his own once? It can only end one way!

How Do I Dominate My Market With Small Business SEO?

The first thing to do is choose a reliable SEO expert to give you guidance and advice on how best to move forward. Small Business SEO is complex and time consuming and unfortunately there are lots of “specialists” who can’t deliver results.

An analysis of your existing website will be performed, and improvements may need to be made in terms of the website itself, and the content. Most SEO companies will send the audit to you and allow you, or your webdesigner to undertake the changes, but should also offer a price for making them too! Google Local listings should be set up or optimised to make sure you are telling Google exactly who you are, what you do and where you are located.

Once the initial optimisations are made, your selected keywords and phrases will be targeted using a range of techniques. This will likely be an ongoing task which is paid for monthly. Each month you will receive a report of the tasks which have been carried out, and a ranking report to see the progress which has been made. Hopefully by this point you won’t have time to read it due to the extra business your SEO campaign is generating!

To answer the question, I’m yet to find a business which wouldn’t benefit from SEO, and good marketing in general! Many businesses start off relatively small, but as they start to see results, expand their SEO spend as it can give such a great return when done correctly!

How Do I Sign Up With DLZ Design?

We would be happy to help, and we work with clients large and small across the UK, Europe and Worldwide. We like to work with ambitious business owners who have a desire to grow their businesses. Our prices are set based on requirement and competition within the markets targeted and so if you are a small business looking to take a large chunk of small market, our services can be very affordable! So if you are looking for a small business seo package, get in touch with DLZ Design today!

info@dlzdesign.co.uk or visit: SEO Birmingham