Business & IP Centre Devon

SEO for your Small Business!

As a small business owner, a website can be great for reaching customers and growing your brand. But just having a website isn’t enough – you also need to make sure your site is optimized for search engines so that potential customers can find you online. Here are some tips for using SEO to improve your small business website’s online visibility:

  1. Conduct Keyword Research

Keyword research is the process of identifying the words and phrases that people use to search for businesses like yours. By targeting these keywords in your website content, you can improve your site’s chances of showing up in search engine results pages (SERPs). Use a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner to identify high-traffic keywords that are relevant to your business and incorporate them into your site’s content.

Optimise On-Page Content

  1. Optimise Your On-Page Content

Once you’ve identified your target keywords, make sure they’re included in your website’s content in a natural and organic way. This includes optimizing your page titles, headers, meta descriptions, and body copy. However, be sure to avoid “keyword stuffing” or overusing keywords, which can hurt your site’s ranking in search results.

Use Quality Backlinks

  1. Build Quality Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites to your site. Search engines see backlinks as a vote of confidence in your site’s quality and relevance. Therefore, it’s essential to build quality backlinks to your small business website. Some ways to do this include creating shareable content, reaching out to other websites to ask for a backlink, and using online directories to promote your business. 

You can encourage other business owners to link to your website, by linking to theirs! It’s again all about the power of networking! While we’re here, here’s just a few of our favourite partners to work with who are all providing sessions for our Women in Business programme. 

  1. The Tribe Co – Works
  2. Moor Imagination
  3. Clarity Coaching by Claire Palmer

Use Local SEO

  1. Use Local SEO

If your small business serves a specific geographic area, using local SEO techniques can help improve your online visibility. 

This includes adding your business to Google My Business, creating local business listings, and including your city or region in your website’s content.

Here’s a few fantastic Devon listing you can add your business to: 

  1. The Best Of Devon
  2. Devon Chamber of Commerce
  3. This one is a bit more niche, but if you’re a creative freelancer or running a literary workshop you can list your event on the Exeter City of Literature & Literature Works event calendars!

Measure Your Website's Performance

 

5. Measure Your Website’s Performance

Finally, it’s essential to track your website’s performance to ensure your SEO efforts are paying off. Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor your website’s traffic, bounce rate, and other metrics. This can help you identify areas where you need to improve your SEO strategy and continue to grow your online visibility.

In conclusion, SEO is a crucial element for any small business website looking to improve its online visibility. By conducting keyword research, optimizing your on-page content, building quality backlinks, using local SEO techniques, and monitoring your website’s performance, you can improve your website’s search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site.

By Isabel Flynn

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