It’s difficult to run a small business. Limited manpower and modest resources can make a small business marketing strategy, like search engine optimization (SEO), feel out of reach. However, one of the biggest benefits of online marketing is that it’s easy to scale internet-focused promotional efforts depending on your needs and capabilities.
If you think optimizing your online content isn’t worth it for your small business marketing strategy, think again. Here are several of the most important reasons smaller enterprises should take SEO seriously.
You Can Use SEO to Build Better Websites
SEO is always brought up in connection to search engines. And there’s no doubt that catering to search traffic is the primary function of search engine optimization. It’s in the name, after all. But SEO also has a synergistic effect on many other areas of marketing — including your website.
The digital marketing experts at Hennessey Digital ask the million-dollar question “Your small business website might look good, but is it actually working to attract new customers?” The inquiry doesn’t just revolve around color palettes or above-the-fold content.
It also has to do with SEO optimization. The marketing agency points out that a site designed by someone who understands SEO can ensure that it:
- Is mobile-friendly;
- Is responsive on different devices;
- Has user-friendly navigation;
- Converts visitors into paying customers.
From metadata to page layout to content, an SEO site is a boon for any small business.
You Can Use SEO For Local Search Engine Prowess
It’s easy for a small business to feel nonexistent. A regional retailer can shrink in the shadow of the Amazons and Walmarts of the world. A local coffee shop can feel unseen when compared to Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts. But when you shrink the map, it’s easy to feel more significant. A local company may be a big deal in their hometown or county, even if no one knows them outside of that space.
That’s where local SEO comes into play. Nearly half of all Google searches are conducted in the pursuit of local information. Even more staggering, 86% of consumers say that they need the internet to help them find local businesses.
This makes ranking in local search engine result pages (SERPs) important. It’s a space that’s much easier to stand out in. The geographic nature of local SERPs represents a significant portion of search engine queries that you don’t have to fight against major companies to win.
You Can Use SEO to Solidify Your Own Marketing Strategy
SEO also has the wonderful benefit of helping you solidify other areas of your small business marketing strategy. All good SEO should always put the consumer first and search engines second. In other words, with each piece of marketing content, you should always consider how it will provide value for your human audience. Only after that should you consider how to optimize it for search engines.
This attention to marketing message and quality can help to flesh out your overall strategy. As you consider keywords to pursue or publications to guest write for, you hone what you want to say and who you want to hear it.
You’ll find SEO-related activities like video marketing that don’t just help your organic traffic. They also improve the quality of your marketing content. As you sort through your SEO needs, it always has a powerful impact on your overall marketing vision and direction, as well.
You Can Benefit in the Long-Term
Finally, there are many long-term benefits that come from investing in SEO in the here and now. As a small business, you may not see dramatic swings in traffic as you create quality content, optimize your website, and try to rank for certain keywords.
Nevertheless, as you invest in a variety of SEO activities, you should begin to feel the benefits from that effort over time, including things like:
- Greater website authority as your site gains backlinks, starts to attract keyword traffic, and is populated with quality, shareable content.
- More brand awareness fueled by things like positive customer experiences, active social profiles, and a filled-out Google My Business listing.
- Happier customers and more organic lead generation from consumers who enjoy visiting your optimized website and utilizing your quality resources.
It takes time to build SEO, and a lot of the work is an upfront investment. However, given enough time, contributing to SEO should eventually manifest benefits, even for a small business marketing strategy.
From a quality website to ranking on local SERPs to long-term benefits, there are plenty of reasons for a small business to invest in SEO. It’s important to keep these benefits in mind as you go along, too. At times, it will feel overwhelming and you likely won’t see the results you’re hoping for right away. But if you can stay the course, the benefits that begin to materialize over time will make every ounce of effort well worth it in the long run.
