As a business owner, it is not your job to be an SEO expert. You already have a massive list of things to run and understand. So you are not expected to know how to do keyword research, optimize your website, or improve your search engine rankings. You are also not expected to execute these strategies.
However, as a business owner, you are expected to know enough about SEO to be able to hire someone to handle it for you. SEO strategy is a vital part of every business large and small. You can’t ignore this marketing tactic even if you don’t understand it.
To help you navigate the seemingly complicated world of SEO, we’ve put together this beginner’s guide from the business owner. With this information, you can confidently discuss SEO with potential partners and have the knowledge to hire the right support for your business.
Why do I need an SEO strategy?
SEO stands for “search engine optimization”.
It is a marketing strategy that tries to improve the ranking of a website in search engine results pages (SERP). When executed correctly, SEO helps your website show up near the top of the SERPs when customers search for your business name or terms related to your brand, company, industry, products, or services.
Every business needs to have an SEO strategy because search is one of the main ways that customers find and connect with businesses.
It is estimated that there are approximately 3.5 billion searches on Google per day. Many of these searches are conducted by people looking for answers to questions, solutions to problems, and companies that can provide what they need. A business must have an SEO strategy if they want to be found online and connect with this audience of potential customers in need.
The obvious question is: What do you need to know to establish an SEO strategy for your business?
What you need to know to start a small SEO business
1. Know the difference between organic SEO and paid SEM.
When most people talk about SEO, they are mainly talking about organic SEO.
Organic SEO helps your website show up naturally in SERPs. There are tactics that send signals to search engines that convey that your website deserves to be at the top of a SERP.
There is another approach to getting your site to appear at the top of a SERP. It is paying for the placement. This strategy is often referred to as paid SEO, search engine marketing (SEM), or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Although all of these terms are slightly different, they all represent the concept of paying to appear in the SERPs.
You can see the difference between paid and unpaid SEO in the SERPs. Paid searches are referred to as “ads.”
There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches to SEO. They both offer different results and require a different set of investments to see these results. Organic SEO usually takes months, or even years, to establish, while paid SEM will help you see results quickly. Paid SEM only works while you are paying for it, and organic SEO is an investment that provides lasting value for years to come.
Due to these factors, many companies spend more on paid SEM in the early stages of their marketing as they build their organic SEO, especially if it is a business on a budget. They then gradually pay less for SEM as their organic SEO begins to produce results.
Of course, each small business SEO strategy will be different depending on your goals. When you speak to potential SEO agencies, ask them what marketing strategies they will focus on and why they think they will be the best for your business.
2. Learn the basic SEO strategies.
It is estimated that there are around 200 SEO factors that influence a website’s ability to rank in searches.
As a business owner, you don’t need to know all of these factors. To make informed decisions about the right strategy for your business and how to start SEO, start by understanding these broad categories of SEO. Almost all 200 SEO factors fit into one of these five categories:
- Keywords:Keywords are the terms that your business wants to rank for in search. They are the phrases that your target audience searches to find a business like yours or the services and products you offer. Your SEO strategy should include keyword research, to find the best keywords that are most likely to be used by your target audience.
- Contents: Content is any copy, graphic, video, or medium on your website. It is an important part of SEO because your content sends signals to search engines telling them what your website is about. Your SEO content should focus on your keywords, so it can help you rank for those specific terms and phrases. But more importantly, you need to focus on your readers by offering content that is useful, valuable, and relevant, as this will help to engage and engage your audience.
- Links: Links, or hyperlinks, are fragments of text or active buttons that users click to navigate from one web page to another. Links connect to the Internet and also tell search engines what a web page is about and how valuable it is. When there is a link to a page, the text used in the hyperlink helps describe the page to search engines, and the existence of the link also indicates to search engines that the page is important. A small business SEO strategy should always include ways to find backlinks from other reputable sites to yours.
- Local SEO: Local SEO is a series of strategies that help a website show up in the SERPs when the search engine is very close to your business. Most search engines want to find businesses that are close to them. Search engines appease these users by displaying the results of local businesses. Your business must have a plan to optimize local SEO to be visible to these search engines.
- Technical SEO: Technical SEO tactics are the behind-the-scenes strategies that improve the performance and security of your website. These tactics optimize the back end of your website so that it can communicate well with search engines. While the details are not noticeable to website visitors or the middle eye, improvements send positive signals to search engines that can substantially improve your SEO.
A strong SEO strategy incorporates tactics from each of these categories. So as you work with an SEO partner, make sure they incorporate each of these topics into their overall plan.
If you’re not sure which strategies to focus on, you can start with Google’s Webmaster Tools. The tools provide information about the way Google views your site. From there, you can figure out where you may have some weaknesses and adjust your strategies accordingly. Once you have a better idea of what your site looks like, you can do more research on other SEO tools that can help you delve into the various activities associated with SEO, such as keyword research and link building.
3. Know the difference between SEO White Hat (white hat) and SEO Black Hat.
The last thing every business owner needs to know about small business SEO relates to shortcuts and bad practices.
It is important to know that there are good SEO practices, and there are bad SEO practices. Bad SEO practices fall under the category of black hat SEO.
SEO black hat is an attempt to trick search engines into giving you a better ranking. In some cases, it can also include strategies that try to trick search engines into offering your competitors a lower ranking. Some SEO experts use these strategies to give your website a quick boost or to help you outperform your competitors. You should always avoid these types of marketing plans.
It is in your best interest to stick to ethical SEO tactics, also known as white hat SEO techniques. White hat SEO strategies will not only give you the best results over time, but they will also prevent your site from getting penalized.
Black hat SEO sites can receive penalties from search engines that cause them to lose their rankings or stop showing up in the SERPs altogether. So when deciding on the right SEO strategies for your business, use the information in this infographic to stick to white hat SEO practices that will provide you with the best long-term results.
Entrust an expert with the creation of your SEO strategy for your company
You are a busy business owner, not an SEO expert. While you don’t need to dig into the 200 tactics that will improve your website’s search rankings, you do need to be fully aware of SEO terminology and best practices to create an SEO strategy for your business.
Whether you run that strategy in-house or outsource SEO, you can develop a plan to improve your rankings, attract more customers, and turn your business into an authoritative brand.
Do you have any other SEO beginner questions that weren’t mentioned in this guide? Let us know in the comments below.