Small Business SEO

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Search engine optimization, often shortened to SEO, is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of a website or web page in search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher a website or web page appears in SERPs, the more likely it is to be clicked on by users.

This can lead to increased traffic and, ultimately, increased sales and revenue for businesses. SEO affects both large and small businesses; however, smaller businesses may face more challenges in their efforts to optimize their website due to limited resources.

Nevertheless, by using effective SEO tactics, such as keyword research and back-linking, small businesses can increase their visibility and attract new customers. Consequently, search engine optimization is a vital tool for all businesses, regardless of size, that looks to grow their customer base and achieve success.

Why Small Businesses Need an SEO Agency

Small businesses are often tight on budget and manpower, which makes it difficult to invest in an in-house SEO team. This is where an SEO agency, such as Alphalytics, can be of great help. A good SEO agency will have the resources and expertise to help you with website optimization, digital marketing, and ROI.

By working with an agency, you can focus on running your business while leaving the SEO work to the experts. In today's competitive landscape, a small business cannot afford to ignore SEO. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, working with an experienced SEO agency is the way to go.

How to Optimize Your Website for Local SEO

Despite the challenges that small businesses face in comparison to larger businesses that receive more traction, smaller companies have a big advantage when it comes to local SEO. This is because they are typically more nimble than large corporations, meaning they can quickly adapt their website and online presence to ensure that they're appearing in local search results. The following list is a generalized bare-bones collection of key things small businesses can do to optimize their website for local SEO: 

1. Make sure your N.A.P. (name, address, phone number) is consistent across all your online listings, including your website. 
2. Add wiki or official location pages to your website, including keyword-rich content that incorporates the company's main office or service area's city and state name. 
3. Use local and relevant keywords throughout your website, including in your titles, meta descriptions, and blog posts. 
4. Register with local directories and review sites, and encourage customers to leave reviews. 
5. Ensure your Google My Business listing info is complete and accurate. 
6. Monitor your local SEO efforts using tools like Google Analytics, Semrush, or other accurate rank checkers. 

By following these SEO strategies, small businesses can help their presence in front of potential customers who are searching for their products or services online!

Growing with SEO Companies

For a company to grow, it must be visible to its target audience, making SEO companies quite a valuable asset when cooperating with small businesses. Though many small businesses view SEO companies as an unnecessary expense. After all, there are many free DIY resources available online, and small businesses often have limited budgets to work with. However, investing in the best SEO company for your industry actually saves money in the long run and helps small businesses grow where companies can't without the help of SEO agencies.

An SEO company that has the expertise and experience to develop an effective marketing strategy catered to the needs of a specific industry. They will also be able to track data and analytics to see what is working and what needs to be improved.

In addition, an SEO services company can help to create high-quality content that will attract target customers. As a result, partnering with an SEO expert can help a small business to save time and money while growing its customer base.

An agency directory is a great place for any prospective business to search for a search engine optimization company, amongst other types of agencies. For example, this listing of the best SEO Companies according to the experts at DesignRush.com is an excellent source for stellar SEO services!

Resources like these are fantastic when you need the best SEO companies to increase conversion optimization and continually provide solid results with content marketing, search engine optimization, web design, e-commerce development, and more!

The Do’s and Don’ts of Small Business SEO

Search Engine Optimization is a digital marketing strategy that enables businesses to improve their visibility and organic search results on google and other major search engines. Though with the wrong practices, a small company can end up doing more damage than good when it comes to ranking. Here are some general do's and don'ts to abide by to maintain good SEO practices.

Do: 

1. Start with keyword research - identify the terms and phrases your potential customers are using when they search online and make sure those keywords are included in your website content (in a natural way).
2. Pay attention to your website's design and architecture - create a functional, user-friendly website that is easy for search engines to crawl and index. 
3. Use alt tags on images - Google can't read images, but it can read the text in the alt tags. So by including keywords in your alt tags, you're helping Google understand what your images are about.
4. Link Building - links are one of the main ranking factors for SEO, so focus on building high-quality links from other websites back to yours (and vice versa if possible).
5. Regularly publish fresh content - fresh content helps improve your website's ranking and gives visitors a reason to come back. Try to add new and relevant blog posts, articles, or other pages on a monthly basis (or more).
6. Promote your content - once you've created great content, make sure people see it! Share it on social media, post it in forums & discussion groups, reach out to influencers in your industry, etc. 
7. Monitor your progress - use tools like Google Analytics to track your website's traffic and see how your SEO efforts are paying off over time.
8. Keep up with the latest trends - SEO is always evolving, so it's important to stay up-to-date on the latest changes (and how they might impact your website). There are plenty of free sources available online - just do a quick search!

Don't: 

1. Stuff keywords - too many keywords will not only turn off visitors, but it will also get you penalized by Google's algorithm. Use keywords sparingly and only where they make sense.
2. Buy links - links from low-quality websites can actually hurt your ranking rather than help it. Plus, if Google catches you buying links, you could be subject to severe penalties (including being banned from their search engine altogether). 
3. Ignore mobile - more and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to access the internet these days, so it's important to have a mobile-friendly website that loads quickly and is easy to use on smaller screens. 
4. Neglect voice search - with the rise of digital assistants like Siri & Alexa, voice searches are becoming more popular every day. Make sure your website is optimized for voice search by including long-tail keywords relevant to conversational queries.

Alphalytics' Approach to SEO Services

Alphalytics is a small business SEO company that specializes in helping businesses rank higher in SERPs. We offer a variety of services, including content creation, website optimization, and monitoring & reporting. We've summarized our SEO strategies below to give you a better picture of how we organize our processes and priorities.

SEO Strategy 1: Publish High-Quality, Relevant Content

One of the most important components of an effective SEO strategy is content. Creating compelling, original content helps your website rank higher in SERPs organically and can also lead to increased website traffic from social media and other sources. When crafting your content, aim to provide value to your audience while also incorporating relevant keywords and phrases that people are searching for.

SEO Strategy 2: Optimize Your Website for Rankings

To ensure that your website is optimized for both users and search engines, pay attention to things like your site's design, architecture, loading speed, and mobile-friendliness. These are all factors that can impact your website's ranking in SERPs. In addition, be sure to use alt tags on images and include links back to your website from other high-quality websites.

SEO Strategy 3: Monitor Your Progress & Keep Up with Trends

As with anything, it's important to monitor your SEO progress over time. Use tools like Google Analytics to track your website's traffic and see how your efforts are paying off. In addition, keep up with the latest trends in SEO so that you can adjust your strategy as needed. There are plenty of free resources available online - just do a quick search!

Get Started and Grow with an SEO Company

As this digital landscape's demands continue to evolve, it can be difficult for small businesses to keep up. That's where the Alphalytics Pack comes in! Our team of experts stays up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies so that we can provide our clients with cutting-edge solutions that drive results.

We provide business SEO solutions designed to help smaller companies reach new heights online. Not only do we work with you to create a customized plan that targets your customer base and allows you to achieve your unique marketing goals, but we also continue to grow with our clients, even after they further develop and expand in their industry.