Appeasing the Google gods is hard enough, but SEO for small business is even more challenging. Beyond the difficulties of getting our heads around SEO and waiting for the results, we also have bigger fish to contend with.
So, is SEO worth it for your small business? Let’s break it down.
- What to remember about SEO
- Are people likely to click on organic results?
- Simple SEO for local rankings
- Conclusion: Is SEO worth it?
Remember: SEO takes longer than other digital marketing methods
We’ll start with the bad news – SEO for small business can take anywhere between two months and two years to take effect. It all depends on how competitive your industry is, your general online reputation, and the efforts you make to improve it.
Thankfully, there’s an alternative for some ‘quick wins’ – PPC. This involves bidding on keywords for ads to appear, and can also guide our organic strategies. If you’re worried about spending money on clicks, you can build up your social media presence for more brand awareness.
But: people tend to trust organic results more
According to Moz, search results that appear organically are 8.5 times more likely to be clicked on than PPC results. Of course, this is not to disparage PPC – there could be all manner of reasons to prefer one over the other, or run both in tandem.
However, the theory holds weight. Google works on strict quality guidelines, stressing that content creators should exercise expertise, authority and trust. Certainly, these quality guidelines apply to PPC too – but it’s harder to rank organically without a killer piece of content. If it’s showing up on page one, users know they can generally trust it, which is why it’s worth it long-term.
There’s more than one way to SEO…
Of course, beyond the technical elements and long-term content strategies, there are other ways to win on Google. For example:
- Local SEO can be quicker and cheaper, with some simple ranking tips such as setting up a Google My Business profile
- Customer reviews on third-party platforms like Trustpilot or even social media can appear in Google results
- Getting your name out there with digital PR can help to ‘build links’ to your site, thereby improving your reputation and encouraging Google to reward you
- Adding your name to directory lists is another great way to boost local SEO and build links – often without costs.
Things to remember before trying SEO for small business
Strong SEO takes patience and a budget – it’s best to invest in an SEO agency that understands your market and how to rank for your services.
For best results, you should create relevant, helpful content regularly. You’ll also need to make sure your website has a good user experience, while adhering to other technical recommendations.
Plus, there’s the challenge of building links – this could be through guest posts, PR, directories or simple brand mentions. You’ll need to have the right resources in-house or connections with a good agency to help.
So, is SEO worth it?
Small business SEO is always a good idea – even if you’re not putting your life and soul into it from day one. Ultimately, SEO helps to build traffic, pushing up revenue and building your online reputation.
If you’re concerned about spend, it may be best to approach SEO if you sell high margin products or items in large volumes. Likewise, don’t discount other digital marketing methods – PPC offers ‘quick wins’ while social media is a great way of sharing content for free.
Start building your online presence – large or small
Whether you want to find out about SEO for small business or just increase your presence online, Get in touch with the beefound.agency team today.
