subject: Getting Started With Small Business SEO [print this page] Author: Wally Gray Author: Wally Gray
For every $1 that is spent on Internet purchases in America, another $5 to $6 are going to local offline business purchases that have been influenced in some way by online local searches; this is according to research appearing in a 2005 issue of Technology Review, which is published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This trend is perhaps seen in other countries as well, but what it essentially means is that businesses need to focus more of their efforts on Internet marketing and small business search engine optimization to influence sales and attract more customers in the process. Search engine optimization involves using a variety of techniques to communicate with search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. These techniques, if used correctly, results in more favorable search engine rankings. A couple examples include listing your local address and telephone number on your website as well as having your site hosted on a server within your home country, techniques which result in higher rankings. Here are other crucial pieces of information that you should know about small business SEO if you are to succeed.Optimizing Your Website - Using KeywordsThe essential ingredient to having success with local small business SEO is the on-page optimization of your website. This is a method by which you use specific keywords and phrases throughout your entire site which are targeted toward attracting local consumers. For example, if you offer plumbing services in Denver, Colorado, then a search phrase that will be crucial for your site's optimization is "Denver plumbers" or "plumbers Denver". Using these local search phrases correctly pushes your site's rankings further up in the search engine results.Finding KeywordsFinding the right keywords to use is crucial. There are many types of keyword tools available to help; these SEO tools tell you what local search phrases are being searched the most to find your products and services. Google offers its own free Keyword Tool that you can use to help with your small business SEO efforts.Importance of BacklinksYou also need to focus on backlink building. Backlinks are crucial to the long-term local SEO success of your website. Backlinks are links that other websites contain that actually link back to your business site. Each of these backlinks gives your site a stronger assertion to the search engines. Backlinks can come from large directory websites and even social bookmarking websites like Digg. While one way to obtain backlinks is to work the process manually, consider the time involved. The other way is to use SEO software that helps create backlinks for you faster and easier than you can if working by yourself.Getting Started with SEOThe very nature of owning a business website means that you'll need to have a small business SEO plan to apply the techniques to win with local search engine optimization. Learning search engine optimization methods takes time, time which you may not have if you're actively building other aspects of your business. The other option is outsourcing-- using search engine optimization professionals. There are advantages and disadvantages to both the do-it-yourself and outsourcing method as a small business owner and success can come with either option. However, doing nothing and avoiding small business SEO is not an option as a growing number of consumers continue to use the Internet as a prime source of information to find products and services from local small businesses.About the Author:
