Guest post by Brian Spero
Ten years ago, hardly anyone had
heard about SEO, much less knew the potential it held for emerging small businesses. Today, search engine optimization is an essential ingredient to a promising small business plan, supplying an inexpensive, effective, and sustainable method for generating a steady stream of new qualified leads.
While the benefits of SEO have been proven time and again, the landscape of this relatively new and ever-evolving field is filled with as many misnomers as there are establish facts. If you are sure that SEO is right for your small business, consider these five important truths about SEO that will help you avoid many common prats and pitfalls, and place your campaign on the high road to success.
1. Onsite SEO Is Only the First Step
The lion’s share of initial SEO work is going to happen on your website, from developing keyword-rich content, to improving overall site architecture – not to mention tackling a host of technical development details. While onsite implementation establishes the foundation for SEO, it also serves as a launching point for off-site elements that constitute a full-scale campaign.
In a nutshell, what you do on your website will get you on the Google search engine radar, and the ensuing offsite efforts (which may include any combination of promotion through social media sites, inbound link building, directory submissions, paid advertising, press releases, and more) is what pushes your address up the rankings. While it would be great for resource-conscious small business entrepreneurs if they could solely use SEO to boost their sites, ongoing offsite strategic development is typically necessary in achieving truly impactful results.
2. Shortcuts Lead to Scary Places
With traditional advertising methods, the reasonable expectation is that you initiate a campaign and then almost simultaneously start seeing results. For the sake of your sanity, as well as your ability to make sound decisions, it’s important to know that even really good SEO takes time to start working. Unfortunately, there are too many less-than-scrupulous practitioners on the Web who prey upon a new business owner’s desire to start generating revenue, attempting to lure them to the dark side with promises of fast results that are too good to be true.
Google itself confirms on its SEO support page that no one can guarantee a number-one ranking on its search engine, and goes on to warn about working with a provider that has secretive practices, or employs illicit “black hat” methods, such as using “shadow” domains to redirect users to a site, or ”doorway” pages stuffed with keywords to try and trick the search engine. Not only do these practices produce limited temporary results at best, but they also can get a website banished from the search engine and cause irreparable damage to an online reputation.
3. Not All Content Is King
If you are just getting acquainted with SEO and the various methods of Internet marketing, prepare to encounter the phrase “content is king” over and over again. Content creation is increasingly an integral part of the full-scale SEO campaign, providing a vehicle for attracting search, gaining visibility, building business relationships with clients, and so much more – but it only wears the crown when quality is part of the equation. An often overlooked tenet of SEO, which is truer today than ever before, is that providing a positive user experience – whether it involves helpful and informative sales copy, or smart and intuitive website functionality – is always a top priority.
Don’t just think by filling your website with stale, keyword-rich content and publishing daily blog posts that never get read that you are implementing content strategies that will get you to your goals. Only by identifying your target audience, applying the necessary resources to consistently produce professional material, and effectively marketing it to the masses can you tap into the true power of content that has earned it such a royal reputation.
4. There’s Lots to Learn From Competitors
While every business should strive for a branding image and message that makes it unique, there’s much to be gained in SEO by carefully studying the competition. By identify the businesses in your industry that are doing SEO right (you can find them on the first page of the search rankings), a small business can gain insight into everything from prominent keywords and content marketing opportunities, to clues on how to cultivate effective calls to action and landing page strategies.
SEO gives small businesses the power to compete with large companies, but it’s important to realize the many factors that go into getting to the top of the search rankings results. As previously stated, it takes time to develop an authoritative Web presence, in addition to the variable investment of resources, making it necessary to be realistic in assessing who your closest competition really is. By focusing not only on what your competition is doing right, but also on what they aren’t doing, you can discover ways to boost traffic, such as targeting less competitive keywords or specifically optimizing to an under-served niche consumer base.
5. SEO Is More Difficult Than It Looks
You might get the impression upon discovering the myriad SEO reference material available online that you can pull off a do-it-yourself job that will drive the type of traffic needed to get your revenues flowing. It takes real experience and an informed perspective to ensure the many technical and strategic aspects of SEO are properly attended to, not to mention an ongoing investment of time that a busy small business owner is often unable to commit.
While for some the answer will ultimately be a full-service firm dedicated to managing a comprehensive campaign, others may only require initial guidance, strategy, and training to get things moving as they progressively assume the reigns. Once a strong foundation is in place, an informed in-house staff with the assistance of an SEO software management platform that automates tasks, performs tracking and analysis, and optimizes performance should be able to keep your campaign humming while conserving precious resources.
Final Thoughts
SEO is a powerful tool for small businesses in need of a cost-effective method for generating qualified online traffic and leads. By learning essential truths about the anatomy of a quality comprehensive campaign and reputable best practices, you can assemble a well-oiled SEO machine to dynamically drive your business.
For ways to draw the attention of visitors and establish your brand, download, “A Case for Case Studies.” Establishing trust in your small business is essential to the consumer, so why not see the results of your business in action?
Brian Spero is an online marketing professional and contributor for Money Crashers Personal Finance, where he writes about business and technology.
What other SEO-related tips can you suggest?
This post 5 Truths About SEO for Small Business Owners was first published on the Big Ideas Blog.