Drive More Organic Search Traffic
We often get this question from clients: “Why is SEO important? Wouldn’t it be more effective to pay for search ads?”
The answer? Organic traffic.
Organic, or unpaid, traffic is extremely valuable to your business. When people find your website on their own — without clicking on a paid advertisement — they are far more likely to convert. They feel like they’re making their own purchase decision rather than falling prey to an ad.
Organic traffic is also targeted. With the right SEO strategies in place, customers will only find your website when they’ve searched for a specific, relevant search term. These users are already looking for a business like yours, and when your website is one of the first results in the search engine, they’re only a few steps away from becoming customers.
Paid ads have their place in a marketing strategy too, of course, but you should never underestimate the value of organic traffic.
Cutting-Edge Small Business SEO Strategies & Tactics
Search engine algorithms are complex and ever-changing, and you need an SEO strategy built to target these complicated calculations. If that sounds overwhelming, just let us handle your SEO!
After spending 15 years in the marketing industry, we know exactly what search engines are looking for, so your website can reach the top of the rankings.
We don’t just throw strategies at the wall to see what sticks. We focus our efforts on the most powerful, effective, and data-driven SEO services in the industry. Our SEO packages for small businesses encompass all of the following strategies.
Research
A small business SEO service shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach. While some strategies work well for any small business, we choose to tailor them to fit your specific industry and target audience.
We always start our SEO services with thorough market and competitor research. We spend time examining what other businesses in your industry are doing well and how we can outperform them. We also research the keywords users are searching for to find those businesses.
Research and data drive our SEO services. Once we’ve gathered all the numbers, we can begin creating a strategy tailored to the data.
Technical SEO
The technical elements on your website all contribute to your search engine rankings in one way or another — either helping or hurting them. When search engine crawlers — the bots that scour the internet for pages to display in search results — evaluate a website, back-end elements are some of the most important data they review.
Technical SEO encompasses many elements, such as site loading speed, HTML, architecture, sitemaps, mobile-friendliness, and more. Getting these elements in the best shape is a great starting point to boost your rankings.
On-Page Optimization
Search engine crawlers also look at the more visible elements on your web pages to determine relevant keywords and search queries to display them for. On-page optimization is just what it sounds like — enhancing the on-page elements of your website for SEO purposes.
These factors can include your written and visual content, titles and meta descriptions, alt-text, URLs, internal links, and structured markup. Our SEO agency will meet you where you’re at to enhance these elements. Whether you already have content that we need to edit or rewrite or you’re starting from scratch, we’ll make sure your website looks good to the search engine crawlers.
Content Marketing
Your website’s written content matters for a few reasons. First, content is what draws people to your site.
When you post informative blog articles, describe your products or services, and write out your contact information, users find value when they visit your site. High-quality, engaging content can make those users more likely to convert from leads to customers.
Content also plays a huge role in your search engine rankings. Keywords are the words or phrases that people type into search engines to find what they’re looking for. When your written content uses strategic keyword placement, the search engine algorithm will know to display your website to the right users.
Up-to-date, keyword-driven, professional content on your website goes a long way toward boosting your search engine rankings and building a positive reputation among potential customers.
Link Building
Did you know that when other websites link to your website, your search engine rankings increase?
Link building is the process of creating those links from other sites to yours. It involves tasks like reaching out to directories to feature your business, writing blog posts that can appear as guest content on other sites, and asking organizations to update any outdated links to your business.
Link building can be tedious if you don’t know what you’re doing, but our team has it down to a science.
Local SEO for Small Businesses
If your small business is like many others, your target audience probably lives in your local area. Or perhaps your county is one of your targets, but you also travel outside the area on occasion.
In either case, tailoring your SEO strategy to a local audience is a good idea. One of the primary ways we do this is through city-based keywords.
Sprinkling your city name throughout your content helps search engines match you with users in your area. When local users search for your type of business, Google uses location-tracking data to display relevant search results in their city, even if they don’t include the city name in the search query.
Tracking and Reporting
Search engine algorithms are always changing, and competitor websites are always updating their SEO strategies. In other words, what works for your SEO strategy today may not prove as effective tomorrow.
That’s why we closely monitor the performance of our SEO strategies and make adjustments as necessary. We perform keyword research monthly and write fresh content around new search terms as they appear.
SEO: How Do Search Engine Algorithms Work?
Search engine algorithms are a bit enigmatic. Google and Safari don’t advertise exactly what goes into their calculations for search results — if they did, SEO would be a piece of cake (and there would be no room for competition).
But Google does give a few bits of information about how its algorithm works. These key factors impact which results Google returns for a search query:
- The meaning of the search query
- How relevant the website content is to that meaning
- The content’s quality (using Google’s E-E-A-T. ranking factors — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness)
- The usability or accessibility of the content (including mobile-friendliness)
- The user’s context (past search history, location, search settings, etc.)
Aside from these concepts, our SEO team looks at what strategies have worked for clients in the past. We know the tactics that yield results — link building, on-page optimization, content marketing, and technical SEO. We’re constantly fine-tuning these strategies to make them the most effective for you.
Our 7-Phase SEO Process
Boosting your search engine rankings doesn’t need to be complicated. At Connective, we’ve compiled the best SEO strategies into a monthly small business SEO service with a transparent, affordable pricing structure.
We follow a proven seven-phase SEO process that helps us get your rankings to a good place, and then we provide monthly strategy updates and content creation to keep your rankings competitive.
Phase 1: Onboarding
Cookie-cutter SEO strategies just don’t work. That’s why we tailor our SEO tactics to your unique business needs — starting from day one.
Through our onboarding process, we learn about your business’s offerings, goals, values, target audience, and challenges. We also discuss your objectives for our small business SEO services. Do you want to build your customer base? Outrank your competitors? Fix technical errors on your website?
Once we have a thorough understanding of your business, we can begin curating a strategy that checks all your boxes.
Phase 2: Research
Research is the backbone of any good SEO strategy. We spend ample time evaluating your current search engine rankings for relevant keywords to understand the best starting point for your SEO services. We also make sure we thoroughly understand what’s working in your industry by evaluating your direct competitors’ websites.
Using tools like Google Keyword Planner, we identify the search terms your website should be ranking for to attract the right audience. With this data in our arsenal, we curate an SEO strategy that works quickly and delivers the best results for your small business.
Phase 3: Technical SEO Fixes & Monitoring
We want to make sure the technical elements on your website are in the best possible position to help your search engine rankings. We conduct a technical SEO audit where we examine your site indexing, loading speed, mobile friendliness, and HTML.
If any of these elements fail our tests, we correct the issue and monitor ongoing performance. Your website visitors will enjoy a more user-friendly experience on your site, and you’ll notice higher search engine rankings just from fixing these minor problems.
Phase 4: Reporting & Analysis
As your dedicated SEO team, we stay on top of every new opportunity to help your website rank. Tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Surfer provide valuable data about your SEO performance and key us into new opportunities that can boost your rankings further.
We want to keep you in the loop as well, so we share reports with you regularly to help you understand your ROI on our small business SEO services. Expect easy-to-understand graphs and charts that clearly explain your search engine rankings.
Phase 5: Monthly Content Creation
Our small business SEO services include monthly content creation from professional copywriters who understand your industry and your unique business offerings. Keeping your website’s content fresh shows search engines that your site offers relevant, up-to-date information for users. And with every new blog post we write, users will have a new reason to visit your website.
Phase 6: Monthly Link Building
Link building is an ongoing process, as the more backlinks you have, the better your rankings will be. We employ our link-building strategies on a monthly basis through tactics like guest post creation and directory outreach. We also check back in with organizations we’ve previously communicated with to update your backlinks on their platforms.
Phase 7: Improve and Iterate
The highest-ranking companies in your industry are constantly improving their search engine optimization strategies. To help you match and even outperform their rankings, we do the same.
Each month, we evaluate your SEO performance, then get back to the drawing board to discuss what we can improve to edge out the competition. As long as you continue partnering with our Connective team, you’ll enjoy fresh SEO strategies and ongoing support.
FAQs about Small Business SEO
Does SEO really work for small businesses?
SEO is one of the most effective marketing strategies small businesses can use. Did you know that 78% of people search for local businesses on Google at least once a week?
Without search engine optimization strategies, your business will miss out on a huge opportunity to connect with potential customers and boost your revenue.
You’ll also continually lose out to higher-ranking competitors who are using SEO to their advantage.
But with effective SEO strategies, your website will target users who are already looking for your type of business, increasing your conversions. More people will find your website, expanding your customer base and improving your profitability.
Is SEO still relevant in 2023?
SEO is still relevant for small businesses in 2023, and it will remain relevant as long as search engine algorithms exist.
Back in the day, when the internet was brand-new, SEO wasn’t really necessary. There were such a limited number of web pages on the internet that the search engines had no trouble matching the right pages with search queries.
But today, search engines crawl hundreds of millions of web pages. Search for “plumber near me,” for example, and Google will display 500 million results.
The only way to stay competitive with the countless other websites with even mildly similar content to your business is through search engine optimization.
What is organic traffic vs. paid traffic?
Organic traffic comes to your website without the help of paid advertisements. Paid traffic visits your website after clicking on paid ads, such as PPC or Facebook ads.
Both types of traffic are valuable, since anyone who visits your website could become a paying customer. But targeting organic traffic through small business SEO services, and organic social media advertisements can provide a better return on investment in the long run.
In general, paid ads deliver faster web traffic, while organic strategies bring more targeted leads to your site, producing more valuable results. The best marketing strategies use both.
What does E-E-A-T. stand for in SEO?
E-E-A-T. stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google uses these factors to determine whether a web page is high quality, and thus, worthy of being displayed in the search results.
- Experience reflects whether the writer of the content used first-hand information. This quality is important for reviews, as readers need to feel confident that the writer actually tried the product or service.
- Expertise shows that the writer knows what they’re talking about and has the relevant qualifications to discuss the topic at hand.
- Authoritativeness examines whether a website is a go-to source for relevant information. For instance, a Google search for “pet food” probably won’t bring back an HVAC company as a top search result, even if the HVAC company website has a page with relevant keywords.
- Trustworthiness shows that the web content is believable and reflects the truth about a subject.
Can I do small business SEO on my own?
You can certainly try to do SEO on your own — there are a lot of helpful DIY resources out there to get you started. But clients turn to our SEO professionals for a few reasons:
- They don’t have time to mess around with SEO on their own, or the time they have dedicated hasn’t produced fruitful results.
- They’d rather leave SEO to the experts and focus more time and energy on running their business well.
While DIY SEO strategies are free to implement, remember that your time is money as well. Handing your small business SEO services off to the experts can help you make the best use of your time and talents within your business.
What makes SEO essential for small businesses?
SEO increases a small business’s online visibility, helping it outrank competitors and attract customers actively searching for relevant services or products. It’s particularly effective in driving organic traffic, which is more likely to lead to conversions due to its non-ad-driven nature.
How does Connective Web Design approach SEO for small businesses?
Our approach is research-backed and data-driven, tailored to the unique needs of each business. We provide comprehensive services, including market and competitor research, technical SEO, on-page optimization, content marketing, and link building, designed to enhance your online presence and rankings.
What is included in Technical SEO services?
Technical SEO at Connective Web Design covers optimizing site loading speed, HTML, site architecture, sitemaps, and ensuring mobile-friendliness. These elements are crucial for making your site favorable to search engine crawlers, thereby improving rankings.
Can Connective Web Design help with content creation for SEO?
Yes, we offer content marketing services that involve creating high-quality, engaging, and keyword-driven content. This improves site visits and enhances your search engine rankings by providing valuable and relevant information to your audience.
What is the importance of link building in SEO?
Link building is a key component of SEO that involves creating backlinks from other websites to yours. These backlinks are essential for improving search engine rankings, as they signal to search engines that other sites view your content as valuable and relevant.
How does local SEO benefit small businesses?
Local SEO is particularly beneficial for small businesses targeting a local customer base. Optimizing your website with local keywords and location-based content makes it easier for local customers to find your business when they search for services or products in your area.
What does ongoing SEO monitoring and reporting involve?
Ongoing SEO monitoring and reporting are vital to ensure that your strategies remain effective over time. This involves regular analysis of your website’s performance, adjusting strategies as needed, and keeping you informed with clear reports on your search engine rankings and overall SEO health.
Is SEO still relevant in today’s digital marketing landscape?
Absolutely, SEO remains a cornerstone of digital marketing. With the vast number of web pages available today, SEO is essential for standing out and reaching your target audience effectively. It continues to evolve, making it a relevant and necessary strategy for any business looking to establish a strong online presence.
