5 SEO Tips For Small Businesses

Search engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of traffic towards your website through organic search engine results. For businesses who rely on attracting customers online, a basic knowledge of the science of SEO is very important. This article contains 5 steps to help your small business optimize its search engine listings on a basic level.

1. Set Up a Google My Business account

“Google My Business is a free and easy-to-use tool for businesses, brands, artists, and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps”- Google My Business

Setting up Google My Business will allow your company to input all local contact information, and to appear in the local search results for enquiries which are specific to your local area.

More broad searches with higher volumes are also now showing local results, which is something that local business owners can capitalize upon. Ace Marketing Solutions will produce more in-depth information about the use of Google My Business in a later blog.

2. Develop a fast, clean website that is mobile friendly

Today’s search engines like to display fast and easy to view sites instead of webpages with a slower performance; to maximize the user’s online experience. With more and more browsing being conducted via mobile phone and tablet, the search engines now understand the importance of mobile responsive websites for better browsing satisfaction. Ace Marketing Solutions develops the majority of its websites using the WordPress CMS (content source management) system, to ensure a fast and powerful website performance.

3. Do keyword research and target your niche

The phrase ‘content is king’ is a well-known line used to describe the most important ranking value for the search browser when indexing webpages, blogs and other content. Whilst this is a priority, the algorithm of the search engine will rank the keywords used within your titles, images, headings and text to match the needs of the consumer typing in their online request.

Ace Marketing Solutions recommends using keyword research tools such as Google’s Keyword Planner, to research the customer search experience and use this in combination with your page content information. When using this tool, we recommend to be specific in order to make your business competitive in its niche search results.

By targeting the same keywords as your larger local competitors, it will automatically invite more competition within the results section. Establish the specific key words or long tail phrases which help guests find your local business, instead of the broader spectrum.

For example, a ‘traditional Lanna style hotel in the night bazaar area of Chiang Mai can use the Keyword Google Planner Tool to optimize its niche better than simply establishing itself as a ‘Hotel in Thailand’ within its content.

4. Blog, Share, Repeat!

Blogging is an excellent content and SEO strategy that allows a business to build their niche brand, web traffic, and reputation. By regularly uploading blog posts, your company has an excellent platform to produce fresh and highly-valued web content. This will keep visitors on the page, which boosts engagement and therefore search engine rankings. The more blogs your company posts, the more pages to be indexed which increases your visibility and website credibility over time.

Don’t forget to share the content over your social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus as well. Search engines now look for signals from social media networks when ranking webpages, and sharing this content will drive more organic traffic to your website thus increasing its internet authority.

5. Google Search Console

By using the free online Webmasters tools, you can gain information about the performance of your website in Google search results. This will also actively crawl and highlight any errors which are damaging your ranking. This is a good first step to auditing and eliminating your site’s visibility weaknesses in the eyes of the search engine browsers.

If you want to talk about more professional SEO strategies and how they can improve the ranking of your hotel or other Chiang Mai business, you can contact us to discuss a suitable package.