Search engine optimisation, or SEO, can be a baffling mystery for many small businesses in Australia. It doesn't help that Google has complex algorithms which change often. Moreover, small businesses often do not have an SEO budget like larger companies do, leaving most small business owners at their wits end regarding the SEO of their websites.
The good news is that SEO does not always need to break the bank. In this article, we’ll show you some practical SEO tips and best practices you can use to compete with the Goliaths of your industry, and have your website climb search rankings without spending on paid ads.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimisation is improving your website and its content to help it rank better on search engines like Google, Bing, etc. As a small business, you want better visibility on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) whenever people search for:
- the services you provide
- the products you sell
- information about your industry
The higher you rank on SERPs, the greater the chances of potential customers clicking on your website, eventually becoming customers, clients or frequent visitors. A well-planned SEO strategy can also help you build awareness about your business and establish you as trustworthy and credible.
Five Actionable SEO Tips for Small Businesses
1.) Target relevant keywords
Keywords are the words or phrases users type into their search engines. Optimising your site for the right keywords will attract potential customers and boost your SEO. Hence, keyword research is THE most important starting step of all top SEO strategies.
Understanding keyword research
Think like your target customer. What terms would they type in Google to find a business like yours? Make a list of everything that comes to mind.
Use keyword planning tools, like Keyword Overview by SEMRush, Google's Keyword Planner, or Ubersuggest to find your primary and secondary keywords based on search volumes and competition.
Enter your search term or phrase (from the list you made) into any of the above tools to get the monthly search count, keyword difficulty, and search intent.
The more difficult it is to rank for a keyword, the higher its search volume is likely to be. Typically, your primary keyword, which is most relevant to your business, will have the highest search volume.
You can find your secondary keywords with the Keyword Magic tool. Enter your primary keywords in the search bar, click search, then select 'Related' as the modifier. The results displayed will be your secondary keywords.
It is easier for small businesses with new websites to target low-volume keywords with lower difficulty, than trying to rank for high-volume keywords organically. Another popular SEO technique is targeting long-tail keywords.
Use long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, specific phrases with lower search volumes. For instance, ‘how to invest in Australian real estate’ is more precise than a generic keyword like ‘real estate’.
Long-tail keywords are also easier to rank for as the competition is low, and since the users know what they want, the conversion rates are better.
Target location-based keywords
Local intent is behind 46% of Google searches. Today, people use their smartphones to search for local businesses. If you are a local business, you need to show up in SERPs when someone searches for your relevant keywords. If not, you're missing out on potential customers.
Use location-specific terms in your keywords to boost your local SEO. For instance, 'estate lawyers in Brisbane' or 'Sydney's best small business accountant'.
A super easy local SEO tip is to set up a Google Business Profile. Earlier called Google My Business, a Google Business Profile is a great way to gain visibility, appear in local searches, share your business with customers and gain trust with customer reviews.
Identify your SEO competitors
It is important to note that your SEO competitors may not always be your direct business competitors. Any website ranking higher than you for organic search queries you want to rank for are your SEO competitors.
The easiest way to find them is by searching for your target keywords in Google. Organic Research and Ubersuggest are two tools that provide deeper insights. Enter your URL into the search bar on either of these tools, and you will receive a list of your competing websites, the keywords you share, the keywords they rank for and more.
Find and fill keyword gaps
An excellent way to boost SEO is to find keyword gaps - keywords that your direct competitors rank for but your website does not - and analyse if you want to target these keywords too. Use tools like Keyword Gap or Ahrefs’ Competitive Analysis tool to discover keyword gaps and find new keywords you could target.
You should examine the content of your SEO competitor websites, investigating how they get traffic and what their highest-ranked pages are, to develop your SEO strategy.
2.) Create High-Quality Content
Content is what drives your SEO strategy. But you need high-quality content to rank in search engines. High-quality content is:
- accurate
- original
- engaging
- provides value to the reader
Google penalises duplicate content, affecting your ranking. Do not plagiarise from another site, and ensure you have original content on all pages on your site.
Once you have completed your keyword research and competitor analysis, create a content plan based on the insights gathered. Use one primary keyword and multiple secondary keywords organically in each piece of content. This is where understanding search intent comes into play.
Search intent is the 'why' behind the user's search.
The 4 main types of intent are:
- Informational - The user wants information about a topic (e.g. SEO tips for small businesses, how to clean the oven etc.)
- Navigational - The user wants to find a specific page (e.g. YouTube, Yelp, etc.)
- Commercial - The user wants to research products or services before making a buying decision (e.g. best SEO tools, best oven cleaner, etc.)
- Transactional - The user wants to complete a transaction (e.g. SEMRush subscription, buy Nespresso, etc)
Other than SEMRush, which tells you the search intent, Answer The Public is another helpful tool to understand customer queries around a particular topic. Use this information to create content like blogs, articles, listicles and product pages to satisfy the user's search intent.
3.) Create an FAQ Section
An FAQ page which is well-written, provides answers to common customer queries, and is optimised for relevant keywords can help you rank higher.
Type your target keywords into Google's search bar and hit enter. Scroll below to the 'People Also Ask' section to know frequently asked questions. You can also use Answer the Public to discover customer queries. Find relevant questions and answer them concisely and factually to improve your SEO and attract more traffic.
4.) Get High-Quality Backlinks
Backlink building is when other websites link to your site. High-quality backlinks make your site an authority and rank it higher.
What makes a good backlink?
- Links from a high-authority website
- The relevance of the content or website
- The placement of the link on the webpage
- Relevant and descriptive anchor text or the clickable text that links to your website
- A ‘Dofollow’ link
Strategies for building links
Some strategies you can use to help build quality backlinks include:
- Create linkable assets
Create linkable, well-researched, informative and original content such as 'ultimate guides', 'how to articles', infographics, etc. (Use the Answer The Public tool to understand customer queries and create content around those topics.)
- Register as a source on HARO
Help A Reporter Out, or HARO is a popular service to build high-quality links. Register as a source for journalists, reporters and bloggers to receive daily emails with pitch requests. It's a great way to build your reputation in your industry.
- Replicate your competitor’s strategy
Backlink Analytics helps you find domains linking to your competitor's websites. Replicate their content strategy for backlinks to your site. Sites that link to your competitors are likely to link to you too.
- Contact your suppliers
Check your supplier's website for their list of dealers. If you're there, request a backlink. If not, ask to be added with a backlink.
5.) Optimise your Website
Website optimisation, or technical SEO, involves enhancing your website's structure to make it easy for search engines to crawl, index and render it correctly, increasing your chances of ranking higher.
Although technical SEO covers many aspects, start by focussing on these 5 things:
- Use your focus keyword in the URL
- Add keyword-focused title tags and meta descriptions
- Use header tags, i.e. H1, H2, H3, and so on, to structure and contextualise your content
- Use your short-tail and long-tail keywords in your header tags
- Optimise images with alt text (alternative text), also called alt attributes or alt tags
Leverage These SEO Techniques for Small Businesses
Your SEO performance does not work in a vacuum, nor is it static. Search engines change their algorithms often, and your competitors are also always tirelessly working to rank higher than you. While it is extremely difficult to include every SEO tip in one article, if you implement the SEO strategies we've outlined above, you will see great results and be a step ahead of your competition.
