Why on earth should you as a small business owner be concerned with “SEO?” Here is a better question, “Can a small business owner really understand search engine optimization and take action to utilize SEO methods?” I work with many small business owners who have retail stores, small restaurants, and automotive repair shops. When I mention “SEO” to them, they think I just landed from Mars. Even if they do know what SEO is, they think it is something for their web designer to handle and not them.
“SEO” stands for Search Engine Optimization. A more accurate definition would be “any activity that helps your target market find your business online.” Although there are some tricks SEO consultants may use to help you increase your “rankings” (how high up you are in the search results online), search engines are constantly fighting against these strategies. The search engines are working to provide the best content to people searching online. Therefore, the best SEO strategy is to provide relevant, high quality content online.
I believe that SEO is one area where small, local businesses can have a huge advantage over larger competitors. Google, Yahoo and other search engines will recognize that you are local. If you provide the right content, you can come up higher for your target market than your larger competitors.
Based on the computer (or phone) IP address, search engines know where people are when they search. The search engine will try to find relevant searches in the same area. Therefore, realize you need to post content which is geographically targeted. For example, an arts and crafts store in Lexington, KY, could create a website such as www.artsandcraftslexington.com. Post a page on this site entitled, “Our Passion for Arts and Crafts in the Lexington, KY, Area.” Perhaps also post a short review of a recent art show you did: “Arts and crafts show August 13, 2012, in Lexington, KY.” Then post a YouTube video, “Our Arts and Crafts Store in Lexington, KY,” which would be a simple video of you giving a tour of your store. By posting such geographically targeted content, you are executing a perfect SEO strategy for your business with which the big competitors such as Hobby Lobby, Walmart, or Target can’t compete.
After your web site has been up for several months posting the geographically targeted content mentioned, someone in Lexington, KY, who searches on Google for “Arts and Crafts Store” would probably find your page before Hobby Lobby’s general nationwide website. And your video would almost certainly be at the top of the video results.
In spite of SEO consultants who would make Search Engine Optimization seem like a complex topic, the reality is quite simple: Create great content! Let the search engines find your content and display it to your target market. There are other important questions to consider such as,
- How do you know for what people are searching?
- How do you drive initial traffic to your web site so that Google, Yahoo, and Bing will all notice?
You may need professional guidance in finding the answers to these questions. But none of that will matter if you don’t create great content.
We have several SEO consultants and web designers available at Transactionexpert.com. We would be glad to recommend one of them to you if you contact us. Then you could rest assured you are getting a proven professional that we trust. By supporting our web site, you would also enable us to continue providing free content to help small business owners save money, upgrade their systems, and grow their business.
James Shepherd
