Do you have a small business website that just isn’t getting the visitors and customers that you’d hoped for? “How to get my business found on Google?” is a common question for business owners and marketers. In this post, I’ll walk you through the process I take with new SEO clients to start making their website more visible to Google’s search engine crawlers and help them move up the search rankings.
When working with new small business clients who want their business to get found on Google I focus on 3 main areas:
- Site Audit & Web Crawl
- Keyword Research
- Optimizing key website pages
- Setting up main Google tools for SEO – Google Search Console, Google My Business and Google Analytic
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a digital marketing strategy that’s key to helping your small business website rank on Google. Optimizing your website is essential if you’re serious about customers finding you via search results. If you haven’t covered the SEO basics, customers will struggle to find your business on Google – even if they know your business/brand name. And you’ll have little chance of ranking in search results (let alone on Page 1) when potential customers are searching for products or services like yours. Think of the lost business going to your competitors!
1. Website Audit & Web Crawl
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of working on a website, there is research to be done! I run off a Snapshot SEO Audit so I can get a sense of the overall health of a website and identify any particular problem areas or priority tasks.
An audit and crawl will give your business data on:
- The keywords your website currently ranks for
- Site speed is a ranking factor so an audit will also flag the loading speed on both desktop and mobile and let you know if it’s too slow and needs to be looked at
- How the mobile version of your website works displays well, and other illuminating marketing data.
- Any basic errors on your website like incorrect headings and meta descriptions (these can be missing, duplicated or too long or too short!) that should be fixed
Learn more about SEO Audits and why they are beneficial to planning digital marketing strategies
2. Keyword Research
Do some keyword research and get clear on the best terms for your main pages. As an inbound marketing strategy (which is all about creating content that aligns with what potential visitors are actually searching for) you are looking to find words and phrases that people are actually using to search for products and services like yours.
You don’t need to be an expert to start with keyword research – even doing some quick basic checks will give you some data on the keywords you are already using (or plan to use). I always start by looking at keywords for the 3 main website pages – Home, About and the main product/service landing page. Focus on these first as these will usually be the first pages both the Google spiders and your visitors will see and you want to make a good first impression. And if your key pages don’t make sense to Google, it will affect how it sees the rest of your website.
Have a look at How to do Simple Keyword Research for Small Business. This article shows you a super simple way to check out search volumes and competition for different words and phrases that can even be used by complete newbies. Knowing what potential visitors are searching for is valuable marketing data that should be used to your advantage. You may discover that your chosen phrase has a very small search volume or has volume but very high competition. In that case, you can check for a better phrase that might be easier to rank for and that people are actually using.
Getting clear on keywords can make a huge difference to SEO success and getting found on Google. So grab a pen and paper, brain dump some ideas then get checking and researching. So, once you have your keywords, what should you do with them?
3. Optimize Website Pages
Once you have researched keywords, the next step is to add them to your web pages. This process is known as on-page optimization. There is a simple set of rules and processes to follow so please do not whack the keywords into the copy willy-nilly! I’ve encountered many small business websites that rank for the wrong keywords because they weren’t used correctly on the page. But there is a simple remedy and that is to learn How to Optimise Content for SEO.
By optimizing pages you make your website easier for Google to ‘read’. The internet is crawled by search engine spiders which nip around your website to find out what it’s all about. If it’s not set up correctly, you’re making the job harder for these little bots. They may miss important information or get the wrong messages if the pages are difficult to navigate, read and prioritise the content. So make it easy for them!
Optimizing web pages isn’t complicated and once you learn the processes become second nature. You can also implement optimization retrospectively – just tweak and edit website pages as needed. If you only have a small website of 3-5 pages, this won’t be a huge task. But if your website runs to hundreds of pages, editing each and every page can sound very daunting. To save on stress start slowly and work in batches. Focus on those 3 main website pages first, then work through other pages and blogs gradually. There’s no need to do them all at once but just keep plodding away focusing on your most important pages first, then work through the rest methodically.
4. Set up Google’s SEO Tools
There are three main Google tools that every small business owner with a website should be using. They all serve different functions for your website but all are valuable for telling Google more about your business, and your website and also for tracking stats and results. All are totally free and don’t take long to set up so you’d be mad to ignore them! They are:
- Google Search Console
- Google My Business
- Google Analytics
Search Console
If you’re serious about SEO, then you need search console. Use it to submit your latest site map to Google so it can find it and crawl its content. It will also track which keywords your website is ranking for and at what page position. Run off custom reports to see how many clicks are coming via Google’s search engine and track your progress. It’s full of useful tools and reports to help marketers keep an eye on search performance, learn about technical problems with their website and check that any issues are fixed.
Install Search Console as soon as you can and pull off reports so that you have figures for your starting point (such as position ranking, number of words registered, how many key phrases are in positions 1-3, etc). This gives you some idea of where are right now and you can track figures monthly to see how your SEO work is going. Start your Search Console account here.
Google My Business
This is your free business profile with Google. Start a GMB account and create a listing for your business. Include details about your location (this is very important for local SEO), opening hours, contact details and information on what you sell or the services you provide. You can also post news, business updates and links to blogs and other content on your website.
When you add a GMB profile you will also improve your listing on Google maps. If people are searching for services or shops in their local area, then Google will do its best to return the closest business to their location. Make sure Google has all the relevant business information it needs to return your business on maps and local searches.
Google Analytics
Analytics provides reports and data looking at all of your website statistics. Search console focuses on what happens via search only, whereas analytics will look at your entire website traffic (including traffic from other sources like social media). Track monthly visits, most popular pages, traffic sources and more. Combine with data from search console to really clue yourself up on your website metrics and get savvy about what’s happening! Go to Google Analytics
The above steps are the process I follow as part of my work with new clients. Whilst there is more to SEO than listed above, this is a great place to start. Focus on your key pages, get the right keywords and optimize the pages correctly. Set up your Google tools and stats tracking and you should see some improvement in your search ranking just by taking these simple steps. How much improvement will depend on other variables like how many competitors you have and how SEO-friendly their websites are but it’s a great place to lay the foundations of an SEO-friendly website and start getting your small business found on Google.
For five more ways to boost website visits, do read How To Increase Website Traffic
Get Started with SEO Now – It’s a Marathon – not a Sprint!
Bear in mind that search engine optimization is a long-term digital marketing strategy that should be an ongoing part of your marketing plans. Changes and tweaks can be made to your website slowly but surely. This process of constant small improvements and new content shows Google that your website is active and always changing. There is a notion that once a website is done it’s ‘done’. This is not the case in SEO terms. Your website should be updated regularly and new content added to boost your chances of ranking well and getting found online by your target customers.
And as it’s a marathon rather than a sprint, over time you will start to see results by ranking higher and getting more website visitors. So make a decision to make a start. Slow progress is better than none!
Is Your Small Business Website SEO-Friendly?
Now be honest here – do you even know?! If truth be told, most small business owners aren’t totally sure!
SEO will be more important for some businesses than others (depending on your digital marketing goals). But ultimately, if you have a small business website then some kind of SEO work is essential. To learn more about why it’s important, read ‘Do I Need SEO For My Website?’.
Google is trying to find signals about the trust, authority and expertise/knowledge of your content and business. If the spiders like what they see, it will improve your domain authority, and make it easier to find and return the right content for potential visitors. All these factors combine to help push your business website up the rankings.
So, if you want to rank in the search results and get your business found on Google, It’s vital to implement some search engine optimization techniques.
Keen to get started but don’t have the time or inclination to DIY the work? Then you need the SEO Starter Package for Small Business.
The SEO Starter Package
I really enjoy helping small business owners get to grips with SEO. It’s so satisfying to see their website move up the rankings and start generating more leads and sales for them. But many small business owners aren’t really sure where to start or even if they do, they can’t find the time to get the job done.
I’d love to help your small business get found on Google. If you need the help of a freelance SEO Consultant, you’re in the right place. The SEO Starter Package for Small Businesses is designed to cover the basics and provide a starting point for building on search engine success.
What’s Included in the SEO Starter Package?
This starter package has everything needed to lay the foundations of an SEO-friendly business website. Get the basics sorted to boost your chances of your ideal customer finding your website on Google.
Find out what keywords your website already ranks for. It’s not always the words and phrases you are expecting!
We’ll also do some keyword research to recommend targeted keywords for your three key website pages – usually, Home, About, and the Product/Service landing page. This will help your ideal customers to find your website.
Get detailed recommendations on how to incorporate these targeted keywords into your website content and fully optimize those three key pages. Drive targeted traffic from people who are already interested in what you are selling.
Set up the three main Google tools and accounts to track progress and reach more people – Google My Business, Google Search Console and Google Analytics
Includes Free SEO Bonuses
We’ll start with a Free Snapshot SEO Audit to help you gain clarity on the SEO health of your website.
Get an SEO score and see what’s needed to incorporate SEO into your digital marketing strategy.
I’ll also provide a custom Web Crawl Error report that lists SEO issues that need fixing on your website, and prioritizes them by importance
And finally, you’ll receive a custom SEO checklist for your business so that you can see what type of SEO tasks are required in the future to improve the health of your small business website. Helping you to plan SEO work and learn how to keep improving SEO in the future.
How does it work?
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of the terms & conditions and details on how to secure your spot for the SEO Starter Package.
- Pay in two instalments of £199.50
- Payment of the first instalment is required to reserve your spot and book a start date. The second instalment will be invoiced on delivery of the work.
- Delivery usually takes 4-8 weeks from the start of the project (will also depend on the date work commences).
- Slots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis once payment has been received.
How to Reserve Your Slot
To get started, simply request your free Snapshot SEO Audit using the sign-up form below. (This free report is yours to keep, whether you decide to book an SEO Starter package or not.).
Then get in touch via email to let me know you’d like to book a slot and I’ll get it sorted! if you’d like to have a chat before deciding, claim a 20-minute discovery call to talk about your website and what’s needed to help it get found on Google.
Sign up for the free SEO Audit using the box below. I can’t wait to learn more about your business website!
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