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Understand SEO – An Overview For Small Business Owners

Categories: Small Business
12 August 2016

If you are a business owner with a website, you’ve probably heard the term ‘SEO’, but maybe unsure of what it means and whether it’s important. SEO – search engine optimisation – is the process of strategically tweaking all elements of your website to earn the best rank in search engines like Google. Knowing some of the critical terms related to SEO is essential, so here are some of the more common ones.

1. Keywords

A keyword is a phrase or word that a user enters into a query box in search engines. The use of keywords on your site is what helps your website be one of those returned for that search term. It is important, however, to not overuse keywords, and to include other terms that the search engines will identify as being related to those keywords.

2. SERP

When you enter a query into a search engine, the page that appears is referred to as the “search engine results page”, or SERP.

3. Black Hat SEO

This term describes wrong techniques used to try to manipulate search engine results to give a site a high rank on search engines. These are often employed by businesses that approach you promising, for instance, page 1 rankings within a week. SEO is a long-term process, and instant results are usually short-lived, and could see your site flagged by the search engines as using unacceptable optimisation strategies.

Easy First Steps In SEO

To further help you understand SEO, here are some basics to help you capture the ranking you want, and remain there.

  • Use Keywords and Semantics Appropriately

Include keywords and relevant semantics in your content, and, if appropriate in your page names. Don’t write your content around the keywords though – if your content is worthwhile and reflects your business then the keywords should appear organically.

  • Avoid duplicate content

Having original and well-written content on your website is important. Copying from other websites is not only unethical, but the search engines may identify the duplication and not rank your pages at all. To position your business as unique in its niche, you need to add unique content. If you aren’t able to do this or don’t have the time, ask our Scott Partners team to recommend someone who can provide this service to you.

  • Have a mobile friendly site

If you have a site that is not responsive on mobile phones, you are not only losing potential customers who frequently use their phones, but you could also be hurting your site’s SEO. Have a professional web designer create a site that is mobile friendly. Additionally, ensure that your content is optimised for mobiles.

  • Post links on your social media platforms

After creating content on your site, post them on your social sites as these sites offer the easiest access. Search engines are now starting to crawl and track these links back to your website. This could positively affect your
search ranking.

 

Search engine optimisation is not complicated. By implementing these top-level tips, your site will not only get access to more visitors, it will also improve your site’s ranking. To find out about other ways to improve your small business, give our friendly team at Scott Partners a call to schedule an appointment. We can give you professional, clear advice and help your business grow now and in the future.

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