If you’re running a small business and want to dip your toes into the digital arena, you would have to pull all the stops to differentiate yourself from the pack, especially from the big businesses that have an unlimited budget for marketing. That can be challenging, but it shouldn’t deter you from trying. In fact, if you only play your cards right and employ the best search engine optimisation (SEO) practices, you can even outrank them in the search engines without shelling out so much money.
Here are the dos and don’ts that will help you increase your search rankings and drive organic traffic to your website to garner more customers:
DO: Create fresh, relevant content
A frequently updated website with new content offers search engines fresh content and sources of new information to supply the deluge of search requests they get every day. If you make it a point to update your website often with high-quality content, search engines will love you for it.
Even so, don’t just publish content for the sake of doing so. All of the content on your site should be unique and provide high-quality information that your audience is looking for. Each page or post needs to offer something different and relevant to your audience. If not, search engines like Google will devalue a page if the content is not relevant, or if it appears on other websites first.
DO: Put an emphasis on local search
It’s recommended to go beyond your scope and reach out to audiences that are not near you. However, you can be a step ahead of your competitors by focusing on local search, especially if you are a business that provides a local service. Doing so will make you more likely to appear higher in mobile search results when users are searching in your service area.
DON’T: Participate in shady backlinking schemes
Don’t dare use any links that are intended to trick search engines in ranking your site at the top of the results. It’s best not to do anything that manipulates links directing to your site or external links leaving your site. These types of malicious links include comment spam in blogs, article directory links, hidden links, purchasing expiring domains, and seeking help from link farms.
DON’T: Incorporate spammy black hat tricks
Spammy tricks may work well during the beginning, but Google and other search engines will eventually figure out what you’re doing and may blacklist you. For instance, you should never stuff keywords into any piece of content on your website. When you are optimising your pages, make sure that you are only employing the best practices to avoid a penalty from search engines. Don’t attempt to cheat the system and remain ethical—you’ll ultimately pay dividends. Avoid using tricks like duplicating content, building doorway pages, and using invisible text.
In conclusion
As long as you keep publishing great content, employing the best SEO practices, and avoiding black hat techniques, then you’ll ultimately find success online. Keep in mind our tips above, and you’ll be on your way to having a website that helps your small business grow.
We’re a professional SEO agency in Cambridge. If you need assistance with all things SEO, we can help you drive traffic, convert leads, and gain more online exposure. Get in touch with us today!
