Does Small Business Need SEO?
I was invited to interview with Camille McDaniel of the Counselor Entrepreneur a few weeks ago. My topic was 4 Easy Steps to Starting an SEO Blog.
As I started putting together my notes, something funny clicked in my brain: I realized most small businesses don’t think they need search engine optimization (SEO.)
We think, “I can’t possibly compete with big companies who launch these campaigns.” So, now is the moment when you need to wipe your slate clean.
Because SEO, simply, clearly, without any bells, whistles or fog horns is how your business gets found online.
Whether that means a local women’s club looking for a speaker, or just one person seeking out a health coach, people are looking for the services you offer – and they are doing it online.
Don’t forget to grab my free blog writing checklist, Is It SEO?
The Small Business SEO Difference
There is a scale of SEO. The basic difference is this: you can still participate in SEO best practices without dedicating hundreds of hours a week to the process.
To understand the difference, on your left hand, I want you to picture:
- Five blogs or more a week
- Carefully written content
- Video marketing / Vlogs
- Formal social media campaigns
- A dedicated team of marketers
- Analytic systems carefully constructed
And on your right hand:
- A website designed with best practices
- A few blogs a month
- Branded social media accounts
- A system for measuring article success
Both concepts constitute SEO campaigns. However, they are two extremes. The first might be (partially) representative of how a campaign is launched by a large company, whereas the second is an average SEO savvy small business.
Balancing the Right SEO Strategy
The main point I’m getting at here is quite simple; do as much or as little as you can, but incorporate SEO you must.
Consider how you can invest in just a few simple ways that will help your business get found online. Most good strategies include (and you can see why copywriters are integral):
- Research to determine which keywords best describe your company
- Rolling these key phrases into a blog editorial calendar
- Write at least a few blogs a month (4 – 6 / month)
- Promote your blogs to your social media networks
- In each social media corporate profile, use a branded statement that defines who you are, what you do, and who you do it for
So, let’s say that you are a health coach launching a promotion that encourages people to eat more power greens, like spinach and kale.
Research which keywords: Eat more vegetables, recipes for kale, etc. and then fold these terms into blog ideas:
- 4 Awesome Kale Salad Recipes
- 10 Mysterious Uses of Spinach
- How to Easily Give Kids More Power Greens
As a concept, you can see how just a little content helps you go a long way towards getting yourself found online. What’s the key?
You are using this strategy not to promote you, per se, but to promote something that you are selling (a course that encourages folks to eat more greens.)
You can also see how this content will stay on your website and continue to promote you long after the health program has ended, making it just a small piece of the SEO puzzle that brings even the smallest company more business.
