Five Easy SEO Tips for Small Business Saturday

As a local digital marketing and SEO agency supporting the business community in East Grinstead and the wider Sussex region, Artemis Marketing shares some valuable insights on how to improve your small business website.

We know how challenging it can be for small businesses to stand out in a crowded and volatile online market. In 2024 alone, search results have been ‌very turbulent, with Google only just having rolled out another Core Update, after several others throughout the year.

With Small Business Saturday right around the corner – the 7th of December 2024 – now is the perfect time to give small businesses some pivotal advice as they navigate an incredibly complex organic search environment.

The dynamic world of search engine optimisation (SEO) is difficult to wrap your head around sometimes. Still, these five practical tips will help you improve your organic search visibility without needing a computing or technology degree. We believe in explaining SEO issues and solutions in plain English to avoid ambiguity, and with many of our clients being local, owner-managed businesses, these tips should help give you a foundation for building.

1. Keyword and competitor research

The most crucial ingredient for any small business SEO campaign is to understand what your potential customers are searching for. Marrying this with the products or services you offer creates the perfect recipe for creating a website that answers their questions and solves their problems.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What would they type into Google when looking for a business like yours? What would they ask when searching for an answer to a specific query they had regarding a common problem?

For example, if you’re a local solicitors’ firm, people might search for “solicitors in East Grinstead” or “conveyancing lawyers in Sussex”. Using in-depth tools like Google Search Console can unveil whether any of your pages are ranking for these or similar search terms, and you can type such phrases into Google to see a) what autocomplete suggestions emerge and b) what pages are ranking.

Tools like Ahrefs or Semrush can identify what keywords your pages are ranking for, and specific search volume, keyword difficulty and search intent data for any given term. You can also explore competitors’ websites with these tools, helping you uncover what keywords they are using, what services they are highlighting, and how well they are performing organically. This in-depth research helps you understand the local market in your area and identify opportunities to set your local business apart.

2. Create user-friendly product and service pages

Your website should clearly explain what you do and how you add value, using language that your customers can easily understand. Each product or service should have a dedicated page with:

• High-quality images with descriptive filenames and alt text
• Information addressing common customer questions
• A logical structured data markup (e.g. H1 as the title, H2 subheadings, and H3-H6 headings underneath)
• Prices (if applicable)
• Clear, concise descriptions and copy
• Relevant calls to action (CTAs)
• Links through to other pages across your site

Pro tip: When adding images, use the most applicable file formats to minimise page load speed and ensure mobile responsiveness. Images can be quite large, so be sure to compress them without compromising on quality, implementing lazy loading for easy rendering on mobile.

3. Fix basic technical SEO issues

Don’t worry – you don’t need to be a web developer or IT professional to improve your site’s technical performance. While their input will no doubt help with the maintenance and management of your site, you can use tools like Screaming Frog and Google Search Console to check whether:

• All links are working (i.e. whether any are triggering 404 “not found” errors)
• Pages are being crawled and indexed
• Page Titles and meta descriptions are present and within recommended character limits
• URLs are correct, logical and keyword-optimised
• Your site loads quickly
• It works well on mobile devices (which is where most web traffic comes from)

Many website content management systems (CMS’) like WordPress have built-in SEO tools or plugins that can help you identify and resolve basic on-page SEO issues.

4. Claim and enhance your Google Business Profile

For local businesses, your Google Business Profile (GBP) – formerly your Google My Business – listing is a vital free marketing asset. Make sure you claim your rightful GBP listing, following Google’s required approval steps, and flesh out your profile with:

• A relevant description
• Up-to-date opening times and contact information
• Recent, high-quality photos
• Reviews and testimonials, which you can encourage satisfied customers to provide

Make sure to respond professionally to all reviews, however positive, as Google values this.

5. Build local links and citations

External links (i.e. ones from other websites which point back to your site) are incredibly valuable in helping your domain authority (DA). Provided they are from reputable and trusted resources, such as local directories and relevant industry websites, your website authority (and by extension, its traffic) can be drastically improved.

Find local business directories and pursue them for a listing of your business and website. Attend business networking events like those listed on the East Grinstead Business Association website, and pursue memberships, while simultaneously engaging with other local businesses in passing mutual referrals to one another. If you have the capacity, resources and time, consider writing guest posts on Chambers of Commerce and local news websites to earn yourself valuable backlinks.

Quality always matters above quantity; a collection of relevant, local links is far more valuable than a plethora of unrelated, irrelevant ones.

Next steps

It’s worth remembering that SEO success won’t happen overnight – it’s a gradual process involving regular time, effort and input. However, these five strategies will give you the essential baseline to help you improve your online presence and attract more local customers.

This Small Business Saturday, take the first step in getting your business noticed online. Your future customers are always on the lookout for businesses just like yours.

Image source: Deposit photos