How can SMEs use SEO to their advantage?

Being an SME can seem like a disadvantage where marketing is concerned. This is mainly due to the disparity in marketing budgets between smaller and bigger businesses. However, thanks to the evolution of digital marketing there is a lot that any business can do today to market more effectively – and SEO is at the heart of this. In fact, by taking advantage of inherent small business flexibility and being able to focus more precisely on targeting this could actually be an advantage.

Improving your search performance online – where do you start?

• Focus on reviews. Online reviews have an increasingly important role to play, not just in terms of establishing trust with consumers but also when it comes to Google’s Local Pack and Google Maps search results. Getting more reviews is a simple process of asking satisfied clients and customers to leave them for you – make it easy by sending them a link to the review location and make sure you acknowledge them all as this will encourage other customers to do the same.
• Optimise Google My Business. Where local rankings are important Google My Business is key. Make sure your listing is up to date and consider including some photos to make it easier for online users to engage with your listing. Any photos you use should be high quality and do your business justice. It’s also important to ensure that you choose the right category for this listing – the more specific this is to what you actually do the more relevance your listing will have when it comes to local searches.
• Create an FAQs page on your website. If you don’t have one already an FAQs page can be a great way to help generate organic interest. Focus on the questions that are most likely to be at the forefront of the minds of those who come to your business looking to potentially connect and use these to integrate key words and phrases and to catch the attention of the user with genuinely useful content.
• Use the Google My Business Q&A function. Google My Business Q&As are very much underused but provide a prime opportunity to increase engagement with users and potentially stand out from the competition. If you’re not getting questions thrown your way then you can ask and answer these yourself – do this with the most popular topics and you’ll have established a useful FAQ section off your original website that can help drive people to your business.
• Make sure all your contact details are prominently displayed. Doing this means that anyone browsing the website can validate the location and this builds trust. These details should match up with the information that you’ve supplied to Google too or you may find that this undermines credibility.
• Look for different ways to establish links with other local businesses. Small businesses can support each other through links but it’s essential that these are authentic. There are lots of ways to do this, from giving to a local charity and getting a mention on their website to collaborating with other businesses for a common cause.

As an SME, SEO can be a crucial and effective tool when it comes to taking your marketing to the next level.