When you search your business on Google, what shows up? Hopefully, if you type in your actual business name, your website pops right up. 

Okay, now type in a keyword related to your business. For example, we’d search “digital marketing” for HeiPro Digital. What comes up then? Does your small business’s website show up? Is it on the first page?

If your business website isn’t showing up on Google or you realize that it’s buried on the second or third page of results, don’t despair! There are things that you can do to help your business show up!  We’ll share why you should care about SEO, some basics, and 3 actionable steps that you can do to improve your SEO. 

But first, let’s back up!

Well-Rounded Small Business Digital Marketing Strategy 

As we’ve said before, it’s tough keeping up with your small business’s overall digital marketing strategy. You need to be present on social media, grow and nurture your email list, oh, and help your website convert any website visitors. 

You really need to have a well-rounded digital marketing strategy so that you’re finding your yes-ready audience, leading them back to your website, and converting them. Many businesses focus heavily on social media, BUT the truth is you don’t own your followers! 

Don’t even get us started on how often IG goes down. It’s frustrating and scary when it happens. So far, Instagram has come back every time it’s gone down, but how powerless do you feel when that happens? 

Why Should Your Small Business Care About SEO 

According to Search Engine Land, Google receives over 63,000 searches per second. This traffic isn’t just aimlessly scrolling through their feed. They’re looking for something right then and there and you need to be there when they search your target keywords. 

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is what you can do to help turn on those signals on your website that Google is looking for when its algorithm delivers results to a user. Essentially, Google is looking to provide value to a searcher and wants to make sure the searcher finds what they need. 

You need to be able to improve the overall SEO of your website so that Google can find, index, and show your website!

Wouldn’t you love it if clients found you and you didn’t have to find them? Wouldn’t you love if you didn’t have to rely on word of mouth and could be found when someone is actually searching for you and the services you offer?

SEO Basics and Definitions 

Your website needs to be optimized so that Google can show it off in search results! What does that mean? We’ll share 3 easy ways you can help your website show up on Google results. 

First, here are five key SEO terms. There are a lot more SEO terms, but these five are the most important to understand how to implement the three tips. 

SEO Terms

• Title Tag - the actual title of your webpage 

• Meta Description - the actual description of a page on your website 

• Alt Text - the text that describes an image on your website 

• H1- the first header on a webpage

• H2 - the second header 

Now, onto those three tips!

3 SEO Tips for Your Small Business Website

Implement these three SEO tips and you’ll see your website search engine rankings improve. Google takes up to 90-days to index these changes on your website.  

1. Define Your Keyword 

Determine one thing people would use to search for your business services or product on Google to find you - this is your keyword. For example, HeiPro Digital’s keyword could be “web design”.

What’s your keyword?

2.Write Your Website Title 

Change your site title to include your business name,  location, and that keyword. For example, Website Design from HeiPro Digital in Green Bay, WI 

What’s your site title? 

3. Use Google Search Console

Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console to help Google index your website and show you what search queries are being used to find your website.