SEO for small businesses: 6 ways to improve your Google rankings
Let’s be honest. SEO can seem like a bit of a dark art.
You hear about keywords, backlinks, algorithms and technical optimisation, but what does it all actually mean for your business? More importantly, what can you do to help potential customers find you online?
The good news is that you don’t need to be an SEO expert to make a difference.
Search engines want to show people useful, relevant results. Your job is to make it as easy as possible for them to understand what you do, who you help and why your website deserves to be seen.
At soandso marketing, we believe good SEO starts with getting the basics right and building from there. Here are six things you can do to improve your website’s visibility and give your business a better chance of being found.
1. Make sure your website works properly on mobile
When was the last time you visited your own website on your phone?
Not on your laptop, where everything looks neat and tidy, but on a mobile screen, where your customers are likely to be browsing.
Can you read the text easily? Are the buttons simple to use? Can you find the information you need without pinching, zooming or getting frustrated?
Google primarily uses the mobile version of your website for indexing, so a good mobile experience matters. A site that looks brilliant on a desktop but struggles on a phone could be letting your business down.
Page speed and layout stability matter, too. Google’s Core Web Vitals measure aspects of loading performance, responsiveness and visual stability.
What can you do?
Check your website on a range of mobile devices.
Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights to identify performance issues.
Make sure text is readable and buttons are easy to tap.
Optimise large images and remove unnecessary scripts where possible.
Fix layouts that jump around while a page loads.
You don’t need to chase a perfect technical score at any cost. Focus on making your website faster, easier to use and less frustrating for your customers.
2. Give people a reason to stay on your website
A slow website is frustrating. A confusing website is just as bad.
Imagine a potential customer lands on your homepage. They have a problem, they’re looking for a solution and you’ve got a few seconds to show them they’re in the right place.
If the page takes ages to load, the message is unclear or they can’t work out what to do next, they may simply leave.
Website speed is important, but it’s only part of the picture. Good navigation, clear messaging and useful content all contribute to a better experience.
What can you do?
Compress images and use modern formats such as WebP where appropriate.
Choose reliable hosting that suits your website.
Review the plugins and scripts you’re using and remove anything unnecessary.
Keep your navigation simple and logical.
Make your main message and next step obvious.
One thing worth remembering: there’s no universal two second rule that guarantees better rankings. Focus on real performance improvements and the experience you’re giving your visitors.
A website should make life easier for your customers, not give them another reason to look elsewhere.
3. Show Google that you know your subject
You don’t need to be the biggest business in your industry to compete online. But you do need to demonstrate that you understand what your customers are looking for.
Think about the questions people ask before they buy from you. What do they need to know? What are they worried about? What mistakes could they avoid with the right advice?
These questions are an excellent starting point for useful website content.
Rather than publishing random blog posts whenever you get a spare moment, build a collection of related content around the services you offer.
For example, a web design business might have a main page about website design, supported by useful articles about website costs, choosing a domain, improving page speed and preparing content for a new website.
Each article answers a different question while reinforcing the business’s expertise in that subject.
What can you do?
Create useful service pages that explain what you offer.
Write articles that answer genuine customer questions.
Link related articles and service pages together.
Keep important information accurate and up to date.
Look for relevant opportunities to earn links and recommendations from reputable websites.
This approach helps visitors explore your expertise and gives search engines a clearer understanding of your website.
You don’t need to write about everything. Start with the subjects that matter most to your customers and your business.
4. Make your website easy to understand
Your website might make perfect sense to you, but would a new visitor understand it?
Clear structure helps people find their way around and helps search engines understand how your content fits together.
Every important page should have a purpose. Your headings should describe what the page is about, your navigation should be logical and your links should help visitors find related information.
This isn’t about making your website more complicated. Quite the opposite.
What can you do?
Give each page a clear, descriptive title.
Use one main H1 heading for the page, followed by H2 and H3 headings where appropriate.
Write page titles and descriptions that accurately explain the content.
Link related pages together where it helps the reader.
Use descriptive image alt text when images convey meaningful information.
Add structured data where appropriate to help search engines interpret your content.
You may also benefit from breadcrumb navigation, particularly if your website has lots of pages or a more complex structure.
And don’t add technical features simply because somebody says they’re essential for SEO. For example, FAQ structured data doesn’t guarantee enhanced search listings, and Google limits the FAQ rich results it displays.
The goal is simple: make your website easy for people to navigate and easy for search engines to interpret.
5. Build trust by showing the people behind your business
People don’t just buy products or services. They buy confidence.
Before getting in touch, potential customers want to know whether you understand their needs, whether you’ve done this sort of work before and whether they can trust you to deliver.
Your website should help answer those questions.
This is where experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness come into the picture. Google uses these concepts as part of its guidance for assessing helpful content, although E E A T itself isn’t a single ranking factor.
For a small business, demonstrating credibility doesn’t have to be complicated.
What can you do?
Introduce the people behind your business.
Share relevant experience and examples of your work.
Publish genuine customer testimonials where you have permission.
Include case studies that explain the problem, your approach and the outcome.
Make your contact details and business information easy to find.
Keep your claims accurate and avoid promising results you can’t guarantee.
You don’t need to pretend to be a corporate giant. Your experience, your knowledge and the way you work with customers can be some of your biggest strengths.
Show people what makes your business a sensible choice, and give them a reason to take the next step.
6. Publish useful content and keep improving it
You don’t need to publish a new blog post every day to succeed with SEO.
In fact, churning out articles simply to keep your website looking busy can be a waste of time. What matters is whether your content helps your audience and supports what your business is trying to achieve.
A well written article that answers an important customer question can continue to attract visitors long after you’ve published it.
The trick is to be consistent and purposeful.
What can you do?
Create practical guides, how to articles and answers to common customer questions.
Write about the services and subjects most relevant to your business.
Share useful content through your email newsletter and social media channels.
Review older articles and update information that has become inaccurate.
Use Google Search Console to identify pages and search terms that deserve attention.
Improve content that is useful but could communicate its message more clearly.
Don’t forget that your website is also a resource for existing customers. Helpful articles can answer questions, explain your services and make it easier for people to choose you.
Every article doesn’t need to rank number one on Google. It needs to serve a purpose.
A few SEO improvements you can make today
If you’re wondering where to start, don’t try to fix everything at once. Pick a few practical improvements and work through them.
Check your homepage. Can a new visitor understand what you do and who you help within a few seconds?
Review your page titles. Do they describe the content clearly and accurately?
Check your service pages. Are you explaining the benefits of what you offer, or simply listing features?
Look at your local visibility. If you serve a particular area, make sure your location and service information are clear and consistent.
Improve your internal links. Help visitors move naturally from useful articles to relevant services.
Check Google Search Console. Find out which searches already bring people to your website and where you could improve.
Update an older article. Make it more useful, accurate and relevant rather than publishing something new for the sake of it.
You don’t need to tackle all seven today. Start with the one that’s most likely to make a difference to your customers.
SEO is a long game, but it’s worth playing
Here’s the thing about SEO: there isn’t a magic button that sends your website to the top of Google overnight.
Results depend on your competition, your website, the quality of your content, your reputation and plenty of other factors. Some improvements can make a difference relatively quickly, while others take much longer to show results.
Be wary of anyone promising guaranteed rankings or instant success. Good SEO is built on sound practices, useful content and a clear understanding of what your customers need.
At soandso marketing, we see SEO as part of a bigger picture. Your website needs to attract the right people, communicate your value and make it easy for them to get in touch.
Getting found is important. Giving people a reason to choose you is what happens next.
Need a hand getting your website working harder for your business?
Whether you need a new website, a review of your existing pages or help making sense of SEO, we can help you work out what needs attention and where to focus your efforts.
No jargon, no unnecessary complications. Just practical advice to help you make more of your online presence.
Let’s talk about your website.
