The greatest challenge for small business owners is how to perform a detailed SEO check-up on their website without going over a limited budget. SEO is crucial for getting small businesses noticed online, where most of today’s consumers are searching for the next product or service they will purchase. If you are a small business entrepreneur who is struggling to get your website a better ranking on search engines, you have landed on the ultimate guide that will show you how to use effectively implement SEO techniques so your website could achieve greater online visibility.
Install Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that helps you understand your audience – for free! With this online tool, you can determine which sites are sending your website the most traffic to and understand how your site visitors behave on every page of your website. All you need to do is create a Google Analytics account then install your tracking code on your website. If your website was built in WordPress, there is a simple plugin that is also free that you can use. If you need help with how this tool works, there is an online learning center loaded with self-study courses to help you get familiar with all of the features in Google Analytics.
Check Your Site in Google Webmaster Tools
Google Webmaster Tools is another free tool that helps you make sure that there are no “Manual Actions” active against your website. To put it simply, these are penalties which may be preventing your website from being able to rank on Google.
The process is quite simple. First, visit Webmaster Tools, and click “Add Site”. Next, click “Alternate Methods” to verify your website using Google Analytics. Then click “Google Analytics” as your verification method. Once your website has been added, you can check on your dashboard if there are any critical issues that might be affecting your Google search rankings.
Conduct a Competitive Analysis
There are websites such as SimilarWeb and Site Alerts which allow you to view statistics for any website and yes, this is also free! All you need to do is enter the URL of a competitor’s site and you’re all set. Know where your competitors are getting their traffic and which keywords they are ranking for. You can also see how effective their social media networks are in driving traffic to their website. Knowing these can help you leverage on your competitors’ strengths and adapt your strategies based on what works. You can also invest in online SEO training and learn more digital marketing techniques for your small business.
Add Your Business to Local Listings
If your business focuses on local traffic, make sure that you have complete and consistent online local profiles. You can obtain better local rankings with Moz Local or Yext, where you can submit your business’s NAP (name, address, and phone number) and make sure that your business is showing up exactly the way you need to show up to your target audience.
Check Your Site Speed
The speed at which your website loads actually affects your search engine rankings. Google’s PageSpeed tools allows you to use resources that can increase your page-load time. If you’re using WordPress, you can instantly increase your website’s page-load efficiency with a plugin like WP Super Cache.
With these simple tips that practically involves free tools, you are now ready to see your website gain greater online visibility and more site visitors checking what your business has to offer.
Michelle Rubio is an experienced SEO copywriter and blogger since 2010. She has been working with various businesses, big and small, in the United States, UK, Canada, and Australia. You can see more of her works and experiences in her LinkedIn profile.