Top SEO Factors for Small Business 

Boost Exposure to the Right People

As of 2023, there are approximately 33.3 million small businesses in the United States. Interestingly, a significant proportion of these businesses—about 26.5 million—are run by a single person (80%), meaning they have no employees apart from the owner. If they were to dedicate time to one marketing channel, it should be search engine optimization. When done right, business owners web pages will show up on the top of search results, bringing them new prospects. It’s hard to know which “paid channels” are the best invesment, but if you invest in SEO, it keeps working after you’ve paid for the content infastructure. 

How has SEO Changed?

• Organic search is now the primary source of website traffic
• Google Core Updates (ongoing – check out this one from August 2024)
• AI & Machine Learning
• Video SEO Growth
• Google My Business (GMB) Prominence
• Quality Links vs Quantity
• Google Search Essentials (Technical Requirements, Spam Policies & Key Best Practices)
• E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness)

Why SEO?

Local SEO is less critical for large businesses, which often have a broader, sometimes national or international, customer base. If they have credible brands, the product or service continues to grow via branded-search and word of mouth. Bigger brands with good reviews have a higher potential for an online following so it’s easier to attract and convert buyers.  Local businesses don’t have as deep of pockets, so SEO can really put them in front of their target audience with minimal paid advertising investment. Large businesses often have more resources to allocate toward a variety of marketing channels, including paid advertising, influencer partnerships, and large-scale campaigns.

Cost Effectiveness

Small businesses often have limited marketing budgets and business owners have limited time. As entrepreneurs, they do like to DIY, so we’re recommending SEO. Our agency specializes in small business growth, so we continuously evaluate high return on investment. SEO, when done well, can drive organic traffic without the need for large advertising spends, making it a cost-effective way to attract customers.

Levels the Playing Field

Business owners know that being in business itself is a competitive game. That said, in the early stages of building a business, owners learn real quick how long it takes to build a brand and keep that revenue stream coming in. SEO can bring in new leads so all they have to do is focus on closing the deal (and being able to deliver). Unlike paid advertising, where larger budgets often win, SEO success is based on relevance, content quality, and user experience.

Long-Term Benefits 

SEO efforts compound over time, making it a long-term strategy that continues to bring in organic traffic well into the future. This long-term benefit is vital for small businesses that may not have the resources to continuously fund expensive marketing campaigns.

SEO Factors for Main Street Business

What even is a “main street business”? 

It’s a small to mid-sized, locally owned business that typically serves its community directly and operates in traditional industries such as retail, services, or hospitality. These businesses are often seen as the backbone of local economies and are typically located in central or “main street” areas of towns or cities. Main Street businesses are often locally owned and operated, so their primary concern is maintaining profitability to support the owner’s livelihood, their employees, and the community. Achieving steady, sustainable profits is more important than rapid growth for most of these businesses.

Factors that Impact Local Search

Local, or Mainstreet, businesses need to learn about “local SEO”. There is such a thing and the strategy is different from general SEO (which is typically regional or national).

• Local Citations: Local citations (mentions of the business name, address, and phone number on other websites) and backlinks from local sources contribute to a business’s local SEO. Google’s algorithms consider the consistency of these citations and the authority of the sites they appear on when ranking local search results.
• Proximity is a major factor in local search, as Google’s algorithms prioritize businesses that are physically close to the user’s location. This is especially important for mobile searches.
• Google My Business (GMB): GMB is a free profile for businesses to show up on Google Search, Maps, and Shopping. Google My Business is a critical component of local search. When users search for businesses or services near them, Google often pulls data from GMB listings. A GMB profile can significantly impact a business’s visibility in local search results.
• Relevance: When you search for a business on Google, you might see a map along with a list of nearby businesses at the top of the search results. This feature is commonly referred to as the “local pack” or “map pack.”
• Reviews & Ratings: Positive reviews can enhance a business’s visibility, while negative reviews can have the opposite effect. Google’s algorithms assess the quantity, quality, and recency of reviews to determine which businesses should rank higher.
• Appear in local search results, making them more visible to potential customers in their immediate vicinity

Local Business Combined with National Ecommerce

Key Strategies for Ecommerce SEO:

• Keyword Targeting: Focus on broad, high-volume keywords related to your products (e.g., “buy running shoes online”). These keywords are not location-specific but instead target anyone searching for products across the country.
• Product Pages Optimization: Optimize individual product pages with relevant keywords, high-quality images, detailed product descriptions, and user reviews to rank for specific product searches.
• Blog and Content Marketing: Create informative content around trending industry topics, product comparisons, how-to guides, or related topics to drive traffic. This helps with ranking for long-tail and informational queries.
• Link Building: Build high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites to improve domain authority and rankings for competitive national keywords.
• Technical SEO: Ensure the website has fast load times, mobile responsiveness, and a strong internal linking structure to optimize the user experience for all visitors, regardless of location.
• Google Business Profile: Even for ecommerce, having a Google Business Profile can help if the business also has a physical presence. This can boost visibility for local searches such as “clothing store near me” or “local delivery.”