Read time: ~10 minutes depending on how you read
Welcome or welcome back to 10-minute SEO tips for small businesses — part two! In version I, I covered 3 free tools to set up to help you manage your SEO.
In part II of SEO tips for your small business, we’re looking at your statement piece, your foyer, your first impression. AKA your website and 6 SEO pieces that can help you nail your SEO.
Before we get off on the wrong track, let me be honest with you, this is actually a 10-minute read, jam-packed with info. Be fully aware that diving into each tip will take a lot more time so… plan accordingly.
Let’s get into these 6 SEO tips for small businesses!
1. Keyword research
Before you start writing or even outlining, you need to do keyword research.
SEO is all about helping people find you and that’s done by optimizing your website for the words and phrases people are searching for when looking for your product/solution. Keyword research is the process of researching just exactly what those phrases are.
Not only can keywords help you rank higher in the search results, the more people who click on your website and find it helpful (through interactions and dwell time) the more Google associates your page with those search terms and the higher your website continues to rank.
Keyword research is extremely important because you could have the most beautiful website with the best website copy but if you’re not reaching the people searching for you, you’re wasting a lot of time, effort, and money.
If you don’t know how to do keyword research, it can be intimidating and if you feel like you need to outsource it, that’s what I’m here for.
2. Headings
Headings, the H1-H4 on your website builder, are important for your SEO because they tell Google what is important and how important that item is..
They do not refer to the size of the text in your website builder. Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t originally set my website up that way (long before my SEO days).
Let’s break them down headings really quickly.
H1
There should only be ONE H1 per page and it should be good.
The H1 tells Google (and your reader) what the page is about. You can make it a cute, fun title but make sure you’re using your keyword(s). And yes, it should be at the top of the page.
H2
All of your website headings should read like a book report outline. Your H2 should support the main points/topics on your page.
H2’s tell the reader (and Google) what topic/main points your website will be discussing.
You want to sprinkle in your keywords throughout the H2’s where appropriate but you don’t need to use a keyword in every single H2. It should be easily skimmable but above all else you want to make sure it sounds natural and readable.
As long as you have your keyword(s) in a few of the H2’s you’re g2g.
H3
H3’s help to guide the narrative, but the world wouldn’t end if they weren’t there.
You don’t need keyword(s) in your H3’s but if it naturally fits that’s a bonus.
Let me get really real with you though. Your copy should naturally fit with your keywords unless you’re in a unique niche/situation. If you’re finding your keywords and copy aren’t working together, take a look at some tips for crafting great website copy.
Shameless plug alert: If it’s still not working out, maybe you need a copy refresh or entirely new copy, 🤷🏻♀️ get in touch with me and let’s talk about it.
3. SEO titles (title tags)
SEO titles are also referred to as Title Tags. This is the title of your page/blog that appears in the search results.
You should have ONE engaging keyword-rich H1 per page, but sometimes (oftentimes) they’re too long or not descriptive enough. The SEO title is a shortened version that appears in the search results (see image in #4).
Your SEO title needs to be specific for Google (keywords) yet enticing and accurate for readers.
You want to do 4 things with your SEO title:
- Always make sure your SEO title is relevant to the page it’s going to.
- Incorporate your keyword(s) into the SEO title.
- Keep it under 60 characters.
- Make sure to specify your SEO title on the backend of your website.
Let’s break it down.
Always make sure your SEO title is relevant to the page it’s going to
A lot of things are bad for SEO and not being relevant is one of them.
Google takes note of how long people stay on your page and how quickly they close out. The duration someone stays on your page tells Google whether or not they’re finding the information useful based on what they searched for.
The more people who find your information useful (by staying on your page and interacting) the more Google will begin to serve your page to similar searches moving your website higher and higher in ranking.
Incorporate your keyword(s) into the SEO title
Every SEO title should contain the keyword you’re targeting. It should be at the beginning, make it make sense, and keep it enticing enough that your potential customer wants to click on it. (No pressure).
It should either be the same as your H1 or a similar, shortened version.
Keep it under 60 characters
The SEOs at Moz recommend keeping your SEO title under 60 characters. Technically it’s measured by pixels but nobody has time for that. If your H1 is longer than 60 characters or you want to make a new, better SEO title, use this tracker from Moz and check your title length/play around with what you can do.
For example, I have a blog titled (h1): ‘Want The Best Website Homepage Content? Use These 9 Tips To Figure Out What To Write In The Homepage Of Your Website’. That’s obviously more than 60 characters so I made a shorter SEO title that will show up in the search results: ‘9 Tips for Crafting The Best Website Homepage Content’.
Make sure to specify your SEO title on the backend of your website
Lastly, the best part about Google is that you could make the best H1, the best SEO title, set it up on the backend, and Google won’t use it. I love that for us.
A lot of website services like Squarespace will tell you it’s optional, but it’s always a good idea to set it up on the backend.
I used Squarespace for my website so if I was adjusting my SEO title, this is how it would go. (login)
- Pages
- Click the gear icon on the page you want to adjust
- Go to the SEO section
- There’s an option for ‘SEO Title (optional)’ and that’s where you’ll want to put in your fancy, well-thought-out title. Squarespace gives you 100 characters but keep it under 60.
4. Meta Descriptions
A meta description is a ~150-character preview underneath the SEO title what the article/webpage is about. Squarespace calls it an SEO Description as you can see from the screenshot in #3.
In the image below you can see I searched for “food waste environmental impacts”.
Using this result from the US Dept. of Ag below are the SEO title and meta description.
- The SEO Title/Title Tag is: Food Waste And It’s Links to Greenhouse Gases…
- The meta description is the text after the date (June 24, 2022) that starts “Food loss and waste also exacerbates the climate crisis…”
The meta description tells the reader what they can expect from this article/page.
On a page where every SEO title is a version of the next one, a meta description is where you stand out.
You get ~150 characters to use your keyword, explain your page, and convince people they want to click on it. That’s really all there is to it.
And if you find yourself spending 20+ minutes just working on the meta description, well, you’re not alone.
P.S. This is one instance where I say use the AI; it’s a great resource for generating ideas but please don’t copy and paste. Use it to brainstorm and Frankenstein a meta description that fits your brand, your target audience, and the piece of content you’re writing.
5. Images
Images are important for any website. They help us visualize and imagine, but images can make or break how people respond to your website.
They can impact your SEO in a few different ways:
- Images should be formatted for size so they don’t cause loading issues. (under 300kb)
- Images should have short, keyword rich alt text to help people with visual impairments and image loading malfunctions.
- Images should be royalty-free and/or should be owned by you.
Google also reads images so it helps it to determine what your page is about when you include keywords, but there’s no need to get carried away.
How to write alt text
Keyword: Destination Beach Wedding
What Not To Do: A destination beach wedding set up with white chairs and a white cloth-based wooden arbor set against a beach background with black signs on each of the end chairs and a person standing on the dock in the far background.
What To Do: A destination beach wedding setup in Mexico.
6. Word count & content
Here comes my favorite part, the content!
Throughout the years as Google updates its rules, performance, and metric, the quality of the content is always on the list. And with every update Google’s ability to determine quality content gets better and better.
Google is all about the experience people have when they’re on a website and good content is a major part of that.
Good content always gets rewarded.
Each page should have a minimum of 300 words and each blog should have a minimum of 1,500 words.
If you’re going for a sleek vibe with minimal words and you don’t want 300 words, just promise me you won’t try to hide words. You can put the words in bullet points, you can put them in a drop down, but whatever you do, do not make them the same color as your background.
Get creative!
For example, on a blog page, 300 words felt like too much in one place, so split it up, get creative.
- Maybe you add an FAQ section
- Or a review section
- Play around and see what works best for you — or consult an expert (it’s me, I’m the expert).
Lastly, make great content. In theory, it sounds easy, but what makes great content?
- It solves problems
- It answers questions
- It’s original (looking at you Chat GPT)
- It’s intentional — it serves a purpose
- It’s authoritative
- It gives the people what they want
- It gives Google what it wants (EEAT: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness)
Wrapping It Up
Okay, you made it, how are you feeling?
Hopefully super great and totally not overwhelmed at all! I know it’s a lot of information but if you’re really committed to DIYing it, go point by point and make your optimizations as you can.
When you take a step back and think about what Google wants, it all makes sense.
- Make content that your audience wants to read
- Use expertise and authority to confirm what you’re saying (looking at you ChatGPT)
- Organize it so Google can crawl it
- Create a good website experience
- Make sure it works across all devices
- And tell Google what you’re up to so it can crawl and index you
I have absolutely no doubt you can do it but if all of this sounds like something you don’t want to deal with or you simply don’t have the time, I do!
Schedule an appointment, DM me on Instagram (but please don’t expect an instant reply), I’d love to hear from you!
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