7 SEO Tips for Business Owners, Professional Practices, and Entrepreneurs

Search Engine Optimization is the skilled practice of getting your webpage ranked first on search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

The art of SEO is what aids in the success or failure of your business. It can determine whether you or your competition is shown first to a searching client. The proper SEO keywords on your website can rank you first on search engines and bring you more business. With improper SEO tactics on your website, you stand the chance of being blacklisted and not ranking in Google and other search engines. Learning the ins and outs of search engine optimization does not have to be left up to rocket scientists. Let’s look at some basic SEO tips for business owners and entrepreneurs.

There is a method to SEO that ensures organic search results to yield more business and clients. Behind the method is the worldly known secret of less is more. A webpage that overdoes it on the SEO tactics is less likely to come up in an organic search on a search engine. You can actually be making your page rank lower by trying every tactic in the book. Your webpage needs to contain the perfect number of keywords, meta descriptions, graphics titles and many more types of content features.

What should you do?

SEO keywords are the keywords or phrases in your website's content that make it possible for your website to result in a search engine search. There are thousands and countless amounts of keywords and phrases that can be implemented into your website. Each day the popularity of each word is changing. There are specific keywords that should be included on your website. Some of the specific areas of keywords revolve around: location, service, and industry. To be top ranked, it’s important to get creative with your keywords.

What should you do?

It’s important to know which keywords help your business’ website to thrive. As the business owner, you should know better than anyone all the factors that are associated with your business. For example, a flower shop owner should know the specific type of flower a customer is searching for, as well as types of arrangements, locations arrangements can be sent to, and price points.

You can also check how keywords rank in Google, Yahoo, and Bing. They have a constantly updating list of the best keywords for brands and industries alike. Google also has a paid service for keyword planning. It will showcase the top of keyword trends to refine search campaigns and ensure content remains relevant.

Like previously mentioned, technology is ever-changing. There will always be a new business or competitor that is going to be launching a fresh piece of content. Regardless of which industry you are in, it is important to keep the content on your website up to date. A website with stale information or data is less likely to come up in an organic search.

What should you do?

Allot a few hours each month, or quarter, to refreshing the content on your website. Many different features of your website need to be updated regularly – photos, social media, and tactical information (phone number, email, etc.). Be sure to go over each page slowly – reread the content, make sure the images are connected to your message and be sure that all back-links flow. Include a few internal and external links for various elements connected to your business (ex. A portfolio, social media, directory listing).

You are more than a business - it’s important to remember that you are a service. Put yourself in the client's shoes, think about questions or problems that they might be having, and then how they might be searching online for that problem. You can draw a string from different sectors in your industry to your personal business, and they should show up somewhere on your website.

What should you do?

Write the content for your website as if you are the client who is searching for that information. Ask yourself what it is that you would want to know on the first glimpse, which questions should be answered somewhere on your site, and how they can all be connected.

It’s important to also pay attention to the tone of voice and the verbiage that is used on your website– less is always more. You should have a page that can go into detail of all services or products that are offered – and you should also have a quick summary on your main page of what you do. That summary should include some of the major keywords that are related to your business and thus, the words clients will be using when searching for you online.

Meta descriptions are a short summary of your page’s content. A meta description can be added to each page/post of your website. This description is shown in most search engines. In Google, the meta description is the small paragraph that is below the title of the page. It should include the keywords and points of the page and should be taken directly from the site.

What should you do?

The meta description is one of the most crucial factors for SEO. This is the first look a client has into your website. It should include a few specific things:

• It should be written with a call to action (something to entice the reader to click through)

• It should be written in an exciting active voice

• It should include specific content (ex. A product number or specific service)

• It should contain the focus keyword (or a few if they are related to the content of the page)

• It should be taken directly from the content (can be reworded)

Social Media is a growing tool for SEO. Although it cannot directly link to your website, there are ways around that. One of the newest growing marketing techniques is to utilize bloggers and their blogs. They can create posts that link to your website or they can share your pages directly.

Another factor is that it is another destination for clients to find you, once you have filled out the required content on social media (bio, phone number, etc.). They will then be linked with their own keywords and then will be as searchable as your website on search engines.

What should you do?

Get on social media! It doesn’t take a genius for this step. Simply create yourself an account on the various existing platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and just show up. The key to social media is consistency. So, take some of those specific keywords that we talked about and implement them into your social media – use a hashtag, location, or even include it in your caption.

Google Analytics is a free tool that anyone with access to the websites back system can access. You can check out the performance of your website to get a better idea of what is performing and what isn’t.

What should you do?

Take time to review your website's analytics. Then find the weak performers on your website and restructure them. Do this on a regular basis to ensure your search engine rank remains top.

Search Engine Optimization is not a one and done type of deal – it is an everlasting, ever-changing business practice. Be sure to take the time each month to review your SEO strategies and implement the new tools that you have learned. After implementing these strategies your business should adherently begin to grow. The next time a new client walks in the door, thank your newly implemented strategies.

At Dr. Marketing we will keep you updated on any new and revolutionary SEO strategies that might come up. Be sure to check back to our blog regularly for more ways to improve your business' website.

Don’t think you’re ready to handle SEO tactics on your own? We get it! There are hundreds of different programs and tactics one should use to ensure their page is top ranked. At Dr. Marketing, we excel in SEO, and frankly, it’s one of our passions.

Give us a call by clicking the button below to see how we can improve your websites rank on search engines.