SEO strategies are more complex, data-driven, and user-focused than ever before. To help small businesses optimise their digital presence, we’ve compiled some of the best SEO practices for small businesses, along with key trends to watch for in the future.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It is the practice of improving your website so that it ranks higher in search engine results, like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. It involves a range of strategies and techniques that help search engines understand and value your website's content. SEO includes optimising your site’s structure, content, keywords, link structure, images and user experience to increase its visibility when users search for relevant terms.

SEO is essential for small businesses because it can increase the online presence, help reach more customers, and improve the business's performance without requiring a huge financial investment.

1. Increased visibility and traffic: Most consumers start their buying journey with a search engine. If your business website appears in relevant search results, it can drive more organic (unpaid) traffic to your site. Higher visibility means more potential customers will find your business.
2. Cost-effective: Unlike paid advertising (PPC), SEO is an organic method that doesn’t require ongoing payment to keep appearing in search results. It’s a long-term investment that helps small businesses compete with larger companies on a budget.
3. Better user experience: SEO focuses not only on ranking but also on improving the user experience (UX). A website that’s easy to navigate, loads quickly, and provides relevant information will encourage visitors to stay longer, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
4. Builds credibility and trust: Websites that rank higher in search results are often perceived as more trustworthy and credible. SEO helps build this authority by optimising for factors that show search engines your site is valuable and relevant.
5. Targeted marketing: SEO helps small businesses target specific audiences who are actively searching for products or services similar to theirs. With the right keywords and content, your business can reach people who are ready to buy.
6. Competitive advantage: Small businesses often face stiff competition. By investing in SEO, a small business can level the playing field and compete with bigger businesses that may have larger marketing budgets.

1. User Experience (UX) is more important than ever

Search engine algorithms prioritise websites that provide an excellent user experience (UX). Factors like page load speed, mobile responsiveness, and intuitive navigation are crucial ranking signals.

Businesses must regularly improve their content and design to ensure websites are easy to use, have fast load times, and provide a consistent experience across all platforms, focusing on reducing clutter and improving accessibility. This improves visitor retention, engagement, and conversion rates, all of which contribute to higher search engine results and overall business success.

Search engines like Google prioritise websites that offer a great user experience (UX). Google’s goal is the same as yours: to connect users with the most relevant content. By focusing on key UX factors, you’ll not only satisfy visitors but also improve your rankings, as both Google and users want to easily find valuable, well-organised content.

• Check page load speed
  
  • Why it matters: Search engines like Google prioritise fast-loading websites because they provide a better experience for users.
    
  • Action: Use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights or GTMetrix to test your speed.
  • Tip: Compress images, reduce file sizes, leverage browser caching and minimise JavaScript and CSS files to improve load times.
     
• Ensure mobile responsiveness
  
  • Why it matters: With more users browsing on mobile devices, Google prioritises mobile-friendly sites in search rankings.
    
  • Action: Test your site with the free tool PageSpeed Insights.
  • Tip: Make sure your design adjusts to all screen sizes, and check font sizes and clickable areas.
     
• Improve navigation
  
  • Why it matters: A clear, intuitive site navigation improves user satisfaction and helps search engines understand the structure of your website.
    
  • Action: Make your menu simple and logical, with key pages accessible within 1 or 2 clicks.
  • Tip: Include a search bar for easier access to content.
     
• Optimise accessibility
  
  • Why it matters: Accessible websites offer better user experiences for people with disabilities and may improve SEO as search engines favour accessible sites.
    
  • Action: Check accessibility with Accessibility Scanner - Android accessibility Help.
  • Tip: Use proper contrast, alt text for images, and ensure your forms are accessible.
     
• Enhance content readability
  
  • Why it matters: Content that’s easy to read and digest improves engagement, which can indirectly boost your SEO.
    
  • Action: Break content into short paragraphs and use tools like Hemingway Editor for clarity.
  • Tip: Use headings and bullet points to improve skimmability.
     
• Test user interaction
  
  • Why it matters: Understanding how users interact with your website helps you identify pain points and areas of improvement, increasing conversions and engagement.
    
  • Action: Use tools like Hotjar to analyse how users interact with your site.
  • Tip: Identify areas where users drop off and make improvements.

2. The importance of internal link structure and link equity for small businesses

Internal linking is a powerful, cost-effective SEO strategy that improves both user experience and search engine visibility. By connecting pages on your website with strategic internal links and relevant anchor text, you help users navigate your site and enable effective signalling to search engines showing which pages are important, contributing to better visibility and improved keyword targeting.

• Improve user navigation and engagement
  Internal links are an effective way to guide visitors through your website, helping them discover additional content that’s relevant to their interests. By offering easy access to related pages, you can keep users engaged longer and encourage them to explore more, which can increase conversions and reduce bounce rates. Using descriptive, contextually relevant anchor text also helps visitors understand exactly what they’ll find on the linked pages.
  
  
• Aid search engines in crawling and understanding site structure
  A clear internal linking structure makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site and index your pages. It helps search engines understand the relationships between different pieces of content and establishes the hierarchy of your site. Pages that are linked to more often are seen as more important by search engines, so linking your most important pages throughout your site boosts their chances of ranking higher in search results.
  
  
• Support keyword targeting and improve visibility
  Internal links also play a key role in keyword targeting. By linking to specific pages with relevant, keyword-rich anchor text, you’re giving search engines a clearer idea of the page’s content and its relevance to particular search queries.
  
  By building a well-thought-out internal linking strategy, small businesses can contribute to a site’s overall SEO, helping search engines identify which pages should be prioritised and increasing their chances of ranking for targeted keywords. Ultimately boosting SEO performance and helping them stand out in search results.

3. E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) remains a key ranking factor

Search engines like Google continue to emphasise the importance of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness) for evaluating content. To improve your website’s E-E-A-T, focus on creating high-quality, well-researched, and trustworthy content that reflects genuine experience.

How to Build E-E-A-T:

• Publish well-researched, authoritative content: Content should be written with expert knowledge and ideally reflect experience with the subject matter.
• Include author bios with qualifications and credentials: Ensure your content is written by credible authors, and provide author bios with relevant qualifications, credentials, and experience in the field.
• Earn backlinks from reputable websites to boost a website’s authority: High-quality backlinks from trustworthy and authoritative sites signal to search engines that your content is reliable and should be ranked higher.

4. Content Quality and Relevance are Non-Negotiable

Creating high-quality, relevant content that aligns with user intent is crucial for SEO success. User intent refers to the reason behind a user's search query, whether they’re looking for information, making a purchase, or seeking a solution to a problem. Search engines algorithms are increasingly sophisticated in understanding the context and intent behind search queries, so ensure that a business content matches what users are actively searching for.

Content Tips:

• Create In-Depth, Comprehensive Articles: Develop detailed content that thoroughly answers users' questions and provides valuable insights.
• Optimise for Conversational Search: Use long-tail keywords that are specific, multi-word phrases that reflect more precise search queries. Think to cater to users who search using voice or informal queries.
• Keep Content Fresh: Regularly update older content to ensure it stays relevant and informative, reflecting the latest trends, information and statistics.

Watch our video showcasing Keri from SnowWindows on our YouTube page to showcase some key strategies to implement an online business.

5. Voice search optimisation continues to grow

With the increasing use of voice search, optimising for current and emerging technology is essential. Voice searches tend to be longer and more conversational, so focusing on natural language and question-based queries will help improve a website's visibility.

To start optimising for voice search, small businesses should focus on conversational, question-based keywords and prioritise local SEO with an updated Google My Business profile. Creating FAQ pages, using structured data markup and free tools such as Schema.org, and aiming for featured snippets can improve visibility. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, fast, and optimised for "near me" searches. Write in natural language and monitor analytics to refine your strategy. These steps will help enhance your online presence and attract voice search users effectively.

Voice search optimisation tips:

• Incorporate long-tail keywords and natural phrasing into the website’s content.
• Focus on answering common questions in a clear and concise manner.
• Optimise for local searches, as many voice searches are location specific.

6. Visual search and image optimisation

Visual search tools are gaining popularity, making image optimisation a key focus. SEO isn’t just about optimising text content—images and visuals play a significant role in driving traffic.

Best practices for visual search:

• Use high-quality, relevant images: Ensure images are clear, relevant, and aligned with the content they accompany. Include descriptive file names that accurately reflect the image.
• Add alt text: alt text (alternative text) is a description of an image that helps search engines understand its content. It also improves accessibility for users with visual impairments. Ensure the alt text is descriptive, concise, and includes relevant keywords when appropriate.
• Compress images: Compressing images reduces file size without sacrificing quality, helping to maintain fast load times for your website. A great free tool for this is TinyPNG, which effectively compresses PNG and JPEG images.

• Keyword research and integration
  
  • Solution: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to find relevant terms. Naturally integrate these into titles, meta descriptions, headers, and throughout your content, keeping user search intent in mind.
• Meta titles and descriptions
  
  • Solution: Write engaging meta titles (60 characters max) and descriptions (155 characters max) that include your primary keyword and a call to action. These elements are crucial for both search engines and user click-throughs.
• Site speed
  
  • Solution: Compress images, use caching plugins, and minimise CSS/JavaScript files. Tools like GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights can help you improve load times, supporting both better user experience and SEO.
• High-quality content
  
  • Solution: Create fresh, in-depth content that answers user queries. Use tools like Answer The Public to find trending questions in your niche. High-quality content strengthens your site’s relevance and trustworthiness.
• Internal linking
  
  • Solution: Link related articles, product pages, or categories to improve site navigation and help search engines crawl your site more effectively.
• Broken links
  
  • Solution: Use tools like Broken Link Checker or Screaming Frog to find and fix broken links, ensuring a seamless user experience and better SEO health.
• Image optimisation
  
  • Solution: Add descriptive alt text to all images and compress them with tools like TinyPNG to reduce file size without losing quality, improving both load times and accessibility.

As a small business, it’s crucial to think about how your target customers search for products or services. Consider their questions, language, and what solutions they’re seeking. This checklist reinforces many of the key steps we’ve discussed earlier, ensuring your site is user-friendly, relevant, and visible to search engines.

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