Top 10 SEO Tips for Small Businesses in 2021
A solid SEO strategy is an essential part of your digital marketing campaign. You need to optimize your website to ensure it gets the search engine top spots and that your target audience finds you first. For small business owners, SEO can be a technical challenge as it does require an understanding of web search trends. Google is constantly evolving its algorithms in order to rank sites according to authority, and coming up with new criteria to do so. At the moment the main focus is on user experience. This means you need to make your site appeal to today’s users to gain a competitive edge. Here are the top ten SEO tips for 2021 to help you do this.
Don’t prioritize bots over human users
The latest Google algorithm update puts a lot of emphasis on individual page experience. This means it analyzes many factors which determine the overall experience of the user on each page of your site. While you do need to use keywords and link building, or aspects of SEO a search engine bot might like, the important thing is optimizing your website for users. This means an impactful web design, engaging and appealing content, logical hierarchy, and fast loading pages.
Improve page load speed
Page load speed is a vital part of the user experience. Today’s users are impatient and if your site takes more than a couple of seconds to load they might abandon it. There are ways you can improve your page load speed. You should test this across different devices as well. After you’ve made some adjustment, run analytics to see if your bounce rate has improved. Here are the page speed best practices for 2021.
Optimize breadcrumbs and navigation
Clear navigation is another key factor in the user experience. You don’t want potential customers getting lost on your site. They may be linking in from other sites or Google searches and might not necessarily land on your home page. Breadcrumbs are the links that lead them back to the main pages. They’re often at the top of the page, according to the website hierarchy or product categories, for example. Search engine bots also recognize these and will rank your site higher. Find out more about how to use breadcrumbs.
Tell visitors what do with a CTA
An easy way to attract the attention of visitors to your site is with a strong call-to-action (CTA). These are the buttons you see with links attached, encouraging you to “find out more” or “get a free quote”, for instance. This will help to optimize your website for user experience and SEO because you are clearly telling visitors what to do. Their purpose is also to increase conversion rates. Here are some CTA examples to give you inspiration.
Include FAQ schema
You can also improve your SEO with FAQ schema. This is a type of coding which allows common FAQs to appear with answers on the search engine results pages. Potential customers will be able to easily find the information they’re looking for. Add self-service tools to your site as well such as chat bots. Today’s consumers prefer to be able to find information themselves quickly rather than waiting on hold on the phone.
Link out to authoritative sites
Posting links to other relevant sites, or even competitors is actually good for your SEO. This will give your visitors more information and at the same time allow the search engine bots to make connections. You’re therefore more likely to rank higher. Here is a beginner’s guide to link building which teaches you how to create both internal and external links.
Take a mobile-first approach
Over the last few years there has been a shift to the mobile-first approach. Most online searches leading to positive results are made on mobiles. Google also prioritizes mobile versions of sites. If you want to increase your conversion rate, one sure-fire way to do so is by optimizing your site for mobile users. You can perform a mobile/desktop parity audit, for example, which will allow you to check if there are any errors or differences between the desktop and mobile version of your site.
Cash in on long-tail keywords
Keyword optimization is another important aspect of your SEO strategy. You need to match the keywords and phrases potential customers search for in your content. It’s also recommended to create longer content with keyword rich headings and topic clusters. Include more content on your site related to the topic you want to appear as an authority on. You should also focus on long-tail keywords. These include more specific details about your products or services. Long-tail keywords are often more likely to lead to a conversion as they connect your business to exactly what people are looking for.
Use web analytics
In order to test which methods are best working for you, you need to use web analytics. Here is some of the best web analytics software in 2021 that will enable you to do so. By using analytics you can understand how your visitors arrived at your page and what encouraged them to stay. You can test which keywords are proving the most successful and which social media or ad campaigns are reaching out to the right people. It’s also possible to test the same things on your competitors sites, so you can get an edge above the rest.
Work with a digital marketing agency
If all this technical information sounds complicated, it’s a good idea to outsource to a digital marketing agency such as RSM Marketing. Even if you’re pretty tech savvy, it’s still recommended to enlist the help of experts. They will be able to provide you with professional insights and give you ideas you might not have thought of otherwise. A digital marketing agency that specializes in SEO will help get your website to the top spots. In 2021, your online presence is more important than ever, and you can boost this with a robust SEO strategy.