Search engine optimization (SEO) has become a highly valuable and necessary component of digital marketing. The purpose of SEO is to hit target areas that search engines look for when deciding where to rank websites. You can affect your SEO ranking with small business marketing tactics to have your website rank even higher. There are some important elements you should make sure you include when focusing on your own search engine optimization. 

Important Elements

There are several different aspects and elements search engines consider when ranking websites. However, to help small business marketing, they can be grouped into 2 main categories: on-page SEO and off-page SEO. 

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO elements are the pieces incorporated into search engine optimization that come directly from your website, usually “on the page” in the form of text or buttons, etc. 

Keywords

Keywords are “key” to building search engine optimization for your website. Focusing on keywords relevant to your business, services and products will help you rank organically on search engines, without having to spend money. However, these keywords need to be implemented “organically” into your website, otherwise the search engine will see that you’re trying to cheat the system. Introduce your keywords early on in the text of your site and in headings and subheadings as well. 

Meta Titles and Descriptions

When you search something that ranks well, due to its search engine optimization, you will see 2 different types of text associated with each result from your search. The first one, which you would click on to lead you to the website, is called the “meta title.” This is another great place to add keywords to help you rank higher as well. The text below it, that begins to describe the webpage, is called the “meta description.” 

However, search engines have specific rules for meta titles and descriptions, and if you don’t follow suit your SEO ranking will be lower. Meta titles are to be between 50-65 characters, and the meta description should be between 135-300 characters. Characters are counted differently than full words, and include things like spaces and punctuation. 

Man holding smart phone with icon graphics surrounding phone

Off-Page SEO

Off-page search engine optimization helps small business marketing by providing other, outside sources that will give more credibility to your website. 

Backlinks

Backlinks are kind of like a digital version of “word-of-mouth” information spreading. Backlinks are any sort of link that comes from anywhere other than your own website. Backlinks are very valuable because they can redirect or lead someone away from one page directly to one of yours, giving you more tracking and conversion data

Creating backlinks can be tricky, however, since it requires consent from other websites and sources to display your content or link back to your website. The best way is to create credibility, so that people will want to link to your website or content for its valuable information. Copywriting and blogging services work wonders for small business marketing. This service helps to build organic keywords and establish a source of educational information that will help your website rank higher through search engine optimization. 

Social Media

A strong social media presence related to your business will provide more, alternate results on search engines, still related to you and your company. Creating social media business pages will help spread the word about your services and products. More so, it will help customers become more familiar with your business and reach specific target audiences with small business marketing. 

BRMC Specializes in SEO!

Blue Ridge Media Company in Lakewood, OH, offers all types of digital marketing services! From SEO to web development and anything in between, we can get your business running smoothly and generate even more leads! Call us at (888) 535-2762 or visit our website today!