Let’s talk showing up online and SEO for small businesses. For many small business owners, marketing often feels like a ‘necessary evil’ and SEO, especially, feels hard, technical, boring and confusing. (Nodding along? We feel your pain)
We’ve all heard the cries to ‘work on your SEO’ but beyond ‘keywords, ranking, Google’ – how many of us are left asking the question “Does SEO really work for a freelancer/small business like mine?” or “SEO is for business people only, what can it offer those of us in the non-profit space?
Intro
When we set up our own small business, The Werks, our first clients had heard something of SEO but didn’t really know what it meant to actually have a website optimized for search or how their other marketing efforts fit in alongside SEO. In some cases SEO was something entirely separate to what they were doing to show up online – and that’s an idea we want to challenge.
SEO does not have to feel rigid, boring or impersonal. Something that’s only for big brands with huge teams and mega bucks. Improving your SEO doesn’t have to feel rigid, boring or impersonal. And, big AND – it’s more than turning up #1 on an online google search.
Search Engine Optimisation : Let’s Get Visible Visible
If you’re a freelancer or run a small business or non-profit team, you know that your work is not going to have its best chance at succeeding if no-one knows about you.
One of our main priorities when we started The Werks was to get ourselves known and get the word out there that we were open for business.
(Confession time – we’re website advocates and think every business should have one. But we first got active on social media and took on clients before our own website was launched. It’s ok to rent the air bnb whilst you look around for your long term home.)
Our plan to increase our online visibility informed our SEO keyword research, shaped our brand identity and focused our core messaging.
In the same way that website design and website copywriting should never operate entirely independent of each other, any SEO work that is done, needs to be part of the bigger business picture to make the kind of impact it should.
Early on in our freelance journey, we shared this infographic to highlight how much broader SEO is than just ranking #1 on a search engine. Understanding this is important (and freeing!) for those of us who work solo or with a small team of others.
Reframing SEO
So, if ranking number 1 on google is not our (only) goal for visibility and marketing –
then what is?
Here are some other ways to understand the SEO acronym
- Search Everywhere Online
- Seen Everywhere Online
- Show up Everywhere Online
And by everywhere, we really don’t mean literally everywhere! Without a supportive and dedicated team, trying to be everywhere is fast track ticket towards burn-out.
By ‘everywhere’, we mostly mean, those places where you want to be and where your audience is, too.
SEO and AI – what’s happening here?
At this point, there is no one in the business world who hasn’t heard of AI – the minute you open up your browser or social media app, AI is there looking right back at you.
However you feel about AI (we have mixed feelings here) – as small business owners, it’s helpful to know how AI is shaping the way people search.
Or more accurately, how businesses are being found.
Google’s main priotiry is well, itself. The new AI mode means Google is essentially pivoting from a search engine to an ‘answer engine’ and AI mode is their way of keeping as much as possible withing the google ecosystem.
There are (understandably) plently of people in the SEO panic/worry zone as they wonder whether previous ways of succeeding through SEO will still work.
Nikki Pilkington, SEO Godmother (our nickname for her) says none of us need to panic. Optimising for search is still about being helpful and findable for the people looking for what you offer.
(If you want to go deeper into this, word on the street is that Nikki’s is updating her deep dive DIY SEO courses to include specific modules on getting AI mode ready for small businesses)
SEO Expanded
Some experts are now saying that instead of SEO, businesses should focus on SBO (Search Brand Optimisation) – where the brand/business name itself becomes the keyword that people search for.
This is not a new concept really – small business owners have always been aware of the value of their name and reputation. But maybe, because of the limited message about SEO mainly being about ranking 1st on google, we’ve underestimated the importance of building a name people search for, on purpose.
What might our efforts look like if we take an expanded view on SEO?
Digital PR : Guest blog articles, Press features, Round up ‘best of’ articles, Podcast appearances (or run your own)
In person : Networking events, guest speaking, panel speaker, hosting informal business breakfasts
Backlinks : these are like digital referrals this is where other websites link to your website (through guest blog articles, online magazine/press features, podcast show notes)
Google Business Profile : did you know you can ‘post’ to your google business account in the same way you do on social media like facebook or instagram? Set up a google business profile
Content creation (blogging, social media): new helpful content translates into ‘active’ business, into knowledgeable business, into trustworthy business.
Website Tech Optimisation : a well running website will be shown in search results sooner than one that isn’t
Social media : Yes, people are using social media as search sources. If your ideal clients are looking there, you might want to be found by them there.
Referrals : similar to backlinks but they can happen on and offline, whenever your work is recommended by someone else.
Take another look at our infographic. 2 questions we ask ourselves and clients we work with
- what resources might potential clients or donors use to learn more about you your work?
- what steps can I take so that those resources showcase you and your work in a positive way?
There’s a lot to choose from and you don’t need to focus on everything.
The point is, all of these things send signals to search engines AND, most importantly, to people that your business is a really good match for the question they are asking or the challenge they are facing.
Just like taking vitamins, small regular doses of focused activity are best – more manageable, more enjoyable and therefore, more sustainable.
Wrap up : Optimising for search with purpose and, on purpose.
People will always search -on and offline. Even with all the changes that AI brings – small businesses can still be successful by building a brand that people search for by name.
No, it’s not one of those over night get-trust-quick schemes. It’s about a journey from ‘we exist’ – to ‘good to see you again’ and an awareness that builds up with time and effort.
Optimising your website for search is less about obsessing over website speed or shoving in keywords left, right and center and more about the freedom to create a digital space that you own, that reflects who you are and is a place that visitors want to keep coming back to (and telling their friends about, too).
That’s why we’re convinced that SEO is more than ranking on google – it’s about connection – with humans and in the places they are.
SEO, at its heart, has always been about being visible online and being helpful for people looking for answers to their questions. And that’s one thing we don’t think AI or all the ways tech is evolving, will ever change.
When we work with you on building your website, our goal is to get you and your work seen, heard and valued by all the right people.
We’ll come alongside you to identify where to focus on in your website SEO and online presence to grow your income and your impact in a way that matches the direction and goals of your business.