3 Essential SEO Tips for People with No Time or Money

Improving your SEO should be a top priority if you're starting a small business or running an established one. Better SEO means more visibility, higher traffic, and more potential customers. Luckily, there are easy-to-implement practical changes you can make that will positively affect your SEO. Here are three actionable steps you can take right now -- without paying any money or taking too much time -- that will boost your small business's search rankings.

This article is an "I know next to nothing about SEO and want to start somewhere. What can I do right now?" solution. But, it could also serve as a good "remember the basics" reminder for more experienced people. 

What is SEO?

Let's first quickly define what SEO is. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is improving your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) like Google. One way to do this is to ensure your website includes the keywords customers would most likely use to find your business. So, if you own a store in Brentwood, TN, that sells LED light bulbs, when people in Brentwood search for “LED light bulbs in Brentwood'', you want your store to be at or near the top of those search results and one way to do this is to make sure"Brentwood LED Lightbulbs" (or some variation) is written somewhere on your site. SEO makes your site more visible and accessible to people searching for your products, services, or content.

But why is SEO important for small businesses?

• The higher your company ranks, the better your visibility: If your company is at or near the top of the search, the higher the likelihood that new customers will see and click on it. 

• Builds Trust and Credibility: If your page ranks high, it can make your business seem more trustworthy and authoritative.

• Improved User Experience: Improving your SEO should increase your website's usability, which -- try to follow me here -- should improve your SEO. 

And

• SEO should be relatively inexpensive. Unlike paid ads, good SEO helps to attract customers organically to your site, hopefully without you paying a cent.

Three simple steps to improve your SEO and reach more customers and clients with minimal lift from you

1. Make sure your website works properly

One of the most meaningful first steps is ensuring your website functions as intended when users visit it. If a user needs help navigating or clicks on a link and it goes to a 404 page instead of where you intended it to, users will leave your site unsatisfied.

The simplest way to check is time-consuming: manually check every link, starting on your homepage. Go down your navigation menu and click on all the links on the page to ensure they go where they're supposed to.

There is an alternative, more straightforward way, though: Ahrefs has a free Broken Link Checker. It requires no login and will tell you how many broken links it finds on your site and show you, in detail, what they are, all for free.

Now, fixing any broken links would involve logging into your web hosting platform and either making the changes yourself or, if you're not prepared to make these changes, asking a tech-savvy friend or relative to help you. Alternatively, you could also pay someone to do it. You could get this done for a reasonable price for something simple like this. 

Pro tip: Keep your website information current. Regularly review and update essential details like business hours, services, and contact information. Try playing around with the wording of your services. Focus on being as explicit as possible with what you offer. This helps ensure that visitors always have the correct information and see your site as reliable and up-to-date.

2. Identify and Use the Right Keywords

We discussed keywords before, and there’s not much else to say at their basic level. I will, however, give a bit more insight into how to find the right keywords for your site. You could use a free tool like Google Ads to help you find keywords and discover how much they're searched on average each month. 

You can also use the free version of ChatGPT. Explain your business and ask it to give you 10-20 lucrative keywords people would likely search for. From there, choose the ones best suited to your business, like 2 to 3. Then, find a way to embed those keywords naturally on your homepage.

I gave an example up top, but here's another: Let's say you own a butcher shop that serves your local community. You determine that people typically search for "butcher shop near me" or "fresh meats near me" to find butcher shops. Both "butcher shop" and "fresh meats" would then be two terms you could embed into your homepage. 

Make sure that the city you serve is written somewhere on your homepage, so when people add "near me" to the search, Google will automatically add nearby towns to the search query.

Pro tip: The more specific your keywords, the more likely you will rank for them. So, "Butcher Shop in Oakland" would be more likely to show up on a search in Google than just "Butcher Shop". You could get even more specific, with something like "Organic Grass-fed Beef Butcher in Downtown Oakland." This phrase not only targets explicitly a product you offer, but also pinpoints your location, increasing your chances of attracting local searchers who are looking for exactly what you provide.

3. Set Up and Optimize Your Google My Business Profile

If you're targeting local SEO, make sure you've set up a Google My Business profile. If you already have one, this is the perfect opportunity to ensure it has the proper information filled out. 

First, follow the instructions on Google's Sign Up for Google My Business profile page.

Setting up a Google My Business profile is a straightforward process that can significantly enhance your online presence and SEO. Here's a simplified breakdown of the steps:

1. Sign up or log in to your Google account.

2. Go to the Google My Business creation page.

3. Enter your business name.

4. Choose your business category.

5. Specify if your business has a physical location that customers can visit.

6. If applicable, enter your business's service area.

7. Provide a contact phone number and website URL.

8. Complete the verification process.

Pro tip: To enhance the quality of your profile

• Encourage customers to leave reviews.

• Ensure all information is complete and accurate.

• Regularly update your profile with new photos and posts.

Remember, a well-reviewed business profile is more likely to be trusted and seen as authoritative by potential customers.

Now then

These are simple, practical steps designed to allow you to gradually improve your site's SEO with clear, straightforward actions. There are more advanced steps you can take, and I'll likely write an advanced version of this for more experienced business owners soon. The steps in this article are a great place to start, though. 

A bit about me. After 25 years at CNET, managing multiple editorial teams and ensuring we ranked for the most lucrative keywords in tech, I recently started an SEO consulting company called ELF Consulting -- The "ELF" are my initials and have nothing to do with actual elves. 

If you'd like help with SEO or other aspects of your editorial strategy, please contact me at nidopal@gmail.com or go to the ELF Consulting homepage and send me a quick message. You can also schedule a call via my Calendly. 

I take a practical approach to SEO and would love to get on a quick call and see if we're a good fit.