5 Simple Ways For SMBs to Improve Google Rankings

As a small business owner you may not be aware of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) but that does not mean it cannot benefit you. The essence of SEO is that it helps you improve the ranking of your business on the Google search algorithm. And this in turn helps your business climb up the Google search listing. So as a small business owner you can always benefit from SEO to improve Google rankings of your business.

In a recent interview, Samar Singla, CEO of Click Labs revealed how he and his organization has helped small and medium sized businesses gain visibility, spread brand awareness and multiply revenue manifolds. He shared some basic techniques which you as a small business owner can adopt  to improve Google rankings of your business. The best part is that these techniques do not cost you anything and are easy to implement.

WordPress is the Most SEO Friendly Platform. Use It.

Samar emphasized on the use of WordPress blogging platform. He told that it is the most SEO friendly platform. It is one of the best Content Management System when it comes to SEO. Optimizing a WordPress website is a lot easier and quick than optimizing a website built on other traditional platforms which most of the local businesses tend to use.

Keyword Research

“Effective keyword research forms the basis of effective Search Engine Optimization of a website.” Samar said. Once you have created or switched your website to WordPress platform it is the time to start researching the keywords. Keywords are those key words that your target audience uses to locate your business, product or services on a search engine. So find out those keywords that best describe your business or products, Samar added.  You may need to analyze your competitor websites as well to find out the keywords they are using to draw traffic towards their business.

Start Onsite Optimization

Once you have found the right keywords you wish to improve Google rankings for you need to start with onsite optimization of your website. Insert those highly searched keywords in different places on different pages of your website. Samar said that it is important to maintain the right keyword density and keyword prominence. If you go on to over stuff your web pages with keywords you may end up ‘spamming’ as per Google.

Google Places

When you are done with your initial website optimization efforts it is the time to move on to the next level of optimization.  You should claim your Google Places business listing, Samar added.  Add some basic information about your business and be as elaborate as possible while filling each section of the listing. Give details like your business address, phone number, description about your business, hours of operation, keywords, etc.  Samar said that you can improve Google rankings for your business further by adding photos of your business and requesting reviews about your business.

Generate Backlinks

After optimizing Google places listing it takes a few days to a week to start ranking in the search results. However, your job as a business owner does not end here. You should consider back linking. Any business of any size, small, medium or large can improve Google rankings with effective back linking, Samar said. We do not ask you to buy spammy back links as they can negatively affect your search engine rankings, Samar added.

Samar said that social bookmarking and profile submissions on some high page rank websites are just the couple of ways among several others that local businesses can consider to generate quality back links. It will help you increase the relevancy and value of your website in the eyes of Google and other search engines.