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Things Every Small Business Needs to Know About Search Engine Optimization5

Small business owners believe that if

their potential clients will walk through

your doors, they will see the value of the

products and services. That is why your

website is your greatest marketing asset.

Your website functions as a second “front

door” for your company. It allows you to

showcase the unique value you bring to

your clients and build trust with people

who might not otherwise visit your

physical location.

A well-designed, professional website is

key to presenting your business’ value

to potential clients on the internet.

However, it is just as important to make

sure people can find your website.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO), “is a

marketing discipline focused on growing

visibility in organic (non-paid) search

engine results.” In other words, SEO is

the #1 service we provide to help your

website show up when people search for

your products and services

In this booklet, we will discuss five things ever small businesses needs to know about

Search Engine Optimization.

Things Every Small Business Needs to Know About SEO5

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GOOGLE SAYS SEO IS IMPORTANT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

1 (Moz.com)2 https://www.google.com/about/company/3 http://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/4 http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/01/how-google-searches-30-trillion-web-pages-100-billion-times-a-month/5 https://www.google.com/about/company/products/

“Google’s mission is to organize the

world’s information and make it

universally accessible and useful.”2

It is hardly hyperbole to say that

everyone uses Google. There are more

than 40,000 google searches performed

each second, adding up to 3.5 billion per

day and 1.2 trillion per year.3

Your company’s potential clients are

among those 3.5 billion daily searches.

However, in order to present users with

answers to their queries, Google must

filter through 30 trillion webpages.4 The

tech giant is frequently tweaking its

complex algorithm to help match users to

the content most relevant to them.

“[O]ur goal is to make it as easy as

possible for you to find the information

you need and get the things you need to

do done.”5

For potential clients to find your website,

it is vital to pay attention to that which

Google says makes your website appear

to be the most relevant for their search

queries. Otherwise, you may be missing

a significant segment of your client base.

It would be like designing a beautiful

shop on Main Street, but never placing an

“open” sign in your window.

1

+40,000 searches / 1 second

3.5 billion searches / day

1.2 trillion searches / year

Keywords are the words and phrases

people type into Google’s search bar.

There are two types of keywords:

1) “Short tail” keywords are simple

words and phrases, i.e. “HVAC repair

Asheville NC”

2) “Long tail” keywords are lengthy phrases,

questions, and sentences, i.e. “Why is my air

conditioner blowing hot air?”

It is important for small business owners

to identify and make a list of the best

keywords for which to optimize their

websites. There are several factors to

consider when developing a keyword list:

• What are my most profitable

services? Coffee shop owners who

sell by the cup and by the bag will

want to make sure their websites

are optimized accordingly. You don’t

want to hear the most heartbreaking

phrase, “Oh, I didn’t know you sold

that, too!”

• What are my best-selling products

and services? A plumber’s most

profitable service may be replacing

tank-style water heaters with

tankless units, but he should make

sure he is ranking well for traditional

water heater change-outs as well.

• For what are people searching?

You may sell a revolutionary,

incredibly technical internet server

security system that protects

small businesses from malware;

however, the average business

owner is probably not searching for,

“FTP malware protocol protection

services.” Your website should be

optimized for keyword phrases such

as, “Why did my website get hacked?”

YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD BE OPTIMIZED FOR THE RIGHT KEYWORDS2

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What you say and how you say it matters

as much on the internet as it does in

person. In its effort to match users with

the most relevant content to their search

queries, Google’s algorithm measures

whether websites say the right things,

the right way. In the past, if you searched

Google for, “Widgets Asheville NC,” you

might find your search results populated

by websites that used that keyword

phrase a lot. It might read like this:

“widgetsashevillenc.com is the only

place on the internet for high quality

widgets in Asheville, NC and widget

accessories in asheville, NC. In Asheville,

NC, widgetsashevillenc.com sells widgets

to customers looking for widgets in

Asheville, NC.”

Though the keyword phrase is mentioned

often, the sample “sentence” above

is unreadable. Today, Google crawls

through website content to match users

with that which they want to read.

It is asking your website:

• Is this content readable?

• Is this content relevant?

• Is this content new or

regularly refreshed?

• Is this content presented well?

• Is this content loading quickly?

GOOD CONTENT IS VITALFOR EFFECTIVE SEO3

keyword phrase

6 http://www.ashevillechamber.org/economic-development/research-and-reports/business-patterns-reports

According to the Asheville Area Chamber

of Commerce, “96% of establishments

in the Asheville Metro have fewer

than 50 employees.”6 As residential

availability decreases and the cost of

living increases in large municipalities

like Raleigh and Charlotte, people are

migrating to smaller cities and towns.

Small businesses are key to the economic

climate and future growth of towns and

cities throughout North Carolina.

Nevertheless, small businesses often do

not have the resources to compete with

larger corporations in television, radio

and magazine advertisement. However,

Google is a great equalizer, favoring

relevancy of content over advertising

dollars. With a great website and the

right SEO efforts, small businesses have a

seat at the economic table.

SEO HELPS GIVE SMALL BUSINESSES EXPOSURE IN THE COMMUNITIES4

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Ultimately, the goal of your

website and SEO efforts is to

generate leads. If SEO is the

engine that drives traffic to your

website, your content is the

destination to which they will

arrive. Effective SEO driving

people to your website’s

quality content will help turn

search traffic into leads.

A television advertisement

depends on two factors: people

will happen to see your ad in the

moment they need your product

or service, or they will remember

your brand when they need you.

Your website is an opportunity to

answer the question a potential

client is asking when he asks it.

With honest, forthright content,

you can build trust with your

clients before they ever

contact you.

EFFECTIVE SEO HELPS CONVERT WEBSITE TRAFFIC TO LEADS5

To learn more about how we help you with your website, content, and SEO, visit our blog, or contact us.

cubecreative.design/newsworthy • info@cubecreative.design

info@cubecreative.design

Asheville: 828-684-3040

Wilkesboro: 828-367-2823

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