Most small business owners know they need SEO. Few know where to start. The good news: you don't need a big budget or a technical background to see results. You just need to focus on the right things.
Here are five that consistently work.
1. Start with keyword research
Before you write anything, find out what your potential customers are actually searching for. Google's free Keyword Planner or a tool like Ubersuggest can show you search volume and competition for any phrase.
The trick for small businesses is to go local and specific. Ranking for "digital marketing" is nearly impossible. Ranking for "digital marketing agency Hull" or "social media management East Yorkshire" is entirely achievable, and the people searching those terms are much closer to buying.
These are called long-tail keywords: three to five word phrases with lower competition and higher buying intent. Start there.
2. Sort your Google Business Profile
If you serve local customers, your Google Business Profile matters more than your website for immediate visibility. It's what powers the map results at the top of the search page.
Make sure yours has a complete business description with your target keywords, up-to-date opening hours, at least ten photos, and responses to your reviews, positive and negative. Even five genuine reviews can push you well above competitors who've left theirs unattended.
3. Fix the technical basics
You don't need to be a developer. Run your site through Google's free PageSpeed Insights and it will flag the most pressing problems.
The issues that come up most often: slow load times (especially on mobile, where most searches now happen), missing meta titles and descriptions, broken links, and pages still running on HTTP. None of these are difficult to fix, and Google penalises all of them.
4. Write content that answers real questions
Google has got very good at understanding what someone actually wants when they type a search. It rewards content that genuinely answers that question, not pages padded with keywords.
A practical starting point: look at the "People Also Ask" box that appears in Google results for your target terms. Each question in there is a potential blog post or FAQ entry. Answer it properly with clear headings and you have a solid shot at appearing in featured snippets.
Aim for at least 600 words per post. Short, thin content rarely ranks in competitive areas.
5. Build internal links across your site
When you publish new content, link to it from relevant existing pages, and link from the new page back to your service pages. This tells Google how your site fits together and passes authority from well-established pages to newer ones.
A simple habit: every blog post links to at least one service page, and every service page points to at least one supporting article.
Where to go from here
None of this is complicated. It takes time and consistency. Small businesses that get these basics right routinely outrank larger competitors who've let them slide. If you'd like expert help putting it into practice, eHull's SEO service is built for businesses exactly like yours.