You own a small brick-and-mortar business and recently launched a website to promote it. Six months later, you've seen no increase in foot traffic and no evidence that people are visiting your website. After a Google search, you realize that your business doesn't appear anywhere within the first three search engine results pages (SERPs). You're paying for a great website, but customers can't find it. With a little research, you come across a possible reason: You've overlooked your site's search engine optimization (SEO).

What Is SEO and Why Is It Critical for the Success of Your Small Business Website?

The majority of people who arrive at a business's website get there via a Google search. That's especially true for a local small business that doesn't have a large marketing budget for promoting it through other channels. The downside of a Google search is that few searchers scroll past the first few pages of search results, so if your business doesn't appear there, they won't find you. That's where SEO comes in. SEO is a set of rules and tactics you can use to optimize your site so it ranks higher for search engines, of which Google is the most important. An optimized website is much more likely to show up on SERPs.

What Are These Tactics?

Search engines use a special algorithm to reward sites for certain criteria, such as quality, user-friendliness, speed, and ease of navigation. Search engines also reward the use of certain keywords on your site that users are likely to type in when they search for a topic related to your business. They reward you by ranking you higher in the SERPs, which is the goal of SEO.

Here are a few SEO tips you can implement to increase relevant traffic to your website:

• Use Google Analytics to determine relevant keywords for your website. What terms do people search for?
• Use relevant keywords in your website's title, page titles, article titles and headings, and scattered throughout your site. However, do not use them enough to make your copy sound artificial or promotional.
• Add keywords to the back end of your site, such as in your alt text for describing images, but the reader doesn't see it on the front end.
• Make sure your pages load quickly, and your site is easy to navigate.
• Get other sites to link to your site. Guest blog for a relevant website in exchange for a link back to your site. However, never pay or bribe a company to link to your site. If discovered, Google will punish you by lowering your website's ranking or blocking it from search engine traffic.

There's much more to SEO and it can get confusing. Often, it's wise to consult with a digital marketer or SEO expert to get the most leverage from SEO.

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