Understanding SEO for Small Businesses

How SEO can Improve Your Small Business Website Rankings

One of the most important terms you need to know for your digital marketing is SEO. Understanding this term and how it applies to your small business can leverage your marketing budget and bring in more loyal customers. Here are some common questions and answers by our leading SEO agency in Santa Rosa.

What Is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is the process of improving your website to draw in more customers and increase your brand recognition. There are many tips and tricks that SEO agencies use to increase traffic organically and inorganically.
 
Organic traffic uses strategies that don’t require any investment but may require more time.
Organic SEO answers common questions and informs customers of the many ways your company can solve their problems.
 
Inorganic traffic uses paid strategies to achieve similar results in less time. These options include pay per click and affiliate marketing solutions. While these solutions may produce short-term results, they need to be paired with organic marketing to create a long-term marketing model.

What Factors Can Improve Website SEO?

There are many factors that Google and other search engine companies use to rate your website and rank relevant pages. Here are just a few common factors that a skilled SEO specialist will use to boost your rankings and increase the visibility of your website:

• Quality content
• Links
• Meta description and other on-page features
• Social shares and other off-page SEO 

Without the right combination of these factors, your website may not rank in relevant searches by your intended audience. There are some skills that can help you increase your ranking, but beware of an SEO agency that promises results that are too good to be true. There are many ways to temporarily boost your rankings that are in violation of Webmaster Guidelines. These violations can result in a penalty that will negatively affect your ranking.

How Do White Hat vs. Black Hat SEO Compare?

The two most common approaches to SEO strategy are white hat and black hat. Understanding the differences between these two strategies can help you select the best SEO agency for your small business.
 
White hat SEO uses approaches that are optimized for search engine rules and for intuitive reading. This approach may take more time to grow your ranking, but it can produce long-term results.
 
Black hat SEO focuses on search engine crawlers to maximize ranking with minimal work or content. This approach may seem like a cost-effective way to increase the rankings of your site, but it can often result in a violation or long-term decline of your rankings due to poor information or difficulty of navigation.

How Can I Boost My Small Business SEO?

Don’t settle for short-term results or a website that won’t reach your audience. Contact us at Fitz Designz to learn more about SEO strategies for your industry. As your premier SEO agency in Santa Rosa, we use the latest strategies, quality content and a reliable white hat approach to produce a compelling small business website that’s optimized for your customers and search engines.