SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Moz states that (SEO) is “the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.”

In simple English, this means how your website ranks on Google, or how easy can a consumer find your website? Moz is a software service company that specializes in the marketing analytics software needed to track your SEO analytics.

Why SEO?

There are many companies such as Moz whose service platforms help small businesses improve their SEO score on their current website. SEO is vital to today’s companies. Why? According to Econsultancy, SEO technology has expanded by 21% over just 4 years. This information means more and more individuals are using the internet to look for specific businesses. Word of mouth still helps increase sales but technology has also found a way to spread the referral program, or as some individuals say, word of mouth via Google. Websites display reviews as well as stars, which provides the consumer with the same trust factor as a referral client. This also increases your brand awareness and SEO.

It’s important for small businesses to stay relevant in the digital world because more often than not, people find information about service places through applications and websites like Google, Bing, Yelp, etc. The more time goes on, the more competitive the online world of marketing for small businesses becomes.

In today’s article, we will use five, easy tools to improve your company’s SEO over a period of time in order to learn how to improve growth and knock out some competition. Implementing these will improve growth and knock out some competition.

1. Improve Web Speed 

We live in a fast-moving world, and people in the 21st century oftentimes don’t have the patience to wait for a page to buffer while there are thousands of other companies with fast-moving pages. Level out the playing field and pay for a faster-moving web speed. Some simple tips to improve web speed include compressing images and videos so they do not take long to load, and putting the most important information about your business first and in the most obvious spots. People will stay on your page and continue clicking and possibly sharing so long as the information is being fed to them quicker. Essentially, less is more in the digital world, so short and concise data bits will allow potential clients and customers to more easily grasp what they are getting out of a business. This is a must to improve website on-page SEO.

Keep in mind that if you spend a little more time and effort on small details such as faster web speed, it will eventually pay off and get you closer to being that top clicked website when Google searched or Yelped. Here is a Pagespeed site Google provides for FREE!

2. Internal Links

Be sure to link everything out (Yes, I mean everything, even images). Internal links are hyperlinks on the page that connect to another part of the website. If potential customers and clients are genuinely interested in a service or product, they are bound to want to read up and hear about something else on the company website. By including internal links, a company can widen their services and products to customers and portray all of their best assets. Everyone at some point has been lost or stuck on a website, aimlessly clicking before they go to bed, when they wake up, or even during the day during a lunch break — so give people the opportunity to let that website be yours. Overall, more clicks and views on your page will make it more popular when looking to improve website on-page SEO.

3. Proper Keyword Usage

Keywords searched on Google are a tool used to determine the cost of specific keywords, so you as the consumer can decide whether you want to bid on that specific keyword. Using the correct and proper keywords sets the stage for a company’s successful online presence. Using words that highlight a company’s practice will make it even more relevant in the digital world and portray the company’s trade appropriately. A mistake a lot of people make is using wording that is way too vague and non-specific. Use words that explain exactly what your client is looking for as well as explain what your company does. For example, if you own a market that sells fresh farm-to-table ingredients, do not make your keyword “market” — use something like “farm-to-table markets in (place area)”. If you use keywords that are more specific, then it will generate more searches for people that are more likely to click on your website and become customers

Here is a FREE keyword planner tool provided by Google.

4. Make your Website Mobile friendly

Once again, our society has become incredibly fast-paced. Since people frequently find information while their out and on the go, a lot of people turn to their phones for information. It is vital that your company makes sure their website is smartphone friendly.

5. Website Formatting

Having a simple format that grabs your audience’s attention will keep clients on the website. Using bold fonts and simple quick language to keep readers engaged and get information as quickly as possible is also beneficial to improve your SEO. If a reader clicks on a page and there is too much to read or confusing language, there is a large chance they will go to another page that is more reader-friendly and saves them more time to comprehend. Taking anywhere from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours to update and improve your page can make a big difference in a company’s SEO and will surely keep them present in the digital world.