OVERVIEW – Small businesses need excellent SEO to reach their target audience. Some common SEO mistakes made by small businesses include failing to optimize images, producing low-quality content, neglecting to build internal links or backlinks, overlooking local SEO, and not optimizing for mobile devices. It’s important for local companies to utilize a marketing agency to handle their website and SEO performance. 

It’s crucial for small businesses to have proper SEO. Without it, they won’t show up in search results and are practically invisible. It might feel impossible to do everything right on your own. Thankfully, Highstreet Marketing has extensive experience helping local businesses rank on Google. We are also a local company that offers Puyallup marketing services. We know the common mistakes that can keep small businesses from showing up in search results. Let’s go over some of these mistakes, as well as how to correct them. 

Why is SEO crucial for small businesses? 

• SEO generates organic traffic. This is from people making searches and brings in high-quality leads. 
• SEO builds brand reputation. The more trustworthy your brand is, the more customers you will get. When Google ranks brands high, it conveys that they are reputable. 
• SEO increases brand awareness. Being visible in search results is essential for your target audience to know about your company and what products or services you offer. 

1. Not Optimizing Images

One of the most common mistakes that small businesses make is not optimizing their website so that Google will prefer it. Google prioritizes user experience, which means that it favors websites with fast load times. Bulky, large images on your website can tank your rankings. Images are important because they make your pages more appealing and engaging. However, they must be properly implemented. Highstreet Marketing will make sure that your website’s images have the correct description and alt tags, and are the right size and format. 

2. Not Having Quality Content

When your website does not have quality content, search engines will see no reason why they should recommend it. You should focus on quality over quantity. It’s better to have a few solid pages instead of a hundred poorly written ones. You should also make content that people are looking for, so that your pages pop up in search results. The information on your pages should be accurate and up-to-date. Regularly uploading fresh, excellent content that includes relevant keywords will bring in more users. 

3. Failing to Build Internal Links

A common mistake that many small business owners make on their website is not having internal links between the various pages. Internal links are important because they make it easy for visitors to explore your website. If you’re making content, you want people to be able to find it. Internal links can also make sure that all of your site’s pages have an increased chance of ranking in search results. This is known as link equity. Building internal links may seem daunting, but Highstreet Marketing has got you covered. 

4. Neglecting Backlinks

Internal links aren’t the only ones you should be focusing on. If you don’t build a backlink profile, it tells Google that your website it’s as trustworthy as other ones. Having other sites link to yours establishes authority and boosts your site in search results. Low-quality links can have the opposite effect as intended and hurt rankings. Highstreet Marketing can help you acquire high-quality backlinks. 

5. Not Targeting Local SEO

As a small business, most of your customers will be people in your local area. This means that SEO that doesn’t focus on your local area will make you miss out on reaching your target audience. When people are looking for, say, a restaurant, they want to find one that’s close by. Including local search terms and keywords in your SEO will help your company show up in local search results. Our SEO experts at Highstreet Marketing can help you improve your brand’s visibility to location-specific audiences

6. Website Not Optimized for Mobile

Most web traffic comes from mobile devices such as phones. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, it can load slowly and be difficult to navigate. This makes people get frustrated and click off of your site. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, then Google will recommend it to less people. In fact, they prioritize mobile versions of websites in search rankings. 

Highstreet Marketing will make versions of your website that load quickly and look great on various screen sizes.  Contact our WA digital marketing team today to schedule a free consultation.