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Is SEO really that important for a small business?

Is SEO really that important for a small business?

As a way of beating the competition, we are constantly on the lookout for new ways to make our business stand out. As such, the common SEO tools are spoken of in high regard. But is SEO worth it from the perspective of the modest little business that’s making a meager salary? And is SEO really that important to every business?

Content is still king

It’s a very overused cliche, but content is still king, even if you are running a business that is nowhere near on the scale of a dominating brand. Even if you have some sort of allergy to the internet, and you feel that your business can survive without complex marketing tools, the fact is that most customers now undertake a simple Google search to find out what is near them, and so, it stands to reason that you make an appearance as high up the rankings as possible. How do you do this? SEO tools!

There is competition, even with small businesses

As a small business, you may not view yourself as being in direct competition with bigger, more prominent names, but while you may not be in those leagues, you still have an abundance of competition on your doorstep. When carving out a niche for yourself, standing out in as many ways as possible is going to guarantee you worthwhile custom. And even if you are a small company, it’s foolish to believe that you’ll keep your head above water for years to come, because other small businesses will take your customers through more competitive pricing, and better marketing.

Learning the tools

And even if you have ignored SEO all this time, it is still one of the best ways to get a high ranking in search engine results. There are so many different ways to do this, and there are many tools that can be installed on your phone, so you can check them as you go, the FATRANK rank checker tool being one of many. But, learning the basics of SEO in terms of how it can impact your sway in the market is an ongoing process. SEO is that important still, and if you have done well thus far to get by without resorting to these tactics, and relying on word of mouth, unfortunately, it can only get you so far.

Making it work for your business

What is important to your business? Is it your personality, your branding, or climbing up the rankings? Whatever your priorities, you need to make it work for your business. And while this can bleed into your content and marketing, a lot of businesses predominantly use all these tools as a quick fix. But SEO doesn’t provide the complete solution. This is where SEO can work with other aspects of marketing and content to provide a worthwhile service. And above all this, the product is still the most important thing. For all of the bells and whistles we can put on our marketing materials, if we don’t have a great product behind it all, your business isn’t going to get very far. SEO is important, but remember, it is one piece of the puzzle.

 


Christine Buske is a former academic who left science at the bench, and now considers herself a woman in tech. She is a frequently invited speaker, and enjoys talking about career transformation (particularly leaving academia for the business world), tech, issues around women in tech, product management, agile, and outreach. She is a proud Canadian resident, and qualifies as a "serial expat".

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