As a Small Business, Are You One of the 70%?

Thompson Local, a local business directory in the United Kingdom, recently did a research study that showed that 70% of small businesses do not optimize their businesses. If your small business is part of this 70%, you are really missing a huge opportunity because according to research done my Forrester Research, 70% of all purchases start with an online search engine query. Your small business is missing out on the potential for new local business from the internet. What does it take to optimize your website? Many small businesses opt to outsource their SEO to a web developer. Outsourcing can help your business save time, money and efforts. However, keep in mind that no one knows your business and your niche market like you do. A major component of SEO is keywords and knowing what words or phrases people are using to find your product or service. Are you a do-it-yourself business owner? Keep in mind that basic SEO is not hard, it is just different from what you are doing most of your day. You will need some time to learn the basics and then apply what you have learned on a regular basis. Initially this will take some time, however, once you know the ins and outs, the amount of time you need to spend each day will decrease. Start by researching your keywords.

• View the source of your competitor's websites (right click on their website and select View Source.) What keywords are they using?
• Use free tools such as Google AdWords and research your keywords and key phrases. What other phrases are displayed? Many times you will find words or phrases that are being used in searches, however, there is very low search results. These are "diamonds in the rough." Other businesses in your field have not discovered them - yet.
• Take the time to do search engine queries on the words that you have selected. Are the results where you want to be?

Once you have select your keywords and phrases you can turn them over to a web developer or look into getting some training on how to utilize them yourself. This is not a defined science, however, with time and persistence you can be where the 70% of people are looking and increase your bottom line.

Find out more tips on how to increase your search engine rankings and drive traffic to your website. Business Training Team has launched a SEO course designed specifically for small business. To see details about the course, visit http://easyseoforbusiness.com/