All marketing activity is an investment. Unfortunately, some activities such as TV advertising, national poster campaigns and cinematic extravaganzas are beyond the reach of the small business - the investment is simply too great, irrespective of the possible benefits.

The good news is that, as the web becomes possibly the most powerful marketing medium ever created, the key activity for success, professional SEO, is a very affordable solution for small businesses. This is because SEO is a scaleable activity - you can start small and increase your investment as your capacity to meet increased demand improves.

But, you ask, how does a small business compete with the big boys on the web? They've been around longer and they can throw big money at optimisation. Isn't it the same old story?

The answer is that while it will always be difficult for a small business to compete for very popular key words, you can play smart by targeting the less popular but more targeted search terms. These will typically be phrases comprising of three or four words which will, by their nature, be more descriptive of what the searcher requires and hence indicative of a prospective customer who is ready to buy.

Incise specialises in affordable SEO for small businesses - call us to discuss how we can help you on 01453 873638.

For SEO to be affordable and worthwhile for a small business, you need to be prepared to invest over an extended period and to see your traffic build steadily rather than spectacularly.

The first important factor for Affordable Small Business SEO is keyword popularity. You have to realize that you won't be able to get the top position in Google for a highly popular phrase if you're new to the web. We can help you to identify the words and phrases that may be less popular but which, combined, can build your traffic.

The next important factor for Affordable Small Business SEO is keyword competitiveness - that is to say the number of web pages competing for the same keyword, knowingly or unknowingly. The more pages that are competing for the search term, the tougher it will be to get a good position.

Finding the right keywords for Affordable Small Business SEO involves competitor research, database checking (there are numerous online databases that track the search terms people use), brainstorming and checking your own web logs.

But however good your optimization might be, the cost effectiveness of a project will depend on the rate at which you can convert visitors into enquirers, subscribers or buyers. Getting more traffic is pointless if a site is not an efficient sales machine.