You’ve built a website for your business and want to rank them in your target keywords. As a small business owner in Mississauga, you want to handle the SEO (search engine optimisation) on your own. It could be due to budget constraints or your industry is very niche and you want right information on your website.
Hi! I am Tejaswini Parker, a SEO Specialist with over 9 years experience helping small to medium service-based businesses boost online visibility through organic marketing.
This guide will help you build a groundwork and includes my tried and tested methods to implement as a beginner in search engine optimisation:
Here are 7 SEO tips for small business owners:
1. Find out if your website is web-optimised
Website speed, user-friendliness, mobile-friendly interface, and streamlined site flow are the minimum features your website must have when you launch it. Use GTMetrix to analyse these parameters and offer solutions to improve your website score. It’s free to use and is great as a starting point for local SEO for small businesses in Mississauga.
2. Focus on a limited number of keywords
Here’s a strategy that I use. Pick five high keywords that you want your website to rank for. For each keyword, pick two sub keywords. Let me explain with an example.
If your main keyword is “best electrician in mississauga”, your sub keywords would be “best electrician services in mississauga” and “local electrician near me”. There are many free keyword research tools including Moz Keyword Explorer to help you with monthly traffic, click-through-rate, and new keyword opportunities.
3. Upload SEO blogs regularly
Content is king. I know you’ve heard it several times but I’m going to mention it again because it’s the most important aspect of search engine optimisation. The first step towards building an SEO blogging strategy is understanding your business’s goals and how you want your target audience to perceive you.
Do you want to become a one-stop solution to all their questions? Do you want to focus on helping prospective clients understand why they need your products or services? Do you want to become an authority figure with expert knowledge?
Once you figure this out, use Google to research topics. Check what your competitors are doing in the same blogging niche and create a map. Once you have a basic understanding on the topics, create a treemap of ideas starting from the most basic to complex.
For example, if you want to become an authority figure in your industry locally in the electrician services niche, your basic topics include how-to guides, blogs on summer and winter safety, and DIY instructions.
Always end the blog talking about your services, any exclusive offerings, and contact details.
4. Follow this keyword strategy
When writing content for a page or blog post, follow this strategy:
Include your main keyword in:
- The first 100 words of your content (introduction)
- Heading tags (H1, H2, and so on)
- Alt tags (add images to the page and add your keyword into the alt tag)
- URL (mention your keyword with “-” in between the words)
- Meta description (mention the keyword in the first 10 words)
The rule of thumb is to include your keyword at least 3-6 times throughout the page or blog post.
5. SEO for images
Some ways to optimise your images for search engines:
- Keep your image size under 150 kb
- Save your image name using the keyword and geographic location. For example – best-electrician-services-mississauga
- Add alt text to your images including the keywords, location, and business name
- Geotag your images
If you are a local business, you need to geotag the images.
To do so on your Apple computer or laptop
- Open the Preview app
- Open a photo you want to upload
- Click Tools > Show Location Info > More Info Inspector > GPS
- Find Pin. Enter your city or neighbourhood there
To do so on your Windows computer or laptop
- Download Geo Photo. It is a free software that lets you geotag all formats of images and videos.
6. Optimise your Google Maps listing
Your Google Maps listing is both the starting point and the end destination for your prospective customer. Sign up using this link. It’s free to use. Google will send a postcard with a code to validate your business’s location and only after that you can optimise the listing.
Add a keyword and information-rich description, list all your products and services, make a post with description and keywords every 3-4 days, and add new images monthly.
7. Track your website SEO efforts periodically
How would you know if your SEO efforts are working or not? It’s simple. Track your website regularly using paid software like MOZ or free softwares like Google PageSpeed Insights, Google Search Console, Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, and Ahrefs SEO Toolbar.
Can I do SEO by myself as a small business owner?
Yes, you can do SEO yourself as a small business owner. My guide will help you get started. It’s a repetitive process, slightly technical, slightly creative, and time-consuming but with the right strategy, you will see results.
What are my options if I can’t hire an SEO agency?
I understand not everyone has the budget to hire an SEO agency and that’s where SEO professionals in Mississauga like me, Tejaswini Parker, come into the picture. I am a freelance SEO marketer, which means I breathe, eat, and sleep SEO. You’ll always have one point of contact and get regular updates about your business’s SEO efforts.
I am a SEO writer at core, who started out 9 years ago and developed my skills into a SEO specialist with experience in both off-page and on-page SEO.
I am passionate about helping local businesses succeed and have proven my skills time and again. Several clients from my portfolio rank on page #1 for their biggest keywords. If you’d like to know more about my services, reach out to me today.
Why should I choose T Parker Marketing for SEO services in Mississauga?
I’ve been an SEO specialist since 2013 and have seen Google and other search engines undergo several changes throughout the years. I have results to prove my experience and skills as a professional SEO service provider in Mississauga. My website SEO strategies are ethical, tried and tested methods to help your website boost online visibility and improve keyword ranks.
I only accept 3 new clients every quarter, so I can focus on providing the best results. When you work with me, you work with an experienced SEO professional in Mississauga and not an agency that delegates your account to juniors.
