I’m curious if SEO is worth the time and money for small businesses, especially for those that are just starting out. Anyone here have some experiences to share?
This question shouldn’t even come up but yeah, the answer is always yes. SEO is definitely worth it.
Kameron said:
This question shouldn’t even come up but yeah, the answer is always yes. SEO is definitely worth it.
A lot of small local businesses don’t even know what SEO is. Some older business owners aren’t that tech-savvy. They might not have a website or a Google Business Profile. I think they don’t realize how much they’re missing out on by not using tech to help their business grow.
@Lucian
You’re right that many don’t understand SEO, but I’m not sure about the ‘no computer’ part. That might’ve been true a decade ago, but now almost everyone, even older people, knows they need tech to compete. It’s more about not caring or not knowing how to do it right. I’ve talked to a lot of business owners, and they just don’t get the importance.
Kameron said:
This question shouldn’t even come up but yeah, the answer is always yes. SEO is definitely worth it.
I totally agree that SEO helps all websites. I once pitched SEO to a local high school, telling them it would mostly be reputation management and cleaning up old pages. They didn’t move forward with it though… anyone here ever run an SEO campaign for a school?
@Josh
A school isn’t a small business, unless you’re talking about a private school?
Kameron said:
@Josh
A school isn’t a small business, unless you’re talking about a private school?
True, you got me there!
You can do basic SEO yourself if you learn the essentials.
First, set up a Google Business Profile (GMB). Post regularly using keywords you also target on your website. Make blog posts on your site with the same keywords. Use these keywords in your headings. List your business on directory sites, get your phone number and address on them too.
Sign up for HARO to get backlinks. Also, try to get Google reviews and respond to every one of them. SEO isn’t that hard if you stick to these basics.
That’s how you can take your small business to the next level 
SEO covers many areas, like selecting better keywords, building links, and writing keyword-optimized blog posts to get a bigger audience.
Maybe even more important for small businesses than big ones
Yes, SEO is really important for small businesses. Especially local SEO. Ads can be expensive, but SEO helps you get traffic without constantly paying for ads. If done well, SEO can keep bringing in traffic over time. I’ve helped many small businesses, and local SEO has brought in a lot of calls and messages for them.
@Lachlan
No cost? SEO services are pretty expensive, though.
Dewey said:
@Lachlan
No cost? SEO services are pretty expensive, though.
If you’re hiring someone, sure, it costs. But I was under the impression that you were doing the SEO yourself. SEO isn’t really an option anymore, it’s a must for any website.
@Lachlan
Hmm, okay…
@Lachlan
Yeah, totally agree with you. SEO is definitely essential!
100%, SEO was made to help connect you to local customers.
I’m helping a family member start a beauty business and did an SEO check on their competitors. Shockingly, their competitors have very low domain rankings and no local SEO. This is going to be easy to outrank them!
@Solomon
How do you do an SEO check?
Demetri said:
@Solomon
How do you do an SEO check?
There are a bunch of tools for that. SEMrush and Ahrefs are two that are really popular.
Demetri said:
@Solomon
How do you do an SEO check?
I’m curious too.