SEO Basics for Small Business Success

No Need To Be Afraid of SEO

In the summer of 2011, a good friend of mine succumbed to my years of badgering and finally allowed me to optimize his business’ website by what is known as improving his Search Engine Optimization (SEO) results. For the purpose of this article we are going to call my friend “Alex”. Alex is not his real name. Alex would not appreciate me sharing that at one time he was afraid of the Internet and almost lost his business. The good news is that Alex’s story ends well.

Alex was paralyzed with the fear of the unknown. He did not understand Internet marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), or anything else associated with online digital marketing. Alex does not like to look bad either. He did not want to admit that he was ignorant about online marketing. Alex’s fear and the fact that he does not like to look bad was a perfect storm. Therefore, Alex refused to budge and dug in his heels until his business was about to go under. 

Alex’s main problem was that his competitors had jumped on SEM, and their businesses were thriving - leaving Alex and his business behind. Alex’s business was related to the behavioral health industry and had flourished in its initial years. About 4 or 5 years ago his growth flat-lined, and then declined for three straight years.

I would place my friend’s business in the “small business” category. His annual revenue topped out at just shy of $2 million. His marketing budget was, in my estimation, very high. He was marketing his business the old fashioned way, dumping tons of money into an effort that was not bearing fruit. But it was the only way he knew to market, and it was comfortable.

The truth was that Alex was working harder and harder to keep his business alive, all-the-while cutting costs to keep his head above water. He was heading down a dark road. Investing money into Search Engine Marketing was a frightening concept. Out of desperation, Alex finally threw in the towel and let me do my thing.

We started Alex’s online marketing campaign by getting him a “local online presence.” We built social media channels that he and his staff learned to manage and grow. He also invested some money into paid ads on Google and eventually on Facebook. We got Alex’s business listed in the right industry directories as well.

Alex and his team started writing content (after developing a content marketing plan) and began to tell the incredible story online. We also upgraded his website and optimized it to perform well in Google’s search results.

It took several years of hard work, but today Alex and his business are doing quite well. We are convinced that had it not been for Search Engine Marketing and social media, Alex’s business would not have survived, I would have one less satisfied client to talk about.

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Search Engine Optimization for Small Business - The Basics You Need To Know