How to Tell if Your Site Needs Search Engine Optimization.

Making your small business accessible to the major search engines is an essential part of your online marketing plan, and a successful search engine optimization strategy can increase traffic significantly. High search engine rankings are an easy way to market your business to people who are looking for the keywords and topics that you present on your website. Search engine optimization for small business websites requires some strategy, but lets your business stand apart from the competition and increases web traffic.

Search engine optimization for small business websites requires a thorough understanding of keywords that are 'in demand' for your niche industry. Your website can reach the top rankings of Google and other search engines with a few strategically placed keywords, alt tags on images, and unique titles positioned in just the right spaces on each page. You'll need to use keywords in headings, subheadings, and throughout the paragraph copy so that search engines can identify your website easily and put you in the top spots of each search results page.

There are six key ways to enhance search engine optimization for your small business:

1. Identify the keywords
2. Place keywords strategically on each page
3. Use alt tags on all images
4. Create unique title, meta descriptions, and keywords for your business
5. Determine page rank on Google and look for more keywords that can be used
6. Provide significant backlinks and anchor text on the site

Identifying Key Words for Search Engine Optimization

Identifying the keywords in search engine optimization for small business websites is the first step in creating a cohesive strategy. Keywords will help you determine which words and sentences are most appropriate for your industry, and which ones are highly searched on a regular basis. When search engines identify your site as a suitable match for content, your ranking will be much higher.

Placement of Keywords for Search Engine Optimization

Placing keywords in specific places is an essential part of search engine optimization for small business websites, and will help search engines determine how valuable and relevant your site is for a specific subject. Search engines are constantly looking for relevant websites that are a good match for each keyword search. Placing your keywords in headings, bullet points, and subheadings with bolded text and links is one of the best ways to attract the attention of a major search engine.

Using Alt Tags on Images for Search Engine Optimization

Alt tags are an easy task to overlook when constructing your website, but they offer another opportunity for search engines to pick up your site as a leader in your industry. Alt tags are keywords used to describe the image; just hover over your images to see what alt tags are being used on your site already; if the word that appears does not have a keyword in it, you can increase search engine optimization by adding the relevant keywords and descriptions to each item.

Unique Titles and Meta Descriptions for Search Engine Optimization

Unique titles are an important element of search engine optimization as they show up on search results as new content and material, and can also encourage increased page views. Meta descriptions can help you add even more keywords to each page without publishing them directly on the page itself; this description helps search engines pick up your site much more easily.

Backlinks and Anchor Text for Search Engine Optimization

Backlinks are very valuable to any small business website, helping boost the site's credibility and encouraging search engines to take notice. Anchor text is any text that is linked to another source and placed strategically within titles and copy. You can add both items to new content for improved search engine rankings.

Determining if your site has been properly optimized for search engines will require strategic writing and placement of essential keywords. Knowing which keywords are most valuable to your topic and subject is the first step; after that, you'll need to develop unique and valuable content that is updated regularly on the site. Search engine optimization for small business websites is both an art and science, and you can develop a checklist to ensure that your site is fully optimized.

About the Author:

Entrepreneur and outdoor photography adventurer Caroline Melberg is President and CEO of Small Business Mavericks, a division of Melberg Marketing. She has over 20 years of experience creating marketing communications materials and writing copy for some of the largest and most successful companies in the world and she’s a leading expert on Internet Marketing for small businesses. Her small business columns are syndicated online, and she publishes the award-winning weekly eZine, “Small Business Maverick Secrets.” To learn more about search engine optimization for your small business, visit her at http://www.SmallBusinessMavericks.com today!