Owning a business these days requires having a robust online presence. With the advances in technology and the number of people online, owning a website is essential in making your business successful. But it is not an easy feat. There are too many websites that can found online, and competition is stiff.
If you own a multi-billion dollar company and with the right marketing tools, you can rise above the competition with a large marketing budget under your belt. When you are a small business owner, it seems a bit harder and sometimes even discouraging. But It does not mean that you cannot compete with big names in the industry when it comes to online presence. One of the grounds where you can meet equally with big corporations is SEO.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is where you increase the traffic on your website and make it crawl on top of search engines. No matter the size of any business or a company, doing SEO can help boost your online presence and help with your digital marketing strategy. As a small player in a niche industry, even if you have a budget constraint, one of the keys to getting resounding success with your online presence is understanding how it will work out for you. It will be beneficial also to strategies that will help set you apart in the competition.
So how does SEO in more significant sites of enterprise corporations differ from small businesses? How will knowing about it will be beneficial for you and your small business?
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Common Grounds of SEO
Enterprise SEO and small business SEO also have many things in common. It is essential that you learn about it as well because as you understand about SEO more in a bigger picture, the more chance you can use it to your advantage.
Here are some common grounds that you may share with big corporations doing SEO.
- Preparation – No matter the size of your business is, the first step in doing your SEO campaign or any marketing initiatives is preparing your brand through the definition of its identity, unique selling point, persona, and target market.
- Good content – SEO without content is nothing. Content is the king of your SEO campaign. Your website must produce excellent content. Well – written and well-structured content is a must to optimize your site. You have to make sure that you offer content that is valuable to your visitors, do not have spammy links, and are not auto-generated. It should not be a duplicate content as this will affect not only your Google ranking but your online credibility as well.
- Keyword Optimization – Content may be the king of SEO campaigns, but the keyword is the star of the show. It is probably the first thing that may come into your mind when we talk about SEO campaigns. Keywords help a website crawl on top of search engine results. It can give you a higher ranking with the use of known words that are most likely to be searched in search bars and incorporate it into your content.
- User – Experience and Mobile Friendly Websites
No matter what your business is or how big or small it is, your visitors must have a positive experience while using your site. It only takes about 3 seconds before a user leaves your website to look for another if they do not have a pleasant experience. Your site should elude high-quality design, fast-loading, no broken link, with clean coding, and, most importantly, these days, mobile-friendly.
Today, over 52% of engine searches use a mobile phone. If your site is not optimized for this feature, your visitors will abandon your site and move on to your competitor.
- Progress Report Tracking – One of the greatest things technology has given alongside all the modern-day marketing strategies is the ability to measure all of your efforts. Tracking and monitoring your SEO progress can be one of your tools in making sure that you are on the right track. Every business can leverage on these reports to evaluate their growth and make necessary changes in their campaign if needed.
Though there may be more common grounds for enterprise and small businesses, knowing all of these can help you in your SEO journey.
Key Differences Between Small Business And Enterprise SEO
Large enterprises and corporations may have already built and established their names. Many of them have become a household name, which makes their company more recognizable. Small businesses, however, are all about finding your target market and trying to address their needs.
When it comes to SEO, it is essential to note the differentiators between your company and those big players, so you will know what applies to your campaign. Aside from the considerable difference in marketing and advertising budget, here are some SEO features that will you become familiar with what you do.
1. Structure
This difference may be valid either for the physical and online structure of the large corporation and small businesses. For example, large companies can be found in many locations and have a more detailed organizational chart complete with different departments. Simultaneously, small players may have only a few employees, and the owner is also part of the workforce.
When it comes to website development, you can note the difference in structure as well. Large companies can hire in house designers and coders that can make a great and sophisticated website with different landing pages for each product or service. They can even automate their pages. Small businesses do necessarily need this automation but can also compete in making their website look professional and clean.
Even with limited resources like budget and web development skills, small businesses can use tools like WordPress that can create great website designs. They also offer a free template and paid ones that are relatively cheap. Even with just a small team, and even if you only work by yourself, many online tools can help you build a great website. Some tools will help you manage your time while you run your site.
2. Use of keywords
Since large corporations have already established their names, their company name has become a keyword itself. Although keywording for them takes a bit more work since their website is more extensive and far more complex, it should be specific and precise.
For a small business, generic keywords do not work. What works for these types of companies is the use of long-tail keywords, which is far more effective.
3. Brand Identity and Persona
Whether big or small, every business needs a persona, and this persona should reflect on your website. Your persona usually draws more audience in and makes a brand or product more relatable to its target audience. Having a brand persona is typically the anchor for any of your marketing efforts.
Big enterprises may find a bit of a challenge in this since they target multiple personas. On the other hand, small businesses will have more advantages on this and will have ease in finding its brand identity and persona as it is more straight forward and easy to define.
5. Location
Small businesses thrive well in Local SEO. This is because geography and location also play an essential role in your SEO campaigns unless, of course, your business is 100% online. Small businesses that want to leverage on this should focus on the use of local-specific keywording. However, this is a problematic feature for large enterprises that targets the audience on a global scale.
6. Content Quality and Quantity
Good content is the lifeline of your SEO campaign and the key to make it a success. As a small business owner, it is essential to note that quality content is far more critical than quantity. You may try to release a blog post now and then, but it not worth stressing when you compare it to big companies. Big companies may be able to release all types of content like videos, tutorials, short-clip films, infographics, articles, press releases, and other brands because of their resources.
You may want to copy it all of it, but remember that you can afford to do it all at once. DO not pressure yourself. Focus on your strengths, and do not force the content. It will not come out naturally, and people will know about it right away. Stick on to what you think will help you stand out and add value to your business.
Final Thoughts
Having a website can be one of your most significant investments in these modern times, but it is not enough. You cannot create a great website and just wait for people to find it. You need to make efforts so people will see it and visit it. SEO has given way to make this opportunity into a reality and became an instrument to bridge companies and their target market.
However, many business owners are still apprehensive when it comes to these tactics since it may look expensive, and competing with big brands on the online scene is a bit overwhelming. Small businesses also struggle at times in making their online marketing success and abandon the attempt, but for someone like you who continues to take time to understand how it works, success for you then is nearer by the bay.
AUTHOR’S BIO
MARICAR MORGA
Maricar worked as a marketing professional for almost a decade. She became part of the biggest real estate company/mall operator in the Philippines and handled concerts, events and community service-related activities. Leaving her corporate job for good to pursue her dreams, she has now ventured in the path of content writing and currently writes for Softvire Australia – the leading software e-Commerce company in Australia and Softvire New Zealand. A Harry Potter fan, she loves to watch animated series and movies during her spare time.
