As a business owner, you have a thorough understanding of the products or services you provide. But do you understand how to sell online? Search engine optimization is the process of improving your site’s position in the search results. SEO helps boost your brand while increasing your site traffic and sales.

Many business owners think SEO is complicated and requires a digital marketing agency or online marketing firm. But the basics of SEO are actually pretty easy to implement even if you’re not much of a tech wiz.

SEO for small businesses can be divided into four key areas:

• Keyword selection
• Content creation
• On-site optimization
• Backlinks

Determining the Right Keywords

Keywords help search engines determine what your site is all about. Using Google Analytics and other tools, you’ll want to identify keywords which are directly connected to the products or services you provide. Also, you want keywords which fit within your budget. Usually, the most popular and unique keywords in an industry are also the most expensive to bid on. Limit yourself to five keywords which fit your brand and budget.

Creating Keyword-Based Content

Each keyword is then used on a separate page of content. Before creating your content, Google the relevant keyword. Check out what type of content your competition is creating. Your goal is to create content which is better than what’s found on the top page. Remember, the content isn’t about brand promotion. You want to provide readers with useful information about your industry.

Optimizing Before Your Publish

Next, you’ll optimize your page of content. These are strategies used to capture the attention of search engines. You’ll want to add keywords to your site’s URL, page title, header and meta description. While optimizing can get quite a bit more involved, simply adding your keywords to those locations will create a big improvement in your rankings.

The Power of Backlinks

Finally, you’ll want to develop high-quality backlinks. These are links from other sites to yours. You want relevant links from industry influencers. These are people or brands in your industry who are considered a trusted authority by consumers.

Developing backlinks is a combination of creating content and old-fashioned networking. Many times, you’ll have to identify and reach out to influencers. You might provide a free product, a guest blog or otherwise create something the influencer will want to share with their audience.

How Long Until You See Results?

Optimizing your site is an on-going process and often requires the help of an internet marketing agency. As you learn what type of content your audience is interested in, you can create new content to address their needs. Benefits can take several months to appear, but over time SEO delivers consistent, long-term growth.

While a Toronto SEO agency will likely produce the best online results, even just implementing the basics above will likely help your site significantly. SEO increases traffic to your site, introduces your brand to an interested audience and helps drive conversions. A Toronto digital marketing agency is often a great resource for your small business.