Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a crucial part of running a small business website. Good SEO will help you rise up the search engine rankings and attract more customers. But it’s a confusing world.
If you’re just starting out with SEO, it can be hard to identify what matters and what doesn’t, and even harder to separate the good advice from the advice you should ignore.
With so much else to work on when launching a new business and website, it can be tempting to put SEO on the backburner, thinking it’s something you can come back to later.
But doing so would be a huge mistake. SEO should be a key component of your online business right from the start. If you’ve already launched a business but have neglected SEO, then it’s crucial you begin working on it right away.
So how can you get to grips with SEO if you haven’t got a lot of free time and aren’t technically minded? Well, illustrator Ben Tallon recommends the 123 Reg Search Engine Optimiser tool. Ben works freelance, meaning he places a lot of emphasis on having an online portfolio that people can find and view.
Ben in his studio
“My website is absolutely crucial to what I do. Obviously we live in the digital age now and 90% of people start their search online so if you’re on Google looking for an illustrator it’s important that my website is represented quiet well in that respect. It’s got to convey the brand and everything that I do as an illustrator so it’s the go to place so of course it’s imperative that its spot on,” Ben said.
But SEO was a gap in his knowledge, one that the 123 Reg tool has helped to fill.
“The Search Engine Optimiser has been brilliant actually because I’m in the midst of redesigning a whole new website and rebranding and I was given the SEO tool on recommendation so I took it up and looked into all that stuff and I had no idea I could actually do that with my own website.
“I knew that the tools on other websites came with the feature of SEO but for my own personal website to actually find out how many clicks are going through to my homepage to certain projects. To find how well I’ve been represented on Google search engine was a revelation really and something that I should’ve known earlier but you don’t and I guess I represent most people in not knowing about that stuff.
“I found the tool very simple, very straight forward and yet the depth of information I was being given was fantastic. I found it really good to work with and valuable, really valuable. Knowing that stuff you can start to focus a little bit work on certain areas and it just gives you far more insight into your own business.”
Ben also recommends people use the tool to help fill in holes in their technical knowledge.
“I am good friends with my web developer so we have good relationship and he’s got a really good way of dumbing down the code of speak for an illustrator like myself so he educated me in what I should be doing and what I need to be improving on my website. With launching the new website and having the search engine optimiser tool I can go back to him and implement the things I’m being told from this tool which is golden information.”
He added: “I think that’s going to be a massive step forward as a small business because it’s a real competitive industry and I know that there are a lot more savvy people than me so I’m hoping this is a bit of an equaliser”
If you’ve been inspired to get cracking on SEO by Ben’s story, you can read our beginner’s guide to getting started with SEO here. It’s especially useful if you’re in the process of planning a new website, but the tips should help everyone who hasn’t worked on SEO before.
As always, if you have any questions about SEO feel free to get in touch with us via Facebook or Twitter.
