SEO for Small Business: 3 Strategies Every Company Should Consider In 2022

Mobile Optimization

“So, first off, again mobile usability is completely separate from mobile-first indexing.

A site can or cannot be usable from a mobile point of view, but it can still contain all of the content that we need for mobile-first indexing. An extreme example, if you take something like a PDF file, then on mobile that would be terrible to navigate. The links will be hard to click, the text will be hard to read. But all of the text is still there, and we could perfectly index that with mobile-first indexing.

Mobile usability is not the same as mobile-first indexing.”

           - John Mueller, Google Search Advocate

Mobile-First Indexing

At the beginning of 2017 Google announced that they will be gradually rolling out mobile-first indexing in an effort to provide a better user experience.

As of June 2020, many websites were not indexing properly and the update is still being rolled out. Google director for webspam Matt Cutts spoke about this issue at that time saying "We have been working with sites across a variety of industries which are taking different approaches to mobile-friendliness."

Google announced at that point that instead of switching on September 2020, it would delay mobile-first indexing until March 2021. This means website owners need to be more aware of how they optimize their sites for search engines and make sure all pages are optimized properly in order not to have any issues when using this function later down the road!

It has been reported that John Mueller, Google Search Advocate said it could take the team longer than the March 2021 date to get all sites moved over.

Actions to Take on Google’s Mobile-First Index to improve SEO for Small Business:

Improve Mobile Page Speed

The time it takes for your website to load can have a major impact on how users perceive you and whether they return. In the past, many people overlooked Page speed as being an important factor in rankings because Google would only penalize sites that had slow-loading pages or bad user experiences with their site's content anyway--but not anymore! With all these changes going on within search engines today due specifically to mobile first indexing and updates about what goes into measuring this score (Advanced Core Web Vitals), it is more critical than ever before for web developers/designers to know their way around optimizing page speeds so urls are quick enough.

Content Rendering and Googlebot Accessibility

For the best Google rankings, it’s important to use meta robots tags on your mobile site and make sure that lazy-loading content can be loaded by Web crawlers. You should also give priority access to crawling resources so you don't get penalized in search engine results!

Check for Mobile Usability issues in Google Search Console

In order for a site to be successfully optimized in the mobile-first index, you need regular monitoring of the Search Console and careful attention when making changes. Make sure that your website is performing well by looking at “mobile usability” as well as Core Web Vitals reports on an ongoing basis so any issues can quickly get fixed before rank penalties kick into effect!

Mobile Usability Has a Significant Impact on SEO for Small Business

SEOs should think of searchers as being on a mobile device. Mobile-friendly status seems simple, but it's worth questioning your approach to ensure that you're providing the best experience for these potential customers and will be able to provide their needs in future searches from any device they happen to use.

Mobiles have become increasingly popular over time due to both technological advancements such as smartphones with high-quality screens or 4G/5G data connections which allow people living outside major cities to access the internet via portable terminals at select stores where service is available; this means those living remotely can also shop online without having to go out during business hours.

Actions to Take on Mobile Usability to improve:

• Implement Responsive Design

Responsive design is a key component of creating mobile-friendly websites. When you integrate responsive web development into your site, it will automatically adjust to any type or screen size for users and grant them the best viewing experience possible on their own devices! Imagine trying out our desktop version from home – not only would this make everything difficult due to its high-resolution requirements but also far less practical given how many people now use smartphones as opposed to traditional desktops which were once commonplace across America's households.

• User Experience is Priority

Designing a “thumb-friendly” mobile site is important for users who primarily use their thumbs to navigate the internet. The best way you can do this as an entrepreneur or businessperson with limited time available in order not only to create navigation that makes sense but also allows people easy access from one thing on your page all the way through clicking items they want more information about, ordering products from within those pages if necessary etcetera!

• Be Careful With Flashing Content and Pop-Ups

A good way to optimize your pop-up is by making sure it only takes up 50% of the screen on mobile. If you do this, then users will be able to see what they were looking for and get rid of any confusion they might have had with getting back onto their original page after viewing an advertisement or SlideShare presentation

A major problem with many popup windows today are those that take over most (or all) aspects within view when using smaller gadgets like smartphones; however, this can make visitors frustrated as well since there isn't enough space left around these blockers which leaves them unable understandable anything outside said adverts.

Intent-Oriented Keyword Research

When you're looking for information, it can be hard to know which keywords will help target your audience. That's where intent comes in! The high-intent types of search query include informational searches (searching to answer questions or learn something) and navigational ones that lead someone from point A towards their desired destination like finding directions home; transactional activities are when people perform an actual transaction with the website they found via this type of query--whether purchasing items online is what motivated them initially searching.

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Keywords can be split into 3 categories:

• Navigational
  
  

Navigational keywords have the intent to reach a particular website or a brand.
Examples: “Nike”, “ Toronto City Hall website”, “CyberPalmTree”.

• Informational
  
  

The intent is to find the information that might be present on one or multiple websites.

Examples: “house prices LA”, “MacBook Pro 2021 reviews”, “signs of depression”.

• Transactional

The intent is to perform some web-mediated activity.

Examples: “buy running shoes online”, “get a car insurance quote Toronto”, “Coachella 2021 tickets”.

On-Page SEO

When it comes to SEO, don't forget about keywords. In fact, include them in the copy itself and you'll see a boost of Google rankings! Here are some on-page optimization best practices:

Mention relevant topics for both web pages as well as blog posts by using tags or categories; this will make it easier for search engines such as Google to find what they're looking for when someone searches with those words in mind - especially if there's more than one page discussing that same topic Avoid overuse of bold characters/fonts since these can be easily missed against lighter backgrounds which make reading difficult.

Here are some best practices to keep in mind for your on-page SEO for Small Business:

• Include your focus keyword in your page title
• Include your keyword in the first 100 words of your text
• Include your focus keyword in your h1, h3 and h3
• Include 2-3 internal and external links on each page

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