Small Business – SEO Frequently Asked Questions

Are you a small business owner looking to get more sales leads, inquiries or boost revenue?

Have you got a small company or business and are totally confused about SEO and need to have basic questions answered and don’t know where to go? Are you totally frustrated when it comes to SEO and everything to do with internet marketing? Have you tried to use an SEO company in the past and were really upset with their performance, customer service and constant lies about rankings and time frames?

SEO Sydney Experts came about because we wanted to help all small businesses have a chance online and have an opportunity to be competitive, perhaps even competing with the bigger players. There are just too many pitfalls and rip off merchants when it comes to SEO. We want to fight back, be on your side and give you the best chance possible of competing online against the big boys.

Let’s face it. If you are a small business, you are going to need SEO. There is no escaping this & it should now be considered the first step in marketing your business. Google is it and it seems as though it’s going to remain this way for many years to come.

For many business owners, this is a difficult step as very little is known about SEO or why it is needed to drive business and stimulate growth.

If you find yourself at a dead-end and are putting your hands up in complete frustration then we are here to help you sort out your SEO dramas with the following  FAQ’s which should be able to answer a few troubling questions.

What is SEO?

SEO or search engine optimisation is the process of improving your websites authority and trust in the eyes of Google. This is done by ensuring your website is completely Google compliant and combining this with a backlinking campaign which is the cornerstone of any SEO strategy.

Why does my small business need SEO?

This is a great question and one that I get asked about all the time. In short, the digital age is here and there is no denying the fact that the last place of small business advertising; the yellow pages are completely and utterly dead. The internet has essentially killed this off in the last 10 years and small business needs an alternative place to find customers.

So where is this new avenue of advertising? The answer is the search engines and in particular Google. Australian consumers flock to Google for any search query and if your small business is not there, then you might as well shut up shop. Simple as that. No matter the type or size of the business, if your website is not coming up within the first couple of pages of Google, then your potential customer is not going to be buying from you. and guess where they will be going? To the person who is ranking!

This is what SEO is all about and if you are a small business that is smart enough to understand the full and massive potential SEO can bring to your business, you are heading in the right direction.

This is why your business needs SEO and why you need to be thinking about this now.

How much does small business SEO cost?

Unfortunately, Google does not discriminate between businesses. It doesn’t know you are a new business and the fact remains that if you are to be competitive online you need to have a very realistic SEO budget. especially if you have a new website that has not even been indexed by Google.

Small budgets and small prices for your internet and SEO marketing just don’t exist unless your targeting a very specific keyword or are trying to rank in a local area where there’s little or no competition.  If that’s the case then a smaller budget is all that’s needed.

Rules for budgeting for SEO

• the newer the website, the less trust, therefore a larger budget is needed to establish this trust
• competitive niches require loads more work and will require lots more backlinks which means that you have to have more funds set aside
• if you have a new website and want to rank in a super competitive market then you had better have a sizeable monthly budget

Skimping on your SEO budget and looking for the cheapest provider will only end up with issues. Think about it for a moment. If you go with a company that is prepared to do your SEO for a couple of hundred dollars, what are they going to do?

They will cut corners, buy spammy ineffective links that will only harm your website. Google will pick up on these spammy practices and you will end up in trouble. That is 100% guaranteed!

Spend that bit extra and go with a company that will do the right thing for you.

What small businesses should be doing SEO?

In short, all businesses that are looking to get new customers. Most of them have tried other types of marketing; such as direct mail, EDM’s, letterbox drops, which have not worked out and need to capitalise on the tremendous benefits that only search engine optimisation can bring. Yellow pages, magazines and newspaper ads just don’t have the kind of marketing power they used to have. Google has swallowed the whole market up. Hence the need for SEO.

This includes all types of small businesses such as accountants, lawyers, restaurants, caterers, tradespeople, retailers, child care centres, any new startup, home help, eCommerce websites, doctors, engineers, hire companies; basically any business in Sydney, Melbourne or throughout Australia that has a website and needs to drive customers to it.

There are however some businesses that do not need any SEO and these are companies that are not looking to attract new clients or customers. They have established companies that have a few select clients they work for and are not looking for any other business. They are happy with the status quo and are perhaps looking to retire or close the company. But, overall the majority of small business owners will need to be looking at SEO.

How long does SEO take?

SEO is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Google has made sure that businesses that are only in this for the long haul, will see any benefits. This can take up to a year in some instances when a website is brand new and has little or no authority. This is not good news for some people, but realistic small business owners who can appreciate these timelines will see their rankings rise only if they take this organic approach to link building.

To establish a brand online and secure rankings patience and an understanding of the SEO process is going to be a fundamental element. Quick, overly fast results are common, but they are short-lived. What rises fast will surely come down just as fast. Slow and steady is the mantra and wins every time.

The way to rank a website is by constantly adding, refining content on your website and making sure that it’s really relevant for your customers. Once your website has enough trust; the content should rank.

I have a new website and it’s not doing well on Google, what’s going wrong?

Google want s a good user experience for the customers and if your website is hard to navigate, slow to load and offers nothing unique for the visitor, Google simply won’t rank it.  Make it compelling, make it interesting, fun and informative, then it will start to rank. Have a quick listen to this and see what the head of Google spam team Matt Cutts says about what Google is looking for.

How much input do I have to give during the SEO process?

You can have as much or as little involvement as you like. Ideally, there should be some participation from you, but any SEO company worthwhile will do the majority of the work.

There are, however, some things that a small company should do and that’s content marketing or blogging. If you are able to maintain this publishing of content on a weekly / monthly basis, this will help with your overall SEO campaign as your keeping the website fresh which is what the search engines want. Whilst it is only 1 component of the puzzle that makes up SEO, content marketing or blogging adds depth to your website, and lends more credibility to your brand.

Companies like ours are happy to help you with adding content but realistically, you know your business better than anyone – so if any words or pages are to be added, it’s best you do it.

Can I stop my SEO at any time and what will happen to the rankings if I do?

SEO is a continual process. Once you start the process you have to be committed to it. Google is forever refining and making changes to its search algorithm and SEO teams must be on top of this. The battle is only half won when you land on the top of Google. The other half to be fought is staying there. Keeping a continuous SEO campaign, by sending ranking signals to Google will ensure that you remain in a solid position online.

In short, SEO is a continual process that you need to keep paying for, month after month. If you stop, eventually your position will start to slide. This is inevitable.

I know this doesn’t sound ideal but if it brings in the business and the return on your investment is positive, then you should have no problems paying for this service. I can tell you one thing; it’s a lot cheaper than TV, radio or some print ads.

Also, starting and stopping your SEO linking is not a good idea. In fact, it may even help your competition. Stopping the SEO is one thing, but realising that your rankings are dropping and then deciding to speed up the SEO and make up for a lost time, may seem inorganic and may just trigger a ‘flag warning’. These are the kinds of tactics you want to avoid. As stated previously, keeping a consistent and methodical approach to your internet marketing is the best approach.

What’s so special about SEO Sydney Experts? You all sound the same.

This is one of the most common questions I have to answer over the phone. Many people who have either being duped or ripped off by previous SEO companies are really cautious about trying another company. Or they have done the ring around and they are hearing the same answers. It’s hard to differentiate one company from the other.

What makes us different is our ability to rank websites. If you are reading this blog, then that’s proof enough. Or even better have a look at our rankings for the keywords ‘SEO Sydney’ – as of 22nd April 2021 we are ranking # 6 and expect this to improve. I have been able to rank our main site in the most competitive niches which just goes to show you that we know what we are doing.

Plus, we are very open and honest about SEO. All I ask is that you spend 10 minutes speaking with me; Steven on 02 9360 8514 and after this little chat you will understand what I mean. I will tell you all there is to know about SEO and what other companies are either afraid to tell you or simply hide from you.