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NASHVILLE, TN — For smaller businesses with limited funds, checking off some basic SEO starting points can be done for free with a little research and know-how. Here are some small things you can do that will increase the value of your website. We’ve touched on each of these points in detail in previous posts that we’ll link to below as they come up, but combined, these tips are just what you need to jump-start your SEO efforts today.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: don’t wait for Google to find your site through their crawling spiders. Instead, add your website to Google’s index and then submit your unique Sitemap. You can access these settings through Google’s Webmaster Tools, which you can read about on a recent Master Google post, here.

You know you need links, now take it one step further: increase the links pointing to your website, and get creative in how you go about it. You could write a guest post on a related blog or feature a post from a guest blogger on your website. You could even sponsor a product giveaway on one of your favorite websites or blogs. We talked aboutblog trackbacks and pingbacks in a previous post, and recommend it for extra credit reading.

Adding keywords and updating content frequently can help you move up in search engine rankings. Content is king, after all. Offer relevant information to your potential clients. What have you learned about your field that you want to share? If you choose to start a blog, it’s important to provide good, quality content. Don’t start a blog just to be redundant. Providing fresh topics and insight in your field will make your site a welcomed destination for viewers. You can even allow comments to spark thoughtful conversation.

Analyze your website’s content carefully. First, make sure your page titles clearly and concisely state what your viewer will find on each page. If you’re familiar with HTML, check to see if your meta tags beneath your page titles are being used properly. In that space, write a concise but descriptive blurb about what each page offers.

Next, imagine you’re searching for your own product or company. What words would you type into a search engine, assuming you weren’t familiar with your company’s name? Google’s Webmaster Guidelines states this well: “Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.”

It may seem like common sense, but giving your content a close reading will help. Ask a spouse or close friend to describe your website. Do the keywords they used match the ones in your featured content?

Saturation of other mediums, including videos and images, can help your site rank higher if done correctly. Title your image with relevant phrases, as we discussed in a recent post about image SEO, so that if a potential client is searching key terms in the images section, your content is easily available. After all, adding other media to your website can increase functionality for your users. An easy way to see your pages similarly to how the Googlebot sees them is to view your website in Lynx, a text-based browser.

If you embed a video on your website, consider adding text as a transcript or a detailed summary of the video to enhance the crawling and indexing of your website.

By implementing these small steps, you can get started, but SEO is not a part-time job. To get to a top spot with Google, you need to hire a team that can give its full effort and range of expertise to your business. After all, hiring an SEO expert like our CEO, Ali Husayni, could take your business to the next level.

“You may not have the budget for a full-scale SEO campaign if you’re just starting out, but some time with an SEO consultant to get you started may be within your budget and well worth the expense,” says Husayni. “Call the office for a free consultation to find out.” Click here to contact us about our services.