You run a small business and want to rank higher in search engines, but your marketing team is small.
How can you compete with massive corporations that employ entire SEO departments?
The key is focusing your limited resources on the on-page SEO factors that really move the needle.
Forget chasing trends and stick to the fundamentals. In this article, we’ll show you the most impactful on-page SEO tips for small teams in 2023 so you can maximize your efforts and climb higher in the SERPs, even with less.
Small but mighty, here you come!
Focus on Keyword Research
Have a brainstorming session to make the list of keywords and phrases your intended public. Think about different word combinations, questions, and long-tail keywords. Use free tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, Moz’s Keyword Explorer, or SEMrush to check the search volume and difficulty of the keywords on your list.
Look for words with a high volume and low keyword difficulty. Many searches for these keywords, but only a few other sites have optimized them. Targeting these “low-hanging fruit” keywords will give you the biggest bang for your buck.
Once you’ve identified your target keywords, use them in your page titles, headers, content, image alt text, and meta descriptions. Place the keywords naturally in your content instead of just cramming them in. Write for humans, not search engines.
Using your keywords strategically on your site will help search engines understand what your content is about and rank you higher in the search results for those terms. As a small team, nailing your keyword research and on-page optimization is key to maximizing your SEO success without a huge resource investment. With the right keywords and content, you can achieve great results with an SEO strategy focused on quality over quantity.
Optimize for Mobile-First Indexing
Optimizing for mobile-first indexing is non-negotiable if you want to rank well in 2023. Google has made it clear that mobile optimization is one of their top ranking factors, and if your site is challenging to use on phones and tablets, you’ll get left behind.
The good news is, optimizing for mobile-first indexing can be simple, even for small teams. Here are a few tips to get started:
- Make sure your site is responsive. A responsive design automatically adjusts to various screen sizes. This is the easiest way to ensure your content is mobile-friendly. If a responsive redesign isn’t in the budget, at a minimum, make text easy to read and links easy to tap on mobile.
- Pay attention to page speed. A fast-loading mobile site leads to higher rankings and more traffic. Compress images, minimize redirects, and remove any unnecessary code or plugins slowing your site down.
- Focus on the content. Write in a simple, scannable style with clear section headings. Break up long paragraphs and place important information at the top of the page where mobile viewers will see it first.
- Optimize images. Use compressed formats for images such as .jpg and .png and ensure all text included in the images is big enough for reading on small screens. Alt text, captions, and image filenames should include relevant keywords.
- Test and improve. Regularly check how your pages look on mobile devices and make improvements. See if links and buttons are easy to tap, the menu and navigation options are clear, and the content is simple to read and understand. Make mobile UX a priority, and your rankings will thrive.
Optimizing for mobile-first indexing can become second nature with some time and testing, even for small teams with limited resources. Do the work right now, and you’ll reap advantages for years.
Page Speed Matters
Page speed is crucial for ranking well in search engines like Google. If your site loads slowly, visitors may click away before it even finishes loading, and Google may penalize you in rankings. As a small team, optimizing page speed is one of the most impactful things you can do.
Compress Images
Images with large sizes significantly hinder page load times. Reduce all your photos to the smallest size without degrading quality. Use a tool like TinyPNG or Kraken.io to compress images in bulk. For photos, aim for under 100KB and under 50KB for icons and graphics.
Reduce HTTP Requests
Every component on your site – images or scripts, stylesheets, and so on- requires HTTP requests. The higher the number of requests, the slow the site loads.
Reduces the number of requests
- Combining several CSS and JS files to create just one
- Making use of CSS Sprites to merge several images in one
- Removing unused code and media from your pages
- Caching static content like images, CSS and JS so they don’t have to load on each page view
Enable GZIP Compression
GZIP compression shrinks the size of HTML, CSS, and JS files by up to 70-90% before sending them to the user’s browser. This significantly speeds up page loading. Most web servers support GZIP compression—you need to enable it.
Choose a Fast Host
Your web host has a huge impact on site speed. Some budget hosts overload their servers, slowing down your site. Look for a host that:
- Specializes in WordPress or the platform you use
- Has a reputation for speed and uptime
- Offers SSD storage and a CDN
- Has data centers near your target audience
Optimizing page speed may require an initial investment of time, but the long-term rewards to your search rankings and user experience are well worth the effort. You can make a big impact with limited resources by focusing on compressing images, reducing HTTP requests, enabling GZIP compression, and choosing a fast web host. Your users and search rankings will thank you.
Internal Linking for the Win
Internal linking can be among the most efficient SEO methods on the web for small teams to use. Through the linking of relevant content on your website, You can accomplish a variety of objectives at the same time:
Improved User Experience
Linking to related content makes it easy for visitors to find more of what they want. Rather than searching or navigating elsewhere, they can click to discover complementary content.
Better Ranking Potential
Internal links pass authority and rankings power from one page to another. When you link from an authoritative page, like your home page or service page, to a newer content piece, you’re giving that new page a boost in the eyes of search engines. Over time, this can help that page rank higher in search results.
Increased Time on Site
With more links to click, visitors will likely stay on your site longer, reading and exploring. The more time they spend engaging with your content, the more opportunity they have to become a lead or customer.
- Link to related blog posts or resources at the bottom of each article. For example, link to your “Beginner’s Guide to SEO” at the end of an article on keyword research.
- Link to service or product pages that would interest your readers. If you wrote a post on social media marketing, link to your social media management services page.
- Link to your most important and authoritative pages (like your home page or about us page) from all other pages on your site. This helps pass authority to the rest of your site.
- Use relevant anchor text for your internal links, like “social media marketing services” rather than “click here.” This provides context for search engines and users.
- Check your internal linking structure regularly and look for opportunities to improve the user experience. The more you link, the more powerful your on-page SEO can become!
With time and effort focused on internal linking, small teams can gain a big SEO advantage and make the most of their content and website. Keep at it; you’ll see the benefits in your search traffic and rankings before you know it!
Conclusion
So here you have some actionable tips to help your small team dominate SEO in 2023 and beyond. Optimize your on-page SEO by prioritizing content, page speed, and internal linking.
While SEO can seem complicated, if you focus on the fundamentals and work as an efficient team, you’ll be well on your way to gaining more organic traffic and achieving your goals.