This week I’m excited to bring my first guest into my newsletter. Someone that I connected with via Twitter and admired for his thought-leading ideas, Shawn Hill.

As an SEO strategist, niche-site owner, and pizza lover - no, seriously, he loves pizza - Shawn always offers riveting conversations around everything on the web.

I asked him to take a 10,000-foot approach to simplify the importance of SEO to small business owners and how they can champion their brand for success.

Hope you enjoy this week’s edition!

What are some of the most common mistakes you see small businesses make regarding SEO?

“The biggest mistake I see small businesses make regarding SEO is expecting immediate results on a brand new site. SEO takes time, and it’s a long-term play. If, however, it’s an established site, you can have several quick wins with a good SEO strategy.”

2012 Called, They Want Their Keywords Back

“Another mistake I see is keyword stuffing. Whether they’re doing it themselves or hiring a cheap SEO provider, I see keywords stuffed into everything—the title tags, meta descriptions, alt text of images, and their content. Remember, you’re trying to win human customers, and robots don’t need your services, so write for humans.”

What would be ONE suggestion that all Small business owners should do for their website?

“Take time to understand your customers. What are their pain points? What does the customer journey start with? What are they searching for before calling you?”

“If you take time to write helpful content, you’re not losing business; you’re gaining trust.”

“If you take time to write helpful content, you’re not losing business; you’re gaining trust.”

Share

Added Value on Your Site, Leads To Trust

“As an example, a plumber writing content on how to ring out of a p-trap isn’t losing business. If the reader can recover the ring, they just helped the customer, which could lead to positive reviews and a lifelong customer when they need plumbing help.”

“Top-of-funnel keywords may not pay you today, but they’ll pay off in the long run.”

What do you recommend to business owners if their developers ghost or leave them hanging?

“This sucks. It gives a bad name to anyone in digital marketing. But let it be a lesson learned. Do thorough research ahead of time.”

Start With The Right Digital Marketer

“But also, take your advice. Most small businesses say they must go behind crappy service providers and fix their mistakes—the same is said in digital marketing. And it costs a lot more to fix a problem than to do it right from the beginning.”

Why is an updated Google Map Business listing so important?

“Accuracy leads to speed, and speed is everything — if they want to call you and the number is wrong, they’re not going to look you up elsewhere. Instead, they’re just clicking the next listing and the next listing until someone answers.”

Google Business Listing Is Essential

“Aside from that, consistency on your name, address, and phone number across the web can help send positive signals to Google. That can help give them clues that you’re a real business and can lead to better rankings.”

Want to connect with Shawn?

Head over to Twitter to follow him for his great insights!

Shawn Hill 🍕 @shwnhll

When I started my site 22 months ago, my dream goal was to make $500/month. It’s now making about $500/day. Dream bigger.

I want to hear from you…

What experiences do you have with small business SEO?
What mistake have you made in SEO?
Do you think small businesses should invest in SEO or paid advertising first?

Let me know what you think, and leave a comment! 👇

Leave a comment

👩🏻‍🏫 What I consumed this week…

My Tweet of the Week:

Virginia Buechel @buewho

It took me 10 years to figure out why I liked marketing. I'm a curious person. Curiosity links to your growth as a successful marketer. 👇 here are 4 ways why it's important

The Full-Stack Feed

2012 Called, They Want Their Keywords Back