Little time, hardly any money but still highly motivated to invest in new marketing measures?
This is the situation for most small companies.

SEO is a particularly interesting investment for SMEs. An optimized website strengthens the online presence, ensures long-term visibility and brings potential customers into the sales funnel through high-quality content.

We have put together the best SEO measures that you can implement as a small company with limited financial resources and little SEO experience.

We also explain who search engine optimization is suitable for and how you can assert yourself against large companies. Have fun reading!

Who is SEO suitable for?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is suitable for any type of company that wants to make its products or services visible online and organically increase its reach. Whether carpentry, dog grooming or fashion label. These types of companies benefit from investing in SEO:

E-commerce companies: SEO is a must for online stores. It is a cost-effective way to generate more traffic and sales.
Service companies: Lawyers, consultants, doctors and other service providers gain new customers through SEO.
Local businesses: Restaurants, craftsmen and retailers can reach more local customers through local SEO.

Importance of Local SEO

Local businesses didn’t usually need a web presence in the past, but today it’s different. For small businesses, local SEO is crucial to attract local customers. It helps to be found better in local search results and on Google Maps. Important aspects of Local SEO are:

Google My Business: A complete and optimized Google My Business profile is essential. Create and optimize your profile, including photos, opening hours and contact information.
Local keywords: Use keywords that target your city or region.
Customer reviews: Ask your customers for reviews and respond to all reviews. Promote positive reviews on other platforms too.
Local backlinks: Network with other local businesses and organizations for backlinks and collaborations.

When does SEO not make sense for small businesses?

As the managing director of an SME, you know the struggle: the to-do’s are long, time is limited. And money anyway. However, if you want to improve your visibility through SEO measures, you need these resources.

You should therefore consider in advance whether investing in SEO makes sense for you and your company.

SEO probably makes no sense for your company if:

You need short-term results: An SEO strategy is a long-term marketing measure. If you need immediate results, paid advertising campaigns may be more suitable.
Your competition is extremely high: If there is extremely high competition in your industry, it can be difficult to prevail with a limited SEO budget. Paid advertising campaigns or other marketing channels may be the better way to go in the short term.
You don’t have an online business model: If your business operates mainly offline and requires little to no online traffic, and your target customers are not searching for your product or service online, then you may benefit less from SEO.

In general, however, SEO makes sense for any company that has an online presence. However, as small companies only have limited resources, it is important to invest in the right measures.

Okay, how do I get started with SEO?

To successfully implement SEO measures in the future and refresh your SEO knowledge, you should first understand the basics of search engine optimization.

Search engines, in most cases Google, evaluate your website based on various criteria. If one of your pages provides the supposedly best answer to a certain search query and has been optimized according to common criteria, your page will be displayed at the top of the search results.

The optimizations can be divided into the areas of technology (e.g. HTTPS, XML sitemap, loading times), on-page SEO (keyword optimization, content) and off-page SEO (link building).

The most important ranking factors of the Google algorithm include

Qualitative, unique and up-to-date content with added value
Relevant keywords for your target customers that appear in the content and source code of the website
Incoming links from other websites, so-called backlinks
A good user experience, especially on mobile devices
Fast loading times

The focus of modern search engine optimization (especially since Google’s latest Helpful Content Update) is on high-quality content and branding. It is therefore worthwhile for your company to secure expert status in its field in the long term.

If you have not yet had any contact with search engine optimization, these are your first steps:

Familiarize yourself with a keyword tool: The free Google Keyword Planner is well suited for beginners. SEMrush or Ahrefs offer deeper insights and more functions for keyword optimization. Then start with a keyword analysis.
Use Google Search Console: Use Google Search Console to monitor your website’s performance and troubleshoot technical issues.
Implement the following SEO measures for small businesses step-by-step.

SEO for small businesses: The most efficient measures

The SEO strategy of an SME includes technical optimization in order to be better crawled and indexed by search engines. However, we won’t dwell on this for long.

The focus of our measures is on identifying relevant keywords, creating high-quality content and building backlinks.

1. technical SEO

Technical search engine optimization refers to optimizing the technical aspects of your website to improve indexing and crawling by search engines. You should consider the following things:

Fast loading time

A fast loading time is crucial for the user experience and ranking. With tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights, you can check the loading speed and optimize it accordingly.

Start by compressing the images on your website. This is the easiest way to reduce your loading time and requires no prior technical knowledge.

In the next step, you should minimize your JavaScript and CSS and use browser caching. If you use WordPress, performance plugins such as WP Rocket are recommended for this. Otherwise, talk to your website manager about the options.

Mobile optimization

Make sure that your website looks good on mobile devices and, above all, is easy to use. Google prefers mobile-optimized websites and takes user-friendliness on smartphones and tablets into account in its rankings.

How do I ensure that my website is mobile optimized?

You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check the mobile-friendliness of your website. You should also use responsive design templates to ensure optimal display on mobile devices.

These are offered as standard by common content management systems (CMS) and store systems, so you only need to activate or customize them.

XML Sitemap

Create and maintain an XML sitemap to make it easier for search engines to index your pages. An XML sitemap lists all the pages of your website and helps search engines to crawl them efficiently.

How do I go about it?

If your website has less than 500 pages, you can have a sitemap created free of charge on the website xml-sitemaps.com. You can also create them with WordPress plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math.

The next step is to submit your sitemap to Google:

Log in to your Google Search Console account. Alternatively, you can also create a new account.
Open the menu on the left and select your property. To do this, click on Search property.
Then go to Index > Sitemaps in the menu on the left.
Paste sitemap. into the empty field.
Click on Send.

SSL certificate

Encrypted websites are rated positively by Google and offer a secure connection for your users. This also sends positive signals to visitors, as they are not warned of an unencrypted website.

To ensure security and gain the trust of users, you should make sure that your website runs over HTTPS.

How do I switch my website to HTTPS?

First of all, you need an SSL certificate. You can obtain this from your hosting provider. In most cases, this is included in the plan free of charge, sometimes you have to buy it additionally. In any case, you must activate the certificate on your hosting provider’s website. After 1-2 days, you can check it and you will usually be shown a secure connection to your website.

2. keyword strategy

Technical optimizations are important so that your website runs smoothly and Google can crawl and index your pages correctly. They form the basis for SEO.

To achieve top rankings in the search results as a small company, you also need a clever keyword strategy.

Keywords are the terms and phrases that potential customers enter into search engines to find information, products or services. To find the most important search terms for your website, proceed as follows:

Research keywords

The first step in developing a keyword strategy is to research terms that potential customers are searching for.

Use keyword tools: Use tools such as the free Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, SEMrush or Ahrefs to find relevant keywords. These tools show the search volume, competition and related keywords.
Brainstorming: Think about what terms your customers might use to search for your products or services. Make a note of these terms and use the tools mentioned above to check whether they are actually being searched for.
Competitor analysis: Take a look at your competitors’ websites and analyze which keywords they use. This can help you to identify gaps and opportunities.

In this article you will receive detailed information on how to research and optimize keywords.

Identify long-tail keywords and niche keywords

The keyword summer dress, for example, has a high search volume and a high keyword difficulty. As an SME that has just started with SEO, it is very difficult to rank high for this term.

For this reason, you should focus on niche keywords that have less search volume but just as little competition. The same applies to long-tail keywords.

These are more specific and longer search terms that are less competitive. They often attract more targeted traffic, which is more likely to lead to conversions.

Example of long-tail keywords:

Instead of just using “summer dress”, you could choose “summer dress for tall women” as a long-tail keyword.

Serve search intention

The search intention describes the reason why a user performs a particular search. There are three main categories of search intent:

Informative: The user searches for information. Examples: “How do I alter a summer dress?”, “SEO tips for small businesses”.
Navigational: The user searches for a specific website or page. Example: “Schneiderei Müller”.
Transactional: The user intends to buy something or perform an action. Examples: “Buy a summer dress online”, “Hire an SEO agency”.

To serve the search intent, you need to create content that offers exactly what the user is looking for. Informative content should provide detailed answers, while transactional content is aimed at sales or conversion.

3. on-page optimization

The integration of researched keywords is an elementary part of on-page SEO. If you use the terms in the right places on your website, you can also become visible in the search engines as a small company. On-page refers to measures that are implemented directly on your website.

Title tags

The title tag is the most important element of on-page optimization. It should contain the main keyword and be formulated in an appealing way in order to achieve high click-through rates. A good title tag is concise, informative and contains a call-to-action.

It should be between 50 and 60 characters long, anything longer than that will not be displayed in full on Google.

Example: “SEO tips for small businesses – Increase your visibility” instead of “SEO tips”.

Meta descriptions

Meta descriptions are short descriptions that are displayed in the search results. They should contain keywords and encourage the user to click. A good meta description is informative and arouses the interest of the searcher. It should be between 150 and 160 characters long.

Example: “Discover the best SEO tips for small businesses, increase your online visibility and improve your rankings. Find out more here.”

Header tags

Use H1 for the main title and H2/H3 for subheadings. This structure helps search engines to better understand the content of your page and improves readability for users.

H1: The main title should contain the main keyword and may only be used once.
H2and H3: Subheadings should cover related keywords and topics.

URL structure

A well-structured URL is easy to read and helps search engines to understand the content of your page. The URL should be short and concise and contain the main keyword.

Example:“www.meinewebsite.de/seo-tipps-kleine-unternehmen” instead of“www.meinewebsite.de/index.php?id=1234”.

Internal linking

Link relevant pages within your website to improve crawlability. Search engines can find and index all pages of your website better through internal links.

Internal links can also help to distribute the “link equity” (also known as “link juice”) from high-ranking pages to other pages on your website. This can lead to less prominent pages ranking better in the search results.

Example: Link a blog article about “SEO tips” in an article about “content marketing”.

Alt tags for images

Describe your images with alt tags to be found in the image search and improve accessibility. Alt tags should describe the image and contain relevant keywords.

Example: “Alt tag: Infographic on SEO strategies for small businesses”.

If image search is important for your business, be sure to check out this article on SEO image optimization.

4. content creation

With your keyword list, you can now move on to the next important SEO part: content creation. Regularly uploading new, high-quality content to your website is the key to SEO success.

Blog articles are particularly effective for covering search queries from the first customer journey phase.

At this stage, the potential customer does not yet have a specific purchase plan, but is still looking for information on topics related to your offer. You can use blog articles to bring these people to your website and use your expertise to guide them step-by-step to the desired action.

Create content plan

Start by identifying relevant and interesting topics for your target group. Use tools such as Answer the Public to find popular questions and topics and find out what problems your target group has.
Based on these questions and problems, you can have ChatGPT create a content plan for you. Let ChatGPT suggest a keyword for each topic.
You should then analyze the suggested keywords in a keyword tool according to search volume and competition and use this to determine the order of the topics. You should target keywords with little competition first.
Determine how many articles you want to post per month. To benefit from your SEO investment in the long term, we recommend setting a content plan for the next 6 months and publishing at least two articles per month.

Structure of a successful blog article

Structure

A well-structured blog article consists of an introduction, several main sections and a summary. Use subheadings (H2, H3) to organize the text clearly. This helps both readers and search engines to understand the content.

Length and quality

Blog articles should be at least 1000 words to provide in-depth information. Quality is more important than quantity – focus on providing added value and answering readers’ questions. If there are already articles on your topic, you can use the length of the competition as a guide.

Visual elements

Integrate images, graphics and videos to break up the text and make it easier to understand. Visual elements make your content more appealing and help to convey complex information more easily.

5. building backlinks

The last item on your list of SEO measures is building backlinks. These are links from other websites to your own. They are an important ranking factor as they serve as a trust signal for search engines.

There are several strategies for generating backlinks:

Write guest posts: Contact blogs and websites in your industry and offer them guest articles.
Build partnerships: Network with other companies and organizations for reciprocal links.
Create high-quality content: Produce high-quality blog articles, infographics or whitepapers that others will link to.
Use directory listings: Submit your business to business directories to get additional backlinks. These are not the highest quality backlinks and are less relevant for SEO, but they can still increase your visibility.

Use of SEO tools

If you haven’t already done so, you should definitely get to grips with various SEO tools. They are indispensable for monitoring, analyzing and improving your SEO efforts.

Google Analytics

Every company actually uses Google Analytics. For the sake of completeness, we’ll list it anyway. It’s a free SEO tool that allows you to track traffic to your website and analyze user behavior. It offers detailed reports on visitor sources, page views, dwell time and much more.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console helps you monitor your website’s performance in search results and fix technical issues. It provides insights into search queries, clicks, impressions and the average position of your pages.

SEMrush/Ahrefs/Sistrix

These comprehensive SEO tools offer keyword research, backlink analysis and competitor analysis, among other things. As these are paid tools, think carefully about whether you need them at the beginning of your SEO journey. As you become more professional in the field of SEO, you will want to use these tools sooner or later.

SEO plugins/apps

There are now countless website and store system providers. For common systems such as WordPress, Shopify, Wix, 1&1, Shopware and others, there are SEO plugins or apps that make on-page and off-page optimization easier for you.

If we prefer to outsource, how much does search engine optimization cost per month?

The cost of SEO can vary greatly depending on various factors such as the competition in the industry, the desired results and the specific services being utilized. Here are some general guidelines:

Agencies and freelancers: The prices for SEO services provided by agencies or freelancers can range from 500 to 10,000 euros per month. An SME should expect to pay around €2,000 to €3,500 per month to achieve significant results.
In-house SEO: If you hire someone in-house, you need to consider the salary costs as well as possible training and software costs. On average, an SEO specialist in Germany earns between 3000 and 5000 euros gross per month.
DIY SEO: If you do SEO yourself, you have to invest time and may have costs for tools that you need.

How can I hold my own in SEO against larger companies?

Even as an SME, you can hold your own against larger competitors with targeted SEO strategies. Here are some approaches:

Niche focus: Concentrate on specific, less competitive niches.
Local SEO: Whether you have an internet business or a hairdressing salon. Local SEO helps you to be found better in your region and increases your visibility.
Use long-tail keywords: Focus on longer and more specific keywords that have less competition.
Use local directories: List your business in local directories and on Google My Business.
Share customer experiences: Use positive customer reviews and testimonials to build trust.
High quality content: Regularly publish content that is specifically tailored to the needs of your target group.
Agility: As an SME, you have the advantage of being able to react quickly and flexibly to market changes. In contrast to large companies with many decision-makers, you can implement new SEO trends at record speed.

SEO for small businesses: More visibility, expertise and organic traffic in the long term

SEO for small businesses can be a powerful tool to become successful online. Through the right keyword strategy, quality content creation, effective on-page optimization, technical SEO, backlink building and the use of SEO tools, you can significantly improve your visibility and build expert status.

Start with the measures that best fit your time and financial budget and continuously expand your SEO horizon to generate organic traffic in the long term.

Clever SEO strategies for small businesses: How to stand your ground against bigger competitors