7 Effective On-Page SEO Strategies for Small Businesses in 2024

A majority of marketers and entrepreneurs know that implementing the right on-page SEO strategies for small businesses is a fool-proof way to drive growth.

A 2023 research study report by HubSpot shows SEO among the top five marketing trends with the highest ROI.

But for small businesses trying to build a robust online presence, standing out above the competition isn’t easy.

Implementing  powerful on-page strategies can be a particularly effective approach for small businesses.

In this article, I delve into seven powerful tactics that will put your website above competitors.

7 Easy On-Page SEO Strategies for Small Businesses

Whether you’re running a small business or want to build your first ecommerce store, these on-page SEO strategies are easy to implement but have long-term effects on your SEO performance.

1. Optimize Your Title Tags

Title tags allow you to give titles to the web pages that appear on search engine results pages (SERPs).

They tell Google what a web page is about and its relevance to the search query. It helps your pages rank for relevant keywords.

If you search using the keywords ‘email marketing,’ for instance, you’ll find that all the search results contain this keyword in their title tags. 

Which on-page SEO strategies can small businesses use to optimize their title tags? Take these steps:

• Front-load your keyword
• Keep your title tags between 50 to 60 characters
• Avoid all caps. It makes it hard for users to read and the size of the letters may limit the characters the search engine can display
• Have a unique title tag for each web page
• Ensure the title tag reflects the content of your page

2. Optimize Your Meta Description

A meta description is a short summary of the content of a webpage. It appears under the page title.

Search engines display the meta description in the search engine results pages to give a user an idea of the content in the URL and how it’s relevant to their search query.

Although a meta description doesn’t affect search rankings, it entices users to click on the URL. And a high click-through rate improves your search rankings.

It makes this one of the most effective on-page SEO strategies for small businesses.

Here are some steps you can take to create an optimized meta description:

• Make it 155-160 characters long
• Ensure it is sufficiently descriptive. Tell the reader why your page is the best choice to answer their question.
• Be sure to include the primary keyword
• Use an active voice and conversational language

Here’s an example of a great meta description from Nordstrom.

It uses the keyword and keyword variation. The language also makes the user want to explore the shoes on the page.

Avoid using similar meta descriptions for your web pages. One of the smart on-page SEO strategies is to craft unique and compelling meta descriptions for your pages.

3. Incorporate the Right Keywords

Using keywords helps search engines know what your web page is about. It’s one of the best on-page SEO strategies for small businesses to implement.

By strategically placing the right keywords in your website, search engines can identify your website as a suitable solution to a searcher’s query.

How do you find the keywords to use in your content? Carry out in-depth keyword research using these steps:

• List down relevant topics in your industry related to the products or services you sell
• Write down the topics your target customer would use to search the web that are related to your products or services
• Think of the words a searcher would type to search the topics you’ve listed. For example, someone searching for coffee-making equipment would use words like coffee plunger. These will be your seed keywords

Once you have your list of seed keywords, use keyword research tools suitable for small businesses, such as Semrush, to find other related short-tail and long-tail keywords. 

Here’s a Semrush review post by Attrock that explains what makes it the best keyword research tool.

If you use Semrush to search for the word ‘coffee plunger,’ for instance, you get lots of other related keywords you can use. 

Factor in search volume, keyword competitiveness, and keyword value when picking the right keywords.

It’ll help you work with keywords you have a high chance of ranking. I know this is time-consuming work, but you can always hire a digital marketing virtual assistant to help you out.

Be sure to include keywords and keyword variations in your:

• Headings and subheadings
• Page titles
• URLs
• Image ALT tags
• Meta descriptions
• Product pages
• Landing pages
• Title tags

4. Create Valuable Content

There are plenty of ranking factors that Google uses to rank pages. Content creation helps you meet most of these factors by:

• Proving your authority in your niche
• Driving traffic to your site and keeping them engaged. It shows Google that your content is valuable and worth ranking
• Attracting high-quality backlinks to your page. It shows that experts in your niche trust and rate your content

It makes content creation one of the most effective on-page SEO strategies for small businesses looking for higher rankings.

Here are a few tips you can use to create compelling content that improves on-page SEO and increases online bookings:

• Define who your target reader is and what their pain points are. Then, create content that provides solutions. For instance, if you want to project your business as tax experts, you can create content around tax planning, compliance, and more.
• Make your content easy to read. Stick to your audience’s level of understanding and write with clarity
• Write unique content with a fresh perspective on clichéd topics.
• Write with authority and depth. Use recent statistics and research studies, but always link back to the sources
• Maintain a consistent tone and style to build brand recognition

Here’s an example of how River Pools & Spas creates educational content that helps its target customers answer their swimming pool questions.  

The good news is that tech advancement has made it easy for small businesses to create epic content and publish regularly. By leveraging AI SEO tools, you can produce blog posts in bulk and tweak them using the tips I’ve shared above.

5. Optimize Your URL

One of the on-page SEO strategies that’s easy to overlook yet effective for small businesses is optimizing URL slugs.

A URL slug is the end section of a URL, right after the backslash (“/”), that follows the domain and any subdirectories. It identifies the address of the particular page.

This is what I’m talking about:

Each URL slug must be unique. It should provide search engines and readers with information about the content on the page.

To optimize your URL for SEO, take these steps:

• Use simple and descriptive words for your URL slug. As Google explicitly states, avoid long ID numbers and separate words using hyphens, not underscores
• Create a URL slug that describes the content of the page accurately
• Make it brief by removing unnecessary words like “your” and “and.” But the URL should make sense
• Add your main keyword
•  Avoid caps; they tend to look messy

6. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

According to the HubSpot 2023 State of Marketing report, 32% of marketers are prioritizing a mobile-friendly web design in their marketing strategy.

In addition, Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites when ranking websites on SERPs.

For these reasons, creating a mobile-friendly website is one of the best on-page SEO tips to drive more online bookings for small businesses.

How can you make your website mobile-friendly? Take these steps:

• Use WebP image file format for your visuals. It’s lighter than PNG and JPEG
• Have a responsive website layout
• Minimize pop-ups. They can be particularly unpleasant for users with a small screen 
• Declutter your website. It’s hard for mobile users to navigate a site with excessive elements
• Check if you’re CTA buttons are easy to click using a thumb

Run your website regularly through Google’s free mobile-friendly test. It’s one of the best on-page SEO strategies you can implement. ​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​7. Add Internal Links

These are hyperlinks you add to the content of a page that point to other pages on the website.

Internal linking is one of the most effective on-page SEO strategies small businesses can employ for a number of reasons:

• Internal links provide paths for search engine bots to crawl and index your web pages
• They help search engines understand the structure and organization of your content
• They encourage website visitors to stay on your site longer by helping them navigate related or relevant content within your site
• Linking to another page on your site distributes SEO authority (link juice) from the source page to the target page

For internal linking to work effectively as a powerful contactless marketing strategy, apply these best practices:

• Always link to a contextually relevant page
• Use a keyword-rich anchor text
• Avoid using the same anchor text for two different web pages
• Aim for a reasonable number of relevant links. Too many can overwhelm users and dilute the effectiveness of the SEO authority passed

Implement these On-Page SEO Strategies for Small Businesses

These on-page SEO strategies are super-easy for small businesses to implement.

Optimize your meta descriptions, title tags, and URLs. Publish valuable content and use the right keywords throughout your website.

Finally, improve the mobile-friendliness of your website and add internal links to your web pages.

Apply these on-page SEO strategies for better ranking.