SEO for Small Businesses: Where to Start

The Truth About Small Business SEO

Let's set expectations first. SEO is a long game. You're not going to rank #1 for "plumber" next week. But you absolutely can rank for "emergency plumber in Sacramento" within a few months if you do the right things consistently.

The advantage small businesses have: you're local. You serve a specific area. That narrows the competition dramatically. A local bakery isn't competing with every bakery in the world — just the ones nearby.

Priority 1: Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile

If you do one thing from this entire article, do this. Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the single most impactful thing for local SEO.

Here's what to do:

1. Go to business.google.com and claim your business
2. Fill out every single field — business name, address, phone, hours, category, description
3. Add high-quality photos (exterior, interior, products, team)
4. Choose the right primary category (this matters a lot)
5. Add your services or products with descriptions
6. Post updates regularly (weekly is great, monthly is fine)

A complete, active Google Business Profile puts you in the "map pack" — those three business results that appear at the top of local searches. That's prime real estate.

Priority 2: Fix the Basics on Your Website

Before worrying about content strategy or backlinks, make sure your website isn't actively hurting you. Run a quick audit to check:

• Title tags: Every page needs a unique, descriptive title tag with your target keyword. Our meta tag generator makes this easy.
• Meta descriptions: Write compelling descriptions that make people want to click.
• Mobile-friendly: Over 60% of searches are on mobile. If your site is hard to use on a phone, you're losing customers and rankings.
• Page speed: Slow sites rank lower. Check our guide on how page speed affects SEO.
• HTTPS: Your site must use HTTPS. If it still shows "Not Secure" in the browser, fix that immediately.
• Heading structure: Use H1 for your main heading, H2 for sections. Check with our heading analyzer.

The fastest way to check all of this? Run a free SEO audit. You'll get a prioritized list of what to fix.

Priority 3: Create Your Core Pages

Every small business website needs these pages, properly optimized:

Homepage

Clearly state what you do, who you serve, and where you're located. Include your primary keyword naturally. Don't try to be clever — be clear. "Sacramento Plumbing & Drain Cleaning" beats "We Make Water Flow" every time.

Service Pages

Create a separate page for each major service. "Drain cleaning," "water heater installation," and "emergency plumbing" should each have their own page, not be crammed onto one. Each page should target specific keywords people search for. Check our service page SEO checklist for details.

About Page

Tell your story. Include how long you've been in business, who's on your team, and what makes you different. This builds trust — both with Google (E-E-A-T) and with potential customers.

Contact Page

Name, address, phone number, email, hours, and an embedded Google Map. Make sure this information exactly matches your Google Business Profile. Consistency matters for local SEO.

Priority 4: Local SEO Fundamentals

Local SEO is how you show up when someone searches for your type of business in your area. Beyond your Google Business Profile:

NAP Consistency

NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone Number. These need to be identical everywhere your business appears online — your website, Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, industry directories, everywhere. Even small differences (like "St." vs. "Street") can confuse Google.

Local Citations

Get listed on relevant directories: Yelp, Yellow Pages, BBB, your local Chamber of Commerce, and industry-specific directories. These citations confirm your business exists and is located where you say it is.

Reviews

Google reviews are a major local ranking factor. Ask happy customers to leave reviews. Respond to every review — good and bad. A business with 50 genuine reviews will almost always outrank one with 3, all else being equal.

Local Content

Mention your city, neighborhood, and service area naturally in your content. Write blog posts about local topics. "Best restaurants near [your business]" or "Things to know about [your city]'s building codes" — content that serves your community.

Priority 5: Content Strategy (Keep It Simple)

You don't need to blog every day. You don't even need to blog every week. But you should consistently create useful content that answers questions your potential customers are asking.

Find What People Ask

Google your main service and look at the "People also ask" section. Those are real questions real people have. Answer them in blog posts.

Write for Humans First

Don't stuff keywords or write robot-speak. Write like you're explaining something to a customer. Be helpful, be specific, be honest. Google is remarkably good at recognizing genuinely helpful content.

One Page Per Topic

Each blog post or page should target one main topic or keyword. Don't try to rank for everything on one page. This also creates more opportunities for internal linking.

A Realistic Publishing Schedule

Two blog posts per month is a great pace for a small business. That's 24 posts per year — enough to build real topical authority. One post per month is fine too. Consistency beats volume.

Priority 6: Technical SEO (Don't Overcomplicate It)

You don't need to become a technical SEO expert. Just cover the basics:

• Submit a sitemap to Google Search Console
• Fix broken links — use our broken link checker
• Add structured data — at minimum, LocalBusiness schema. Our schema generator makes this easy.
• Use clean URLs — our slug optimizer helps create SEO-friendly URLs
• Ensure proper redirects — if you change a URL, set up a 301 redirect. Check with our redirect checker.

Realistic Expectations

Let's be honest about timelines:

• Week 1-2: Set up Google Business Profile, fix basic website issues. You might see map pack improvements within days.
• Month 1-3: Core pages optimized, initial content published. You'll start showing up for long-tail keywords.
• Month 3-6: Consistent content and reviews building up. Rankings improving for more competitive terms.
• Month 6-12: Compound growth. Each piece of content strengthens the whole site. Local authority established.

SEO compounds like interest. The work you do today pays off for months and years. Unlike paid ads, which stop the moment you stop paying.

What Not to Do

• Don't buy links. Google is very good at detecting paid links. It's not worth the risk.
• Don't keyword stuff. Writing "best plumber Sacramento plumber in Sacramento CA plumber" will hurt, not help.
• Don't copy competitors' content. Duplicate content won't rank. Write your own.
• Don't ignore mobile. Most of your customers are on phones.
• Don't expect overnight results. Anyone promising page 1 in a week is lying.

Your Action Plan

Here's your to-do list, in order:

1. Claim and fully optimize your Google Business Profile
2. Run an SEO audit on your site and fix critical issues
3. Create or optimize your core pages (home, services, about, contact)
4. Set up Google Search Console
5. Get listed on 5-10 relevant directories with consistent NAP
6. Start asking for Google reviews
7. Publish 2 helpful blog posts per month
8. Review progress monthly in Search Console

That's it. No magic, no shortcuts, no expensive tools. Just consistent, focused effort on the things that actually move the needle.