When you’ve put so much effort into creating a website for your business, it can be incredibly frustrating when you’re not getting the right clients through the door.
Let's break down the common mistakes small business owners make with their website SEO, and how you can turn things around to start attracting quality leads.
Anesha, Creative Director at Wildhouse, shared her insights into how small business owners can make simple, effective changes that drastically improve their website’s performance—without needing to hire a full-time SEO expert. Let’s dive into her tips.
Key Elements to Improve Your Website’s SEO
Page Content
Anesha recommends having at least 500 words on each of your main website pages. This may sound like a lot, but by breaking it up with headings and focusing on answering the questions your potential clients might have, it becomes very manageable. Not only does having solid content help you rank better on Google, but it also ensures you’re speaking directly to your target audience.
When creating content, don’t just rely on tools like ChatGPT to do the heavy lifting—use it to assist in generating ideas, but always inject your brand voice to make it relatable and unique.
Image Optimisation
Images play a big role in both user experience and SEO. Make sure your images are small in file size so they load quickly. No one wants to wait for a slow website, and Google doesn’t like slow sites either! Also, label your images with descriptive file names and use alt tags to describe what each image depicts. This not only helps with SEO but also makes your website more accessible to everyone.
Mobile Optimisation
Most visitors will view your website on a mobile device, so mobile optimisation is crucial. Anesha suggests checking your site on a phone to ensure the font size is readable, images scale correctly, and everything is spaced appropriately. It’s all about making the mobile experience as smooth as possible, because a poor experience could mean losing potential leads.
The Power of Local SEO
If you run a brick-and-mortar store, local SEO is a game-changer. Anesha recommends setting up a Google Business Profile, even if you’re service-based. This profile helps ensure that when someone nearby searches for a business like yours, your location and services appear prominently in search results—including on Google Maps. It’s free and can give you an edge over competitors who haven’t taken this simple step.
Fresh Content Matters
Google loves fresh content. Regularly updating your website with new blogs or articles can do wonders for your SEO. Anesha explains that blogs allow you to answer specific questions your potential clients are asking online. If your blog provides the answer, it’s more likely they’ll find your site—and it helps establish you as an expert in your field.
When writing blog content, keep your tone natural and conversational. Write in the same way people are likely to search. For instance, if someone types into Google, “How can I improve my website SEO?”—your blog post titled “Easy Ways to Improve Your Website SEO” is more likely to show up.
Converting Traffic Into Leads
SEO is great for driving traffic, but how do you convert that traffic into leads? According to Anesha, knowing your target audience is key. Every page should be tailored to their needs and answer their questions. When you build trust by providing helpful information, those visitors are more likely to become paying clients.
It’s also about multiple touchpoints—often people need to see your brand a few times before they make contact. This is where tools like Facebook pixels can be useful. Once someone visits your website, you can retarget them with ads on social media, giving them an extra reminder about your services.
Using Analytics to Improve Your SEO
Anesha encourages small business owners to use Google Analytics to track how visitors are interacting with their website. Which pages are they spending time on? Where are they dropping off? Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console can provide insights, helping you tweak your content and improve your site’s performance over time.
There are also additional tools, like SE Ranking and Hotjar, that can help you understand how well your SEO efforts are working and where improvements can be made.
Quick Wins for Better SEO
If you want to get started on improving your SEO today, Anesha has three quick tips:
Clean Up URLs: Keep URLs concise and keyword-focused—remove unnecessary numbers or dates.
Update Page Titles & Meta Descriptions: These should be compelling and under the character limits (60 for titles, 160 for descriptions) to entice searchers to click.
Optimise Images: Reduce file sizes to improve page speed, and make sure your images have relevant alt tags.
Ready to Get Your SEO on Track?
These simple steps can make a significant impact on your website’s performance, helping you attract and convert the right clients. If this feels overwhelming, remember—you don’t have to do it alone. Getting professional help can save you time and ensure you’re on the right track.
If you’d like some personalised guidance or want to get an SEO audit done, you can reach out to Anesha over at wildhouse.co.nz.
