Why Small Businesses Need SEO!

[Alessandro Paletta]

Hey everyone!

Just felt the need to share my latest blog post for you all. What I'm trying to preach at the moment is that all small businesses now need someone sort of online presence to survive.

Check it out on my website palettamarketing.co.uk

As Daniel Priestly says in his book... When a business says 'we're not very techie' they are approaching a slow death...!

 

[YIVA Digital]

Agree.

But SEO is getting more expensive, time consuming and slow return. Lot of small businesses prefer social which is much easier to manage for them (less techie).

 

[Alessandro Paletta]

Agree with you on the social media stuff, it is a great way for small businesses to connect with it's potential customers.

SEO is getting more expensive yes, but returns on investment can be well worth it

 

[justinaldridge]

Agree.

But SEO is getting more expensive, time consuming and slow return. Lot of small businesses prefer social which is much easier to manage for them (less techie).

Sorry, but social is incredibly hard work and even more time consuming too. It's easy to do but incredibly hard to make it profitable from scratch.

 

[YIVA Digital]

Totally agree. Both SEO and social marketing are hard work and they should be invested in long term.

It's just to some small business stakeholders, Social is easier to understand. Plus, the social metrics (Followers, Likes, Comments, etc) are very much transparent to them.

To educate these small business is one of the challenge for agencies (especially when dealing with Chinese marketing).

 

[Bill1954]

Sorry but there are thousands of small businesses out there who don't have a website, don't need SEO, and are doing very nicely. From the hundreds of emails and phone calls I get on a weekly basis, I'd say that you should amend your title to "Why small SEO businesses need customers"

 

[justinaldridge]

Sorry but there are thousands of small businesses out there who don't have a website, don't need SEO, and are doing very nicely. From the hundreds of emails and phone calls I get on a weekly basis, I'd say that you should amend your title to "Why small SEO businesses need customers"

Well maybe they could be doing even better if they did invest in some online marketing too.

We've done print advertising, radio advertising, exhibitons, conferences, etc.

It's good to diversify and those businesses doing well without harnessing the millions of people using Google to look for businesses every day....well they may just never know what they may be missing out on.

You don't know until you try.

It certainly doesn't work for a lot businesses but most can and should be able to enhance their businessss with a decent online presence.

It would be very narrow minded to not at least try it.

 

[Alessandro Paletta]

Sorry but there are thousands of small businesses out there who don't have a website, don't need SEO, and are doing very nicely. From the hundreds of emails and phone calls I get on a weekly basis, I'd say that you should amend your title to "Why small SEO businesses need customers"

Again, maybe some naivety here. Yes they might be doing nicely with no online presence... but do they know how much better they could be doing with an online presence...

 

[Chris Ashdown]

How deep do you go when you google anything, just the first page, the second, ever get to the third

Local searches have far less competition but nationwide you generally meet thousands of companies competing and the large companies make it near impossible for most popular search terms to get onto the first three pages. so it proves the benefit of SEO and also the wasted time if you are a little guy trying to get to page one

 

[Alessandro Paletta]

How deep do you go when you google anything, just the first page, the second, ever get to the third

Local searches have far less competition but nationwide you generally meet thousands of companies competing and the large companies make it near impossible for most popular search terms to get onto the first three pages. so it proves the benefit of SEO and also the wasted time if you are a little guy trying to get to page one

Popular search terms are competitive yes, so it takes a consistent, long term strategy to achieve rankings for them.

It is still possible for small businesses to compete in search in competitive industries though. Targeting long tail keywords or local searches like you said is a great way of doing it.

 

[Ian J]

SEO is not costly. SEO brings benefit for long time. SE helps to generate Leeds regular basis. Google like organic SEO.

Rubbish

 

[fisicx]

Again, maybe some naivety here. Yes they might be doing nicely with no online presence... but do they know how much better they could be doing with an online presence...

Unless of course their business is already running quite well without a website. I'm working with a company at the moment who turn over £1M+ without a website. They have a full order book and are doing just fine.

Agree with you on the social media stuff, it is a great way for small businesses to connect with it's potential customers.

No it's not. This has been proven umpteen times and is the reason why facebook even tells you to run adverts if you want to convert.

 

[justinaldridge]

Unless of course their business is already running quite well without a website. I'm working with a company at the moment who turn over £1M+ without a website. They have a full order book and are doing just fine.

But that's the point. If they don't want more business then great but if they do then they still have the possibility of growing by having an online presence.

We took an ecommerce client on recently who turns over 1.6 million per year through their website...yet they didn't even have or used analytics! We installed analytics, measured conversions and the next month they made an extra 10K based on just the conversion improvements.

There are always more ways to make more money from current sources as well as new sources.

Businesses can ignore the internet if they want...but it's not going away and the longer one is out of it the tougher it gets for them to make an impact.

 

[boring-friday]

Not actually read your blog post so I may agree with some of it but in regards to the title.

Why small businesses should never use (paid) SEO.

There's no regulation, anyone who's read moz for a month can sound very convincing especially if they've worked in sales, you've got a 80-90% chance of never getting a ROI if you're pretty much picking at random.

Even if you pick well the ROI is slow, even doing black/grey hat SEO it takes me a minimum of 2 months to ROI, small businesses generally have tight cashflow.

Bigger businesses will get more for their money, made this point before but as a example if you're looking for links another site is more likely to link to you if you're already successful than just starting out

 

[japancool]

Well maybe they could be doing even better if they did invest in some online marketing too.

You mean like spamming their website addresses on forums?

 

[japancool]

But that's the point. If they don't want more business then great but if they do then they still have the possibility of growing by having an online presence.

A website is not the only way to grow a business.

 

[justinaldridge]

A website is not the only way to grow a business.

Never said it was

 

[justinaldridge]

You mean like spamming their website addresses on forums?

Well it works for you

 

[japancool]

Well it works for you

Not really. Very few of our visits come from forums. Who do you think I'm aiming my spam at here, all of the Gundam model fans on UK Business Forums? Because there's loads of those, right?

 

[japancool]

Never said it was

You implied it was - that if they were ignoring the internet, they weren't interested in growth.

 

[justinaldridge]

You implied it was - that if they were ignoring the internet, they weren't interested in growth.

Maybe you should try contributing something useful to the thread instead of just bringing down other people's opinions.

Are you just bored or something? Go and start your own thread and trash that instead.

 

[japancool]

Maybe you should try contributing something useful to the thread instead of just bringing down other people's opinions.

Are you just bored or something? Go and start your own thread and trash that instead.

The fact that you're getting so defensive means I must have hit pretty close to the mark.

 

[justinaldridge]

The fact that you're getting so defensive means I must have hit pretty close to the mark.

You are a great example of what is so wrong with this forum. And it looks like you are completely oblivious to it.

Oh well. Each to their own.

 

[MBE1]

I think the main problem for most small business websites is, just like advertising, seo has no guaranteed roi, and the idea of committing funds to seo long term is seen as to risky when the owners no so little about seo.

Obviously it takes time and money, for anyone who can understand they can probably do it themselves to a great degree, for those that do not understand it they are unlikely to use it without a guarantee.

 

[japancool]

You are a great example of what is so wrong with this forum. And it looks like you are completely oblivious to it.

Oh well. Each to their own.

Ah yes, resort to ad hominem when you don't actually have a proper counter-argument.

But given that I'm not the one here with a vested interest in touting services to people, I can see why you'd go down that route.

 

[Mr A P Davies]

I think there are still a great deal of folks around who still do not trust the internet.
I know plenty of people who look on in shock when I tell them I actually buy stuff on Ebay, and it works out really well for me, mostly.

Those who have built large successful businesses, have often been at it a long time, and are of the age where the internet was not around when they were in school.
We all know that doesn't mean they can't go and learn about it, but there are still an awful lot of people, who were around before the internet was, who simply do not trust it, and have no desire to learn about it.

I know folk who turn the lights on in a room with a stick, in case the electrikery gets them, and they live in modern houses. They think the internet brings the devil down the lines. Extreme example, but makes the point.

It's going to take a lot of convincing those who have built big successful businesses, through conventional means, that websites and SEO is the way to go.
Some of them have probably got bank accounts to prove otherwise, and lets face it, a lot of successful business folk are pretty confident in their ability, and are not going to listen to some new fangled whipper snapper. (anyone under 40.....)

They are also the ones who are, due to their comparative naivety, most likely to fall victim to the less scrupulous techie types, or know someone who has.

It's not that difficult to see how there is almost a cultural divide, especially given the leap of faith investing in SEO seems, to those with no, or wrong knowledge of such a thing.

 

[japancool]

I think there are still a great deal of folks around who still do not trust the internet.
I know plenty of people who look on in shock when I tell them I actually buy stuff on Ebay, and it works out really well for me, mostly.

Those who have built large successful businesses, have often been at it a long time, and are of the age where the internet was not around when they were in school.
We all know that doesn't mean they can't go and learn about it, but there are still an awful lot of people, who were around before the internet was, who simply do not trust it, and have no desire to learn about it.

I know folk who turn the lights on in a room with a stick, in case the electrikery gets them, and they live in modern houses. They think the internet brings the devil down the lines. Extreme example, but makes the point.

It's going to take a lot of convincing those who have built big successful businesses, through conventional means, that websites and SEO is the way to go.
Some of them have probably got bank accounts to prove otherwise, and lets face it, a lot of successful business folk are pretty confident in their ability, and are not going to listen to some new fangled whipper snapper. (anyone under 40.....)

They are also the ones who are, due to their comparative naivety, most likely to fall victim to the less scrupulous techie types, or know someone who has.

It's not that difficult to see how there is almost a cultural divide, especially given the leap of faith investing in SEO seems, to those with no, or wrong knowledge of such a thing.

For many companies, a website in this day and age is a necessity - generally, the first thing I look for if I'm dealing with a company is a website where I can find our more information, or at least some contact details.

But as I said earlier, it's far from the only way, or even necessarily the best way of growing a business. I worked for a telecoms company some time ago that didn't have a website - it grew by communicating directly with clients and approaching potential customers directly.

The problem with getting advice from an SEO company is that, of course they're going to tell you that you need a website and SEO. It's rather like those chip shops being sold CFDs back in 2008 by "financial advisors" - these people aren't giving you unbiased advice.

Whether to put your marketing budget into SEO or social media or a website is a far more complex question than it being an absolute necessity. One useful rule of thumb is, the more niche your business is, the less you need it.

 

[Mr A P Davies]

I can think of a couple of businesses local to me, who operate, maybe not nationally, but certainly over a far wider area than just locally, who would benefit massively from a website. They have a lot to shout about, and it would get them places, without a doubt.
One I can think of, just off the top of my head, the guy grew it literally from a shovel, into a major earthworks contractor, with massive diggers, dumpers, lorries, you name it.
There is no way in the world anyone is going to convince him he needs a website, and he's not alone.
He'll do it the hard way, every time, and he's rich enough to think he knows it all.
Humans are strange creatures........

 

[justinaldridge]

Really good points there and I agree with everything you are saying. SEO is a long game and it doesn't work for every business.

I always advise that people start with an effective PPC campaign first. It's quick to test if there is a demand for a product or service online. If the PPC generates business then it's highly likely that good organic search rankings will too.

The problem is that PPC also takes time to master and if not set up correctly it can just burn a massive hole in the pocket. But it is definitely the best way to initially test the demand for a product or service.

 

[MBE1]

One I can think of, just off the top of my head, the guy grew it literally from a shovel, into a major earthworks contractor, with massive diggers, dumpers, lorries, you name it.
There is no way in the world anyone is going to convince him he needs a website, and he's not alone.
He'll do it the hard way, every time, and he's rich enough to think he knows it all.
Humans are strange creatures........

Where did it all go wrong for him?

 

[Wayne Berry]

Small home business or businesses in general have a hard time attracting new business on line because they usually don't have the training , time or resources to develop pages, auto responders, accessing leads, solo ads etc. etc. This takes years to develop. There are companies that provide these services and training on line at minimal cost. I use one of these companies, my business has exponentially grown, is easy to use. The world is my oyster

 

[fisicx]

Wayne, you are talking complete tripe.

 

[Bill1954]

Sometimes people are talking from personal experience. We have had SEO done by several companies over the years, some of which were members here, and we have never seen a ROI on any of it. In fact, when the monthly reports come in, they are full of spammy links from sites in the far flung corners of the world and very badly spun articles with the odd social media post thrown in.
Add to that the amount of emails and phone calls that come in constantly from so called SEO companies, many of them with a Gmail or Yahoo email address, and it's plain to see why SEO "Experts" are viewed as snake oil salesmen by many.
I've seen nothing in this thread that would make me change my opinion.

 

[justinaldridge]

@Bill1954 have you tried PPC?

 

[Bill1954]

In our sector the bids are ridiculously high, some would just eat up the profit on an item if they made a sale, if no sale it's just lost money.
Going back to the SEO emails, this has just come in, from a Gmail address. You lot constantly have a pop at each other as aptly demonstrated here.
"
Hi,

After a quick look at your website and the code, I'm sorry to say that the SEO firms you hired might have ripped you off. There are obvious spots in the code where SEO techniques could have been utilized but weren't. There are other things one or more of the SEO firms did that could actually be hurting your site's performance.

The website code also looks old and uses techniques that aren't exactly SEO-friendly. IMO it's a combination of both the site code and poor work by SEO firms that's affecting your search engine performance." This is about our Magento site and I'm sure the developer would love this.
Lack of trust ? It's been well earned.

 

[justinaldridge]

We get those emails too Bill

The SEO industry does indeed have an awful reputation, it's just how it is but there are also dodgy builders, plumbers, etc. There are always good people and good companies offering professional services, even if the majority are not. We don't all do spam link building, send spam emails and trash people's businesses!

I'm curious Bill, I think you are the only person that's posted on this thread with an actual example of a business which is working without online marketing. Have you actually paid for SEO on your site? It's not good at all!! Your site will never rank in its current state so my first assumption is that you've never had the site (in your sig) in a significant position in the search results to generate a good level of traffic to assess if there is a market for your products online.

Knowing your industry relatively well online I can tell you it can work. It's just a shame that you've had such bad experiences with SEO companies. Don't give up though...work it yourself as much as possible. You'll see.

 

[Bill1954]

Hi Justin
the site in my sig is a second site that we launched just last year (end of July to be precise) There has been no SEO carried out apart from the SEO plugin, but it's December turnover was over £50k. Our other site is built on Magento and was the subject of all the SEO. This turns over £100k+ pcm but it has been around since 2007. All in all not a bad turnover for sites that aren't in a significant position in the search results to generate a good level of traffic

 

[japancool]

In our sector the bids are ridiculously high, some would just eat up the profit on an item if they made a sale, if no sale it's just lost money.
Going back to the SEO emails, this has just come in, from a Gmail address. You lot constantly have a pop at each other as aptly demonstrated here.
"
Hi,

After a quick look at your website and the code, I'm sorry to say that the SEO firms you hired might have ripped you off. There are obvious spots in the code where SEO techniques could have been utilized but weren't. There are other things one or more of the SEO firms did that could actually be hurting your site's performance.

The website code also looks old and uses techniques that aren't exactly SEO-friendly. IMO it's a combination of both the site code and poor work by SEO firms that's affecting your search engine performance." This is about our Magento site and I'm sure the developer would love this.
Lack of trust ? It's been well earned.

Yes, but they probably haven't even bothered to look at your site.

We had this email in from someone who is probably touting SEO, given that they call themselves "Creative Compare":
-------------
Hi,

I have been getting some prices as part of our short tender process. I've been trying to get an idea of cost from your site but am struggling a little.

I was hoping someone in sales would be able to give me a quick call at some point today so I can go over what we are looking for?

Best regards,

Diana Green
Creative Compare
-------------

Given that we sell import Japanese model kits, what on earth could we possibly do that we would bid on a competitive tender?

I replied saying "We'll do it for £1000+VAT".

 

[justinaldridge]

That's excellent Bill! Very impressive figures Great stuff.

 

[ZeroDouble]

Hi Justin
the site in my sig is a second site that we launched just last year (end of July to be precise) There has been no SEO carried out apart from the SEO plugin, but it's December turnover was over £50k. Our other site is built on Magento and was the subject of all the SEO. This turns over £100k+ pcm but it has been around since 2007. All in all not a bad turnover for sites that aren't in a significant position in the search results to generate a good level of traffic

To be fair to Justin I'd have to agree that the onpage SEO on the site in your sig IS pretty poor. If it's turning over 50k p/m now, then I'd imagine that it could be generating much, much more revenue if you sorted out the structure, optimised it all properly, and then carried out some off page work. You're leaving a ton of money on the table at the moment

Note: I'm assuming that figures you quoted were from search engine traffic and not some other marketing stream?