If you want long term success and growth for your small business, it's important that you're able to stand out online. Here, Jonathan Birch, Creative Director at digital marketing agency Glass Digital shares his top tips for accomplishing just that.

In the UK, there are more small businesses than ever before: 5.8 million at the start of 2019, up by 3.5% from the same time in 2018 (FSB). While it's great that record numbers of people are establishing their own enterprises, it also means that the marketplace is becoming more crowded and SMEs are having to do more to compete for customers.

For nearly all SMEs, this battle is waged online. Search engines are the most popular channels among consumers for product research (52%) and brand discovery (37%), according to research by Global Web Index. This means that to attract potential clients to your products or services, you need to be able to capture their attention, and the best way to do so is by making sure your website is as visible as possible through search engine optimisation (SEO).

To help you get started on your journey to SEO success, I'm going to share my top tips you can use to rank as highly as possible and grab your customer's attention.

Get your website in order before anything else

Before you do anything else, you need to make sure that your website is in order. If your site looks professional, runs smoothly, and is easy to navigate, you're already a long way towards doing well online. This is because Google places a huge onus on user experience when deciding its rankings, so if your website is designed with your customers in mind first, you're in pole position to do well. Plus, there is the bonus that an attractive website is likelier to make a positive impression on consumers.

It's also worth keeping the burgeoning mobile search field in mind, especially when around 80% of searches are made through these devices (Quartz). So, you need to ensure your site is sleek and optimised for this type of traffic — take Google's mobile-friendly test to see how it performs.

Position yourself as an industry expert

No matter what sector your SME belongs too, it's important to demonstrate to both your customers and Google that you are an industry expert. And, the best way to do this is by adding plenty of quality content to your website to generate interest in your products and inform your customers. 

Consider the questions your customers often ask about your field, as well as your products and services, then produce pieces that address them. There are many types of format you may wish to consider, such as FAQs, how-to guides, videos, or whitepapers. If you're not completely comfortable creating more complex content, you may wish to employ the services of a digital agency to do so.

As well as creating useful resources for customers, Google will also appreciate your quality content. This is because the search engine likes websites to be authoritative and helpful, and its algorithms are smart enough to judge the value of what you have to say and rank you accordingly.

Gain some exposure for your business by guest blogging

Once your website is ship-shape, you can start to look at getting your business's name out there. A great way of doing this is by doing some guest blogging for other websites, which will allow you to share your expertise and potentially gain some exposure for your brand.

You can create these opportunities for yourself: think about what other websites your customer base is likely to visit, then come up with an interesting topic that is relevant to that type of site. For instance, if your start-up sold premium bed covers, you might approach mattress manufacturers with an article on how to best care for your bed linens that could be hosted on their blog.

If you can, try to agree with the host site to include a link to your own website in the article. Not only will readers have a direct route to your own site, but you'll also gain SEO value, as Google perceives one domain linking to another as a kind of recommendation, which can help to boost your rankings.

Add a review function to your products or services

Did you know that 91% of users regularly read online reviews? And, were you aware that 84% trust them as if they were a personal recommendation? (BrightLocal). Well, just by adding a review option to your products and services, you can make your website more trustworthy to potential customers, as they will perceive your business to be more transparent.

Even if your products or services don't exactly fit a customer review model, or your website is unable to integrate them, you can stand out by signing up to an independent review site, such as Trustpilot, that will allow clients to rate you. There may also be industry-specific services that are worth trying out — for instance, listing on Checkatrade if you're a tradesperson.

Create a Google My Business listing

While ranking well on Google can drive more traffic for online sales, it can also have the benefit of bringing in custom to any brick and mortar locations through local searches. Stats from Google themselves back this up: 76% of people who carry out a local search visit a related business on the same day, while 28% of these searches result in a purchase.

Make sure that you have an updated Google My Business listing that includes all the details of your company. This will make it much easier for the search engine to recommend you when someone is looking for products or services in your local area. Google has guidelines on how to improve your local ranking that you should read as a starting point.

Follow my five tips and you will stand the best chance possible of making your SME stand out online, putting you ahead of the competition. Remember to always stay up to date with the latest in SEO to make sure your website is always ahead of the curve.