Understanding Effective SEO: Insights from a Small Business Owner
Navigating the complex world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be challenging, especially for small business owners without formal technical backgrounds. If you’re wondering what truly constitutes good SEO practices—beyond the buzzwords and agency promises—this article offers an aspirational overview based on real-world experience.
A Case Study: Small Business SEO in Action
Meet a small commercial cleaning business owner who took the initiative to build their website using Webflow, adhering to fundamental SEO principles from the outset. These included optimizing alt text for images, crafting compelling meta descriptions, and ensuring site speed was up to par. In addition, they created multiple local landing pages targeting specific geographic areas, which initially helped achieve top 10 rankings for relevant search terms.
The Role of Professional SEO Services
After establishing a solid foundation, the owner engaged an SEO agency to further improve visibility. Over the course of a year, the agency implemented backlink-building strategies primarily involving links from Private Blog Networks (PBNs) with high Domain Rating (DR). While these links increased the DR of linking domains—seemingly a positive signal—they often lacked organic traffic, quality content, or relevance. Many were nofollow links and not geographically targeted, which raised questions about their overall effectiveness.
Recent Challenges and Observations
Following search engine algorithm updates—such as those in August—the owner noticed a decline in rankings. Some potential causes identified include:
- Duplicate landing pages for the same local areas, which may appear spammy to search engines.
- The backlink strategy relying heavily on low-quality PBN links, which could have been penalized.
Community Input: Divergent Strategies
In seeking advice, the owner received a variety of recommendations from different SEO professionals:
- Focus on cost-effective on-site SEO improvements and consider shifting budget toward paid advertising.
- Prioritize acquiring backlinks through reputable, local PR activities and outreach rather than PBN links.
- Concentrate efforts on specific high-priority pages with a controlled, high-quality backlink acquisition schedule, coupled with ongoing on-site optimization.
- Continue with backlink building, increasing authority gradually, as current agency practices suggest.
Balancing Budget and Strategy
Operating within a modest budget of approximately AUD 1,500 to 2,000 per month (roughly USD 1,000 to 1,300), small businesses often face tough decisions about how to allocate resources. Some questions to consider include:
- Should the focus be on on-site SEO—optimizing