SEO basics for small businesses

​Search engine optimization (SEO) has become a popular term in website development. But what does SEO really mean? Some firms advertise services that guarantee that you will be on the first page of a Google search, while others offer to get your page links on hundreds of other websites. We approach SEO in a holistic way. We start by understanding your business and your customers. By profiling your past, current and target customers, we help you to explore options for the type of content your website should include. We provide clients with the tools and strategies to develop search engine optimized content themselves, as well as offering complete content development services. This forms the basis of our "on-page SEO strategy". Great content is the foundation of a great website and is the best way to convert website views into new customers and sales.

​The value of high-quality website content

  • Establish your brand reputation online and demonstrate your knowledge and authority in your field.
  • Reach a new, broad audience by providing people with information that they are interested in
  • ​Reduce your advertising costs by ranking higher with Google and increasing your organic search referrals
Hidden SEO elements

Hidden SEO elements

In addition to working with clients to develop high-quality website content, we also take care of all of the structured html elements that make your website easy for Google and other search engines to index and rank.
  • Structured html elements such as title tags, h1, h2, and h3 heading tags
  • Alt text for images, which create a text description if the user chooses not to load images
  • Structure url's and on-page anchor links for easy navigation and identification
  • Images optimized for mobile viewing and fast page-load speeds to improve mobile viewing experience
  • Schema.org mark-up to index your business category, location, contact details, products and services
  • Google Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics, and Norton Safe Web linked to your site at no additional cost​ ​

What is the difference between html tags and schema.org mark-up?

All websites will include basic html tags to indicate the structure of different elements. For example, page headings are typically indicated with heading tags labelled h1, h2, h3, to indicate their level of importance. The function of these html tags is primarily to tell your web browser how to display different text. For example, text in an h1 tag might be in larger font than text in an h2 tag, or perhaps a different colour font.

Schema.org is a free collection of html codes that can be understood by the major search engines: Google, Microsoft, Yandex and Yahoo! Schema.org mark-up allows search engines to understand and interpret your website content, similar to how a person would interpret the content. ​

​Examples of html tags

This text is inside an h1 tag

This text is inside an h2 tag

This is another h2 tag but with blue font

This text is in a paragraph tag
 Without schema.org mark-up all of the text on your website is simply “plain text” to a search engine. For example, you might include the text “Chicago Tickets” on your website, but the search engine would not be able to tell if your business was called Chicago Tickets or if you sold tickets for the musical Chicago. Schema.org mark-up tells search engines about the type of information contained within the tags so that they can interpret the information on your website correctly. Ultimately, this means that the search engine will provide the most relevant information in its search results (so that I don’t end up at a business selling tickets for tours of Chicago when I am looking for tickets to see Chicago the musical in Toronto). Not all website developers will include schema.org mark-up on your website because of the additional time and effort required to generate effective and accurate schema.org tags. 

Example of schema.org mark-up

This is an example of schema.org mark-up taken from http://schema.org/LocalBusiness.
What your web browser displays

Beachwalk Beachwear & Giftware

A superb collection of fine gifts and clothing to accent your stay in Mexico Beach.

3102 Highway 98
Mexico Beach, FL
Phone: 850-648-4200

What your web browser sees without schema.org mark-up

<div> <h1>Beachwalk Beachwear & Giftware</h1>
<p>A superb collection of fine gifts and clothing to accent your stay in Mexico Beach. <br> 3102 Highway 98 <br> Mexico Beach, FL <br> Phone: 850-648-4200</p> </div>

The code in green and red is the schema.org mark-up that tells search engines what type of information is indicated. With schema.org mark-up, search engines can identify:
  • Business name, owner, and year established
  • Business location, address, and region(s) served
  • Business phone number, email address, and fax number
  • Products, services, prices and reviews
This means that your page content will be indexed more accurate and be more relevant when it appears in search results listings.
What your web browser sees with schema.org mark-up

<div itemscope itemtype=" http://schema.org/LocalBusiness">
<h1> <span itemprop= "name">Beachwalk Beachwear & Giftware</span> </h1>
<span itemprop= "description"> A superb collection of fine gifts and clothing to accent your stay in Mexico Beach.</span> <br>
<div itemprop= "address "itemscope itemtype = "http://schema.org/PostalAddress">
<span itemprop= "streetAddress"> 3102 Highway 98</span> <br>
<span itemprop= "addressLocality"> Mexico Beach</span>,
<span itemprop= "addressRegion"> FL</span> <br>
</div>
Phone: <span itemprop="="telephone">850-648-4200</span> </div>

Questions about SEO and how to improve your business website?

Contact KJD Freelance to discuss how your business can benefit from a well-designed website. We specialize in providing professional, affordable websites for small business clients and help clients to improve their existing website and develop new, search engine optimized websites.