As an online marketing agency in Charleston, South Carolina, we help many small businesses with search engine optimization (SEO). When small business owners think about getting involved in SEO, they often become intimidated. Small businesses see massive corporations and large businesses dominating the search engines. Large corporations have access to hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on online marketing, a talented full-time staff to oversee campaign management, and name recognition after being in business for decades.

Small business owners think that since their business is small, new and has finite resources, it does not have a chance to complete in SEO. Is there really any SEO advantages for small business?

SEO Advantages for Small Businesses

  • Local SEO. Most small businesses are locally owned and operated, so they can take advantage of local SEO, whereas, large businesses have a distinct disadvantage. Local SEO operates on a separate algorithm, producing three relevant results that cater to a user’s query. Based on a user’s physical location, Google selects the three most relevant local businesses for a given query and lists their names and options for directions, websites, and a direct call. Your small business has a good chance of getting listed here provided the correct keywords have been optimized and local citations and reviews are in order.
  • General agility. As a small business, with a fresh domain name and more manageable keyword targets, you can adjust your strategy as often as you wish, experimenting all the time and trying out new strategies. This gives a small business far more potential for growth. Large businesses have a major advantage due to name recognition and reputation for landmark keywords and general areas of specialty. It also means they have less flexibility to maneuver when it comes to ongoing experimentation.
  • Novelty and authenticity. As a new small business, you have a degree of novelty, especially if you are a startup. When customers go to a large corporation website, in most cases, they are looking for a specific product. However, when they find a unique local business, they are more intrigued A smaller brand can build very strong positive associations with a smaller audience, but you do not need to market as many or as fast or as directly as a big brand needs to. You can concentrate on building the brand’s appeal to your specific niche. If you market them correctly over time, you can build a great small business.
  • Personal branding. Your small business is probably run by a single leading authority and it is most probably you. This allows much better ability to develop a personal brand, which in turn leads to greater user trust, more social media activity, and an all-around greater SEO presence.

SEO is still a competitive industry and there are no shortcuts for either large or small business. Digital Coast Marketing, located in Charleston, South Carolina, is the expert in small business SEO, driving business to your door. Contact SEO and web design company Digital Coast Marketing for a free consultation to learn the ways in which we can help your business grow.