In today’s challenging economy, business owners are constantly looking for that edge. When it comes to creating and developing an online presence for your business, there are many different things that you can do to benefit it. A common thought for business owners is “How can I help my small business”.

One particular way that can help a small business is by utilizing search engine optimization. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is an ongoing strategy that has your business come up for specific keywords, or search phrases, in the search engines. At this time, the largest and most used search engine is Google. While Google isn’t the only search engine in town, it is the largest game in town.

If you sell blue widgets and are in Boston Massachusetts, one search phrase that would be associated with your business might be “blue widgets in Boston Massachusetts”. This means when a potential customer is searching online on their favorite search engine, and they type in the search box “blue widgets in Boston Massachusetts”, does your business name show up on the first page of the search results. Ideally, you would like to be in the number one spot, but just being on the first page is a good thing.

Therefore, when a business owner ponders the question,”Help my small business”, SEO is a great option. SEO can help small business in several different ways. The first and most obvious example is by getting new customers into the business. This way can bring immediate revenue to a small business. In addition, by generating additional dollars, it becomes clear how the advantages of a strong search engine optimization campaign can benefit any business.

Making more money in a small business is no small endeavor. If you target the proper keywords, search phrases, you can then put yourself in an excellent position to be found online. Today, more and more people are searching online for local businesses and vendors. If you ignore the placement of your business in the search engines, you most likely are losing money.

Another key benefit of using SEO in your small business is for effective branding purposes. What this means, is that your business name will continue to come up for many different search phrases, keywords, and will help brand you as the authority in your line of work. When a consumer continues to see your name for specific product or search phrase, it only helps to reinforce the concept that you are the right person to do business with for that particular industry. Using this social proof can only help you in the long run.

Because there are many different online real estate properties, you could rank more than once on page one of search engine for a specific keyword. For example, your website might rank in the number two spot for “blue widgets in Boston Massachusetts”. In addition, you might also have a blog that updates and informs about industry news. Your blog might have a different web address and it may also rank for that same keyword phrase. Finally, you might also have a Facebook business page and that may rank for the same keyword phrase. So, as a result, your business spread over these three online properties, can show up multiple times on a search engine results page.

Some business owners will choose to ignore the connection between their business and search engine optimization. However, the sooner you start an effective SEO campaign, the better off your business will be.

So as a small business owner, when you do start to wonder, “How to help my small business”, you do need to consider search engine optimization to increase sales and improve your online branding.