Small business owners constantly juggle to-dos, staffing issues, and everything in between, leaving them with little extra time. Finding fast, actionable solutions to web marketing goals fits more easily into their busy schedules than hiring professionals, who themselves also require management. To begin optimizing for SEO, start by analyzing what your competitors are doing. Study their strategies, then take a detailed look at your own approach to identify areas for improvement. Then it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get started! Here are five quick tasks a small business owner can do to ramp up their SEO game.
SEO Title Tags
You don’t need to be a web developer or SEO expert to make SEO changes to your business website; a good example is changing your page title tags. Each page on your website has a title, and it sends out a beacon to Google, signaling the content of your web page. Title tags appear as blue clickable links in search results; you want these tags to work perfectly. Here’s how it works:
To add or change your title tags, you’ll need access to the backend of your website. Don’t be scared — it’s easier than it sounds! Once you’re on the back end of your site, find the list of your pages and click on one. Go to page settings and find the ‘title’ field.
This is where the magic happens — Local businesses enter your primary keyword, your location, and a second keyword, “Family Dentist in Denver | Gentle, Affordable Dental Care.” In this instance, the keywords are ‘family dentist in Denver’ and ‘affordable dental care.’ Your beacon is now sending out the signal and alerting Google, and anyone using those search terms will be alerted to your page.
Pro Tip: Think Like Your Customer (and Google)
Alt Text for Your Images
Adding alt text to your website images is an overlooked SEO detail that even professionals sometimes forget to implement. Every image you use on your website can be ‘tagged’ with SEO-rich keywords and text. Google is also searching images, not just text, and the alt text is the same type of ‘beacon’ for images, as we mentioned above, for title tags. Do some keyword research and get the most relevant keywords for your pictures.
To add to or change alt text on your website images, you’ll need to access the backend of your website. Once you’ve entered the backend of our website, you’ll find your ‘media library’ or ‘image library.’ Click on that, and you’ll see a gallery of all the images on your website. Open one up, and you’ll see a field where you can enter your ‘alt text.’ Alt text clearly describes your image; and if a keyword works in the description, that is perfect!
Pro Tip: Be Descriptive but Concise
Set Up Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a fascinating tool that is offered for free by Google. It can do many things, but its primary purpose is web analytics, which gives you a satisfying view of how your business website appears in searches. It helps you understand how people find your site, which pages get traffic, and whether Google is having trouble crawling it.
You don’t need any advanced skills to use it — and once it's connected, the data starts rolling in.
Here’s what you can do with it:
- See which search words people are using to find your site
- Check your average ranking for specific keywords.
- Find and fix technical issues (for example, broken links)
- Submit your sitemap to help Google crawl your site faster.
How to set it up:
- Go to search.google.com/search-console
- Click “Start Now” and log in with your Google account.
- Enter your website URL and choose a verification method (Google will guide you through it — usually, it's just a copy-and-paste step)
Once you’re verified, you’ll start seeing valuable insights in a few days.
Pro Tip: Also set up Google Analytics and Google Search Central for more amazing web data
Create Internal Links Between Your Pages
Internal linking might be the most straightforward SEO DIY strategy. Essentially, you’re linking from one page to another on your website. As a result, Google and other search engines will reward you in its search results.
Internal linking helps:
- Google understands your site structure
- Spread authority across your pages
- It keeps visitors on your site longer by pointing them toward more helpful content.
Tips:
- Use descriptive anchor text (the clickable words), not vague ones like “click here.”
- Link to relevant content — don’t force it.
Add 2-4 internal links per blog post or page when it feels natural
Pro tip: Whenever you create new content, link related older content — and vice versa.
Claim and Update Your Google Business Profile for Local SEO
If you're a local business, this is one of the most potent free tools to boost your SEO — and it takes less than 20 minutes to set up. Businesses with storefronts will appear in Google Maps, an excellent way for shoppers to get found! The goal is for your business to appear in different Google search results as many times as possible.
Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) appears in those local "map packs" when someone searches for businesses near them. It’s also what appears when people Google your business name.
Why it matters:
- It helps appear in local search results
- Builds trust with potential customers
- It lets people quickly see your hours, location, website, and reviews
How to set it up:
- Hop on to google.com/business
- Sign in with a Google account and follow the prompts to claim or create your business
- Fill out everything — business name, category, location, hours, phone number, website, and photos
- Verify your business (usually via postcard, phone call, or email)
- Ask a few happy customers to leave you a review — this helps more than you might think
Pro tip: Keep it updated! If you change your hours, run a promotion, or add new services — update your profile so customers (and Google) always see the most accurate info.
Small Business Owners and SEO Tactics
Small business owners often want more control over their website and SEO strategy. While you may never become a professional web developer or SEO expert, the steps above can help you take ownership of your online presence and make meaningful progress in how you appear on Google search engine results. Basic SEO for beginners can give small business owners some visibility into the inner workings of your website SEO strategy.
Take Your SEO Further with Peaks Digital Marketing
Implementing quick search engine optimization wins is a significant first step — but you'll eventually need a strategic plan tailored to your business to see lasting growth. At Peaks Digital Marketing, we help small business owners like you turn foundational SEO into long-term success. From technical optimization to content strategy and beyond, we use proven tools and techniques to help you rise in the rankings and reach your ideal audience.
Let us handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on what you do best — running your business.
Call us at (720) 432-7115 or request a free proposal to get started.
