I talk with a lot of clients who all say the same thing.

I know I should be doing some sort of digital marketing, but I don’t know what, and I don’t know how.

The reality is, it can be overwhelming to try and decipher what marketing techniques to pursue, especially when there are marketing companies that are overpromising and underdelivering.

What I find is, a lot of clients do some research and they end up learning about SEO for small business, and they get fixated on making sure their site has good SEO without having a clue what it really is or how to achieve it.

Now, I won’t claim to be an SEO expert, but I know enough to help educate clients on what to look out for when trying to optimize their site for SEO for small business success.

What is SEO?

SEO (or Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing your website to be properly indexed by the robots that work for Google, Bing and other major search engines. These robots visit your website to read and assess the data and determine if your content should be served to someone who is searching for specific keywords on Google (or other search engines).

Let’s break it down.

If your business is a dog grooming business, then you want to appeal to people who are A) searching for a dog groomer explicitly or B) have a dog and are doing general dog-related searches.

There are a few components to properly optimize your site for SEO. The first is: your focus keyword.

Your Focus Keyword tells search engines what your website is about in a few short words. For example, your Focus Keywords might be:

• Dog Grooming Services

• Professional Dog Groomers

• Full-Service Dog Grooming

• Pet Grooming near me

If your business serves a specific area or city, we can dial in this Focus Keyword even further by adding the city to the Focus Keyword:

• Dog Grooming Services in Lethbridge

• Professional Dog Groomers in Lethbridge

• Full-Service Dog Grooming in Lethbridge

• Pet Grooming near Lethbridge

Whatever your keyword is, it becomes the cornerstone for the rest of your website’s content.

Your first heading on your page should include some or all of the words from your Focus Keyword, and you should continue to use the Focus Keyword throughout your homepage and the rest of your website.

Doing this helps train the robots crawling your site about your site’s topic so that when people start searching these keywords in Google, your website begins to show up.

Revolving Content

Once you’ve selected your focus keyword and built your site around that, it’s time to start thinking about revolving content.

Search engines rank websites higher when other websites link back to your website. It’s their way of determining the trust level of your website and rewarding you for that.

One of the best ways to do this is to start a blog.

Now you may be thinking to yourself: blogs in 2025? That seems outdated and like a waste of time.

But the reality is, blogs are the cheat codes for ranking high on Google — especially when it comes to SEO for small business.

You see, if you write blog posts about content that is actually relevant to people, you increase the likelihood of it being shared on social media and cross-posted to other websites. This helps your ranking in Google because of link-backs, but it also is just free advertising for your business.

Blog posts that have an educational or instructional component to them perform especially well.

Have you ever had a problem with your car and started searching Google for the answer only to find a super obscure website that you’ve never heard of posting about the exact same issue you’re facing — with a solution? Yeah, this happens more than you think.

So for our hypothetical Dog Grooming business, if we begin posting articles about best practices for dog grooming, or a particular product that works to treat certain dogs or conditions, we might just start seeing a lot of traffic to those posts as people start searching for them.

Search Behaviour Around Learning & Help

When people have a question or a problem, their first instinct is to Google it. Whether it’s how to groom a dog at home or where to find a local service, search engines are the go-to tool.

In fact, 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. That means if your business isn’t showing up when people are asking questions, you’re missing out on real opportunities to connect with potential clients.

Google has reported that “how to” searches have grown significantly year over year — and not just in tech. Pet care, home services, beauty, and DIY content are all part of the surge. On YouTube, over 70% of viewers say they use the platform to learn something new or solve a problem.

Even beyond video, nearly 50% of all Google searches are informational — meaning people are looking to understand before they act. That’s your window. If your website answers their question, you earn their trust — and likely their business.

In short: when people need help, they search. If you’re not part of the answer, you’re invisible — and so is your SEO for small business strategy.

“But am I not giving away information for free that I should be charging for?”

I hear this a lot. We hold the information that we’ve learned so tightly because we live in a monetized world and want to get paid for the hard work we’ve put in to hone our craft. Why is someone going to come to our business if we give away all the secrets?

Well, I think there’s a fine line.

The reality is, people are going to search for answers online, and if you choose to do nothing, then you’re giving up free advertising and web traffic to your competitors — whether you like it or not.

The solution, then, is to post enough content that keeps people engaged with your business on social media and/or your website/blog. And when that person eventually needs your service, the first thing they think of is going to be your business and the great information they already received from you.

That’s what SEO for small business is really about. It’s long-term marketing — doing the work up front with the expectation of a long-term payout, whether it’s days, months, or years into the future.

The other thing is this: your expertise in the subject has value, and the right people will recognize that and pay for it.

People will pay you because they know you’re good at what you do, you’re fast, thorough, and do a good job. And you can build that trust through the content on your blog and what you post online.

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So what do you think — is it time to start a blog in 2025?

I think so.

If you found this information valuable, leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Share a link to your blog — I’d love to check it out and support you.