Search Engine Optimizing (SEO) Your Small Business Site in 2025 [Complete Guide]

When it comes to running a small business and focusing on topics such as SEO for your small business it can become a hurtle. In this tutorial I am going to give you a complete roadmap to optimizing your site to maximize efficiency. Here I have a complete checklist to follow along during this roadmap.

On-page SEO

Week 1

Get Ranked On Google

Here is where you want to focus on creating high quality content for your site such as:

• Copy

• Images

• Videos

When crafting content for your site, always align your messaging with your business objectives and maintain a tone that supports your goals. Your website's content should clearly reflect your purpose and resonate with your target audience. Not only does this enhance user experience and drive conversions, but it also positively influences how Google perceives and ranks your site. Clear, goal-driven, and relevant content is key to both attracting visitors and achieving your desired outcomes.

Technical SEO

Week 2-5

In the technical SEO phase, we focus on optimizing your website’s performance using a variety of tools and analytics. The primary goal during this stage is to ensure your site is technically robust, with a well-structured architecture that facilitates seamless crawling and indexing by Google. At Surremor, we take a comprehensive approach, diving deep into your site's technical health and refining it through an iterative process to achieve measurable, lasting results. The guide covers everything you need to check in order to have a solid technical SEO foundation.

Some of the tools I use is Google search console. GSC allows you to go in and evaluate you website after you complete the setup from your site to google.

Quick Easy Helpful Insights from Google Search Console:

1. The Pages section in Google Search Console is a powerful tool that lets you monitor which pages Google is indexing—or not indexing—on your website. This insight is invaluable for identifying potential issues with your site’s structure and optimization.

   By analyzing the data, you can uncover problems such as poor website architecture or configuration mistakes that may prevent important pages from being indexed. Some of the key issues you can detect include:

   • 404 Errors: Pages that no longer exist or cannot be found.

   • Redirects: Pages that are redirecting improperly or unnecessarily.

   • Blocked by robots.txt: Pages that are being excluded from search engines due to restrictions in your robots.txt file.

   • Crawling Anomalies: Issues that prevent Googlebot from effectively crawling certain pages.

   Having visibility into these details enables you to fine-tune your site to ensure that only the right pages are indexed, helping you boost your SEO efforts. Use this section as part of your regular SEO audit routine to maintain a healthy, crawlable, and indexable website.

Google Search Console Pages

2. The Performance section in Google Search Console is essential for understanding how your pages are performing and which keywords are driving traffic. Here’s why this section is a must-use for your SEO strategy:

   
   

   • Track Keyword Performance: Identify which keywords your pages rank for and how well they perform. This helps you evaluate the on-page presence of your content and keywords.

   • Spot Gaps in Strategy: It’s the source of truth for understanding how Google ranks your site and what it ranks you for. Use this data to uncover areas that need improvement.

Google Search Console Performance

Real-World Example: A Client Case Study Using Performance Section

1. At Surremor, we had a client with a website selling fertilizers and grass seeds. Here’s what we discovered through the Performance section:

2. The Issue: Their site wasn’t ranking for transactional keywords (terms tied to purchasing intent), such as “buy fertilizer online” or “best grass seeds for lawns.”

3. What They Ranked For: Most of their traffic came from educational keywords, such as:

   • “What is NPK fertilizer?”

   • “What does NPK fertilizer do?”

4. The Impact: While these keywords drove traffic, they didn’t attract the right audience. As a result:

   • Conversion rates were low.

   • PPC ads and pop-ups were ineffective because they weren’t reaching people ready to purchase.

5. The fix:

   • At Surremor, we conducted a thorough keyword analysis and optimized the fertilizer landing page. By strategically implementing targeted keywords and refining the content, the page climbed 17% in rankings within the first month.

     This approach ensured the page attracted the right audience—those actively searching for products with purchasing intent—leading to better visibility and improved conversions.

Content Optimization / Backlinking

Week 5-8

Content Optimization:

• Keyword Targeting: Ensure your content targets relevant, high-intent keywords that align with your audience’s search behavior. Use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to identify gaps and opportunities.

• Content Structure: Optimize for readability and search engines by using:

  • Clear headings (H1, H2, etc.) with relevant keywords.

  • Short, concise paragraphs.

  • Lists and bullet points to improve scannability.

• Internal Linking: Link to other valuable pages on your site to enhance navigation and distribute link equity.

• Multimedia Enhancements: Include high-quality images, videos, and infographics to keep users engaged and reduce bounce rates.

Backlinking:

• Building High-Quality Backlinks:

  • Reach out to industry-relevant websites or blogs for guest posting opportunities.

  • Leverage existing relationships to earn links from trusted sources.

• Earn Links Naturally: Create shareable, valuable content like in-depth guides, infographics, or data-driven reports that other sites will want to link to.

• Fix Broken Backlinks: Use tools to identify broken links to your site and request that the linking site update them with the correct URL.

• Monitor Your Backlink Profile: Regularly check the quality of your backlinks to avoid toxic links that can harm your SEO. Tools like Ahrefs or Moz are great for this.

Conclusion:

If you haven't already done so take advantage of our free checklist.