Get a website for your small business
Traffic is the most important part of a website. I specialize in organic Search Engine Optimization, which means I will build you a website that Google and other search engines find useful, helping you rank well. Without proper SEO on your website, what you offer will be lost in a sea of over a billion websites that are already online.
You need a small business website
If you're just starting out, you'll need an organic SEO website for your small business. A site is a great sales tool for promoting your business, as well as naturally having people find what you offer when using Google and other search engines.
I believe in organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization), instead of purchasing advertising like using Google Ads. If you build your website correctly, over time you'll generate leads to your website naturally without having to pay extra. I know that with starting a business, every dollar counts.
There are a lot of people and companies out there that can build you a website. The question is whether or not they know what they're doing. Most will build you a website and move on to the next. They'll even "highly suggest" paying them a monthly fee to make sure your website stays up and running. They'll promise to update your plugins if you're using WordPress, give you monthly SEO reports, etc., all to show you value. The truth is all those "reports" and data are useless unless you know how to use them.
Brick & mortar small business need local SEO
If you have a small business that has a physical store, you need to make sure your website is configured for local SEO, along with a Google Business Profile. Local Search Engine Optimization tells Google and other search engines that not only do you have a website, but you also have a brick-and-mortar building. When Google understands that, your customers will be shown your website and physical location in their search.
Google is trying to give us the best results for my search query. As an example, I live around Huntley, IL, a northwest suburb of Chicago. I'm looking for a dog groomer in my area. I don't want to see links from businesses in other states. I want to see search results of places that I can drive to and are close to me. That's where local SEO comes in.
I will optimize your site to tell Google and other search engines that your small business is a physical location, and to show people your website and business information first. That way people in your area looking for what you offer will be giving your business as a search result. This is done by using the correct keywords and content relevant to your area, and setting up a Google Business Profile correctly and optimized for local SEO.
My 4-Step Process
Step 1 — Website Audit
I’ll do a full site audit of your existing website if you have one, and see how your website is performing online. I'll take a look at your organic traffic and see how many people are going to your website, how long they're staying, and what pages are popular. I'll see what keywords you're ranking for, and if they align with your business goals and what you offer.
Next, I'll see who your competition is online based on your current website. I'll take a look at their organic traffic, what keywords they're ranking for, and which of their pages are keeping their audience engaged.
After I gather all this data I'll share my findings with you. We can have a conversation that's easy to understand, and discuss an organic SEO strategy to improve your existing website.
Step 2 — Website Design
This is the fun part for me, and hopefully for you! I want to hear the ideas you have. Maybe there are some websites that you like the design and layout of. Maybe you have a preferred color palette, or you would like your website to complement your existing marketing materials that are already designed.
Once I have a clear picture of what you have in mind, I'll begin designing a couple of concepts for you to take a look at. Once I have something that looks good, we'll work together and refine your chosen design until your website looks exactly how you envisioned.
I want to make sure you're included every step along the way.
Step 3 — Website Development
Another exciting part of this process for me is coding. WordPress is my preferred method of building a website over the 25 years I've been doing it.
WordPress is the winner because it's simpler for you to make changes later on. Just log in, open a page, edit the content, and click save. There is also a wide variety of plugins you can add functionality to your website. Plugins for "drag-and-drop" page layout design, forms, SEO monitoring and suggesting, etc. And if WordPress is something you'd like to learn more about, there are thousands of YouTubers to educate yourself.
Of course I can build you a static HTML website too. We can discuss in detail the pros and cons of both methods, but I feel that WordPress's pros far surpass the old ways of doing things.
Step 4 — Website Review & Launch
Now that we have the design and coding for your small business website done, you can review your website before it's live for your audience to see. I want to make sure you're happy with everything and it's exactly the way you want it. We can make any final tweaks at this stage before launch.
Once it's launched, it'll probably take some time for it to rank on Google and other search engines, especially if it’s new, but I’ll keep an eye on it and monitor your website's performance moving forward.
In the meantime I can work on other digital assets or print materials you may need to start your business off as a success.
What makes me different
What makes me different is that I will build you a custom organic SEO website for your small business (no templates) that loads fast. I'll help you write or re-write your content based on your industry, using keywords (words that are typed into a search engine) that you'll be able to rank for.
I'll also analyze your competition and see what keywords they're ranking for, so you can write better content and beat their positioning. Website speed, uniqueness, and quality of your content, as well as other best-practice SEO techniques, are driving factors to rank well on Google and other search engines.
I have over 25 years of experience in this field, so you’ll be working with a professional who's well-versed in website design, coding, and SEO. I do all the work myself, and I never outsource to others. I’ll be the one you’re in direct contact with, and I'll explain everything I'm doing so it's easy for you to understand, that way you won't feel overwhelmed.
My goal is to help you continue to keep your website performing well, even after it's built.
I'll monitor your small business website
If it’s a new organic SEO website for your small business, you shouldn’t make any changes for a while so Google and other search engines can “crawl”, or read your content to figure out what you do. Once some time passes we can see how it ranks online against your competition, and make changes and additions accordingly.
If your website has been around for a while and we make changes by re-writing some of your existing content or adding new content, I'll keep an eye on that to see what works and doesn't. Check out my SEO Consulting Services so you can understand all the parts for SEO and how I work.
I believe in transparency. If I see something that needs to be improved or suggestions on how to get your website to rank better, I’ll let you know. I’ll only charge you based on the work that needs to be performed. I'm not in the business of doing the bare minimum and giving you SEO reports for you to act on by yourself.
My goal is to establish a great working relationship with you.
Some of My Work
Get a Quote
If you never had a website built don't worry, I'll make the process easy to understand. If you have an existing website and need help with your SEO to get better rankings on Google, I can help. Click the button below and reach out.