The whole world is in a state of shock: a shock that 2020 has been to the whole world. Be it the Bushfires or the Pandemic, it has collectively managed to send us all into a frenzy. Yet, the beginning of 2021 looks bright and challenging on a positive note. Economists say that the world went back a couple of decades because of the effect of the pandemic. Businesses and economies went to a standstill and have just started to be functional again.
2020 may have been challenging but also the best of eye-openers. 2020 has taught me to not unlearn and see things more clearly. I have learnt a lot about people and businesses by working so closely with them for a year now.
Our economy is run by businesses, and most of them start small. It’s commendable how small businesses in our economies grow up to be major players, i.e.- Airbnb, Instagram. The impact that these businesses make on their customers’ lives and eventually the economy is admirable.
Small scale start-ups, be it a Gelato place around the corner, a full-time blogger or the 24*7 Asian deliveries are extremely hard working. The reason behind their sincerity is the tough competition they face from big corporations and start-ups around them. It’s a tough market, and even tougher to be noticed and remembered.
Definition of a small scale startup?
A start-up is typically a small company or a business in its initial stage of development. These businesses are usually found by either one or a few more number of founders. The initial investment in any start-up is usually done by its founding members or borrowed from family members/friends. The initial aim of a start-up and its founders is to do a lot of thorough market research, to better understand their prospects. They use this knowledge to capitalize upon a perceived market demand by developing a suitable product/service.
Unlike small businesses, start-ups aim at growing; growing tremendously. Growth is a thorough motivator in any successful start-up. Start-ups aspire to no longer be tagged as a start-up as they progress in their journey. This shows how far they have travelled and progressed successfully.
Problems faced by start-ups
There are two things that come to my mind while I think of start-ups. The first being, “ Only the fittest survive.” And the second is,” A good road never makes good drivers.” The growth curve of a start-up is never easy and never-ending. However, the sweet joy of being your own boss is something that can’t be traded.
Here, we shall briefly understand the problems faced by start-ups today:
- Fierce competitions
Fortunately for the economy, there are many players for the same game. Be it in any sector, there are multiple start-ups who are already looking at solving the same problem. This might seem like a blessing to the economy and also to the customer, spoilt by choices. The same blessing keeps the start-ups on their toes at all times. There is a severe need to always be available and updated. A small mistake can cost a start-up, not only money but also a lifelong customer.
- Unrealistic expectations
Start-ups try their best to be noticed by customers. It becomes even harder when they try to be remembered and recommended in the same market. In this desperate need to be noticed, small businesses make use of tricky techniques too. Be it in terms of ridiculous amounts of discounts or by offering free samples. Start-ups may or may not always be able to maintain their quality while doing business.
However, customers compare businesses and expect both quality and quantity from start-ups too. Start-ups should have realistic ideas about their capabilities and not oversell themselves in the market. This is one of the major SWOT analysis mistakes that start-ups often commit.
- Finding the right manpower
Start-ups work as teams, towards a similar goal. This team spirit is what leads a start-up towards its ultimate destination. The poop of aspiring candidates is huge today. However, finding just the right fit is extremely difficult. A candidate might be extremely talented with recommendations and experiences, but still unfit for you. Finding candidates who think and work in sync with your existing workforce is a challenge.
- Decision regarding partnership
Working with a partner can be highly beneficial for a start-up, both financially and morally. However, choosing a wrong partner can break the entire deal too. It is a tough gamble. A start-up needs to look at multiple aspects before deciding on collaborating with a company from the same sector. It’s wise to work with businesses that are already established and open to working with new ideas.
- Effective management of money
Money brings money; it’s a very understated statement in the market. When the income of a start-up increases, its expenditure also increases. It’s a tough call to decide on the right shots at the right times. Most often than not, start-ups fail in managing their finances and bog down to the pressure of balancing it all together.
Why is SEO critical for start-ups?
Seo or Search Engine optimization is how a business optimises its keyword so that they come up, on web searches. The idea is to be visible as a solution when a customer is looking on the web with the question.
There are many businesses in every sector today. Yet, each start-up is different from the other in many small and big ways. The offering or the service will be different and so will be the customer service. These small nuances in every start-up are what differentiates it from the other.
Customers are looking for their perfect fit in today’s crowded market. And they need to know about your offerings. Demand meeting supply is the best-case scenario in any market.
SEO helps in making the right start-up visible to the customer at a convenient time. Imagine, the weather is sunny and you are in the mood for some Gelato. Yet you have certain dietary restrictions. You look at the web disheartened. Miraculously, you find a Vegan Gelato place downtown. It is a little far but still manages to cheer you up, doesn’t it? You will certainly want to take a trip, sooner or later once you know about the place.
This is why start-ups are looking at SEO tools to optimize their websites today. It is an extremely time and cost-efficient method to be visible in a crowded marketplace. Not having the right SEO tools today is equivalent to having a shop that nobody knows exists in the marketplace. The right SEO garners the attention your start-up deserves.
Here are some valid reasons why SEO is a must for your start-up today:
- Being Visible to people looking for you– Running a start-up basically entails that only you, your co-founders, family and friends will know and look up your business on Google. One might either invest in some paid advertising or be pocket-wise and spend some time consistently on their SEO.
- Better impression on Customers– Once your business ranks high and pops up with the right answers, you become an authority. People look for answers on the web, they are bound to appreciate someone who knows the right answers. Eventually, you become an authority figure in the same sector. For example, there must have been multiple web searches on Dalgona Coffee during the lockdown. Any cafe that was fast enough to tweak its SEO would have managed to get a lot of organic traffic. It could have been done by offering tricks to make the coffee or a certain trick to ease the process. Remodifying the keywords is one of the ways to prepare your SEO strategy after the pandemic.
- Organic traffic will last- Unlike paid advertising, the traffic that you will get with the right SEO is organic. Once your customers know about your expertise, they will come back to you for answers. These customers are more likely to stay forever unless your something blasphemous comes up.
- SEO will help you gather up data to create customer personas- Once you know who you are targeting, it becomes easier to market. You will have a better understanding of their needs and pain points.
The above points are just the tip of the iceberg, there are many other reasons why SEO is crucial for any budding start-up in the market today. However, we won’t be delving on those in detail in this blog. We shall discuss in detail SEO strategies that work, for any small scale start-up today.
SEO strategies for small start-ups
● Find the keywords that your customer group are looking for-
The initial question regarding content is what to write about? You need to write about things that your target audience is interested in. This will ensure that they will certainly consume your content and also build brand authority for you.
However, finding the right keywords is a task in itself. Look for already searched keywords and attend to them as an authority. The idea is to answer your customers’ questions, better than everybody else. This makes sure that even the SERPs see you as a business that should rank higher on searches.
Even though there are multiple tools to help you find the right keywords, you can begin with Google’s autocomplete feature. Use Google’s keyword research as the starting point for generating content ideas. Once you decide on which keywords to focus on, make separate blogs on your website focusing on each keyword.
● Work on optimizing your on-page SEO-
On-page SEO is all about the words or rather the placement of words on the page. Typically, it is wise to create content that is organically flowing. However, it’s always not possible to have organic content that contains all the keywords placed naturally. What happens without the target keywords? Google doesn’t rank your page and your website doesn’t come up on searches. This is why it’s important to structure your page in such a way that it seems natural, while also including crucial keywords. It’s a tough balance, yet highly crucial and befitting.
❏ Optimize the websites page title and all the headlines-
The headline plays a big role in determining how many people read and then click on your website. This is called the click-through rate. You will have to be extremely choosy in selecting the right headline, while also sticking to the character limit. Also, remember that you don’t want to leave your reader hanging either.
❏ Use functional header tags-
Using the right header tags will ensure you include all the major keywords and make your content more readable for the reader. This also ensures that the reader spends a good amount of time on your website.
❏ Clean your meta tags-
Meta Tags are the description of your content in the search engines. These tags are used by crawlers to make sure that your content is similar to what you have described it to be. Make use of relevant and updated keywords and descriptions in your meta tag, so that crawlers know what your website’s about.
● Build your authority by using the Links-
When Barack Obama says highly about Biden, it says a lot about him; doesn’t it? It’s the same on the web too. Having other relevant sites link back to your website says highly about your website, meaning the start-up. This eventually improves your position in search engines. For Google, the quantity and quality of websites linking back to your website is a major indicator of your authority. This decides how high you will rank in its searches.
Link building is a lot of hard and smart work. However, the results it earns are equally worthy. A good way of building links is looking at where your best performing competitors are getting their links from. Chances are high, it will work for you favourably if it did for them. Prepare an outreach strategy, that includes local newspapers, bloggers, businesses and event pages. Any good mention will work wonders for your start-up organically.
● Work thoroughly on your content-
Content marketing takes a good amount of time and money. Start-ups are known to be starved of both these resources. However, content is one such asset that a start-up can not afford to be casual about. Content is what impresses the customers. It’s the first impression and the decisive factor for a customer to move forward in its buyer’s cycle.
Fortunately, there are resources that can help start-ups accentuate their content game.
❏ Repeat a familiar template-
All your content, be it in blog format or infographic format etcetera, can follow a similar format or template. Not only does this save the additional mental effort but does much more. The Template eventually becomes a trademark symbol of your content and your start-up. You could also decide on a fixed format of content that you are comfortable with. It could be a sarcastic, comparative or an analytical fact-based model, that you are most comfortable working with.
❏ Make videos-
The purpose of all types of content is to transfer information. This transfer can however be done by N number of ways. It could be through a video, an infographic or through a blog. Making Videos is a more convenient and time-efficient method of generating content. Also, make sure that you use the right tools to optimize your videos with the appropriate SEO.
❏ Make the right use of social media and other such distribution channels-
You can either make Noise or keep waiting for your quality to speak for you. Understand that there are many businesses in the market who are offering quality products like you and are more than willing to take your place. So hustle, while you still can. Create content and share them on your social media channels. Also, make sure to decide on a social media channel that works best for your business.
● Invite/Encourage your customers to leave reviews
Reviews can do wonders for a start-up. Not only do they build credibility among new customers but also gain trust while they pop up on SERPs. Online reviews can make or break the deal for a business in today’s digital era. Customers look for reviews on the web for the smallest of things.
Once customers write reviews for you, your website gets user-generated free content too. If this content includes your keywords, it acts as the cherry topping on a cake. Encourage your customers to write reviews for your business, either on Google or your dedicated website.
Small businesses face a lot of competition from bigger players today. However, they have a lot to their advantage too. It’s easier to have a more humane and tailored relationship with your customers, as a small business. And fortunately, the market place is in a very experimental and open position, making it easier to establish yourself as a startup.
With so much on their plates, from sales to partnership decisions, SEO might end up taking a backseat for startups. Unfortunately the longer the delay, the further one falls behind in their search presence. There is nothing more damaging than relative digital anonymity for a start-up, in today’s era. This will eventually impact the traffic and then the revenue generated. These strategies will help get your SEO off to a good start but if you’re really serious about investing in your digital presence and getting ahead of the competition from day one, then you might want to think about working with a reputable SEO agency.
Whatever your approach, SEO is more important for startups now than it’s ever been.”
About the Author
Jane is an upcoming educator and co-founder of the Top My Grades. She specializes in arts and design related assignments, helping students with their graphic design projects and animations. She has also collaborated with professional developers and web designers, having industry experience along the way. Beyond work, you can find her with a sketchbook, doodling away or writing poetry.
