5 Ways to Improve Google SEO For Small Businesses in Australian Tourism

Wondering how to improve Google SEO for small businesses? Well you’ve definitely come to the right place.

When looking for small business SEO tips to increase organic performance, especially within the travel/tourism niche, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

To help you take your business to the next level, we’ve compiled a list of simple and straightforward things you can do to better utilise Google SEO for your small businesses in Australia and world-wide.

BUT…

It is important to keep in mind that your success with SEO is going to be completely dependent on you, and how much you’re willing to invest into the process.

Sorry to a disappoint… but SEO is not a “get traffic quick” scheme.

Instead, it will take time, lots of research and perseverance. But I can promise you this…once you get it right, it will pay you and your business substantial dividends in the future.

• Related Articles: How to Get Your Website to Show Up on Google in the Tourism Niche

What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?

Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is the practice of optimising your website so that it ranks higher in search engine results when customers use phrases relevant to your business on Google, Bing, and other search engines.

The higher the exposure of your pages in search results, the more probable you are to draw attention and attract new and existing clients to your website – a critical marketing strategy for small businesses in Australia.

Still sound like gibberish to you?

Don’t worry, I’m going to be explaining this in a lot more detail below – including some simple small business SEO tips to help you gain a better understanding of how SEO works.

We will also give you a bit of an intro to our recently launched SEO 101 Masterclass for small businesses and beginners. After all, if you’re here – you’ll likely find this FREE class highly valuable.

How Does SEO Work for Small Businesses in Australia?

Google and Bing search engines use bots to scan websites, move from site to site, gather data about those pages, and index them.

Think of the index as a massive library in which a librarian can pull up a book (or web page) to help you locate what you’re looking for.

Algorithms then examine indexed pages, using hundreds of ranking factors or signals, to decide the proper order in which those pages should appear in the search results for a particular search query.

In our library example, the librarian has read every book in the library and can tell you exactly which one has the answers to your questions.

Google SEO for Small Business – Is it Worth the Investment?

To grasp just how valuable SEO is to your small business, you’ve got to understand three things:

1. Organic Search Results:

Organic search results are unpaid listings on a search engine results page (SERP) considered by the search engine to be the most relevant to the user’s query.

Advertisements (often known as PPC or pay-per-click ads in this context) dominate many SERPs.

Organic search results differ from these ads in that they are positioned based on the organic ranking algorithms of the search engine rather than buy advertiser bids. You cannot pay to rank better in organic search results.

2. Quality of Organic Traffic:

This relates to how relevant the person and their search query are to the information on your website.

You may attract all the traffic in the world, but if they come to your site because Google tells them you’re a resource for Apple laptops when actually you’re a farmer selling apples, those visitors are likely to bounce (or leave) without converting.

Only visitors who are really interested in the products, information, or other resources your site provides constitute high-quality traffic.

High-quality SEO takes advantage of search engines’ efforts to match a user’s search intent to the web pages presented in the SERP.

3. Quantity of Organic Traffic:

This is the number of individuals that arrived at your website through organic search results.

Users are considerably more likely to click on search results displayed at the top of the SERP, so use our strategies for Google SEO for small business to rank relevant pages as high as possible.

The more high-quality visitors you bring to your site, the more likely it is to increase your conversion rate.

The Link Between Good SEO and Attracting Customers

As individuals perform billions of searches annually, often with commercial intent to get information about products and services, knowing how to improve SEO for a small business has become an integral aspect of digital marketing strategies.

Brands generally rely on search engines as their primary means of attracting online customers, which often works in tandem with other forms of advertising.

You can significantly affect your bottom line by increasing your visibility and moving up in the search results page rankings.

Over the past few years, however, there has been a shift in the structure of search engine results pages to provide more concise answers and information that readers could find practical and therefore stay on the results page.

“Rich Results” and “Knowledge Panels” are also crucial to improve Google SEO for small business in Australia.

They boost brand awareness and give prospective customers access to more information about travel adventures, without needing to leave the results page.

This is a really handy small business SEO tip to know, as it can help to guide you with how you structure the content on your website, and put you leaps and bounds ahead of your competition.

In short, search engine optimisation (SEO) is the bedrock of a complete marketing strategy.

Knowing who’s visiting your website will help you improve your campaigns (both sponsored and organic), website, social media properties, and more. If you need some help, check out our FREE SEO 101 Masterclass Course below.

In this short course, we’ll help you better understand Google SEO, what it is and why it’s a critical digital marketing strategy for small businesses, no matter your niche.

How to Improve SEO for Small Business – Our Top SEO Tips

#1 Optimise Page Titles and Descriptions

Page titles and meta descriptions, arguably one of the most overlooked Google SEO for small business strategies, govern how ranking sites display on search engine results.

A well-optimised title and description on all pages will go a long way toward increasing organic exposure, click-through rate (CTR), and SEO traffic.

The following recommendations are general best practices:

1. Get the length right:

• Search engines typically display only the first 50-60 characters of a page title and the first 150-160 characters of a page description.

2. Unique for each page:

• A standard recommendation among most search engine recommendations. Ensure that each page is distinct and reflects the content of that specific page.

3. Use the proper keywords within titles:

• Optimising your title tags with the right keywords may improve your search ranks. (If you don’t have access to SEO tools, use common sense – i.e., don’t call your main page ‘Home’)

4. Optimise CTR:

• Remember that the goal with search results is to stand out. To motivate searchers to click through, try providing a unique selling point (USP) offer or a call to action (CTA).

Most website content management systems (CMS) will facilitate editing page titles and descriptions. If you’re not sure how to do this yourself, you can simply contact your website developer or provider.

• Related Articles: How to Get Your Website to Show Up on Google in the Tourism Niche

#2 Add Meta Tags and Descriptions

One of the most crucial components of optimising your website for search engines is using meta tags.

This is such a basic and easy small business SEO tip yet is often overlooked by small businesses as part of their digital strategy.

When potential customers are searching for a particular product or service, meta tags contain keywords and phrases that help them locate your site.

These keywords must be unique to you, your company, and the industry/niche you’re in so that Google can “understand” the information about travel and tourism you’re offering and rank you accordingly.

#3 SEO-optimised Image “Alt Tags” and Naming Conventions

Consider the last time you uploaded an image to your website. You probably downloaded it from a stock photography site, uploaded it to your site’s backend, and then put it into the page.

This really shines as a prime example of effective image optimisation, right?

Well, not exactly…

It’s as if you slung a giant bowling ball onto your site, causing it to load slowly. Plus, without alt text, search engines cannot understand your images.

Let’s fix that!

According to Jumpshot data from 2018, Google Images accounts for more than 20% of all web searches in the United States.

SEO amateurs and experts alike understand that optimising photos for your website is time well spent – and it’s even more so for small businesses in the travel niche.

Dan Morgan of WebSpection optimised one of his photographs to rank #1 in Google Images for “best person in Cardiff” in less than four days.

You’re squandering a vital SEO tool if you don’t optimise your images properly.

Image optimisation has several benefits, including improved user experience, quicker website load times, and extra ranking prospects. And, it’s a component that’s getting bigger and bigger.

#4 Use Keyword-optimised Headings to Target Your Niche

One of the most significant components of optimising your business’ website for search engines is the use of keywords; not only do they help you rank better in SERPs, but also link you with potential clients looking to buy from you.

By organically adding travel-related keywords to your website, content, and even meta tags, you can ensure that interested customers find your site when they Google “your business name + keyword.”

As far as keyword research is concerned, several tools can help you create a solid list on which to base your content.

We use a combination of Uber Suggest (paid version), Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

#5 Install SEO Plugins

Another simple small business SEO tip is to take some of the grunt work out of the process with an SEO plugin for your website.

SEO plugins may considerably simplify your SEO optimisation workflow by allowing you to handle anything from the dashboard.

But it’s important to look for a tool that includes the following features:

• Automated sitemap generation
• Content optimisation and keyword tracking insights
• Meta tag writing functionality
• Schema and OpenGraph support
• Redirects management
• SEO Analytics – potential integration with Google Analytics

Bases off my own personal experience, I can recommend:

• Yoast SEO – great for beginners
• Rank Math – I currently use this one
• All in One SEO – another popular option for small business websites in Australia

SEORadar is also worth considering.

Unlike the previous tools, SEORadar does not aim to be an all-in-one SEO toolkit. Instead, it automatically analyses your site’s code and tells you when it discovers changes that may influence your SERP positioning. It addresses all key aspects of your website, such as:

• Subtitles and titles
• Metatags
• Featured keywords
• Sitemap changes

It’s easy to overlook subtle but significant code changes, especially if you’re a non-technical user managing a website for the first time.

Although handy, these plugins do not typically provide a 360° view of your website. That is why it is often best to integrate or use alongside Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

These two free systems are great and are commonly recommended by Google SEO experts for small businesses, regardless of your niche.

In Summary:

In order to optimise SEO for a small business in Australia, there are several things you can do to optimise the content of your website – especially when in the highly competitive niche like tourism/adventure travel.

As mentioned, it can be incredibly valuable to set some time aside to review your existing website content.

Take the time to review your competitors websites and do keyword research so you can get an idea of the keywords they may be targeting as well as where the opportunity is.

Then update your website’s headings, image alt text, meta tags etc in alignment with the keywords you want to target.

If you need help with SEO optimisation, ensure to take a look at our FREE SEO 101 Masterclass for small businesses.

In this short introductory e-course, we cover a whole range of topics including small business SEO tips around the following:

• An introduction to SEO and what it is
• How SEO is different from other forms of digital marketing
• Why SEO is critical for small businesses, no matter your niche
• Simple ways to use SEO to grow your business
• An overview of common SEO jargon and what it means in layman’s terms

SEO can be complex and tricky to learn as a beginner.

However, once you understand the basic process behind how to improve SEO for small business, you can have a substantial impact on the volume of customers you attract.

Enter your details below to start our free SEO 101 Masterclass for businesses in the tourism and hospitality niche. .