One of the top SEO news resources, Search Engine Land, recently ran an article asking the questions: Can Small Businesses Really Afford SEO? Many SEO Consultants or firms will tell you that if you can’t budget at least $500 per month for an SEO budget, you can’t afford SEO. The truth is SEO is an investment in many ways; a financial investment, a time investment and a wonderful investment in your business. So the big answer…YES, small businesses can afford SEO and should make it a priority in their budget.

So how exactly do you afford it and how is it going to help you? SEO requires patience. Nobody can perform magic on your website and get you top rankings over night. If done right, SEO will pay for itself in the long run. If you spend hundreds on SEO but get thousands in return, SEO is definitely affordable. It may be hard cutting those checks to an SEO company or grinding it out on the Internet doing it yourself for the first few months but the ROI can make it worth your while. There are no guarantees in SEO but few companies fail to see some results after a good search engine optimization campaign.

If you operate a small, medium or large business you probably want to show up when someone searches for your local area and your type of business. For example: If you were a dentist in Provo, you will want to show up in the top search engine results page for the search term “Provo dentist”. How do you show up for that search term? Well, there are books and advice that could keep you busy for months teaching you SEO techniques. Here’s one tip that is simple and just as important for businesses without websites as the ones who have sites.

Get a business listing in the major search engine’s local areas. Google and Yahoo should be your first two targets. Once you have submitted information about your business, it can be found by someone looking for local businesses and services. Let’s start with Google. Visit the Google Local Business Center. If you don’t have a Google account, you’ll have to create one. Follow the steps to create an account and include as much information as possible. You can include your operating hours, forms of payment, company logo’s and pictures. As with many Google services, this one is a freebie. There is really no reason to not take advantage of this. It also will become more and more important as Google is changing its search engine results page to include maps at the very top. The links just to the right of the map are generated from the Google Local Business Center. If you don’t have a website, it will display your contact info. If you do have a website, it will display your contact info but also a link to your website.

You’ll also want your business to be included in Yahoo! Local. You can add your business by visiting their Local Merchant site. Yahoo! offers a free listing but also has paid options that include allowing you to add more information and photo’s as well as premium placement. Their search results look a little different but if you are serious about ranking well in Yahoo!, paid placement might get you straight to the top.

Even if you can’t afford the paid placement option in Yahoo!, you will find that including your business’s contact information in these two major search engine’s local section will help potential customers find your business.

One of the largest groups still ignoring online marketing and SEO are smaller, local businesses and professional services. The irony in this is that they may stand to benefit more than half of the people that are marketing their websites online! More and more people are migrating away from the standard Yellow Pages and searching for businesses online. In fact, some studies report that up to 70% of shoppers begin on the Internet with their favorite search engine; which happens to be Google pulling in 30% of all local searches. There are a few local professions that are very common to be searched for and can be very competitive. If you’re in one of these fields and haven’t begun marketing yourself online (or even worse, don’t have a website), you’re already falling behind.

• Real Estate (Agents, Brokerages, Appraisers, Financial Services)
• Medical Professionals (Doctors, Dentists, Chiropractors)
• Retail (cars, computers, electronics)
• Travel-related (hotels, car rental, airfare, limousines)
• Other local services (dog boarding, kennels, photography, plumber

Having a strong online presence is similar to investing at an early age. The earlier you start, the more effective it will be in the long run. Not to mention that the local search industry is continuing to grow each year and the number of people searching for local businesses and services is only going to grow. Search engine optimization (SEO) is not a one-time process. It is an on-going effort but once your initial campaign is complete, it’s fairly low maintenance. Local businesses need to shed the idea that they don’t need a website if they aren’t selling products online. By participating in online marketing and SEO now, you are jumping in one of the the most effective advertising methods. Print ads, flyers and mailers continue to be less and less effective as people recognize them as junk mail.

One issue many small businesses face is incorporating a new marketing channel into their budget. SEO firms can be a little on the expensive side. There are some lower cost alternatives including some independent SEO consultants who can offer services for less or going the do-it-yourself route. Either way, the important part is to get started now and make your online presence known in your local market.