SEO and small business marketing

For entrepreneurs looking to get ahead of the curve when it comes to small business marketing, 2012 is predicted to be the year that search engine optimization (SEO) takes the lead as the year's top business promotions strategy.

SEO is the process of increasing a website's traffic by tailoring its content in such a way that its presence in search engine results is maximized. Successful SEO efforts can dramatically increase a company's online presence. More visibility leads to increased rankings and ultimately, new business leads that can be converted into revenue.

SEO is a useful business marketing tool, but it won't amount to much unless your company has a strong website to keep visitors interested. Monitoring your bounce rates (the percentage of visitors to your website that leave without viewing other pages) can be a good indicator of whether your site is compelling.

Filling your website with meaningful and unique content is only half the battle, though. If your site doesn't have visual appeal, visitors will most likely leave before they get a chance to look at the content. Avoid the temptation to over-clutter, as this can be a turn-off for visitors. In this case, less really is more.