Every year search engine optimisation gets more difficult.

With Google constantly changing the rules of the game, it is becoming almost impossible to keep up. Especially if you’re a small business owner without the time and resources to keep your eye on the ball.

If you want to keep ahead of the game, we’ve compiled a number of easy SEO tips that small businesses can start using today.

Title Tags and Meta Data

The first step to optimising your website for the search engines is to make sure your title tags and meta data is present and correct.

Meta data is the hidden information about the pages on your website that the search engines ‘crawl’. This tells Google what the page is about, what it includes, and the keywords you’re trying to target.

The same goes for your title tags. These are the SEO titles you give your pages, and are often what appears on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

In terms of SEO, make sure that the meta data and title tags on each page are unique. This will help improve your natural SEO, and where you rank.

Optimized Copy

2012 brought with it a number of changes to the way we write for the web. In times gone by, SEOs would ‘stuff’ their website copy with keywords in a big to climb higher in the SERPs. Today, Google is penalising websites with poor quality so things have got to change.

In order to keep on the right side of the search engine, keep your optimised copy natural.

This means only including you keyword sparingly and above all naturally. If it only fits into your headline, introduction and conclusion – keep it that way. You can read some great tips for online copywriting here.

WordPress Plugins

The best way to make sure your onsite SEO is professional and natural, is to use a WordPress plugin. We have already written about WordPress being a great blogging platform for small business owners, and in terms of SEO nothing beats it.

Plugins such as Yoast SEO help you include all the data you need.

This means you’ll never need to worry you’ve forgotten any elements, as the plugin lays it all out for you. There are a whole host of similar plugins available, such as All in One SEO, so it is worthwhile experimenting to find the one that works best for you.

Google+ for Business

Have you done any searches on Google recently?

You may have noticed an increase in the number of Google+ local listings, as well as profiles being pulled in. The search engine is now placing more emphasis on websites that have an active Google+ presence.

Setting up an account is free, quick and really easy.

It may not be the biggest social media platform at the moment, but it is certainly growing. In terms of SEO, you should really create a profile and investigate how useful it can be when it comes to boosting your rankings.

Local Directory Links

Backlinks are an integral part of any small business SEO strategy. They are, however, not always easy to come by.

To get the most out of backlinks, you should get your website listed with a number of local directories. Not only can your customers now find you easily, but your SEO efforts will be boosted. As long as the directory is relevant – and the link doesn’t scream of spam – you will certainly get a return on this investment.

Most directories are free, but some will charge. It’s worth investigating which route is best for you, your business, and your SEO efforts.

As we’ve seen, there are some ways to make SEO easy for your small business.