Your Small Business Needs Google SEO To Compete in 2023. (5 reasons)

September 2, 2022

If you own a small business, chances are you've heard of Local SEO. But what is SEO? How does it work? And why is it so important for small businesses?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of making your business and website more visible to potential customers through organic (i.e. FREE) search results on search engines like Google.


Google SEO (sometimes known as Local SEO) is incredibly important for small businesses. It could be argued that SEO is more important for local small businesses (SMBs) than any other type of business. That's because SMBs generally have smaller budgets and can't afford to waste money on expensive websites or marketing strategies that don't work. They also can't afford to make mistakes when it comes to SEO since even a small mistake can have a big negative impact on their bottom line.


Good Local SEO can be the difference between your website appearing on the first page of search results or the tenth. And since most people don't bother to look past the first page, small businesses need to prioritize SEO in their marketing efforts to get on page 1.


There is a popular joke in the marketing community that says the best place to hide a body is on Page 2 of Google since it is the last place anyone will look. This joke is rooted in truth since the first page of Google gets 91.5% of all organic traffic while the second page only gets 4.8%.


This stat should be enough to convince any small business owner that they need to invest in SEO if they want to get more website visitors and customers. But if that's not enough, here are:


5 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs Google SEO



Reason #1:

To Get Found Online 🔍

Most people don't look past the first page of search results. The first reason why every small business needs Google SEO is that it allows them to get found online by potential customers who are looking for their products or services. It's estimated that there are over 3.5 billion searches conducted on Google every day, which means there's a huge opportunity for small businesses to get in front of their target audience if they're optimized for the right keywords. 


As we mentioned above, good SEO is essential for small businesses because it determines whether your website appears on the first page of search results or the tenth. And since most people don't bother to look past the first page, your website must appear as close to the top of the list as possible.


Reason #2:

Good SEO leads to more traffic and more customers.

More visibility = more traffic = more customers. It's that simple. The higher your website ranks on a search engine, the more likely people are going to find it – and if they like what they see, they're likely to become customers.


Of course, getting more traffic to your website is only half the battle. Once you've gotten people to your site, you need to make sure they stay there long enough to learn about your products or services and consider becoming a customer. That's where SEO comes in again.



Reason #3:

Good SEO helps improve your website's usability.

One of the goals of SEO is to help make your website as user-friendly as possible. That means improving things like your site's navigation, design, and overall functionality. All of these factors play a role in how long people stay on your site and whether or not they become customers.



Reason #4:

To Build Trust and Credibility 

Good SEO can help you build credibility and trust with potential customers. We all know that we're more likely to do business with a company that we trust and feel confident in its ability to deliver on its promises. And one of the best ways to build trust with potential customers is to show up in search results when they're looking for a company like yours. 


When people see that your website is appearing high up on search engine results pages (SERPs), they're going to assume that you're an authority in your field – which can help instill enough trust and confidence in potential customers to get them to call your business.



Reason #5:

To Save Money 💰

Every small business needs Google SEO because it can save them a lot of money in the long run. Sure, there may be a bit of an upfront investment required to hire an experienced SEO professional or agency, but the return on that investment will more than pay for itself over time.


And as we all know, time is money! Not only will you save money by getting in front of your target audience organically (meaning you won't have to pay for ads), but you'll also save money by avoiding costly mistakes that could hurt your rankings and visibility in search results. 



Word-of-Mouth Alone Won't Cut it in 2023:

You Need Local SEO As Part of your Marketing Strategy

There's no question about it – every small business needs Google (Local) SEO if they want to succeed online in 2023. By making your Google Profile and website more visible, you can attract more traffic and convert more leads into paying customers, without paying for costly ads that may not even work.


Small businesses have a lot to gain from investing in Google SEO, and it's usually the most affordable way to begin to market your business. For example, at Simpleman Digital Marketing, we have Local SEO packages starting at just $10/day. In today's economy, you can spend more than that at Starbucks. (Is caffeine a business expense?)


If you're not already incorporating SEO into your digital marketing strategy, now is the time to start! Doing so will allow you to get found online by potential customers, build trust and credibility, and save money in the long run. Trust us - your bottom line will thank you!


If you're looking for help with your website and Local SEO, we at Simpleman Digital Marketing would be more than happy to assist. We proudly serve Forsyth county, Gwinnett County, and the Greater Atlanta Region, so we're well-equipped to help local businesses in the area get the visibility they deserve on Google.


Contact us today at https://www.simplemandigitalmarketing.com to learn more about our services or call us at 678-672-4274 to get a free consultation!



Like this Article? Please Help Us Get The Word Out & Share it!

You might also like

Simpleman Digital Marketing Blog

Man in a black shirt working on a laptop at a wooden table indoors.
By Jesse Nelson August 26, 2025
Learn how to transform negative feedback into valuable marketing insights. Handle reviews effectively and boost your strategy with customer-focused solutions.
By Jesse Nelson August 19, 2025
The Invisible Shift Already Happening
By Jesse Nelson August 18, 2025
I sit across from home service business owners every week who tell me the same thing. Fewer calls. Less business. No idea what changed. They know something's wrong. They just can't see what. The answer is hiding in plain sight. AI search engines are quietly stealing their customers. The Invisible Theft ChatGPT's market share exploded 740% in just 12 months. Over 1 billion prompts get sent to ChatGPT daily. Your customers are asking AI where to find a reliable contractor. And AI isn't finding you. Most business owners think visibility is simple. You're either found or you're not. But AI search created a fragmented world where you can rank well on Google and be completely invisible to ChatGPT. I test this with clients all the time. We'll search for their services on different AI platforms. Google's AI finds them. ChatGPT doesn't. Perplexity shows their competitor instead. The New Rules Traditional SEO focused on your website. AI search looks everywhere. Better Business Bureau listings. Chamber of Commerce directories. Yelp reviews. YouTube channels. LinkedIn profiles. AI systems don't just crawl your website anymore. They scan every mention of your business across every platform. The old game was about backlinks. The new game is about mentions. I reverse engineer where AI models source their information. Then I get my clients onto those platforms. It's detective work, not guesswork. The Fragmentation Problem Here's what most people miss. Different AI systems use different sources. ChatGPT partners with Bing. Google has its own AI. Perplexity uses different data sources entirely. Being visible on one doesn't guarantee visibility on others. Each AI system has its own preferences for where it pulls information. The competition is fiercer now. Traditional Google shows 10 blue links. AI systems only cite 2-7 sources per response. Fewer spots. More competition. Tomorrow Is Today I can already show you UTM parameters from ChatGPT in client analytics. AI search is driving real traffic to real businesses right now. The numbers from six months ago look nothing like today's numbers. AI adoption is exponential, not linear. I suspect manual search will be mostly gone within two years. Voice-based AI search will handle most queries. The businesses adapting now will own their markets. The ones waiting will become invisible. The Choice If you're reading this, you probably sense something changed. Your phone rings less. Your website gets fewer visitors. Your referrals aren't enough anymore. You can keep doing what you've always done and hope things improve. Or you can accept that the game changed while you weren't looking. We show business owners the data. We run AI searches in front of them. We can prove whether they show up or not. Some see it and adapt. Others don't want to change. Both choices have consequences. Only one has a future.

Book a Service Today