SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is like making your website or content friendly and attractive to search engines like Google. 

Imagine search engines as librarians: they want to help people find the best books (websites) on a particular topic. SEO is like organising your book (website/content) in a way that makes it easy for the librarian (search engine) to find and recommend it to people searching for information on that topic. So, by using SEO techniques, you're essentially improving your website's/content's chances of being found and ranked higher in search engine results, which can lead to more visitors and traffic to your site.

SEO is crucial for small businesses on social media for several reasons:

Increased Visibility: Social media platforms often serve as search engines themselves. When users search for products, services, or information within a social media platform, having optimised profiles and content increases the likelihood of your business appearing in relevant search results.

Brand Awareness: Effective SEO on social media helps in improving brand visibility and awareness. By optimising your profiles, content, and hashtags, you can ensure that your brand reaches a wider audience, including those who may not be familiar with your business but are searching for related products or services.

Higher Engagement: Optimised content on social media tends to perform better in terms of engagement metrics such as likes, shares, comments, and clicks. This increased engagement not only helps in building a loyal audience but also signals to the platform algorithms that your content is relevant and valuable, potentially leading to further visibility.

Targeted Audience Reach: SEO on social media allows you to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, ensuring that your content is seen by the right audience. This targeted approach can lead to higher conversion rates and better ROI (Return on Investment) for your marketing efforts.

Competitive Advantage: In today's competitive landscape, having a strong presence on social media is essential for small businesses. By implementing SEO strategies effectively, you can outperform competitors and establish your brand as a leader in your industry.

Cost-Effective Marketing: Compared to traditional advertising channels, social media offers a cost-effective way to reach a large audience. By focusing on SEO, you can maximise the visibility of your organic content, reducing the need for paid advertising to achieve similar results.

Feedback and Insights: Social media platforms provide valuable insights and feedback from your audience, which can be used to refine your SEO strategies and improve your overall marketing efforts. By analysing metrics such as engagement rates, click-through rates, and audience demographics, you can gain valuable insights into what resonates with your audience and adjust your approach accordingly.

In summary, SEO is important on social media for small businesses because it helps in increasing visibility, building brand awareness, driving engagement, targeting the right audience, gaining a competitive advantage, and obtaining valuable insights for ongoing improvement.

Coming soon: What are SEO techniques?