What Small Business Owners Should Know About SEO

A SCORE mentor can help you craft a strategy for improving your business's online presence.

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Online e-commerce sales are on the rise, increasing by 8 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to the U.S. Census. Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a key role in how easily customers can find businesses online, making it an important tool for small business owners in e-commerce. As America's largest source of free, small business mentoring and resources, SCORE offers mentoring and educational resources for entrepreneurs looking to utilize SEO for the success of their business.

Why is SEO important?
If you own a business in 2025, you probably have a website dedicated to promoting your business and connecting with customers. "A website is a critical sales and marketing tool for just about every business," explains SCORE mentor Dean Swanson. "It is a hub for product information, a conversion point for capturing leads, the holding place for marketing materials and company news, and many times serves as your potential customer's first impression of your business. However, before any prospect can interact with your website, they first have to find your website."

Do your research
To reach the right customers, you need to know what they're looking for. Put yourself in the shoes of someone looking for your product or service. "Before you start optimizing your website, it's essential to conduct keyword research to identify the terms and phrases your target audience is using to search for products or services like yours," recommends SCORE mentor Adam Torkildson. "Once you have a list of relevant keywords, you can start incorporating them into your website's content, including page titles, meta descriptions and header tags."

Talk to the experts
Working with an experienced mentor can make a big difference for your business. SCORE client Michelle Nguyen, owner of Emmi's Closet, took advantage of SCORE's vast network of volunteers and received guidance from multiple mentors throughout her entrepreneurial journey. "When I needed help with technical questions such as SEO and website building, my mentor introduced me to another SCORE mentor, Kenneth Lo," said Michelle. "Kenneth has been tremendously supportive and helpful. He also introduced me to another SCORE mentor to help with the financial side of my business."

Resources from SCORE
In addition to mentoring, SCORE offers a free, online course about E-commerce Website Platforms, SEO, and Marketing for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs. This course walks you through website platform options, key marketing techniques and the role of SEO in e-commerce.

SCORE recently hosted two webinars on SEO, both of which are now available on-demand at no cost on SCORE's website. Start with Learn the SEO Basics and Boost Your Website Traffic, then for more information, check out The SEO Implementation Blueprint: Tools, Tactics & Techniques.

To learn more about SCORE, request a mentor or volunteer to be one, visit SCORE.org.

About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs start, grow or successfully exit a business. SCORE's 10,000 volunteers provide free, expert mentoring, resources and education in all 50 U.S. states and territories.

Funded [in part] through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

CONTACT:
SCORE
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Visit SCORE's media resources to connect with expert small business interview sources and news updates.

SOURCES
https://www.census.gov/retail/ecommerce.html

SOURCE SCORE