Reach a higher rank: 6 expert tips to bump your business up in Google Search results

For most small business owners, the endgame is getting more – and better quality – leads. When you’re running a business on your own, it’s even harder to devote time and resources to SEO, but it’s crucial to your business growth.

As the year comes to a close, now’s the time to develop a robust SEO strategy to get in front of your competition for 2025. With the help of an SEO expert from UpWeb, we’ve compiled six tips to help you climb up the search rankings.

1. Fix website errors

Website issues can act like roadblocks, preventing potential customers from finding your business.

“Google considers hundreds of metrics in its algorithm to determine website rankings. Many small, easy-to-fix problems can add up, negatively impacting search rankings for small businesses,” says David Adamson, managing director of NSW-based digital marketing agency UpWeb, which specialises in SEO and offers free SEO audits.

From David and his team’s experience, common areas to address include:

• Broken links (404 errors)
• Meta tag problems (snippets of text that provide information about a webpage’s content)
• Toxic backlinks (links from harmful or spammy sites)
• Missing ALT tags (text descriptions for images on a web page).
• Page speed issues
• Weak keyword relevance

Many of these issues can be fixed by a competent developer, but it’s important that the fixes are done in alignment with the keywords you want to rank for (see tip 3).

Page speed is critical as Google’s PageSpeed score directly influences rankings. It also affects user experience. “Visitors often leave a sluggish website or browse fewer pages,” David tells Flying Solo. “These user experience metrics are increasingly influential in Google’s ranking algorithm, making a fast-loading site more important than ever.”

Fixing website errors can yield quick results. “Our clients often see improved rankings within the first month simply by fixing onsite errors and increasing Google PageSpeed scores,” notes David.

2. Improve quality backlinks

Backlinks to your site are crucial for organic rankings. Competing with thousands of other pages requires establishing authority in your niche to break through and rank well. Backlinks boost site authority, commonly measured by tools like MOZ Domain Authority, Ahrefs, and Semrush.

“As your authority grows, so does your organic reach, enabling you to target more competitive keywords and rank well for keyword variations,” explains David.

Avoid shady ‘black hat’ backlinks from spammy sites or link farms. Instead, aim for valuable backlinks.

“Be visible in your industry, write guest posts for non-competing businesses, stay active on social media, and highlight your brand everywhere possible,” he advises.

3. Get your keywords right

Keywords are the backbone of an SEO campaign, so having a balance between the following is key: search volume, competition level, user intent, and relevance. Achieving this balance will provide both short-term wins and long-term SEO success.

Many business owners target overly broad, competitive keywords, which often don’t yield results. For example, a local roller shutter business in Adelaide initially targeted broad ‘short-tail’ keywords like ‘roller shutters’ and ‘blinds’.

After partnering with UpWeb, a keyword analysis revealed the business was ranking on pages three and four on Google for longer-tail keywords like ‘roller shutters Adelaide’ and ‘roller shutter installers Adelaide’, which had less competition. “With strategic adjustments and consistent link building, we helped this business reach the top of page one within a few months, resulting in more bookings and sales,” says David.

4. Fix your site structure and navigation

With Google’s focus on improving user experience on a website, making sure your site is properly structured and easy to navigate is important. “Proper site structure encourages users to explore more pages, visit relevant content, and increases conversions,” says David. “These metrics impact Google rankings.”

List main pages in the top menu and relevant sub-pages in sub-menus, like a library with main sections and sub-sections.

And ditch those one-page sites. Dividing a site into multiple pages enhances keyword relevance and readability. “This results in more pages for Google to index within your keyword focus areas and provides a better user experience,” says David.

Finally, include a link to your home page, even if it’s just your logo, so visitors can easily return to the main page.

5. Become a trusted authority

Trust, credibility, and authority are long-standing priorities for Google, and AI’s rise in SEO will continue this focus. “Consistently generating high-quality backlinks and external activity checks off boxes in Google’s ranking algorithm, building trust and boosting rankings,” says David.

As noted in tip 2, external activity including guest posting and social media presence is vital to boost your SEO juice. “This approach naturally generates buzz, builds long-term backlinks, and enhances your authority, trust and reputation,” says David.

6. Add clear contact information

Google is looking for authentic businesses. If you don’t have appropriate contact information on your site, it can cause issues in ranking potential.

The search engine verifies a business’s location using Google My Business (Google sends a postcard with a code to the specified address to confirm the business exists there). “This goes a long way towards your local business rankings,” says David.

Ensure your website’s contact page includes a phone number, email, and physical address matching your Google My Business account.

“Up-to-date contact information improves enquiries, and a quick contact form can dramatically increase engagement,” says David. “This enhances user experience and therefore SEO.”

Get your solo business website ahead of the pack for 2025 with a FREE SEO audit from UpWeb.

This article is brought to you by Flying Solo in partnership with UpWeb.

Feature image: David Adamson, managing director of UpWeb.