How to Optimize your SEO for a ‘Small’ Business or Brand

Are you a small business owner looking to enhance your visibility, grow your brand, and attract the right audience online? Award-winning organic SEO consultant Mariah, known for her down-to-earth, actionable SEO advice, shares her top strategies to help you optimize your website without feeling overwhelmed.

We had a chance to speak with Mariah about her journey, her approach to SEO, and her essential tips for business owners. Read on to discover her insights and get ready to elevate your online presence.

1. Can you briefly introduce yourself and what you do for those who may not be familiar with your work? 

Hiya, I’m Mariah! I’m an award-winning Organic SEO Consultant & Educator for entrepreneurs, and host of a top 10% podcast; Curiously Guided.

Basically, in a nutshell, I'm a firm believer that getting more eyeballs on your business doesn't have to be as difficult & overwhelming as everyone makes it.

Since 2015 I’ve helped hundreds of clients & students get their websites found on Google in a way that feels both actionable & practical.

I specialize in bite-sized, doable SEO advice that anyone can implement. I don’t have an SEO agency, and I don’t believe in gatekeeping industry “secrets” – I deeply, truly, and honestly want YOU to get found in a way that feels good for you. And I’m here to help you do that 

2. What inspired you to get started in your field, and what continues to drive your passion? 

I got started in my industry as a website designer & developer. And TBH, back then, I HATED SEO. I thought it was SUPER overwhelming. And awful LOL – but more & more website design clients kept asking “How do I get my website found on Google?!” after we would launch, and I didn’t know what to tell them.

So, I decided to explore it myself.

At the time, I was blogging quite a bit about what I was learning in the online space & decided to experiment & test out what I was learning about SEO. And it was fascinating. I started seeing amazing results. Like hundreds of email subscribers monthly, simply from getting a blog post on page #1 of Google.

So I knew I was onto something.

Little by little I started testing out my SEO process with clients, and then they started getting results too.

So after a bit, I fully transitioned into SEO full-time. And now, I’m obsessed with it.

I’m obsessed with learning about it. Testing it. Tweaking it. Strategizing it.

And maybe even more so, I’m obsessing with EDUCATING about it.

Because in the SEO industry, everything is kinda kept “hidden” because SEO agencies want you to pay them on retainer to implement things. But I never wanted an agency. I’d rather teach, educate, and empower business owners & team members to infuse SEO-friendly habits into the things they’re already doing so they can take SEO into their OWN HANDS.

3. What does SEO mean to you, and why does it matter? 

WTF is SEO?

SEO = Search Engine Optimization.

Search Engines = Google, Yahoo, Bing etc.

Optimization = maximize efficiency.

Search Engine Optimization refers to the strategies & techniques that are used to improve your website’s ranking on Google.

So when you start implementing SEO on your website, it means you’re getting strategic on how your website is showing up in search results, on search engines, like Google.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When we talk about SEO, a lot of the time we’re referring to Google because it’s the most popular search engine, but SEO best practices will help improve your rankings in other search engines as well (Yahoo, Bing, etc)

Why Should You Care About SEO?

SEO helps your website stand out. It's like having a neon sign for search engines, pointing them to your website, your content, and your business.

If you've ever wondered why your site isn't appearing in search results, this is your answer. SEO isn't just technical jargon; it’s a smart way to improve visibility in the EXACT place where people are already looking for the solutions you offer.

And Google gets 3.5 BILLION searches a day. Sooooo, your people are there.

4. What are the top 3-5 tips you’d give a small business owner/ brand looking for SEO support? Quick Tips to Get You Started:

• Start collecting data – set up Google Analytics (or another analytics option OUTSIDE of your website, like Fathom) & Google Search Console (both are free tools & take 10min to set up) -- because it's impossible to see what's working & what's not if you don't have the data to look at. Even if you don't want to look at this information right away, set it up now! Your future self will thank you.
• Consider keywords – Think of what your customers search for and use those words on the pages that make sense. This is a CRUCIAL part of SEO that most people get wrong. HERE'S  a quick IG post that explains SEO keyword research a bit more.
• Improve the usability of your website – Google judges a website on over 200+ factors for SEO. A LOT of those are user experience factors; How fast does your site load? Are your pages easy to find? How's your navigation? Is your font size too small? What about the mobile version of your site? Is your content helpful & clear AF?
• SEO is not “all or nothing” – you can get AMAZING results from spending ONE HOUR a week focusing on it, creating content, and tweaking things.

5. Can you share a success story or a favorite moment from your work that stands out? 

SEO is foundational, IMO.

It’s strategic market research, content planning & business development all wrapped into one.

And it’s also how we find the gaps in the market that YOUR business can fill via search.

A perfect example of this is when I was working with a client & we were in the research phase. I asked her if she & her team have ever considered selling “mini candles” bc there was a HUGE GAP in the market on Google for them (aka there was a TON of monthly search traffic and VERY little competition). Her response was “No, but that’s super interesting…”

A few weeks later on our next call, she told me that she pitched “mini candles” to one of her local stockists and the stockist JUMPED on the opportunity saying “We think these are going to be great!!! We’ve been waiting for these. We’ll order 500 of them.”

So she sold 500 mini candles BEFORE we even had the chance to SEO optimize her website, but the SEO research we were doing helped her see a gap in her industry that she could fill. And that order alone paid for our package together.

SEO & research is cool as fuck, and literally can change the way you think about your business & offers.

6. Where do you see your niche heading in the next few years? Will SEO continue like it is or will it change? 

SEO is changing, and it’s going to continue to change based on how people interact with the new AI-infused search experience. The more Google learns about people interacting with the update, the more it’s going to change. One way or another.

I do think it’s going to be interesting how they handle legal things with it. (time will tell!)

Regardless though, I think people are going to crave human perspective, tone, voice, and opinions EVEN MORE because of AI.

Think about it, if you go to Google and type in “toddler-friendly Disney world itinerary” are you going to only read what AI spits back? OR are you going to try to find a Disney mom blogger who has been there, has experience, and can truly give you the ups & downs about things?

Prob the mom blogger because AI ain’t never planned a Disney World trip in the middle of Spring break with 2 toddlers like she has.

Perspective & experience are going to matter a LOT more. So I think we’ll have to get more intentional & strategic about the keywords we want to target and how they translate into conversions vs. trying to target a shit ton of them because it “looks good”.

I also believe YouTube is going to blow up because people are going to want to see people & connect with them via video vs. just reading possible AI-generated content. So if you’re not down with SEO content in written form, you can get really good results with SEO on YouTube!

If you haven’t done anything for SEO yet, I think it’s still worth tinkering with, ESPECIALLY if you’re an eCommerce shop or service provider. Set up Google Analytics. Set up Google Search Console. Do keyword research. And start infusing keywords into your website little by little.

7. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, and how has it impacted your journey? 

Honestly, the best piece of advice that I’ve ever got came from my mom when I was little. We didn’t have a lot of money, so my mom couldn’t put me in extracurricular activities like I wanted, but she ALWAYS encouraged my expression of creativity on my own. Even if that meant using old nail polish as paint for a picture LOL (I stunk up the house with that one lmao) – but she would tell me all the time “Whatever you touch turns to gold” – which has since given me the inner knowing that whatever I’m aiming for or trying to do, I’ll figure it out & my unique spin on things is valuable.

My mom really tried her hardest to make me & my brothers feel special.

Even to this day.

But it’s thanks to her support & reminders that I am where I am today. Especially when I was at a crossroads before starting my business. I was 22 years old and was considering quitting college & my full-time job in the same month. My mom said “Mariah, trust your gut. You’ll figure it out. You always do.” – this wasn’t the most responsible advice lmao but it’s what really gave me the courage to build the business & career I have now.

8. How can people connect with you or learn more about your work? 

If you’re first dipping your toes into SEO and you’re looking for a free solution, I’d recommend my SEO Roadmap – The roadmap will help you understand what SEO is, how it works, the 6 steps that are involved, and 3 tasks you can do today to get started (with links to videos & extra resources).

If you’re more of a visual or audio learner, I’d recommend my “Getting Started with SEO” workshop:  (Use code SEOLOVE10 for 10$ off). In this one I break down the basics but I also do a screenshare and walk through examples so you can SEE how all of this comes together.

Just keep in mind, it can get really overwhelming, really quickly, which is why a lot of clients & students come to me. To help them sort through the stuff & pull out the actionable pieces in a way that makes sense to a non-SEO expert. (You can get a taste of my teaching style on my YouTube channel HERE.

Feel free to learn more about me over on my website

Or connect with me over on Instagram (I love the DMs!)