SMEs failing at SEO and social best practice

New data from Navii’s Digital Health Check suggests that SMEs are failing to take adequate steps to ensure a visible online presence.

The digital health of an organisation is tracked via website, SEO and social media best practices, surveyed companies scoring an average of 32.2% on overall health. The average business scored just 42.8% on website basics including having a clickable phone number and displaying key information such as opening hours and key contact information.

The Digital Health Check surveyed SMEs across a range of industries, including education and training, retail, tourism, health care and hospitality.

Socials

An assessment of Facebook scores saw just 18% of best practice markers achieved. The health check assessed businesses for indicators such as ‘posted a minimum of two posts per week’, and ‘received at least five recommendations in the past two months’. Instagram saw slightly better results over Facebook at 25%, with the assessment checking for signals of health including ‘listing your account as a business account’, ‘using Instagram Highlights’, and ‘using hashtags on every post’.

SEO

On an assessment of search engine best practices, SMEs scored an average of 22% for Google My Business and local search and 30% for SEO best practices. The SEO assessment examined simple best practices such as having a content-rich website, being indexed in Google and ensuring your homepage meta title and description comply with Google’s recommendations.

Liz Ward, co-founder and CEO, Navii, said there is plenty of room for improvement.

“The results show there’s still a lot of work required for SMEs to achieve a healthy digital presence. Across the board, the SMEs we surveyed were underdelivering across their website, social media and search engine scores and therefore missing out on opportunities for better exposure and engagement with their target markets,” she said.

Ward said in most cases the fix is simple and delivers significant reward, which is encouraging news for SMEs who find themselves underperforming.

Image credit: iStock.com/Sompong Lekhawattana