The best thing about the web at the moment is that the main search engines seem to be fair and just when it comes to rankings. If a small-time blogger writes a fantastic article about sealions Google may very well rank this over a mediocre article from National Geographic. This being said it gives the smaller website the opportunity to rank and do well in search engines, but... and this is a big but, it's all about trying to drive the right kind of traffic.

Many people fall into the trap of thinking they need to rank for high level keyword terms like "vet" if they're a veterinary clinic. Most small businesses work within a geographical area meaning your customers live close to where your business is. With this in mind wouldn't it make sense to rank for terms related to your suburb and service? The way to make a small business website successful is to continually try and add more content to the site and think about the people you want to target. You have a much better chance ranking for long tail keyword terms than you will for something high level. Not only that but you will convert more people that way too.