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If you’ve ever wondered why some websites appear on the first page of Google while others are buried several pages deep, you’ve already started thinking about SEO — or search engine optimisation.
SEO is the process of optimising your website so that search engines like Google are more likely to display it to people who are making relevant searches.
This article explains how all that works and what small businesses can do to improve their chances of appearing in search results.
Table of contents
How search engines work
Search engines are continually running automated software programmes that systematically browse the web and analyse the billions of web pages that they find. Using a set of rules, they determine what content is on the page and how good the quality of that content is, then store information about that page which they refer back to at a later date.
Those programmes are commonly referred to as ‘spiders’ or ‘crawlers’ (and sometimes as ‘bots’, but that’s a more generic term) and the process of storing information about each site is called ‘indexing’.
So, a search engine will use a spider to crawl the pages on your site, assess their content, and index them.
Later, when a user enters a search into a search engine like Google, it will refer back to its index of web pages and present the user with links to pages it thinks provide the most relevant, high-quality answers to their search request.
So, optimising your site for search engines (SEO) is a way of helping search engines to:
- understand what’s on your web pages
- index your web page correctly
- and hopefully decide it offers one of the best answers to a user’s question when the time comes
Why SEO matters
When it comes to choosing a product or service, most people these days will use an online search at some point in the process. If your website doesn’t appear in those search results, you’re invisible to online customers who are actively looking for what you do.
Good SEO helps you:
- increase your website’s visibility in search results
- attract qualified visitors (people already interested in what you offer)
- build trust and authority by showing that your content is useful and reliable
Unlike paid advertising, SEO builds value over time. It’s a long-term investment that strengthens your online presence month after month.
The main components of SEO
The exact workings of search engine algorithms – the rules used to determine which sites to show in search results – are a closely guarded secret. But it’s generally agreed that all website owners should focus on the following if they want to give their site a chance of showing:
- strong technical foundations
- well-structured content
- useful and relevant information
- authority and backlinks
Get these areas right and you’ll put your website in a good position to be found and surfaced in relevant searches.
Let’s break each one of those down.
Strong technical foundations
Before anything else, your website needs to work well. That means:
- fast loading times – slow pages frustrate users and very slow pages can be penalised by search engines
- mobile-friendliness – more than half of searches happen on phones, so your site needs to display and function properly on all devices
- links that work – search engines crawl websites by analysing content and following links. So, if your links are broken, or take users through a ‘scenic route’ of multiple redirects, then your site is not doing those spiders – or your users – any favours.
- images with alt text — alt (alternative) text is text that accompanies an image and describes what the image is showing. It helps to make your content more accessible and gives search engines more context to understand what’s on the page
- secure and stable setup – fixing broken links isn’t the only thing. It’s important to ensure all elements on your web pages load correctly and work. Keep checking too, you never know when a WordPress plugin will go rogue!
These factors don’t attract visitors directly. But they demonstrate to search engines that your site will be reliable when users visit it. That creates a foundation that allows your content to perform well.
Well-structured content
Content is at the heart of SEO. And how you organise it affects how search engines – and users – assess your site. Good SEO content uses:
- a logical site structure –how you arrange your content affects how users and search engines find their way around your site. Things like categories, tags, site sections, menus, breadcrumb trails and internal links all help ease the flow and show how different bits of content fit together.
- a logical page structure – using headings and tables of contents can help both readers and search engines see what’s inside each page and follow the logic of your arguments. In some circumstances – like online retail websites – using schema markup (special tags built into a page’s code to identify what different elements are) can help search engines better understand your content. If you’re running an ecommerce website, it’s a good idea to pay attention to schema (which I’ll cover in another article). But if you’re a small services-based operation, you probably don’t need to get too hung up about it. Just make sure the basic page elements are in place and use clear language.
Useful and relevant information
Search engines aim to show users the most helpful and relevant results. So, your content needs to serve that purpose.
Good SEO content:
- provides clear and engaging page titles and page descriptions — these appear in search results and help users decide if your page will answer their search need. And don’t try to game the system – make sure the content they find is actually what you promised
- answers relevant questions –focus on providing information that is relevant to your business and gives value to your target customers. Don’t simply write articles because a topic is trending in searches.
- uses relevant words and phrases naturally – topic-related words and phrases (known as ‘keywords’) are important to help search engines understand what your content is about. But your language needs to be natural, readable and informative for humans above all else.
- points to additional, relevant information – it’s good practice to link to other content – both on your own website and external ones. This is a sign to users and search engines that you are providing comprehensive answers to questions.
Think of each page as an opportunity to help your audience understand something, make a decision, or take an action.
Authority and backlinks
Search engines want to recommend trustworthy sources. One of the main ways they assess trust is by looking at links to your content from other websites. These are often referred to as ‘backlinks’ because they link back to your content.
When another website links to yours, it’s like a vote of confidence — a signal that your content is credible. Over time, earning these links helps improve your site’s authority and ranking potential.
Unfortunately, it’s not enough to get loads of links from websites offering to promote your site in return for cash. Quality matters more than quantity. A single link from a respected industry site is far more valuable than dozens from low-quality directories. So be careful when thinking about paying for links – they usually won’t help to build your authority.
You can find a straightforward explanation of how backlinks work and why they matter in Search Engine Journal’s overview of backlinks.
Further reading
If you want to dig down even deeper into this topic, I suggest you take a look at Google’s Helpful Content Update. It’s detailed, and can be quite technical, but it’s The Source of Truth when it comes to what search engines look for when they are assessing content.
Local SEO
Another aspect of SEO – especially for small businesses, is visibility in local search results. Local SEO is especially important for businesses that rely on a local customer base, such as trades, professional services, hospitality, and retail who want to attract people nearby searching for your products or services.
It’s also important because local searches often imply buying intent on the part of customers.
“Electrician” is a fairly broad search topic and could indicate a search for an electrician, information about electrician as a trade, how to qualify as an electrician etc.
“Electrician in Bolton” is a strong indicator that someone needs to book an electrician pretty soon – so it has strong commercial intent.
All of the areas listed above also apply to local SEO best practice. But in addition you’ll also want to:
- keep your Google Business Profile up to date
- ensure your business name, address, and phone number are consistent across the web
- gather customer reviews on Google and other platforms (also valuable for national businesses)
- include local keywords naturally in your content (for example, “plumber in York” rather than just “plumber”)
Google also offers clear advice on how to appear more prominently in local search results in its guide to improving local rankings.
How long does SEO take?
SEO is not a quick fix. It takes time for search engines to identify and log new content, assess performance, and adjust rankings. Most small businesses start seeing measurable progress after a few months, but meaningful results typically build over six to twelve months.
The key is consistency — publishing useful content, keeping your site healthy, and building trust steadily.
Common misconceptions
- “I only need SEO once.” In reality, it’s an ongoing process. Your competitors are optimising too, and search algorithms evolve.
- “SEO is just about keywords.” Keywords matter, but they’re only one part of a much wider picture that includes content quality, usability, and reputation.
- “It’s all technical.” Some aspects are technical, but much of SEO is about clarity, communication, and helping your audience.
How I can help
Many small businesses know they need SEO but aren’t sure where to start. My role is to make the process clear, manageable, and tailored to your goals.
I can help you:
- optimise your website and content for search performance
- build an ongoing content strategy to attract and retain visitors
- measure results clearly so you can see what’s working
If you’d like to learn more or discuss what SEO might look like for your business, drop me a line to request a free introductory call.