Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The practice of optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results pages, increasing the quantity and quality of organic traffic.
Search engine optimization is the process of making your website more visible in Google and other search engines. When someone searches for a product or service you offer, SEO determines whether your business appears on page one (where almost all clicks happen) or buried on page five (where almost nobody looks). It encompasses everything from the words on your pages to the technical structure of your site to the links other websites point to you.
SEO breaks down into three main pillars. On-page SEO involves optimizing your actual website content — using relevant keywords in your titles, headings, and body text, writing compelling meta descriptions, and creating high-quality content that answers your audience’s questions. Technical SEO ensures search engines can properly crawl and index your site, covering factors like page speed, mobile responsiveness, secure connections (HTTPS), and clean site architecture. Off-page SEO focuses on building your site’s authority through backlinks from other reputable websites.
For local small businesses, local SEO adds a fourth dimension. This includes optimizing your Google Business Profile, building consistent local citations, earning customer reviews, and creating content relevant to your service area. Local SEO is what determines whether your business appears in the map pack — the three local results Google displays prominently at the top of location-based searches.
SEO is a long-term strategy, not a quick fix. Results typically take three to six months to materialize, and maintaining rankings requires ongoing effort. But the payoff is significant: organic search traffic is essentially free, compounds over time, and tends to convert well because visitors are actively searching for what you offer. For most small businesses, SEO delivers the best long-term return on marketing investment.