SEO Is Not Magic: What Actually Gets You Found on Google

SEO (search engine optimisation) means helping Google understand what your pages are about, so they show up when people search for what you offer. For a small business, most of it comes down to seven things:

1. clear page titles and descriptions,
2. pages that each answer one thing well,
3. sensible headings,
4. a site that works well on a phone,
5. a site that loads fast,
6. links between your own pages,
7. a complete Google Business Profile if you serve a local area.

All of that is free to do yourself. Google's own SEO starter guide covers the same ground and is worth reading.

How does Google decide what to show?

Google's crawlers visit pages, work out what they're about and add them to its index. When someone searches "yoga classes Guildford", Google picks the pages it thinks answer that search best. For a small business that mostly means three things:

1. Relevance. Does the page cover what the person searched for?
2. Quality. Is it useful, original and trustworthy? Google calls this helpful, reliable, people-first content.
3. Access. Can Google reach and read the page?

What matters most for small business SEO?

Page titles and descriptions

Every page has a title and a description, which often appear in search results.

The title should say what the page is about, with your town if you're local. "Yoga classes in Guildford | Studio Name", not "Home".

The description is your pitch. Google says it doesn't use it for ranking, but it affects whether people click. "Small group yoga classes in Guildford. Beginners welcome, first class free" works. "Welcome to our website" doesn't.

Pages that answer one thing

Google ranks pages, not whole websites. Give each main service its own page, and answer the questions customers ask. A plumber in Woking might have pages for boiler replacement, emergency call-outs and bathroom fitting, and a post on what a new boiler costs.

Write for people. Google's spam policies treat keyword stuffing, repeating a phrase unnaturally, as spam.

Headings

One main heading (H1) per page, then subheadings (H2, H3) that break it into sections. It helps people skim and helps Google understand the structure. Headings phrased the way people ask questions, like "How much does a new boiler cost?", work well for both.

A site that works on a phone

Google uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking. Google retired its old Mobile-Friendly Test in 2023, so check your site in PageSpeed Insights or use it on your phone. If you have to pinch and zoom, fix that first.

Speed

Google says its ranking systems reward pages with a good page experience, which includes loading quickly. In PageSpeed Insights, look at the mobile score. Under 50 is a problem, usually caused by oversized images, too many fonts or old scripts. I wrote about one example in the hidden bloat that's hurting your rankings.

Links between your pages

Link your pages together where it makes sense. Your services page should link to each service, blog posts to the relevant service, and your about page to your work. It helps Google find every page and see how they relate, and it helps visitors find the next thing.

Your Google Business Profile

If you serve a local area, showing up on the map matters as much as the normal results, sometimes more. It's a separate system and it's free. Here's the full guide to showing up on Google Maps.

What about AI search, like Google's AI Overviews?

Google says there are no additional requirements or special optimisations needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. The page has to be indexed and allowed to show a snippet, and the usual basics apply.

Other AI tools like ChatGPT search and Perplexity use their own crawlers, so don't block them in your robots.txt file if you want to appear. Beyond that, the same things help. Answer questions clearly near the top of the page, use real numbers, and say where you work.

What matters less than people think?

What can I do myself today?

1. Check your page titles. Each one should be unique and say what the page is about.
2. Write a description for every page, specific to that page.
3. Add alt text to images, describing what's in them. It helps accessibility and helps Google understand them.
4. Set up Google Search Console. It's free and shows which searches bring people to you and any problems Google has found.
5. Answer one customer question a month with a page or post.
6. Check your speed in PageSpeed Insights.

When should I get help?

When you're in a competitive market, when something technical is broken, or when you'd rather spend your time on the business. Be wary of anyone who promises specific rankings or wants a 12-month contract. Look for someone who explains what they're doing and shows you the data.

For a quick outside view, send your site for a free website check. If you need a new site, my £300 website comes with the titles, headings, Search Console and Google Business Profile set up, and the words written for you. I'm based in Woking and work across Surrey.