SEO is the work of making your website easier to find and understand in search engines such as Google. The letters stand for search engine optimisation.
For a small business, the useful question is simple: can people find you when they need what you offer, even if they don’t already know your name?
A familiar example
Imagine you run a yoga studio in Stockholm. Someone searching for the studio’s name may already find you. A new customer might look for beginner yoga, a gentle evening class or somewhere near work.
Your website needs to help that person understand what’s available, who the class is for and how to book. That’s the sort of clarity I start with.
What do I actually do?
First, I look at what you have. Which services are clear? Which questions are unanswered? Can search engines reach the pages?
Then I improve what needs attention: headings, copy, the order of the pages and the paths between them. A service may need its own page. Another page might already exist but need a better explanation of the offer.
I also help bring your experience into view. A real project or a useful answer to a question customers keep asking can say more than another paragraph promising high quality.
You pay for the work, not each click
SEO concerns organic visibility. You aren’t buying an advertising placement for every visit. Researching, improving and looking after the website still takes work.
Some of it is groundwork. Some needs revisiting as your business, your customers and search results change.
How do we know whether it helps?
We start with a baseline. Which searches bring up your website? Which pages receive visits? How many people get in touch?
Then we follow the same things after making changes. More visits are useful when they come from people who need your help. That’s why I also want to understand what happens after the click.
Nobody can choose your future Google position. I can improve the website, make your knowledge clearer and track what changes.
Where do you start?
You don’t need a finished keyword list. Show me your website and tell me who you’d like to reach. We’ll work out what needs explaining and which improvements are worth starting with.
Source and further reading: Google’s SEO Starter Guide.