Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of improving your website so it ranks higher in search engines like Google, helping more people find your business online — without paying for ads.

For example: A local plumber with a well-optimised site might appear on page one when someone searches “emergency plumber in Brisbane.”

A search engine is a tool like Google or Bing that helps people find information online by typing in words or questions.

For instance: Typing “best coffee near me” into Google will show local cafes based on your location and their website’s SEO.

Organic SEO refers to the process of improving your website’s visibility in unpaid (organic) search engine results. This involves optimising your website through strategies like content creation, keyword targeting, technical improvements, and link building — all with the goal of helping your site rank higher naturally in search engines like Google.

Unlike paid advertising (Search Engine Marketing), organic SEO doesn’t rely on paying for placement. Instead, it builds long-term trust and authority with search engines, which can lead to more consistent and credible traffic over time.

SEO makes your website easier to find by improving how it appears in search engine results, leading to more traffic, more enquiries, and more potential customers.

Example: A florist with good SEO might appear when someone searches “same day flower delivery Sydney,” leading to more orders.

Keywords are the words and phrases people type into Google when searching. Including the right keywords on your website helps search engines connect your site with what people are looking for.

For example; a person types ‘buy real sunflowers in Melbourne’ into Google. If you happen to have those words on your website and your shop is in Melbourne, this increases your chance of ranking on the first page. But keywords is only one part of the SEO puzzle.

A keyword might be a single word like “plumber” or a longer phrase like “24-hour emergency plumber Melbourne.”

SEO includes a range of tasks such as using the right keywords, writing strong content, adding backlinks, setting headings correctly, using alt text for images, and making sure everything is technically sound behind the scenes.

These are only a few items that are considered SEO:

• Using keywords and key phrases within your website
• Backlinks
• Body Content
• Meta Descriptions
• Headings (H1, H2, H3, H4)
• Alt Tags
• Naming images appropriately

For example: Naming an image “modern-dining-table.jpg” instead of “IMG_1234.jpg” helps Google understand what it’s about.

SEO is not a one-time task. Search engines change regularly, and so do your competitors. Monthly SEO keeps your site healthy, adapts to updates, and improves your rankings over time.

Example: Google may update its algorithm, and monthly SEO helps ensure your site doesn’t drop in rankings.

Great SEO can take at least 4 months to start showing on the first page of Google. But this is only if every box is ticked to ensure all aspects of your website is SEO friendly.

It can take 6-12 months to build a solid SEO campaign by selecting key phrases that aren’t as competitive. This is coupled with constant background SEO work.

However, Yeah-Local shows that almost 95% of newly published pages don’t get the Top 10 within a year.

It’s all a matter of strategy.

Think of SEO like a fitness program — you won’t see results overnight, but with the right plan and consistency, the progress builds over time.