Search engine optimisation sounds technical, but the basics come down to three things: making sure search engines can find and understand your pages, giving people genuinely useful answers, and earning the trust of other sites.
This guide covers the fundamentals in plain English. If your business serves customers in a particular area, our local SEO checklist covers the location-specific steps, and our guide to optimising for AI search covers tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Key takeaways
- ✓Search engines need to be able to crawl, read and index each important page.
- ✓Every page needs a clear title, description and heading that match what people search for.
- ✓Useful content and real links from other sites matter more than tricks.
How search engines find and rank pages
Search engines send crawlers that follow links from page to page and read what they find. Pages they can read are stored in an index, and when someone searches, the engine ranks the indexed pages it thinks answer the question best.
So the first job is simple: make sure your important pages can be reached through links, are not blocked from crawling and are listed in an XML sitemap.
Titles, descriptions and headings
The page title is usually the blue link in search results. Keep it around 60 characters, put the main topic near the start and make each one unique. The meta description is the text under the link: it doesn't change rankings directly, but a clear one earns more clicks.
Each page should have one main heading (H1) that says what the page is about, with subheadings that structure the rest.
Content that answers real questions
Write for the questions your customers actually ask: what you offer, who it is for, how it works, what it costs to get started and how to get in touch. Give each service its own page rather than listing everything on one.
Avoid repeating keywords unnaturally. Search engines understand related words and context, and stuffed text puts people off.
Technical basics
A few technical checks cover most small business sites:
- ✓The site uses HTTPS and one consistent address (with or without www)
- ✓Pages work well on phones and load quickly
- ✓There are no broken links or pages returning errors
- ✓Old addresses redirect to their new pages with 301 redirects
- ✓Each page has a canonical tag pointing to its preferred address
Links and reputation
Links from other relevant websites tell search engines your site is trusted. Earn them by being listed in genuine business directories, working with partners and suppliers, and publishing content worth referencing. Avoid buying links: it breaks Google's spam policies and can harm your rankings.
Measure results in Search Console
Google Search Console is free. It shows which searches bring people to your site, which pages are indexed and any problems Google finds. Add your sitemap there, check it monthly and use what you learn to improve pages that get seen but not clicked. Our SEO services team can set this up and run it for you.
Modus Venture is a US-founded creative digital agency. If you would rather have an experienced team handle this for you, see our seo services.