SEO Basics: How to Get Found on Google Without Spending a Fortune
SEO Doesn't Have to Be Complicated
Search Engine Optimisation sounds technical and intimidating. And yes, at the highest levels, it involves complex strategies and deep expertise. But the fundamentals? They're surprisingly accessible, and they can make a massive difference for small businesses.
If you're a local business trying to get found online, you don't need to hire a big agency or spend thousands on tools. You need to get the basics right.
How Google Actually Works
Google's job is to show the most relevant, trustworthy results for any given search. It does this by:
- Crawling your site to discover your pages
- Indexing those pages so they can appear in results
- Ranking them based on relevance, quality, and user experience
Your goal is to make each of these steps as easy as possible for Google.
The Foundations That Matter Most
1. Keyword Research (Without Expensive Tools)
You don't need paid tools to find good keywords. Start with:
- Google's autocomplete. Type your service into Google and see what suggestions appear. These are real searches people are making.
- Google's "People also ask" section. This shows related questions, each one a potential topic for your site.
- Your own customer conversations. What do people ask you on the phone or in person? Those questions are often exactly what they're searching for online.
Focus on long-tail keywords, specific phrases like "affordable web design for restaurants in Porto" rather than broad terms like "web design." Long-tail keywords have less competition and higher intent.
2. On-Page SEO Essentials
Each page on your site should have:
- A clear, keyword-rich title tag (under 60 characters). This is what appears as the blue link in search results.
- A compelling meta description (under 155 characters). This is the snippet beneath the title that convinces people to click.
- A single H1 heading that clearly describes the page content.
- Structured subheadings (H2, H3) that break up your content and signal its structure to Google.
- Alt text on images that describes what the image shows, both for accessibility and SEO.
3. Google Business Profile
For local businesses, this is arguably more important than your website's on-page SEO. A complete Google Business Profile gets you into the local map pack, the three business listings that appear at the top of local searches.
To optimise your profile:
- Fill out every field completely
- Choose the right primary and secondary categories
- Add photos regularly (businesses with photos get 42% more direction requests)
- Respond to every review, positive or negative
- Post updates weekly
4. Site Speed and Core Web Vitals
Google uses page speed as a ranking factor. Slow sites rank lower and lose visitors. Key metrics to watch:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): How quickly the main content loads. Aim for under 2.5 seconds.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): How much the page layout jumps around as it loads. Aim for under 0.1.
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP): How quickly the site responds to user interactions. Aim for under 200ms.
You can check your scores for free using Google's PageSpeed Insights tool.
5. Mobile-First Design
Over 60% of searches happen on mobile devices. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily looks at the mobile version of your site for ranking.
Your site must:
- Be fully responsive (no horizontal scrolling, no tiny text)
- Have tap-friendly buttons and links
- Load quickly on mobile connections
6. Quality Content
Google rewards sites that provide genuinely useful content. This doesn't mean you need to publish daily blog posts. It means:
- Answer real questions your customers are asking
- Be specific and practical rather than vague and generic
- Keep content fresh by updating key pages periodically
- Write for humans first, then optimise for search engines
Quick Wins You Can Do Today
- Claim and complete your Google Business Profile if you haven't already
- Check your site speed with PageSpeed Insights and fix any critical issues
- Write unique title tags and meta descriptions for your most important pages
- Add alt text to all images on your site
- Make sure your name, address, and phone number are consistent across your website, Google Business Profile, and any directory listings
What to Avoid
- Keyword stuffing. Repeating your target keyword unnaturally hurts more than it helps.
- Buying links. Google's algorithms are sophisticated enough to detect paid link schemes, and the penalties are severe.
- Duplicate content. Don't copy text from other sites or use the same content across multiple pages.
- Ignoring technical basics. A site that Google can't crawl or that loads slowly won't rank, no matter how good the content is.
The Long Game
SEO isn't a one-time task. It's a long-term investment. The businesses that consistently publish useful content, maintain their technical foundation, and build genuine authority in their space are the ones that dominate search results.
Start with the basics. Get them right. Then build from there.