What is SEO, in plain English?

SEO stands for search engine optimisation, which means: making it easier for Google to find, understand and recommend your website. That's the whole mystery. The industry around it can be murky, so here's the honest map.

What actually matters for a small business

• A site Google can read. Proper page titles, descriptions, and headings. Boring, foundational, and skipped surprisingly often.
• Speed and mobile experience. Google measures both and openly uses them in ranking. A slow site starts every race carrying weight.
• Real words about what you do and where. Google can't recommend a plumber in Leeds if the site never mentions plumbing or Leeds. Write like a helpful human, not a keyword robot.
• Your Google Business Profile. For local searches, often more important than the website itself. It's free. Fill it in properly.
• Mentions and links. When other sites, directories and local pages link to you, Google reads it as a reference check.
• Time. Rankings move in months, not days. Anyone promising otherwise is selling something.

What's usually a waste of money

Monthly "SEO packages" that never say what they do. Hundreds of spammy directory submissions. Keyword-stuffed pages written for robots. Guarantees of page one.

Where to start

Not with a contract. Start by finding out where you actually stand. The free SiteMOT check tests the foundations Google cares about, including the search basics, speed and mobile experience, and shows you plainly what's solid and what's missing. Fix the foundations first. Everything else in SEO is built on them.