Good SEO starts with fundamentals. Before you pay for any monthly service, make sure your site gets these right. Most of this you can check yourself in an afternoon.
On your site
- Unique page titles and descriptions. Each page needs its own title that says what the page is and who it is for. Keep titles short enough to display fully in search results.
- One clear topic per page. Do not squeeze every service onto one page. A page per main service gives each search something to match.
- Clear headings. One main heading per page, then sub-headings that describe each section.
- Fast loading. Compress images and avoid heavy scripts. Test with Google PageSpeed Insights and read our guide to Core Web Vitals.
- Mobile friendly. Most visitors will arrive on a phone, so check every page on one.
- Clean structure. Logical navigation, working links and a sitemap.
- Image descriptions. Give images meaningful file names and alt text that describes what they show.
- Internal links. Link related pages and posts to each other so visitors and search engines can follow the trail.
- HTTPS on every page.
Content that earns visits
- Answer the questions your customers actually ask, in plain language.
- Write original text. Copied or thin pages rarely rank.
- Update older pages when prices, services or details change.
- Add a blog or guides section and publish steadily, even if it is one useful post a month.
Off your site
- Claim your Google Business Profile and Bing Places listing with consistent name, phone and website. See our local SEO checklist.
- Get listed in genuine industry directories.
- Earn links by publishing useful content others want to reference. Avoid bulk link packages; they can hurt you.
- Collect honest reviews from real customers.
Measure it
Set up Google Analytics and Search Console so you can see what people search and which pages bring visits. Check them monthly. SEO takes months, not days, so track direction over time rather than daily ups and downs.
Common mistakes
- Leaving the same title on every page.
- Blocking search engines by accident, often left over from the building phase.
- Changing page addresses without redirects. See our redesign checklist.
- Paying for guaranteed rankings. Nobody can honestly promise a position on Google.
Want us to run through this on your site? See our SEO services or ask for a free review.