A website nobody finds is an expensive business card
Most small-business websites fail at the same hurdle. They look fine, but they're invisible. When someone nearby searches for what you do, you're not on the first page, and the first page is where the phone calls come from.
SEO, short for search engine optimisation, just means making your website easy for Google to understand, so it shows you to the right people. Done well, it's some of the best-value marketing a local business can do, because it puts you in front of people who are already looking for what you sell.
Two kinds of Google results
When someone searches for "plumber Robina" or "locksmith near me", Google usually shows two things:
- The map results. A few businesses with a pin, star ratings and a call button. These come from Google Business Profiles, not from websites.
- The normal results underneath. The list of websites. This is where your own pages compete.
You want to be in both. They're won in slightly different ways, which is why doing one without the other leaves enquiries on the table.
What actually moves your ranking
Forget the tricks. For a local service business, these are the things that matter most:
- A Google Business Profile, filled in properly. Your real business name, phone number, service area, categories, hours and photos of real jobs. If you work from home, you can hide your address and list the areas you cover instead.
- A page for each service you want to be found for. People search for a job and a place. One "Services" page that lists everything rarely ranks for any of them. A page about "blocked drains" that says where you work has a real chance.
- The same details everywhere. Your business name, phone number and area should read exactly the same on your website, your Google profile and any directories. Mismatches make Google less sure who you are.
- Reviews. Genuine Google reviews help you show up in the map results, and they help people choose you once you're there. Ask every happy customer, and reply to every review.
- A fast site that works on a phone. Most local searches happen on a phone. If your site is slow or fiddly, people leave, and Google takes note.
- Answers to the questions customers ask. How much does it cost? Do you cover my suburb? How soon can you come? A page that answers these clearly is useful to customers and to Google.
What doesn't work
- Stuffing a page with suburb names. A block of 40 suburbs at the bottom of a page looks like spam, to Google and to customers.
- Copy-and-paste suburb pages. Fifty pages that are identical apart from the suburb name can do more harm than good. Each page needs something genuinely local.
- Anyone promising "page one, guaranteed". Nobody controls Google's rankings. A good SEO person can tell you what they'll do and how you'll see the results, not promise a position.
- Buying reviews or links. It's against Google's rules, and fake reviews can also breach Australian Consumer Law.
SEO keeps paying off
Ads stop working the moment you stop paying for them. SEO is different. A page that ranks well this year can keep bringing in enquiries for years, with a bit of upkeep. That's why it's worth doing properly once, then keeping it fresh.
SEO isn't a one-time switch. The work you do this quarter keeps paying off long after.
A real example
Brisbane Smart Vending came to me with a Wix site that looked fine but barely showed up on Google. It had no contact details and none of the behind-the-scenes business information Google reads, and nothing about the suburbs where customers were actually searching. The rebuild added a page for each service and 54 suburb pages, each with its own local wording, and pointed old Wix links at the right new pages so nothing was lost.
You can read how I replaced the invisible Wix site, or the full Brisbane Smart Vending case study.
What you can do this week
- Search for your main service and your suburb on your phone. Note who shows up, and whether you do.
- Claim or check your Google Business Profile. Make sure the phone number, hours and service area are right.
- Ask your last three happy customers for a Google review.
- Read your home page as a customer would. Does it say what you do and where you do it in the first two lines?
Where I come in
Every website I build is set up for Google from day one, and the Professional and Enterprise packages include full SEO setup. After launch, the care plan includes ongoing Google tweaks. You can see what's in each package, read how I do local SEO for Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses, or tell me where you work and I'll take an honest look at how you show up today.