SEO basics: how to get found on Google

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It simply means setting up your website so Google can easily find it and rank it high in the search results.

Why does SEO matter?

Imagine you have a beautiful website, but nobody can find it. You basically have an expensive digital business card stashed in a drawer.

93% of all online experiences start with a search engine
The top 3 results get 75% of all clicks
Organic traffic is free, you don't pay per click

The 3 pillars of SEO

1. Technical SEO

This is the foundation. Your website has to be technically sound:

Fast load time: Google penalises slow sites
Mobile-friendly: more than 60% of searches happen on mobile
SSL certificate: that little padlock in the browser
Clean code: no unnecessary scripts or plugins

At Friday Webs our websites score 95+ on Google PageSpeed as standard. That's technical SEO out of the box.

2. On-page SEO

This is about the content of your pages:

Title tags: a unique, descriptive title for every page
Meta descriptions: the bit of text under your link in Google
Heading structure: H1, H2, H3 in logical order
Alt text: descriptions for your images
Internal links: pages linking to each other

3. Content

Google wants to show the best results. That means:

Write for your audience, not for Google
Answer questions your customers have
Use keywords naturally in your text
Keep content current, update regularly

Common SEO mistakes

No meta descriptions: Google will invent one for you
Duplicate content: the same text on multiple pages
Slow website: the number one SEO killer
No mobile version: Google indexes mobile-first
Keyword stuffing: cramming in keywords unnaturally

Quick wins for your website

Check your speed on PageSpeed Insights
Write unique titles for every page
Add alt text to your images
Make your site mobile-friendly
Request a free SEO check from us, take the check

In short

SEO isn't magic. It's a combination of technology, content and patience. Start with the basics and build from there. And if you need help? Ask Friday!