SEO for beginners: a plain English starter guide
The basics of SEO, explained for people who run a business, not a marketing department. It’s free, there’s no sign-up, and you won’t need a dictionary.
Work through it in order, or jump straight to the chapter that’s bugging you.
Last updated October 2026 · Written by Matt Andrews-Mills
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What’s in the guide
Fifteen chapters, each one short enough to read with a cuppa. Start at the top if you’re brand new, or jump to whatever’s bugging you.
- 1What SEO actually isThe three jobs behind every bit of SEO advice
- 2How Google finds and ranks youFinding, filing and picking, in plain English
- 3How long SEO takesHours, weeks or months, and why
- 4Check Google can find youThe one minute test, plus four quick checks
- 5Know what your customers search forTheir words, not your trade’s words
- 6Write pages people actually wantThe part that matters most
- 7Make your listing worth clickingTitles and descriptions, with a live preview
- 8Keep your website tidyAddresses, links, photos, speed and the padlock
- 9Show up on the mapLocal SEO and your Google Business Profile
- 10Get people talking about youLinks and mentions, the honest way
- 11How to tell if it’s workingA ten minute monthly check
- 12What about AI search?What Google actually says about AI Overviews
- 13Free SEO tools worth usingEverything you need, for nothing
- 14What you can safely ignoreNine myths, busted
- 15Your first afternoonAn eight step checklist you can tick off
Chapter 1 of 15
What SEO actually is
SEO is the free way to get your business seen on Google. Nobody pays for the normal results under the ads, so every click you earn there costs you nothing.
That’s the whole appeal for a small business. Ads stop the moment you stop paying. A page that ranks well can keep bringing in customers for years.
SEO (search engine optimisation) just means helping Google understand your website, so the right people find it. The basics come down to three jobs:
1. Google can find you
If Google can’t find your website, nothing else matters. This is the foundation.
Technical SEO2. Google understands you
Clear words, clear titles, one topic per page. Google should know exactly what each page is for.
On-page SEO3. Google trusts you
Useful pages, real reviews and other websites mentioning you all tell Google you’re the real deal.
Off-page SEO
Everything else in this guide is a more detailed version of one of those three. Flick the switch above and you’ll see the names SEO people use for them: technical, on-page and off-page SEO. Same jobs, fancier labels.
What SEO isn’t: a trick, a secret, or something you buy once and forget. Anyone promising “page one in 30 days” is selling something, and it usually isn’t page one.
The full guide: What is SEO? A plain English guide for small businesses
Chapter 2 of 15
How Google finds and ranks your website
Google does three jobs, and none of them involve a person looking at your website. Tap each step to see what happens, and where it tends to go wrong.
Google finds your pages
Automated programs called crawlers follow links from page to page across the web. Most websites get found this way without the owner doing a thing.
Where it goes wrong: a brand new website with no links pointing to it, or pages nothing else on your site links to.
Google files the good ones
Pages Google thinks are worth keeping go into its index, a giant library of the web. A page that isn’t in the index can’t show up in search results. Simple as that.
Where it goes wrong: a setting telling Google to stay away, very thin pages, or the same page at lots of different addresses.
Google picks the best answers
When someone searches, Google pulls the pages from its index that best answer that search, and puts them in order. That order is your ranking.
Where it goes wrong: pages that don’t clearly answer what people are searching for, or a competitor whose page simply answers it better.
Most of the problems we see on small business websites happen at step 1 or 2. Not because the business is bad, but because Google hasn’t found the pages, or decided they weren’t worth filing. The good news? Those are usually the easiest problems to fix.
Jargon check: “crawling” is finding, “indexing” is filing, “ranking” is ordering. Our plain English SEO glossary has the rest.
Chapter 3 of 15
How long SEO takes
SEO costs nothing to start, but it does cost patience. Some changes show up in Google within a few hours. Others take several months.
- HoursSome small changes, like a new title on a page Google visits often, can show up surprisingly quickly.
- Days to weeksFixing something that stopped Google seeing a page is often noticed once Google next visits.
- WeeksRewriting a page to be more useful. Google suggests waiting a few weeks before you judge a change.
- MonthsA brand new website in a busy local market. Think months, not weeks.
Fixing something on Monday and checking your ranking on Tuesday will only make you grumpy. Google’s own advice is to give it a few weeks.
Nobody can promise you a ranking or a date. Anyone who does is guessing (or fibbing). What you can do is make sure every change is pointing in the right direction, then give it time.
Chapter 4 of 15
Check Google can find you
This is the first thing to check, and it takes about a minute. It’s free, and you don’t need any tools.
Try the one minute test
Type your website address. We’ll open a Google search showing every page Google has filed from your site.
When we audited our own website in October 2026, Google had only filed three of our pages: the homepage, About and Contact. Everything else was invisible. It happens to SEO people too.
Then run through these four checks:
- 1
Set up Google Search Console
It’s free, it’s run by Google, and it tells you which pages Google has found, filed and skipped (and why). If you only do one thing from this guide, do this. Here’s how to set up Google Search Console.
- 2
Tell Google where your sitemap is
A sitemap is a list of all your pages, written for Google. Most website builders and SEO plugins make one for you. You just need to submit it in Search Console, which takes two minutes.
- 3
Check nothing is hiding your pages
A setting called noindex tells Google to leave a page out of search results. Handy for a thank you page. A disaster if it’s switched on for your whole website by mistake, which happens more than you’d think after a launch.
- 4
See your page the way Google does
Search Console’s URL inspection tool shows a page as Google sees it. If big chunks are missing, Google can’t rank what it can’t see.
Chapter 5 of 15
Know what your customers search for
You don’t need expensive tools to work out what people search for. You need to think like your customers, not like someone in your trade.
A plumber might call it “boiler servicing”. A customer with a cold shower types “boiler not working”. Write the words your customers use, and explain the trade terms when you have to use them. Those search words are called keywords.
What does this person actually want?
Search intent just means what the person searching actually wants. It matters more than the exact words. Have a go:
Guess the search intent
Score: 0 of 0- plumber doncaster
They’re ready to pick up the phone. Your service page, with your number front and centre, is what they want.
- why is my boiler making a banging noise
They want to understand the problem. A helpful guide that answers the question (and mentions you can fix it) wins here.
- best wedding florist sheffield
They’re shortlisting. Photos of your work, reviews and clear prices help them pick you.
- how much does a website audit cost
A straight answer with a real price beats a page that makes them hunt for it.
Aim for specific searches first
“Plumber” is a fight you won’t win. Longer, more specific searches (SEO people call them long-tail keywords) have far less competition, and the people typing them know exactly what they want.
How tough the competition is (an illustration, not real data)
- plumber
- plumber rotherham
- emergency plumber rotherham
- emergency plumber rotherham sunday
Where to use your main phrase
Once you know the main search a page is for, use it (or something close) in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph. Use it naturally in the rest of the page, and in an image’s alt text if it genuinely describes the picture. Then stop. Saying it 40 times won’t help. It’ll just sound like a robot wrote it.
Free ways to find your keywords
- Type the start of a search into Google and see what it suggests. Those suggestions come from real searches.
- Look at the “People also ask” box. Each question is a ready made idea for a page or an FAQ.
- Check Search Console’s Performance report. It shows the actual searches people used to find you.
- Write down the questions customers ask you on the phone or in the shop. If one person asks, plenty more are typing it into Google.
- Try Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner to compare searches and get rough monthly numbers (Keyword Planner needs a free Google Ads account).
Don’t panic about covering every way of saying something. Google knows that “cake shop” and “bakery” are close cousins. Write naturally and it’ll cope.
The full guide: What is keyword research? A plain English guide (with free tools)
And: What is search intent? A plain English guide for small businesses
Chapter 6 of 15
Write pages people actually want
This is the chapter that matters most, and it doesn’t cost a penny. Google says useful content will probably affect your rankings more than anything else in its own starter guide.
Plumbing
We do plumbing. Call us on 01234 567890.
Plumber in Rotherham
Leaks, boilers and bathrooms, fixed by a local, Gas Safe registered plumber.
Call 01234 567890
The page on the left isn’t wrong. It just doesn’t give anyone a reason to pick you, and gives Google nothing to show. SEO people call that “thin content”, and it’s the most common problem we find on small business websites.
What useful pages have in common
- They’re easy to read. Short paragraphs, clear headings, no spelling howlers. If it’s a slog for a person, it’s a slog for Google.
- They’re your own work. Don’t copy someone else’s page, or your supplier’s product blurb word for word. Google already has that page.
- They’re up to date. Old prices, last year’s opening hours or a “new for 2019” banner all say nobody’s minding the shop.
- They’re about one thing. One page per service usually beats one page trying to cover everything.
- They’re obviously from a real business. Your own photos, who you are, where you work. Hard to fake, which is exactly why it helps.
- They answer the question first. If someone searches “how much does a boiler service cost”, tell them near the top, then explain. Nobody wants to scroll past your company history to find a price.
And go easy on pop ups. A box that covers the page the second someone arrives annoys people, and Google isn’t keen either.
Dig deeper: What is thin content? and What is a content strategy?
Chapter 7 of 15
Make your listing in Google worth clicking
You can’t buy a better spot in the free results, but you can make the spot you’ve got far more tempting. It’s free, and it’s mostly writing.
Each result in Google has two parts you can influence: the title (the blue headline, usually taken from your page title) and the description (the grey text under it, often taken from your meta description, a short summary you write for each page). Have a play:
Try it with your own page
How it could look in Google
A rough preview by character count. Google actually measures in pixels, so for a precise check use our free meta description checker.
A good title
Unique to the page, says what the page is about, and usually includes your business name. If location matters, include that too. Keep it to roughly 50 to 60 characters so it doesn’t get cut off.
A good meta description
A short, honest pitch for that one page: what someone gets, why you, and what to do next. Roughly 120 to 155 characters. Google sometimes picks its own words from the page instead, but a good one gives it the best option.
The classic mistake? Every page having the same title, usually just “Home” or the business name. Google then has no idea which page to show for what.
The full guide: What is a meta description?
Chapter 8 of 15
Keep your website tidy
A tidy website is easier for customers to use and easier for Google to understand. None of this needs a developer if you’re on a normal website builder.
Use web addresses that make sense
Don’t go changing all your existing addresses tomorrow, though. If you do change one, set up a redirect so anyone using the old address gets sent to the new one.
Link your pages together
Google finds most pages by following links. A page nothing links to is like a shop with no door. Use words that describe the page (“see our boiler prices”), not “click here”.
One page per thing
Two pages saying the same thing confuse people and Google. Merge them, and send the old address to the new one with a redirect.
Real photos, described
Put images near the words they relate to, and add alt text: a short description that screen readers read out and Google uses. “Fitted kitchen in a Barnsley terrace” beats “IMG_0042”.
Quick, and works on a phone
Google mainly looks at the mobile version of your site. Check yours on your own phone, then try Google’s free PageSpeed Insights. Our own mobile score was 67 out of 100 when we audited ourselves, so we’re working on ours too.
Check for the padlock
Your address should start with https, with a padlock beside it in the browser. Most hosts include this free. Without it, browsers can warn visitors your site isn’t secure. Not a great first impression.
Fix broken links
A link to a “page not found” error is a dead end for customers and Google. Search Console’s Pages report lists the pages Google couldn’t find.
Structured data: a nice extra
Behind the scenes code (also called schema markup) that labels things like your address and opening hours for Google. Many SEO plugins add the basics. Sort everything else first.
Got a bigger technical gremlin? That’s what our technical SEO help is for, at £50 an hour.
Chapter 9 of 15
Show up on the map: local SEO
If your customers are nearby, this is the best free win in the whole guide. Local SEO just means getting found by people searching in your area, especially in the map results at the top of Google.
Google says it weighs up three things when it picks local results:
- You control this
Relevance
How well your listing matches what someone searched for.
- You can’t move your shop
Distance
How far you are from the person searching (or the place they searched for).
- You can build this
Prominence
How well known and well reviewed your business is, online and off.
Set up your Google Business Profile
It’s free, and it’s what powers your listing on Google Maps. Fill in everything: the right category, your services, opening hours, photos and a proper description. Here’s our step by step guide to setting up a Google Business Profile.
Get into a review habit
Ask happy customers for a Google review, every time, as part of how you work. Reply to reviews too, including the grumpy ones. Never buy reviews or write fake ones. It’s against Google’s rules, and customers can usually smell them.
Keep your details identical everywhere
Your business name, address and phone number should match on your website, your Google profile, Facebook and any directories. SEO people call this NAP consistency (Name, Address, Phone). It’s dull. It also works.
Spot the odd one out
The same business, listed in three places. One of them will confuse Google. Which?
Mention where you work
Say which towns you cover, naturally. “We fit kitchens across Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley” is helpful. The town name crammed into every sentence isn’t.
Chapter 10 of 15
Get people talking about you
The cheapest marketing there is still works online. When other websites link to yours, it helps Google find your pages, and shows that real people think you’re worth mentioning.
Those links are called backlinks. For a small business, the good ones usually come from real life:
- Suppliers you’re approved with
- Trade bodies you belong to
- Local business groups
- A team or charity you sponsor
- Local news
- Businesses you work alongside
Offline counts too. Put your website address on your van, cards, invoices and shop window. Word of mouth is slow, but it’s the kind of promotion that sticks.
Steer clear of
- Buying links
- Swapping links with strangers
- “500 backlinks for £20”
- Link farms
Google’s spam rules specifically cover paid and swapped links, and the cheap ones are usually worse than nothing.
Chapter 11 of 15
How to tell if it’s working
Checking your progress is free, and once a month is plenty. Ten minutes with these will tell you more than any ranking report.
Illustration only. Impressions (purple) often rise before clicks (blue).
Performance report
How often you appeared (impressions), how many clicked, and the searches they used.
Pages report
Is the number of pages Google has filed going up? Why are any being left out?
Google Analytics
How many people visit from Google, and which pages they land on.
Your phone and inbox
The best measure of all. Ask new customers how they found you, and keep a tally.
Rankings bounce around from day to day, so don’t check your position every morning. Look at the trend over a few months instead.
Is Google punishing me?
Almost certainly not. If Google ever took action against your website by hand, you’d see it in Search Console’s Manual actions report. For an honest small business, it’s nearly always empty. A sudden drop is far more often down to a website change, a technical problem or a competitor upping their game.
More on this: How to set up Google Search Console (and how to use it)
Chapter 12 of 15
What about AI search?
Good news: AI search doesn’t need its own plan or its own budget. You’ve probably seen AI Overviews, the AI written summaries at the top of many Google searches, with links to the websites they drew on.
Do I need special SEO for Google’s AI Overviews?
No.
Google says the normal SEO basics apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode, with no extra requirements and no special tricks.
- NeededYour pages need to be in Google’s index and able to show in normal results
- NeededClear, helpful pages written for people still matter most
- NeededYour Google Business Profile should be up to date
- Not neededSpecial AI text files on your website
- Not neededSpecial AI schema or extra code
- Not neededA separate “AI SEO” package on top of normal SEO
Based on Google’s own page, AI features and your website.
You might also hear AEO (answer engine optimisation) and GEO (generative engine optimisation). They’re new names for getting mentioned in AI answers, whether that’s Google or tools like ChatGPT. In our view, the advice underneath barely changes: clear, useful pages that answer real questions, from a business people can trust.
So answer the main question near the top of each page, keep important information as text (not buried in images or PDFs), and make sure any structured data matches what’s actually on the page. If someone tries to sell you an AI SEO package built on special files or code, ask what it does that good, ordinary SEO doesn’t.
Visits from AI Overviews are counted in Search Console’s Performance report, along with the rest of your Google traffic.
Chapter 13 of 15
Free SEO tools worth using
You don’t need to pay for a single tool to get the basics right. These are all we’d suggest to start with:
Google Search Console
What Google has found, filed and shows you for.
FreeGoogle Analytics
Who visits your website, and what they do.
FreeGoogle Business Profile
Your listing on Maps and in local results.
FreePageSpeed Insights
Speed, and how your site works on a phone.
FreeGoogle Trends
Compares how popular different searches are.
FreeGoogle Keyword Planner
Rough monthly search numbers for keywords.
Free with a Google Ads accountScreaming Frog SEO Spider
Crawls your site for broken links, missing titles and more.
Free up to 500 pagesYoast SEO or Rank Math
Set titles, descriptions and your sitemap in WordPress.
Free versionsOur meta description checker
Previews exactly how your page looks in Google.
FreeOur SEO audit checklist
37 checks, in order of what matters most.
FreeOur SEO glossary
SEO jargon, translated into normal words.
Free
The big paid tools (Semrush, Ahrefs and friends) are brilliant for people who do SEO all day. For a small business starting out, they’re like buying a forklift to move a sofa.
Chapter 14 of 15
What you can safely ignore
A lot of SEO advice online is out of date, or never was true. Here’s what you can stop worrying about, most of it straight from Google’s own SEO starter guide. Free peace of mind, that.
The common thread: if a piece of advice is about pleasing a robot rather than helping a customer, be suspicious.
Chapter 15 of 15
How to do SEO yourself: your first afternoon
You can do the basics of SEO yourself, for free, in an afternoon. Here’s the order we’d tackle it in. Tick each one off as you go:
Then leave it a few weeks, check Search Console, and see what’s changed.
Want a fuller list? Our free SEO audit checklist has 37 checks in order of what matters most, as a spreadsheet or a PDF. No email needed.
Rather someone just checked it all for you? That’s what our £150 SEO audit is for. One price, plain English, and a list of what to fix first.
Common questions about SEO for beginners
The questions we hear most from people just getting started.
Yes. The basics in this guide don’t need any special skills or paid tools, just a bit of time. Plenty of small businesses sort out the essentials themselves, then bring someone in for the trickier bits.
The clicks are. You never pay Google for a spot in the normal results. What SEO costs is time, either yours or someone you pay. Our £150 audit and £50 an hour help are there if you’d rather not spend your own.
No. The paid results are ads, and they’re labelled as sponsored. Everything below them is free, and you get there with the basics in this guide.
Some changes show up in days, others take months. Google suggests waiting a few weeks before judging whether a change has worked. Nobody can honestly promise you a ranking or a date.
Not to start with. Get your main service pages clear and useful first. A blog becomes worth it when you’ve got customer questions to answer, because each answer is another way for people to find you.
Make sure Google can find your website at all. Do the site: search from chapter 4 and set up Search Console. There’s no point polishing pages Google can’t see.
It’s a rule of thumb, not a Google rule: most of your results tend to come from a small share of the work. For a small business, that usually means making sure Google can find you, getting your main service pages right and sorting your Google Business Profile, before fussing over the small stuff.
When you’re short on time, stuck on something technical, or not sure what’s holding you back. A one-off audit tells you what to fix and in what order, without signing up to a monthly retainer.
Rather someone just told you what to fix?
Reading a guide is a great start. If you’d like a straight answer about your own website, our £150 audit checks the lot and tells you what to fix first, in plain English. No retainer, no contract, no faff.