SEO is full of jargon and can be confusing to get right. Most businesses recognise the return SEO can produce, but only a handful currently invest in it. Henry Purchase, founder of Rough Water Media, takes you through his nine top tips to use SEO to your advantage and grow your website's traffic.

Sixty-eight per cent (68%) of online experiences now begin with a search engine, so it's no wonder businesses of all sizes are prioritising SEO in their marketing strategies.

This vast potential, combined with the proliferation of AI-powered SEO tools and the constant barrage of emails from “SEO experts,” has led to much confusion about what effective SEO actually entails in today's digital landscape.

Keep reading to learn how to avoid common pitfalls and get the most out of your small business SEO strategy in 2025. This includes navigating algorithm changes, leveraging voice search, and adapting to mobile-first indexing requirements.

What is SEO and why you should invest in it

Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is the strategic process of optimising a website to improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results.

While SEO has existed for decades, its importance has dramatically increased with Google's continued market dominance, sophisticated AI-powered algorithms, and the evolution of search intent-focused consumer behaviour. Additionally, the emergence of AI-driven search platforms like SearchGPT represents a new frontier in search technology. These platforms offer conversational search experiences, integrating AI (artificial intelligence) to provide more intuitive and contextually relevant results.

When implemented effectively, SEO positions your business above competitors on search engine results pages (SERPs), driving qualified traffic to your website and increasing conversions. In a competitive digital landscape, a comprehensive SEO strategy has become essential rather than optional for sustainable online business growth.

To stay ahead of the curve and increase your business website’s traffic, check out the top 9 tips I share in this article.

Nine SEO tips for small businesses

You may have read about on-page SEO, off-page SEO, backlinks, and other technical terms in the SEO space. While these are important, we've kept this guide focused on the fundamentals so you can implement these SEO tips and make impactful changes in your business immediately.

We've primarily focused on Google, which, as of 2025, handles 89.74% of all global searches.

1. Setup Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4

Google Search Console will get your site indexed on Google's search engine and provide valuable insights into what people search to find your website. For example, below is a screenshot from Google Search Console showing a website's clicks and impressions from Google.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) delivers comprehensive data on how users interact with your site, which channels drive traffic (organic search, social media, email campaigns, etc.), and conversion tracking capabilities essential for measuring ROI. And the best part? You can easily integrate your website with Google Analytics in a few steps.

Without these two tools properly configured, you won't be able to track performance or measure progress—crucial elements for any successful SEO campaign.

2. Ensure your content answers search intent comprehensively

Google's algorithm now ranks websites using hundreds of factors. Search engines aim to show users the most helpful results for their specific queries; therefore, your content must thoroughly address search intent—i.e., the question visitors are looking to answer when they perform a search query—better than competitors.

While content length matters less than it did in previous years, comprehensive coverage of topics is still critical. Research from Semrush shows that top-performing content typically covers topics thoroughly, with a recommended 1,500-2,500 words for competitive keywords. But don’t just focus on publishing lengthy articles that don’t provide value to visitors; you need to prioritise info-rich content that provides readers with a high info gain.

There are no hard rules—the most important thing is to address all aspects of the topic that users would want to know about.

3. Use phrases your customers ACTUALLY use

As a business owner, you likely use industry terminology that differs from your customers' language. This creates a serious disconnect for search engines—if your website doesn't incorporate the phrases and questions your customers actually type into search engines, you won't rank for their queries.

For example, if this Squarespace website developer didn't include “Squarespace website designer” or this self storage software provider didn’t include “self storage software” in their headings and content, how would Google know to display their site to users searching for those terms?

4. Optimise your website for Core Web Vitals

Google now heavily weighs site performance through Core Web Vitals metrics—a system developed by Google to measure user experience—when determining rankings. Running your site through Google's PageSpeed Insights Tool will provide a detailed performance score and specific recommendations for improvement.

Unoptimised images, excessive JavaScript, poor mobile responsiveness, and unnecessary third-party scripts are common issues affecting most websites. To maximise SEO benefits, prioritise improving the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) scores from your PageSpeed Insight. To address the common issue of excessively large images slowing down website load speed, consider using an Image Compressor to reduce your image to less than 200kb without losing its quality.

5. Create intuitive site architecture with semantic search in mind

User experience signals now directly impact your search rankings. When visitors spend more time engaging with your content after finding it through search engines, Google interprets this as a positive quality signal.

Implement clear navigation menus, breadcrumb trails, and strategic internal linking that guides users through related content. Organising content into topic clusters rather than isolated pages significantly improves both user experience and search visibility.

6. Leverage AI-powered SEO tools

Modern website platforms now offer sophisticated SEO plugins and integrations that make implementing best practices nearly effortless while providing advanced optimisation features.

For WordPress users, Rank Math and Yoast SEO Premium now include AI content optimisation features. Shopify's built-in SEO tools have significantly improved, and Squarespace offers enhanced SEO capabilities through SEOSpace. These tools provide actionable recommendations tailored to your specific industry and market.

7. Research and use relevant keywords

As a small business competing against established enterprises, it’s important to focus on capturing highly specific search queries that indicate the user’s readiness to purchase.

Keyword research has evolved beyond simple volume metrics. Using tools like Ahrefs’ “Questions” feature, identify long-tail keywords (search terms of 3 or more words) that specifically match your offerings. These queries typically have lower competition but higher conversion potential. Creating content that thoroughly addresses these specific needs positions your business as the authoritative solution.

8. Build topical authority through strategic partnerships

Backlinks remain crucial for establishing domain authority, but Google's algorithm favours relevance over quantity. If you were wondering what they are, they are links on other websites that point users to your site. To acquire relevant backlinks, focus on partnering with websites within your industry ecosystem.

Collaborate with complementary businesses, participate in industry podcasts, contribute expert insights to relevant publications, and engage with local business networks. Each quality contextual link from a topically related site carries significantly more weight than multiple links from unrelated sources.

9. Optimise your Google Business Profile and local SEO presence

Google Business Profile has become even more critical for local search visibility. If you haven’t already, list your business on Google and ensure your profile is comprehensively optimised with current business hours, high-quality images, service lists, and attributes that highlight your unique offerings.

Implement a systematic review generation strategy using GBP's direct review link. Encourage satisfied customers to include specific details about your products or services in their reviews. With Google's increasing emphasis on visual search, geo-tagged images from customers significantly boost local pack rankings.

Additionally, ensure NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency across all online directories and create location-specific content on your website to strengthen local search relevance.

Conclusion

Ultimately, effective SEO requires an integrated approach that balances technical optimisation, user experience, quality content, and strategic promotion. While immediate results are rare, consistently implementing these nine SEO tips will establish sustainable organic traffic growth for your small business.

Remember that Google's AI capabilities have dramatically improved at identifying businesses that provide genuine value to users. Focus on serving your audience exceptionally well, and the algorithm will increasingly reward your efforts.

Want to learn more about SEO? Join our member exclusive webinar on May 28^th with Graham Hansell to discover strategies for improving your rankings and adapting to the changing search landscape.

Register for the webinar here