Search engine basics for small businesses

When people need a product or service, many start with a search engine. Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is about helping search engines find and understand your pages so they can show them to the right people. It has a reputation for being technical and mysterious, but the basics are straightforward. This guide summarises what Google's own guidance says matters, in plain language.

This guide is general information written in our own words, based on the official sources listed at the end. Laws, regulator guidance and platform rules change, and how they apply depends on your business, so check the official source and get legal or professional advice where you need it. We don't recommend particular agencies, tools or platforms, and we never promise results.

What search engines are trying to do

Search engines aim to show the most helpful results for each search. Google's guidance on helpful content says its systems are designed to prioritise helpful, reliable information created to benefit people, rather than content made mainly to gain search rankings. That's good news for small businesses: the best long-term strategy is to be genuinely useful to your customers.

Helpful content first

Google's SEO Starter Guide says creating content that people find compelling and useful will likely influence your website more than any of the other suggestions in the guide. In practice, that means pages that answer the questions your customers actually ask: what you offer, where and when, what it costs (where you can say), how it works and why to choose you.

Google's helpful content guidance suggests asking yourself whether your content is written for an existing or intended audience who would find it useful if they came to you directly, whether it shows first-hand expertise, and whether someone would leave feeling they'd learned enough to achieve their goal.

Make pages easy to understand

Simple steps help search engines and people alike:

• Page titles: each page should have a clear, specific title that describes what it's about.
• Descriptive headings: break pages into sections with clear headings.
• Plain language: use the words your customers use.
• Descriptive links: link text should say where it leads.
• Image descriptions: add descriptive alt text to images.

Site structure

Organise your site logically so related pages are grouped, and make sure important pages are linked from your menu or home page. Google's starter guide suggests using descriptive URLs and grouping topically similar pages in directories.

Help Google find your site

Google's SEO Starter Guide explains that Google finds most pages automatically by following links, but you can help by submitting a sitemap through Search Console, Google's free tool for site owners. Search Console also shows which searches bring people to your site and alerts you to problems.

Avoid shortcuts

Be wary of tactics designed to manipulate rankings, such as stuffing pages with keywords, copying content, creating many near-identical pages or buying links. Google's guidance is clear that content made mainly to attract search clicks isn't what its systems aim to reward.

Also be cautious of providers who promise guaranteed rankings or results. No one can guarantee a particular position, and businesses providing services must not make false or misleading claims, as the ACCC explains.

Keep content current

Update pages when prices, services, opening hours or other details change. Out-of-date information frustrates customers and can mislead them.

Measure and be patient

SEO usually takes time. Record your starting point, such as visits from search and enquiries, and check progress over months, not days. Our goals guide explains how.

A simple SEO checklist

Make sure each important page has a clear, unique title and a short description; that your home page explains what you do and where; that each main service has its own page; that your contact details are easy to find; that images have descriptive alt text; that your site works well on phones; and that you've set up Search Console and submitted a sitemap.

Choosing an SEO provider

If you hire help, ask how they'll improve your site for customers, what they'll do each month, how they'll report results and what tactics they use. Be cautious of guaranteed rankings, vague reports, or tactics such as buying links or mass-producing pages.

Try the email marketing checker

Our free email marketing checker asks six quick questions about consent, identifying your business, contact details and unsubscribing, based on ACMA's guidance on the Spam Act 2003. It shows what to fix if anything is missing. It runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you answer is sent anywhere.

Where our information comes from

Factual statements in our guides are based on official sources, including the ACCC, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), business.gov.au and Google Search Central. We link to each source at the end of the page and write everything in our own words. We don't publish invented statistics, benchmarks, case studies or testimonials.

Rules and platforms change

Consumer, spam and privacy rules are reviewed from time to time, regulators update their guidance, and digital platforms change their features and policies often. Treat our guides as a starting point, and check the official source, or get legal or professional advice, before making decisions that matter for your business.

Free official help

business.gov.au publishes free guidance and templates on marketing, advertising and online reviews, and can be contacted on 13 28 46. The ACCC, ACMA and OAIC each publish plain-language guidance for businesses on their websites. State small business commissioners and small business development centres also offer information, workshops and, in some cases, low-cost advice.

Marketing on a small budget

You don't need a big budget to market well. Many of the most effective activities for small businesses cost little except time: a clear, helpful website; accurate local listings; genuine reviews; a simple email list built with consent; consistent social media on one platform; and great service that earns word of mouth. Start with these, measure results and invest more where you see returns.

Working with agencies and freelancers

If you hire help, be clear about your goals and budget, ask for examples of similar work, agree what will be delivered and how results will be reported, and make sure you keep ownership of your website, accounts and customer data. Be wary of anyone promising guaranteed results. Remember that you remain responsible for what is published on your behalf.

Accessibility helps everyone

Making your marketing accessible helps more people use it. Use clear headings and plain language, add descriptive alt text to images, make sure text contrasts well with backgrounds, caption videos, and check that your website and emails work well on phones and with screen readers. Accessible marketing is usually clearer marketing for everyone.

Consistency builds recognition

Use the same business name, logo, colours and tone across your website, listings, social media, emails, signage and printed material. Consistency makes your business easier to recognise and remember, and helps customers trust that they've found the right business. A simple one-page style guide can help anyone who creates content for you.

Look after existing customers

It's often easier to win more business from existing customers than to find new ones. Thank customers, follow up after a sale, ask for feedback, and give them reasons to come back, such as useful updates or offers for regulars. Happy customers also tend to recommend you to others, which is some of the most valuable marketing there is.

A quick checklist

If you remember only a few things from our guides, make them these: know who your customers are; set goals you can measure; be helpful rather than salesy; make every claim accurate and provable; get consent before emailing or texting; never fake or manipulate reviews; disclose paid partnerships; and review what's working regularly.

Key points

• Search engines aim to reward helpful, reliable content made for people.
• Google's starter guide says compelling, useful content matters more than any other factor.
• Use clear titles, headings, links and image descriptions.
• Submit a sitemap and use the free Search Console.
• Avoid ranking shortcuts and anyone promising guaranteed positions.