Simple Guide to Getting Found Online (Even If You Don’t Know SEO)

What SEO Really Means

SEO simply means making your website easier for search engines to understand and recommend.

People search online when they need something, a product, a service, a place to visit, or an answer to a problem.

If your website clearly explains what you offer, and if search engines trust that information, you’re more likely to appear in front of the people who are already looking for you.

For example, if you sell used laptops, you want your website to show up when someone searches for things like:

• where to buy a used laptop
• best place to find refurbished computers
• affordable second-hand laptops

The more clearly your website aligns with what your customers search for, the easier it is for search engines—and AI tools—to match you with the right people.

Why It’s Worth Ranking Higher

Most customers click one of the first few results. If your business shows up on page two or three, very few people will ever see it. Showing up near the top means more visibility, more visitors, and more potential customers.

This applies not only to Google results, but also to AI search tools, which pull their answers from the websites they trust the most.

If you want AI-generated answers to include your business, you must make your website clear, useful, and trustworthy.

Two Sides of SEO: On-Page and Off-Page

SEO falls into two main categories, both of which matter.

On-Page SEO

What you can improve directly on your website: your content, images, speed, and structure.

Off-Page SEO

What others do outside your website that affects your reputation: reviews, mentions, links, and social activity.

You don’t need to become an expert. Understanding the basics is enough to make real progress.

On-Page SEO Basics (Easy Wins)

1. Create Helpful, Clear Content

Your website needs to explain who you are, what you offer, and why customers can trust you. Good content helps both your visitors and search engines.

This includes:

• Descriptions of your services
• Helpful explanations or guides
• Photos, videos, or examples
• Customer reviews and testimonials

Reviews are especially powerful. They naturally contain the words people use when talking about your business, which helps search engines and AI tools understand what you’re known for.

2. Make Your Website Load Faster

Slow sites frustrate visitors and are crawled less often. Faster websites are more visible in both traditional search and AI-generated answers. Simple steps like compressing images and updating old plugins can make a noticeable difference.

More about page speed in our best practices for adding review widgets to your website guide.

3. Use Clear Titles and Descriptions

Every page on your site should have:

• A clear headline
• A simple explanation
• An accurate description for search engines

This helps crawlers understand what each page is about and helps potential customers choose your business from the results list.

Off-Page SEO Basics (Building Trust)

1. Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites to yours. Think of them as online “recommendations.” The more respected websites refer to you, the more trustworthy you appear to search engines.

You can get backlinks naturally by:

• Publishing helpful content
• Being listed in local directories
• Appearing on local news or community sites
• Guest posting
• Sharing infographics or guides

2. Social Signals

When people talk about your business online, sharing posts, commenting, or engaging, search engines notice.

This activity shows that real people care about what you offer.

How AI Searches Change Search Engine Optimization

Traditional search engines look for keywords and relevance. AI-powered search tools look for trust, clarity, and usefulness.

Here’s a simple example of how someone in Brighton and Hove might look for a reliable electrician:

• They start by asking ChatGPT or another AI tool to understand the problem better and get basic safety advice.
• Then they search Google for phrases like “emergency electrician Brighton” or “24 hour electrician Hove.”
• They browse the Google Business listings, paying attention to star ratings, the number of reviews, how recent the feedback is, photos, and whether the electrician is available quickly.
• Next, they narrow their options to two or three electricians and compare their professionalism and experience with emergency callouts.
• Many people also check social media to see real job photos, recent activity, and whether the company seems active in the local community.
• They visit each electrician’s website to look for testimonials, case studies, examples of recent nearby jobs, and signs that the business is trustworthy.
• They look for easy ways to get in touch, such as a clear phone number, a click-to-call button, or confirmation that the service is offered 24/7.
• Finally, they may ask neighbours or local community groups for recommendations and then double-check the reviews before choosing who to call.

To help AI tools understand and recommend your business:

• Keep your website updated
• Add real customer reviews
• Explain your services clearly
• Make sure key information appears directly in your website text (not hidden inside images or scripts)
• Maintain fast loading speeds so AI crawlers can read your pages fully

Read more tips on digital marketing for electricians. The tips described fit other industries as well.

AI tools read the plain text on the page. The clearer and more helpful your content, the more likely they’ll highlight your business in their answers.

Where to Start with SEO in General(Simple Checklist)

Start with the basics:

1. List all your business locations
2. List all services you offer
3. Make sure your website clearly includes all of these
4. Create one page per service or location
5. Add internal links between your pages
6. Make your website menu easy to navigate
7. Add customer reviews and keep them updated

SEO doesn’t need to be advanced to be effective.

For example, if you have a multilocation company, you'll need to build a separate landing page for each location.

That is called multilocation SEO, but it also just makes sense to have one page for each location, as potential customer typically look for location-specific information.

When you stick to simple principles and keep your information clear, trustworthy, and up-to-date, both search engines and AI tools will understand your business, and more customers will find you.

Practical Use Cases for SEO for Traditional Businesses

Even if you don’t think of yourself as a “digital” company, SEO directly impacts how easily local customers can find and trust your business. Traditional service businesses—electricians, plumbers, roofers, HVAC companies, builders, solar installers, kitchen renovators, and more, benefit from SEO in very concrete ways. These examples show how.

1. Trust Signals for Local Businesses

Trust signals are crucial in digital marketing, as you need them to 1. get people to come to your site 2. stay there.

Five tips inspired by the article:

1. Display clear trust signals on your website, such as reviews, memberships, certificates, or awards.
2. Add photos of real staff, vans, or job sites to show you’re a genuine local company.
3. Make your contact details visible on every page to build credibility.
4. Highlight experience and years in business—these signals help both customers and AI searches identify you as trustworthy.
5. Use customer testimonials to reinforce reliability and professionalism.

2. Local Marketing for Plumbers

Five SEO takeaways for traditional plumbers doing local marketing:

1. Create service-specific pages (e.g., boiler repairs, leak detection) to rank for customers’ real search terms.
2. Keep your Google Business Profile updated with photos and reviews.
3. Add local keywords like neighbourhood names across your site.
4. Publish guides that explain common plumbing problems—these help both SEO and AI visibility.
5. Encourage customers to leave reviews after each job to build ongoing trust.

3. Handling Bad Reviews (Roofers Example)

Five SEO lessons from managing negative reviews:

1. Respond to bad reviews calmly and professionally, Google rewards active business owners.
2. Show that you take responsibility and solve issues, which helps build trust signals.
3. Encourage more positive reviews to balance occasional negative ones.
4. Identify repeated complaints and fix underlying problems—better experiences lead to better online visibility.
5. Use feedback to update your website FAQs and service pages so search engines see clearer information.

4. Feedback Software for Kitchen Renovators

Five SEO-driven ideas:

1. Use customer feedback to create case studies showing real project results.
2. Add before-and-after photos to your site to boost engagement.
3. Turn high-quality feedback into testimonials on key landing pages.
4. Show real timelines, project types, and locations to improve local relevance.
5. Use review widgets that don’t slow your site down, page speed affects ranking.

Read more about choosing the best feedback software for kitchen renovators.

5. Digital Marketing for Solar Companies

Five SEO use cases for solar companies:

1. Publish content explaining solar system costs, grants, installations—topics people search constantly.
2. Create a location page for each service area, improving regional ranking.
3. Use long-tail keywords like “solar panel installers near me” or “solar rebate info.”
4. Add trust signals like accreditations and case studies.
5. Request reviews after installations to build ongoing authority.

6. Growing an HVAC Business

Five SEO applications to grow your HVAC business:

1. Add seasonal content that helps AI and Google understand your expertise (e.g., winter heating tips).
2. Create separate pages for installation, repairs, and maintenance.
3. Highlight emergency services clearly, because customers search for them.
4. Share real customer results and before/after improvements.
5. Add instructional blog posts to attract long-term search traffic.

7. Promoting Your Business Locally

Five SEO-relevant takeaways for promoting your business locally:

1. Use local keywords on your website and landing pages.
2. Get involved in your community, local mentions often turn into backlinks.
3. Add Google posts regularly to keep your profile fresh.
4. Share photos of local projects or jobs to boost relevance.
5. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews tied to their area.

8. Digital Marketing for Electricians

Five SEO use cases for better marketing for electricians:

1. Create service pages for emergencies, installations, or inspections.
2. Publish troubleshooting guides to attract organic traffic.
3. Use customer project photos for extra trust.
4. Provide clear pricing explanations to rank for cost-related queries.
5. Add real reviews from local customers to boost visibility.