SEO for small businesses



Are you a developer or small business owner struggling with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? In this episode of Search Off the Record, Google Search Advocates John Mueller and Martin Splitt break down the essentials of SEO for small businesses.

Learn practical tips for understanding your target audience, crafting a content strategy, and measuring your SEO efforts. They debunk SEO myths and explain when it’s time to hire an SEO expert or agency. Get clarity on content strategy, technical SEO basics, the importance of relevant content and how to measure success.

This video is perfect for developers who are curious about search and need a non-technical introduction to the SEO space, and small business owners who want to improve their website’s visibility in Google Search.

Resources:

Episode transcript →https://goo.gle/sotr095-transcript

Chapters:

0:00 – Introduction: The SEO Questions We All Get Asked
0:35 – SEO Starter Guide
0:58 – Defining Your Website Goals & Customer Focus
2:51 – Food Truck Example
4:20 – Understanding Your Customers & Search Intent
6:21- Content Strategy: What Should You Write About?
7:06 – Technical Foundation Check: Is Your Site Okay?
7:54 – Website Name Searching
9:46 – CMS
10:03- How to Approach Content Creation
11:52 – Getting Customer Feedback & Keyword Research
13:33 – How Serious Is My Goal
13:33: – How To Measure SEO Impact
14:30 – Monitoring Website Changes: Search Console & Analytics
16:03 – How Long Changes Take
17:41 – Staging Sites Vs Live Sites
18:44 – When to Hire an SEO Expert or Agency
21:14 – Red Flags SEO Promises
21:14 – Resources Mentioned
23:52 – How Long Does SEO Take
26:23 – AI and SEO
28:30 – Outro

Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

#SOTRpodcast #SEO

Speaker: Martin Splitt, Gary Illyes
Products Mentioned: Search Console

Products Mentioned: Search Console

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12 thoughts on “SEO for small businesses”

  1. I did everything by the book, followed all Google guidelines, website built 3 times over by 3 different companies, 4 different SEO companies can't find anything wrong, and Google keeps demoting my business beyond position 100, yet no penalties in GSC. However, a US company is top of Google UK, both organically and in paid ads, with a very deceitful website. They're nothing to do with the UK. The worst part is despite having 93% search dominance in the UK, Google cannot be contacted. It's ruined my business.

  2. When I am submitting a site map in Google search console then I see this(Sitemap can be read, but has errors
    Missing XML tag) It is showing even though we have submitted the site map correctly and also submitted the custom robot txt file correctly

  3. While the advice in the podcast is well-intentioned, it feels fundamentally disconnected from the on-the-ground reality for most small business owners, especially in the current AI-driven landscape.

    The core issue is that a small business owner needs to focus on their actual business—baking the bread, fixing the car, serving the customers. They don't have the time or resources to engage in what is increasingly becoming a digital gimmick. With the rapid evolution of AI in search, no one can honestly or reliably predict what will bring results. SEO is turning into a digital black box, and telling a small business to pour its scarce resources into this uncertainty is questionable advice.

    The food truck example is particularly flawed and highlights this disconnect perfectly. A food truck's success is determined by its spot on the street corner and the quality of its food, not its spot on a Search Engine Results Page. Customers are found where they are—hungry, in a specific location, at a specific time. They test the product in reality, and if it's good, they come back to the truck's regular route.

    No one is searching for the menu of an unknown food truck online to then drive 150 km to find it. If business is slow, the solution is a better location or a better product, not a better title tag.

    In an era of such rapid, unpredictable change, telling a small business to divert precious time and money into SEO feels less like sound advice and more like a recipe for distraction. The focus should be on the product and the customer standing right in front of them, not on chasing algorithms.

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