The hard truth about SEO: what nobody tells you before you pay

What SEO is, without jargon

SEO is everything you do so that your website appears on Google when someone searches for what you offer, without paying per click. It has three parts:

• Technical: the site loads fast, works well on mobile and Google can read it without problems.
• Content: pages and articles that genuinely answer what your client is looking for.
• Reputation: other websites, directories and clients talking about you and linking to you.

It isn't magic or a trick applied once. It is ongoing work, and the result depends above all on your website being the best answer for the searcher.

The hard truth, in six points

1. It takes time

SEO results are measured in months, not days. A new website needs time for Google to get to know it and trust it. If you need clients next week, SEO is not the tool.

2. Nobody can guarantee first place

Google says so itself: no one can guarantee a number one ranking. Be wary of anyone who promises it or claims a “special relationship” with Google.

3. Google doesn't charge for organic results

Paying for ads doesn't improve your organic ranking. They are separate: ads are paid per click; organic ranking is earned.

4. Content rules

No technical tweak makes up for a website that doesn't explain what you do. Google tries to show the most useful answer; your job is to be it.

5. More visits doesn't mean more clients

You can get thousands of visits from people who will never hire you. What matters is appearing in your clients' searches, even if there are few.

6. Google changes, and AI answers too

For many searches, Google now shows an AI-generated answer before the links. Simple questions will get fewer clicks; for important decisions, people still want to know who is behind the answer.

Source: Google, “Do you need an SEO?”, Google Search Central.

What to do to appear in AI answers too: What does ChatGPT say about your business? How to appear in AI answers ↗

And if you have visitors but no clients, read why isn't my website getting clients? Causes and fixes ↗

How to spot an SEO snake-oil seller

• They guarantee rankings: “first on Google in 30 days” or “no ranking, no fee”.
• They cold-call saying your site “has serious errors” only they can fix.
• They sell cheap link packages: “500 links for €50”. Links like that can end up harming you.
• They don't explain what they do: they just send a report of rankings for words nobody searches.
• They offer to submit your site to “hundreds of search engines” or generic directories nobody uses.
• They lock you in with long contracts or keep ownership of your website or Google profile if you leave.
• They charge very little a month for work that, done properly, takes hours of analysis and writing.

In SEO, if it sounds too good to be true, it isn't true.

What does work for a local business

1. Complete your Google Business Profile with correct details, real photos, opening hours and categories, and ask clients for reviews. For local searches it is often the first thing that appears.
2. Have a fast, clear website that works well on mobile and explains what you do and where.
3. Create one page per service, using the words your clients search with, and mention the areas you cover naturally.
4. Answer your clients' questions with useful articles. Every question you are always asked is a Google search.
5. Earn real mentions: associations, professional bodies, suppliers, local press. A few good ones are worth more than hundreds of bought links.
6. Measure with Search Console, Google's free tool: which searches show you, which pages get clicks and whether there are errors.

All of this rests on a good message. I explain it in what strategic web design is and in magnetic marketing.

I explain how to look after your Google listing step by step in Google Business Profile: a practical guide for small businesses ↗

If you need clients before SEO kicks in, see Google Ads for small businesses: when it's worth it ↗

My own experience: visits that weren't clients

Here is a real case, mine. On my old website, the article that brought the most visits from Google was about businesses you can set up in an industrial unit. It brought hundreds of clicks, and not one of them was someone who needed a website. Meanwhile, the pages actually about my work barely appeared.

On top of that, that site was a WordPress install that ended up hacked and full of spam pages, which also damages your domain's image with Google. When I rebuilt it, I changed strategy: fewer articles to “add traffic” and more guides like this one, answering what my clients ask before they hire a web designer.

That is the hard truth: it isn't about more traffic, but about being found by the right people.

The whole story of the hack and how I solved it: My website was hacked: what I did, step by step ↗

Common questions