SEO for small businesses

9 snips

Jul 10, 2025

Discover essential SEO strategies for small businesses, including crafting an effective content plan and understanding customer needs. The hosts demystify common SEO myths and offer guidance on when to seek professional help. Learn how to assess your website's performance with simple tools, navigate content creation challenges, and measure SEO success. With real-life examples and a touch of humor, this discussion emphasizes the importance of a solid online presence while contemplating the future of AI and job security.

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ANECDOTE

Food Truck Website Oversight

A food truck owner might have a website without basic info like menu, location, or hours.
John Mueller highlights the confusion when essential customer info is missing from a business site.

ADVICE

Define Website Purpose

Define what you want your website to achieve and the conversion you want to track.
This clarifies the website's purpose and simplifies SEO focus.

ADVICE

Understand Customer Search Intent

Understand who your customers are and how they search online.
Target specific search intents rather than generic, competitive phrases like "restaurant in Zurich."

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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,