SEO — Search Engine Optimization — is one of those terms that makes most business owners' eyes glaze over. And I don't blame you. The SEO industry is full of jargon, snake oil, and people charging $2,000/month for "optimization" that doesn't move the needle.
Here's what actually matters for a local small business.
The basics (the stuff that actually works)
1. Google Business Profile
I wrote a whole post about this, but it bears repeating: your Google Business Profile is the most important thing for local SEO. If you do nothing else, do this. Claim it, fill it out completely, and get reviews.
2. Your website needs to say what you do and where
This sounds obvious but most small business websites fail at this. Google needs to see clear signals about:
- What service you provide — "residential plumbing" not just "services"
- Where you provide it — "Kansas City," "Mission KS," "Johnson County"
- Who you are — a real business with a real address
Put your city and service in your page titles, headings, and throughout your content. Not in a spammy way — just naturally. "Residential Plumbing in Kansas City" as a heading is both good for SEO and helpful for visitors.
3. Mobile-friendly and fast
Google has been using mobile-first indexing for years now. If your site isn't mobile-friendly, your rankings suffer. If it's slow, your rankings suffer. A fast, responsive site is table stakes for SEO in 2026.
4. Consistent name, address, and phone (NAP)
Your business name, address, and phone number need to be exactly the same everywhere — your website, Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, Yellow Pages, everywhere. Inconsistencies confuse Google and hurt your rankings.
If your website says "Bob's Plumbing LLC" but your Google profile says "Bob's Plumbing" and Yelp says "Bobs Plumbing LLC" — that's a problem.
5. Reviews
Google factors reviews into local rankings. More reviews (and better reviews) = higher rankings. Respond to every review too — Google sees that as a positive signal.
What doesn't matter (as much as people say)
Blogging for SEO
"You need to blog every week for SEO!" No. For a local business, a blog is nice to have but it's not the main driver of your rankings. Your Google Business Profile, reviews, and on-page basics matter way more.
Don't let someone charge you hundreds per month for blog posts when your Google Business Profile isn't even optimized.
Meta keywords
Some SEO people still talk about "meta keywords." Google has literally said they ignore the meta keywords tag. It hasn't mattered for over a decade.
Backlink schemes
"We'll get you 500 backlinks for $200!" These are spam links that will hurt you, not help you. Quality backlinks matter, but you can't buy them for $200 on Fiverr.
Complex technical SEO
Unless your site has serious technical issues (broken pages, duplicate content, can't be crawled), you don't need an expensive technical SEO audit. The basics — fast loading, mobile-friendly, clear structure — cover 90% of what matters for a small business.
The honest truth about SEO
For most local businesses, SEO isn't some magical, complex thing. It comes down to:
- 1.Google Business Profile — optimized and active
- 2.A decent website — mobile-friendly, fast, says what you do and where
- 3.Reviews — consistently getting new ones
- 4.Consistency — same info everywhere online
Do those four things and you'll outrank most of your local competitors, because most of them aren't doing even that.
What I include
Every website I build comes with SEO basics baked in — proper page titles, meta descriptions, heading structure, fast loading, mobile responsiveness, and local keywords. It's not an add-on or an upsell. It's just how I build sites.
If you want more dedicated SEO work, we can talk about that. But for most small businesses, the basics done well are more than enough to get results.