What is SEO and Why Should Entrepreneurs Care?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving your website so it ranks higher in search engine results. In simple terms, it helps your business get found online. Given that 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results, SEO is crucial for increasing visibility and attracting customers.

Unlike paid ads, SEO is a free way to drive traffic to your website. By optimising your content, you ensure that your target audience finds you when they search for relevant topics.

You know when you search for something on Google and there’s stuff up the top? If it says “sponsored, those are paid ads. As you scroll down, eventually you stop seeing sponsored ads that seam more relevant? Those are pages that are there for free because they have excellent SEO indicators.

Keyword Research: The Foundation of SEO

What are Keywords?

Keywords are the words and phrases people type into the search bar when looking for information. Choosing the right keywords is essential to ensure your content reaches the right audience.

This doesn’t just include words you think people are searching for. This includes words that the general public, non educated and educated users are searching for. Have you ever tried to find something online and everything that comes up is irrelevant. Chances are you’re typing in keywords that are unpopular or not commonly used.

How to Find the Right Keywords

• Use free tools like Google Keyword Planner to discover popular search terms.

• Focus on long-tail keywords (e.g., “how to use a yoga stretch band for beginners”). These are specific phrases with lower competition, making them easier to rank for.

SEO Indicators

A bit earlier I mentioned SEO indicators. There are a variety of components and areas you can focus on to improve the search ability of your website or content. Having perfect indicators in one area does not mean that your SEO is better. To complete optimise your content for search engines requires ongoing and intentional work across all these areas. Below I have categorised and explained these with some examples so you can start working

1. On-Page SEO: Optimising Your Website Content

Headlines and Subheadings (H1, H2, H3)

The only way that search engines can determine the structure of importance for your content is through headings and subheadings. The way you set these is essentially tagging lines of content. When search engines read these headings, it determines the important information through both keywords used and the importance you assign to them (H1, H2, H3)

• Use your primary keyword in your blog titles and subheadings.

• Example: Best Ab Rollers for a Strong Core

Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are short text snippets (155–160 characters) that summarise your page content. These should include keywords and encourage clicks. These are the short descriptions that appear on Google. Have you ever searched for your business on Google and when it comes up, there’s either no text or really weird text under subheadings? The way to fix those is through page meta descriptions.

Example: “Discover the best ab rollers for core strength. Fast shipping & 5-star reviews.”

Alt Text for Images

Search engines cannot read images. Alt text helps search engines understand images and improves accessibility. The easiest way is to name the image whatever you want the alt text to be before uploading the image to the backend of the website. You then have the option to add alt text to the image in the website backend. To increase search-ability, add the image name and then any other relevant keywords from the paragraph that the image sits next to / in.

Example: “Portable Pilates bar with resistance bands for at-home workouts.”

Internal Links

Linking to other pages on your website improves SEO and helps users navigate your content. These can include:

• Links to other blogs within a blog page

• Links to other services on a service page

2. Off-Page SEO: Building Authority

Backlinks

Backlinks are external links from other websites to your content. Google doesn’t know you from a bar of soap. Other websites linking to your website tells Google that you’re a reputable source and safe to show their users. They act as "votes of confidence" and improve search rankings. The more reputable the other businesses website is, the greater the quality score for that link.

Ways to get backlinks:

• Collaborate with bloggers and influencers.

• Write guest posts on reputable websites.

• Share valuable content others want to reference.

Social Media Signals

With the increasing emergence of video content over the last few years, search engines are evolving. Social media platforms such as TikTok are more aware that users are searching for products, services and content on these apps. If you search for creators or some topics in Google, video content is becoming more prevalent as Google recognises this content as valuable.

Being active on social media indirectly helps SEO by increasing content visibility and engagement. Share blog posts, engage with followers, and encourage social shares. Taking more care with the keywords and captions used for social media content will increase your SEO indicators.

3. Local SEO for Entrepreneurs

Why Local SEO Matters in 2025

Post covid, people are craving interaction. They want to go out to restaurants, experience new events and travel internationally. Local SEO increases the likelihood of your local community, as well as outside travellers to find your content. This puts you above your local competition as you’re reaching untapped consumers. With 46% of Google searches being for local businesses, optimising for local SEO can drive more customers to your business.

Easy Steps to Optimise for Local SEO

• Claim your Google Business Profile (GBP).

• Add your business address, hours, and photos.

• Encourage customer reviews and respond to them.

• Use local keywords like “best [your service] near me.”

• Add location tags to social media content.

4. Technical SEO: Don’t Skip the Backend Basics

If a website takes longer than 3 seconds to load, most consumers will go back and try a different website. If consumers are bouncing quickly, google will take note of this and assume your website is either spam or not valuable to readers. Every time your website loads, the search engine needs to scan and pull all the content from your website backend. Bulky images or videos with lots of content will take longer for it to pull, increase load time, decrease your SEO indicators. So you need to decrease the size of your site as small as possible and ensure it’s optimised for all userbility.

Key Technical SEO Elements

• Website Speed: Use Google PageSpeed Insights to check and improve loading times.

• Mobile-Friendliness: Ensure your site is responsive since over 70% of traffic comes from mobile in 2025.

• Secure Website (HTTPS): Having an SSL certificate improves user trust and search rankings.

5. Content is Still King: Creating SEO-Friendly Content

Write for Humans First, SEO Second

While using Keywords and LSI keywords are important for being found, so is the value of the content. Remember it’s people reading or consuming your content. So whatever you post still needs to be engaging. An engaged reader stays longer, clicks around and watches videos which Google considers valuable. Write content that is valuable, easy to read, and informative.

Content Formats that Work in 2025

• Blog posts and how-to guides

• Videos and infographics

• Listicles (e.g., “5 Easy Ways to Use a Yoga Stretch Band at Home”)

Content Length

Aim for at least 1,000 words to provide depth while keeping content readable.

Consistency is Key

Regularly publishing and updating content keeps your site fresh and ranking well.

Tracking Your SEO Success

Posting is all well and good but what for? It’s people you’re creating for so it’s people you must listen to. Reviewing your analytics to see the content that your viewers are reading the most, allows you to slightly get in the mind of your audience. Know what they like, write more, they keep coming back, eventually they become a customer.

Free SEO Tools for Entrepreneurs

• Google Analytics: Tracks traffic and user behaviour.

• Google Search Console: Monitors rankings and fixes issues.

• Rank Math/Yoast SEO: WordPress plugins for on-page SEO.

Key Metrics to Watch

• Organic traffic - People clicking on your website when you’re not paying to be at the top. The more, the better.

• Keyword rankings - Where your content is appearing on the page when people search for. To be on the first page, you need to be between 1 and 10 (1 being top of page).

• Bounce rate - The percentage of people who are leaving within the first 3 seconds. You want this as low as possible.

Quick SEO Checklist for Busy Entrepreneurs

✅ Conduct keyword research.

✅ Optimise page titles, meta descriptions, and images.

✅ Publish consistent, high-quality content.

✅ Build backlinks and leverage social media.

✅ Monitor results and adapt.

By implementing these SEO basics, you’ll increase your online visibility and attract more customers to your business in 2025. Start small, be consistent, and watch your business grow!

Not sure where your content is falling short? Book a marketing coaching session and we’ll improve your SEO rankings.