SEO — Getting Found on Google

What is SEO and Why Does It Matter?

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the practice of making your website show up higher in search engine results for relevant searches. When someone Googles "web designer in Manchester" or "how to fix a leaking tap", the sites that appear at the top didn't get there by accident — they optimised for it.

For small businesses, organic search traffic (people finding you through Google without you paying for ads) is often the most valuable and sustainable source of new customers. Unlike paid ads, a well-ranked page keeps sending traffic without ongoing cost.

SEO has three main pillars: on-page (what's on your pages), technical (how your site is built), and off-page (links from other websites). This guide focuses on the first two — the ones entirely within your control.

On-Page SEO

Page Titles

The <title> tag is the single most important on-page SEO element. It appears in browser tabs and as the clickable blue link in Google results. Keep titles under 60 characters, include your primary keyword naturally, and end with your brand name.

<!-- ❌ Bad — vague, no keyword --><title>Home</title><!-- ✅ Good — keyword first, under 60 chars --><title>Web Design Manchester — Webgrade</title>

Meta Descriptions

The meta description appears as the grey snippet below your title in Google results. It doesn't directly affect ranking but strongly affects click-through rate. Write 150–160 characters, describe what the page offers, and include a clear reason to click.

<meta name="description"content="Custom web design for small businesses in Manchester. Fast, mobile-first websites from £499. Free consultation available.">

Heading Hierarchy

Use one <h1> per page containing your primary keyword. Then use <h2> for major sections and <h3> for sub-sections. Google uses headings to understand page structure and topic. Never skip levels (don't go from h1 to h4).

Alt Text on Images

Every image should have an alt attribute that describes what the image shows. This helps Google understand images (it can't "see" them), helps screen readers describe them to visually impaired users, and is shown if the image fails to load. Be descriptive but concise — "web designer working at desk in London studio" not just "photo".

URL Structure

Keep URLs short, descriptive, and lowercase. Use hyphens to separate words. Avoid numbers and special characters. A good URL tells both users and Google exactly what the page is about.

// ❌ Badexample.com/page?id=1234&cat=5example.com/P_a_g_e%20Title.html// ✅ Goodexample.com/web-design-manchesterexample.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-domain-name

Internal Linking

Link related pages on your site to each other using descriptive anchor text. Internal links help Google discover and understand your pages, and they distribute "link equity" (ranking power) across your site. Don't use generic text like "click here" — use the topic of the linked page.

Technical SEO Basics

Sitemap

A sitemap.xml file lists every page on your site so search engines can discover and index them. Submit it via Google Search Console. Most CMSs (WordPress with Yoast, etc.) generate it automatically. For a static site, you can write it manually or use a sitemap generator tool.

robots.txt

This file at your root domain tells crawlers which parts of your site they can and cannot access. A basic robots.txt that allows all crawlers and points to your sitemap:

User-agent: *Allow: /Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Page Speed

Google officially uses page speed as a ranking factor, especially for mobile. Slow sites also frustrate users and increase bounce rates. Target a PageSpeed Insights score above 90. The biggest wins come from: compressing images (use WebP format), removing unused JavaScript and CSS, enabling browser caching, and using a CDN.

Mobile-Friendliness

Google indexes the mobile version of your site first. If your site doesn't work well on a phone, your rankings suffer. Test with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool and make sure text is readable without zooming, buttons are easy to tap, and there's no horizontal scrolling.

HTTPS

Google uses HTTPS as a ranking signal and browsers show "Not Secure" warnings on HTTP sites — which destroys visitor trust. Make sure your site has a valid SSL certificate. All major hosting platforms (Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages) provide free SSL automatically.

SEO Checklist

Use this checklist for every new page or site you launch. Your progress is automatically saved in your browser.

On-Page

Technical