🔍 Google, SEO & Getting Found Online
Being Online and Being Found Online Are Two Different Things
You can have:
A beautiful website.
Great products.
Professional photos.
A strong brand.
Excellent customer service.
And still hear:
“I searched for you on Google and couldn't find you.” 😳
That is where SEO comes in.
SEO stands for:
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
In simple language:
SEO is the process of helping search engines understand your website so the right people have a better chance of finding it.
Google itself explains that good SEO includes creating useful content, descriptive page titles, clear site organization, helpful images and pages that are easy for people and search engines to understand.
🧠 FIRST — SEO DOES NOT MEAN “PAY GOOGLE TO PUT ME FIRST”
This is important.
There are:
ORGANIC SEARCH RESULTS
and:
PAID ADS
They are not the same thing.
You can pay for Google Ads.
But SEO generally refers to improving your website's ability to appear in unpaid search results.
PAYING FOR AN AD DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY IMPROVE YOUR ORGANIC RANKING.
And:
HAVING A WEBSITE DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY PUT YOU ON PAGE ONE.
🔎 HOW DOES GOOGLE FIND A WEBSITE?
Google uses automated systems to discover and understand pages across the internet.
You may hear words such as:
CRAWLING
Google discovers pages and follows links.
INDEXING
Google processes information about pages so they may be eligible to appear in search.
RANKING
When someone searches, Google tries to determine which results are most useful and relevant.
You do not need to become an SEO technician.
But you should understand:
GOOGLE HAS TO FIND YOUR PAGE BEFORE IT CAN SHOW YOUR PAGE.
🌐 YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD BE EASY TO NAVIGATE
Remember our website-planning page?
Good organization isn't only useful for customers.
It can also help search engines understand how your website is structured.
Your important pages should generally be reachable through:
Menus.
Collections.
Internal links.
Categories.
Other relevant pages.
Google says properly linked pages are often discoverable through a site's navigation, while sitemaps can provide additional help with discovery.
🗺️ WHAT IS A SITEMAP?
A sitemap is a file that provides search engines information about important pages and files on your website.
Think of it like:
A MAP OF YOUR WEBSITE FOR SEARCH ENGINES.
Google says sitemaps can help it crawl a site more efficiently, especially for newer, larger or more complex websites.
Many website platforms automatically create a sitemap.
So:
DON'T ASSUME YOU NEED TO BUY A “SITEMAP SERVICE.”
First find out what your website platform already provides.
🔍 WHAT ARE KEYWORDS?
Keywords are words or phrases people might type into a search engine.
Suppose you sell:
Custom birthday cakes in Arlington, Texas.
Potential searches might include:
custom birthday cakes Arlington TX
birthday cake near me
custom cakes Arlington
Those phrases help you think about how customers search.
But this does NOT mean you should write:
Custom cakes Arlington custom cakes Arlington birthday cakes Arlington best custom cakes Arlington cheap custom cakes Arlington...
😂
That is not good writing.
Google specifically warns against keyword stuffing, meaning unnatural repetition of words or phrases in an attempt to manipulate search rankings.
🧠 THINK LIKE YOUR CUSTOMER
One of the easiest ways to think about SEO is:
WHAT WOULD MY CUSTOMER TYPE INTO GOOGLE?
You may describe your service one way.
Your customer may describe it another way.
For example, you may call yourself:
Residential Organization Specialist
while customers are searching:
Home organizer near me
You need to understand the language your customer is actually using.
📝 KEYWORD WORKSHEET
WHAT DO I SELL OR PROVIDE?
WHAT WOULD I CALL IT?
WHAT MIGHT MY CUSTOMER CALL IT?
IF LOCATION MATTERS, WHERE DO I SERVE?
QUESTIONS CUSTOMERS ASK ME:
Those questions can become useful website content too.
🏷️ YOUR PAGE TITLE MATTERS
Remember the Shopify fields we've been completing?
PAGE TITLE
META DESCRIPTION
URL HANDLE
They have a purpose.
Your page title helps identify what the page is about.
Google recommends that page titles be:
✔️ Descriptive
✔️ Concise
✔️ Specific to the page
✔️ Accurate
and not stuffed with repeated keywords.
❌ WEAK PAGE TITLE
Home
That doesn't tell a searcher much.
✅ BETTER PAGE TITLE
Mobile Notary Services in Arlington, TX | Smith Notary
Now the customer can understand:
What the business provides.
Where it serves.
Who the business is.
WRITE FOR PEOPLE FIRST.
📝 WHAT IS A META DESCRIPTION?
A meta description is a short description that can help explain what a page is about.
It may appear underneath a result in Google Search.
But:
GOOGLE DOES NOT GUARANTEE IT WILL DISPLAY THE EXACT META DESCRIPTION YOU WROTE.
Google says it primarily creates search snippets from page content and may use the meta description when that description better summarizes the page.
So don't panic if Google displays different wording.
✅ A GOOD META DESCRIPTION
Should generally:
Describe the actual page.
Be useful.
Be readable.
Make sense to a person.
Be different from descriptions on unrelated pages.
Google recommends creating accurate, unique descriptions for important pages instead of repeating the same description everywhere.
📝 META DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
PAGE:
Mobile Notary Services
DESCRIPTION:
Mobile notary services in Arlington and surrounding areas. Learn about available services, appointment options and how to request a notary appointment.
Clear.
Useful.
No tricks.
🔗 WHAT IS A URL HANDLE?
The URL is the address for the individual page.
For example:
GOOD
mybusiness.com/mobile-notary-services
LESS HELPFUL
mybusiness.com/page-827392
When possible, use URLs that are:
Short.
Readable.
Related to the page.
DON'T KEEP CHANGING URLS WITHOUT A REASON.
Changing URLs can create broken links if redirects aren't handled properly.
📝 YOUR PAGE CONTENT MATTERS
SEO is not just filling out SEO boxes.
The actual information on the page matters.
Google's SEO guidance emphasizes useful, readable content that helps visitors understand the subject.
Ask:
DOES THIS PAGE ACTUALLY ANSWER THE CUSTOMER'S QUESTION?
If someone searches:
How much does mobile notary service cost?
and your page never discusses pricing or how pricing is determined...
the page may not be very useful for that search.
✍🏽 DON'T WRITE FOR GOOGLE ROBOTS
Write for:
PEOPLE.
Use:
Clear headings.
Short sections.
Helpful explanations.
Relevant images.
Frequently asked questions.
Natural wording.
Links to related information.
DON'T MAKE A PAGE SOUND RIDICULOUS JUST TO FIT IN KEYWORDS.
💡 CUSTOMER QUESTIONS CAN BE GREAT SEO CONTENT
Questions your customers ask repeatedly may tell you exactly what information your website needs.
Examples:
“Do you ship?”
Create a shipping page.
“Do I need an appointment?”
Explain it.
“What areas do you serve?”
Create a service-area section.
“How does this product work?”
Create instructions or an FAQ.
“What's the difference between these two products?”
Create a comparison.
ANSWER REAL QUESTIONS.
That's useful content.
📰 BLOGS CAN HELP — BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BECOME A BLOGGER
A blog can give your business a place to publish:
Educational articles.
Answers.
Updates.
Stories.
Guides.
Product education.
Industry information.
But:
DON'T CREATE A BLOG JUST TO HAVE A BLOG.
If you aren't going to publish useful information, focus on improving the main website first.
🖼️ IMAGES CAN HELP TOO
Google notes that people can discover websites through image search and recommends using clear, high-quality images near relevant text.
When adding website images:
Use appropriate images.
Keep them relevant.
Use clear filenames when practical.
Add useful alternative text when your website allows it.
Don't upload unnecessarily gigantic image files.
🏷️ WHAT IS ALT TEXT?
Alternative text—often called:
ALT TEXT
helps describe an image.
It is especially important for accessibility because people using screen readers may rely on it to understand meaningful images.
Example:
Instead of:
image123
use a description such as:
“Black leather crossbody handbag with gold zipper.”
DESCRIBE WHAT MATTERS.
Don't turn alt text into a list of search keywords.
📱 YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD WORK ON MOBILE
Think about how often you search from your phone.
Your customers do too.
Check:
Text.
Buttons.
Menus.
Images.
Forms.
Checkout.
Contact information.
Booking.
DON'T BUILD ONLY FOR YOUR LAPTOP.
A website that is frustrating on a phone can lose customers even if it looks great on desktop.
⚡ WEBSITE SPEED MATTERS TO PEOPLE TOO
Huge photos.
Too many apps.
Animations everywhere.
Popups.
Videos loading automatically.
can make a website feel slow.
Even without becoming a technical SEO expert, ask:
DOES MY WEBSITE LOAD AND RESPOND WELL?
Because:
If customers get frustrated and leave...
your beautiful website didn't accomplish much.
📍 WHAT ABOUT GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE?
This is especially important for local businesses.
A Google Business Profile can allow an eligible business to appear with information such as:
Business name.
Location or service area.
Phone.
Website.
Hours.
Photos.
Reviews.
Google currently provides eligible businesses this profile at no charge.
But:
NOT EVERY BUSINESS QUALIFIES.
🏪 WHO CAN HAVE A GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE?
Google currently says Business Profiles are intended for businesses that make in-person contact with customers.
That generally includes:
STOREFRONT BUSINESSES
Customers visit the business location.
or:
SERVICE-AREA BUSINESSES
The business travels to customers.
Online-only businesses generally are not eligible for a traditional Google Business Profile unless they meet Google's applicable eligibility requirements.
DON'T CREATE A FAKE LOCATION JUST TO GET A PROFILE.
🏠 HOME-BASED SERVICE BUSINESSES
Suppose you operate from home but customers do not come to your home.
Maybe you:
Clean houses.
Provide mobile notary services.
Do landscaping.
Provide mobile repair.
Travel to customers.
Google says qualifying service-area businesses can use a service area instead of publicly displaying their home address.
IF CUSTOMERS DON'T VISIT YOUR ADDRESS, DON'T PRESENT IT LIKE A STOREFRONT.
🚫 VIRTUAL OFFICES CAN BE A PROBLEM
Be careful with:
Virtual offices.
Mailboxes.
Address rentals.
Co-working addresses.
Google's current guidelines say a virtual office isn't eligible simply because a business rents the address. Co-working locations have additional requirements, including real business presence and staffing.
READ THE CURRENT GOOGLE RULES BEFORE CREATING THE PROFILE.
Trying to trick the system may result in:
Edits.
Verification problems.
Suspension.
or removal.
🏷️ USE YOUR REAL BUSINESS NAME
Don't change your Google Business Profile name to:
Smith Plumbing BEST CHEAP PLUMBER ARLINGTON EMERGENCY PLUMBER
when the actual business name is:
Smith Plumbing
😂
Google requires businesses to represent their real-world name consistently and warns against adding unnecessary information to the business-name field.
Use the other profile fields for:
Services.
Category.
Location.
Description.
📍 KEEP LOCAL INFORMATION CONSISTENT
If you're a local business, make sure important information is accurate across your online presence.
Check:
BUSINESS NAME
PHONE
WEBSITE
ADDRESS, IF PUBLIC
SERVICE AREA
HOURS
Don't let:
Google say one thing.
Facebook say another.
Your website say something else.
Consistency makes things easier for customers.
⭐ GOOGLE REVIEWS
For an eligible local business, customer reviews can become an important part of the online presence.
Encourage real customers to leave honest reviews.
Then:
RESPOND PROFESSIONALLY.
Especially to negative ones.
Your response isn't only for the unhappy customer.
Future customers may read it too.
🚫 DON'T CREATE FAKE REVIEWS
Don't:
Write reviews for yourself.
Buy fake reviews.
Ask people who never used the business to pretend they did.
Create multiple accounts.
BUILD REAL REVIEWS FROM REAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES.
📸 KEEP YOUR GOOGLE PROFILE CURRENT
If you have a Business Profile, review it periodically.
Check:
Hours.
Phone.
Website.
Services.
Photos.
Location.
Business description.
Google says verified profiles can manage details shown in Google Search and Maps, upload photos and videos, and interact with customer reviews.
🔎 WHAT IS GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE?
Google Search Console is a tool that can help website owners understand how their site is performing in Google Search.
It can help with things such as:
Seeing whether pages are being indexed.
Reviewing search performance.
Submitting a sitemap.
Identifying some website issues.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CHECK IT EVERY DAY.
But it can be useful for understanding whether Google is finding your website.
🗺️ DON'T PANIC OVER YOUR SITEMAP
If your website platform already creates one, you may simply need to know where it is and whether you want to submit it through Search Console.
Google says many content-management systems automatically generate sitemaps.
Again:
CHECK WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE BEFORE BUYING SOMETHING ELSE.
⏰ SEO TAKES TIME
You may publish a page today.
That does not mean:
GOOGLE WILL RANK IT TOMORROW.
Google may need time to:
Discover it.
Crawl it.
Process it.
Revisit it.
And determine when or whether it should appear for particular searches.
Google notes that even changes to things such as page-title signals may take days or weeks to be recrawled and reflected.
DON'T KEEP CHANGING EVERYTHING EVERY DAY BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T MOVED UP IN GOOGLE YET.
🏆 NOBODY CAN GUARANTEE YOU THE #1 SPOT ON GOOGLE
Be careful when someone says:
“I GUARANTEE I CAN PUT YOU #1 ON GOOGLE.”
Ask:
#1 FOR WHAT?
For your exact business name?
A phrase nobody searches?
A highly competitive service?
For how long?
In which location?
SEO is not a magic switch.
BE VERY CAUTIOUS WITH GUARANTEES.
🚩 SEO COMPANY RED FLAGS
Be careful if someone:
🚩 Guarantees #1 rankings
🚩 Won't explain what they're doing
🚩 Wants to stuff your website with repeated keywords
🚩 Creates fake business locations
🚩 Buys suspicious links
🚩 Creates hundreds of useless pages
🚩 Refuses to give you account access
🚩 Says you must keep paying them forever or your website disappears
🚩 Can't explain what you're actually buying
IF YOU HIRE SOMEONE, UNDERSTAND THE SERVICE.
🔗 LINKS CAN MATTER — BUT DON'T CHASE RANDOM LINKS
Links from other websites can sometimes help people and search engines discover your site.
But this does not mean you should pay someone to create thousands of random links.
Google specifically identifies link schemes designed primarily to manipulate search rankings as spam.
QUALITY AND RELEVANCE MATTER MORE THAN RANDOM NUMBERS.
🧠 SIMPLE SEO CAN START WITH THE BASICS
You do not need a giant SEO strategy on Day 1.
Start here:
1. USE A CLEAR BUSINESS NAME.
2. MAKE SURE YOUR WEBSITE WORKS.
3. DESCRIBE WHAT YOU ACTUALLY SELL OR DO.
4. CREATE CLEAR PAGE TITLES.
5. WRITE USEFUL META DESCRIPTIONS.
6. ORGANIZE YOUR WEBSITE.
7. USE HELPFUL PRODUCT/SERVICE DESCRIPTIONS.
8. ANSWER CUSTOMER QUESTIONS.
9. CHECK MOBILE.
10. KEEP YOUR INFORMATION CURRENT.
That's already more useful than stuffing a page with “keywords.”
📝 SEO PAGE WORKSHEET
Choose one important page on your website.
PAGE NAME:
WHAT IS THIS PAGE ABOUT?
WHO IS LOOKING FOR THIS?
WHAT MIGHT THEY SEARCH?
LOCATION, IF RELEVANT:
PAGE TITLE:
META DESCRIPTION:
URL HANDLE:
MAIN CUSTOMER QUESTION ANSWERED:
📍 LOCAL BUSINESS CHECKLIST
If your business serves local customers:
☐ Check Google Business Profile eligibility
☐ Use your real business name
☐ Use the correct business category
☐ Use your real location/service area
☐ Hide your address if appropriate for a service-area business
☐ Add accurate hours
☐ Add current phone number
☐ Add correct website
☐ Upload good photos
☐ Request honest customer reviews
☐ Respond to reviews
☐ Keep information updated
🌐 WEBSITE SEO CHECKLIST
☐ Homepage clearly explains what business does
☐ Important pages have descriptive titles
☐ Important pages have useful meta descriptions
☐ URLs are understandable
☐ Products have clear titles
☐ Product descriptions contain useful information
☐ Services are explained
☐ Website works on phone
☐ Images are clear
☐ Meaningful images have appropriate alt text
☐ Important pages are linked
☐ Customer questions are answered
☐ Contact information is current
☐ Search Console considered
☐ Sitemap exists where appropriate
⭐ MRS. GWEN'S SEO RULES
1. DON'T BUILD A WEBSITE FOR GOOGLE AND FORGET THE CUSTOMER.
2. Think about what your customer actually searches.
3. Use clear titles.
4. Write useful descriptions.
5. Don't stuff pages with keywords.
6. Answer real customer questions.
7. Keep your website easy to navigate.
8. Don't create a fake Google location.
9. Be suspicious of guaranteed #1 rankings.
10. SEO IS AN ONGOING PROCESS—not a one-time magic button.
❤️ THE BIG LESSON
You don't have to become an:
SEO expert.
Google expert.
Website developer.
or marketing agency
just to help your business get found online.
Start by making sure your website clearly tells people:
WHO YOU ARE.
WHAT YOU DO.
WHAT YOU SELL.
WHO YOU HELP.
WHERE YOU SERVE, IF LOCATION MATTERS.
AND WHAT THEY SHOULD DO NEXT.
Then make it easy for:
Customers.
Google.
and other search engines
to understand that information.
BEING ONLINE IS STEP ONE.
BEING EASY TO FIND AND UNDERSTAND IS THE NEXT STEP.
➡️ NEXT: SOCIAL MEDIA vs. YOUR OWN WEBSITE
Facebook.
Instagram.
TikTok.
YouTube.
Marketplaces.
Your website.
They can all help your business.
But they are not the same thing.
On the next page we'll talk about:
📱 What social media is good for
🌐 Why your website still matters
⚠️ What happens when an account gets suspended
🛍️ Marketplace dependence
📧 Building your own customer list
🔗 Sending social traffic to your website
👥 Followers vs. customers
and why:
DON'T BUILD YOUR ENTIRE BUSINESS ON DIGITAL PROPERTY YOU DON'T CONTROL.
← PAGE 9: USING AI TO HELP BUILD YOUR BUSINESS
🏠 ONLINE BUSINESS HOME
PAGE 11: SOCIAL MEDIA vs. YOUR OWN WEBSITE →
⚠️ IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
This information is provided for general educational purposes only.
Search engines, ranking systems, SEO practices, Google Business Profile requirements and website-platform features can change. No SEO strategy can guarantee a particular position in Google Search.
Always review current Google policies before creating or changing a Business Profile, especially if your business operates from home, uses a service area, shares a location or does not receive customers at its address.