If you've got a website that isn't performing as well as you'd like, you might be thinking about hiring someone to help with your SEO. But what does that actually mean? And more importantly, what should you expect from the process?
Let's clear up some confusion and walk through what working with an SEO specialist actually looks like.
SEO can mean two things. First, it stands for Search Engine Optimisation – the process of making your website as good as possible so it appears higher in Google, Bing, and even AI search results like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview. Second, an SEO is the person who does this work – the search engine optimiser.
The term might be 30 years old and not the most explanatory, but the goal is simple: help the right people find your website when they're searching for what you offer.
When you first approach me about SEO, we start with a conversation. I want to understand:
• Your business and what makes it unique
• Your company's values and ethos
• Most importantly, who you want to reach
This last point is crucial. You might want to reach small businesses like me, or perhaps people interested in fashion, or commercial companies needing specific services like car park surfacing. Whoever your ideal customer is, we need to understand them properly.
Once we've talked about your goals, I'll give your website a thorough health check. This isn't just about ranking higher – it's about making sure that when people do find your website, they don't immediately leave.
Think about it: what's the point of driving traffic to your website if visitors arrive and can't find your contact details, or the images are fuzzy, or something just feels "off"? They'll go straight to your competitors.
Your website needs to convert visitors into customers, whether you're offering a service or selling a product.
The Essential Technical Boxes Your Website Must Tick
A good website needs to meet several standards:
• SSL certificate (that padlock in your browser)
• Fast loading speed
• Accessibility for people with disabilities – this is a ranking factor
• Mobile-friendly design
• Easy-to-find contact details
• Clear, attractive design
Here's an important point about design: it's not about being pretty like art. The best-designed websites are the ones you spend the most time on – LinkedIn, Facebook, the BBC website. Why? Because information is easy to find and easy to use.
Good design is about communication. If your website is hard work to use or hard to find information on, people simply won't bother. They'll go elsewhere.
Your target customer might be colour blind. They might have a dexterity issue like I do. They might be visually impaired. You absolutely don't know.
Making sure your website works for as many people as possible isn't just the right thing to do – it's a ranking factor. Search engines reward accessible websites.
Once all the technical SEO is in place and you're happy with your website, we create a plan for the content you'll produce. This might be blog posts or other content you want to add regularly.
I have two packages, one where we produce your content with guidance from you, or if you have time we advise you each month what to write and we can create a long-term content calendar to help you plan.
Backlinks are links to your website from other websites. They're important, but here's what you need to know:
Do not buy backlinks from some random person on the internet promising to boost your rankings. If a link to your website comes from a low-quality or spammy website, it can actually work against you.
• Relevant to your industry
• Organic (naturally occurring)
• From high-quality websites
For example, if you're a hairdresser, links from your suppliers would be excellent. Or links from customers who use your service, or from organisations you support like domestic violence charities (many hairdressers offer support to these charities because everyone needs a haircut, and we should help each other).
People say content is king. I say content is queen, because queens are better. But really, your website needs excellent content.
However, content plus backlinks is even better.
We'll also look at what you're doing to promote your website:
• What's your social media strategy?
• Do you have a Google Business Profile?
If you don't have a Google Business Profile, you can set one up yourself right now. It's free and incredibly valuable for local businesses. When people search for businesses in your area – like "website designers Sudbury Suffolk" – your Google Business Profile helps you appear in local results.
Reviews are really, really important. A good website with good content and no reviews will do well. But a website with reviews will do better and will almost certainly do better than your competitors.
Getting positive reviews on your Google Business Profile also helps you rank higher.
Once we've created a plan covering all these elements, I provide a monthly report showing:
• What's working
• What we can do next
• What perhaps didn't work that we can fix or try something else.
Each month, we tweak the approach. SEO isn't a one-and-done thing – it's an ongoing process that improves over time.
Because I build and host websites, and my hosting runs on renewable energy (so your website isn't damaging the planet), I have technical expertise that some SEO specialists don't have.
This means I can tweak your website in ways that other SEO providers might not be able to. For example, if we need to add a page, a chat box, or other features that will help your website rank higher or be more useful, I can do that.
If an SEO approaches you and they haven't:
• Done background checks on your website
• Made sure your website is accessible to people with visual impairments or dexterity issues
• Checked all the technical boxes
...that's possibly a red flag.
These fundamentals are ranking factors. An SEO should make sure they're in place before doing anything else.
If we're driving people to your website but they're not converting to customers, what can we do about that?
I can change the design. I can adjust elements in the background. I can add features like chat boxes or booking systems. Over time, with an ongoing process that works, your website will rank more and more highly.
For a small monthly fee, here's what I offer:
1. Initial consultation to understand your business and goals
2. Website health check covering all technical requirements
3. Making positive changes to improve rankings and user experience
4. Ongoing monthly support with regular reporting and tweaks
The goal is simple: you get more than a return on your investment. You get genuine enquiries from people who want what you offer.
If you're interested in an SEO consultation or a website health check, get in touch here. I'd love to help your business get found online.
Polyspiral provides website design, SEO, and eco-friendly hosting for small businesses and charities across Suffolk and Essex. With 27 years' experience and recent recognition as Best Eco-Friendly Website Designer 2025, we specialise in helping businesses get found online and convert visitors into customers.
