SEO isn’t a one-time fix — it’s an ongoing commitment to improving how your website performs in search engines. The good news is that consistent effort in a handful of key areas can deliver meaningful results. Here are seven tips to get your website moving in the right direction.
1. Identify and Use Relevant Keywords
Keyword research is the foundation of effective SEO. You need to understand what your target audience is actually typing into Google when they’re looking for what you offer — and then use those terms strategically throughout your website.
Finding the right keywords and using them in your page titles, headings, meta descriptions, and body content can be the difference between successful SEO and wasted effort. Free tools like Google Search Console and Google Trends can help you identify what terms are worth targeting.
2. Optimise Your Page Speed
A fast website is essential for SEO. Google uses page speed as a ranking signal, and slow sites frustrate users — leading to higher bounce rates that further hurt your rankings.
Run your site through Google PageSpeed Insights to identify specific issues. Common fixes include compressing images, enabling browser caching, and minimising unnecessary scripts.
3. Create Valuable, Informative Content
Quality content that is relevant to what users are looking for is key for SEO success. Google’s goal is to connect searchers with the best answer to their question — so your content needs to genuinely inform, help, or solve a problem.
Add new content regularly. A blog or news section updated monthly (or more frequently) sends positive signals to search engines and gives you new pages to rank for additional keywords.
4. Use Internal Linking
Linking between related pages on your website helps search engines understand your site structure and discover new pages. It also keeps visitors engaged and directs them to your most important content.
When you publish a new blog post, look for opportunities to link to it from relevant existing pages. And always link your content to your core service pages.
5. Leverage Social Media
While social media signals aren’t direct ranking factors, social platforms drive traffic to your website — and traffic is good for SEO. Sharing your content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and other platforms relevant to your audience extends your reach and brings potential customers back to your site.
6. Build Quality Backlinks
Getting quality backlinks from authoritative websites is one of the most powerful signals you can send to Google. A backlink from a respected industry website or local directory tells search engines that your content is trusted and worth ranking.
Start with free local directories, industry associations, and partner businesses. Avoid low-quality “link farms” — these can actually hurt your rankings.
7. Stay Up to Date
SEO is constantly evolving. Google updates its algorithm hundreds of times per year, and what worked in 2019 may not work today. Follow reputable SEO resources like Moz or Search Engine Land to stay informed.
Not sure where your website stands? Blue Platypus Digital offers a complimentary SEO audit to evaluate your current performance and identify your biggest opportunities. Get in touch to book yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long before these tips improve my rankings?
Technical fixes such as page speed can register within weeks, while content and link building take three to six months to show. Nothing here works in days, and consistency matters more than intensity.
Which of these seven has the biggest impact?
For most small business sites it is content that genuinely answers what customers ask, followed by page speed. Keyword research tells you what to write about, but publishing nothing worth reading is the most common reason SEO stalls.
Does social media activity improve SEO rankings?
Not directly — social signals are not a ranking factor. It helps indirectly by putting content in front of people who may link to it or search for you by name, and branded search is a genuine signal.
How do I check my page speed?
Google PageSpeed Insights is free and tests the mobile and desktop versions separately. Test the mobile score first, since Google indexes mobile-first, and oversized images are usually the biggest culprit.
