"What Is SEO and Why Should I Care?"

Sometimes I say the word SEO to my clients and I get a blank stare. A lot of the time I get: "Yeah, I don't even know what that is or where to start."

And honestly? That's completely normal. SEO gets made out to be this scary, technical thing. But it's not.

The simplest way I can put it to you is: SEO is just about understanding what your customer is searching for on Google.

That's it. That's the whole thing.

Why Thinking Like Your Ideal Customer Can Help You Understand SEO Like You Never Have Before

Start Thinking Like Your Customer

To understand SEO, you need to flip how you normally think about your business.

Right now, you probably think about your business in terms of what YOU do. "I'm an interior designer." "I'm a recruitment consultant." "I'm a nutritionist."

But your customer isn't searching for those words. They're searching for the problem they want solved.

Let me give you an example.

Interior Designer scenario:

You might think: "I need to rank for 'interior designer' on Google."

But your actual customer? They're not searching for "interior designer." They're searching things like:

• "How do I redesign my living room on a budget?"

• "Interior design ideas for small spaces"

• "Help with choosing colours for my bedroom"

• "How do I make my kitchen look bigger?"
  
  

They're searching for the PROBLEM, not the label of your profession.

Once you understand this, SEO stops being scary. It's just: create content that answers the questions your customer is actually asking.

Another Example: Recruitment Consultant

Same thing happens here.

You might think: "I need to rank for 'recruitment consultant.'"

But your actual customer is searching:

• "How do I find good candidates?"

• "What should I ask in an interview?"

• "Recruitment help for small businesses"

• "How to spot the right person for the job"

They're not searching for the job title. They're searching for help with their problem.

So How Does This Help You Understand SEO?

Once you realise your customer isn't searching for what you DO, but for the PROBLEM you solve, everything changes.

You realise:

Your website shouldn't be all about how great you are or how many years of experience you have. It should answer the questions your customer is actually asking.

Your content shouldn't be "about us" posts. It should be "how to" posts, "why" posts, "what if" posts, the things your customer is actually searching for.

You don't need to be on every platform. You just need to show up where your customer is searching (which is Google).

You don't need fancy SEO tools or technical knowledge. You just need to think like your customer and create content that helps them.

Here's The Practical Bit

Think about your own business right now. What problem are you actually solving?

Not the fancy way you describe it on your website. The real, everyday problem.

Now, if someone had that problem, what would they type into Google to find help?

That's your SEO strategy right there.

That's literally what they're searching for. Create content around those searches. Make sure your website answers those questions.

That's SEO.

An interior designer should have content about "how to choose the right colours" and "what makes a room look bigger." A recruitment consultant should have content about "how to interview well" and "red flags in candidates."

Not because these are fancy SEO keywords. But because these are the actual questions your customers are asking.

The Thing About SEO That Nobody Tells You

It's not complicated. It's not technical. It's not something only the experts understand.

SEO is just: think like your customer, figure out what they're searching for, and answer those questions on your website.

Most small business owners make it harder than it is because they think about their business from the inside out (what they do, what they offer).

SEO works from the outside in (what does the customer need, what are they searching for, how do I help them find me).

Flip that perspective, and suddenly SEO makes complete sense.

So What Now?

Next time you're thinking about your website or what content to create, ask yourself this question: "What would my ideal customer Google if they had the problem I solve?"

Write that down. Create content around it. Make sure your website answers it.

That's your SEO strategy. No fancy tools needed. No technical knowledge required. Just you, thinking like your customer.

And honestly? That's the best SEO strategy there is.

Want Help Getting Your SEO Right?

If you've read this and thought "yes, but I still don't know where to start," that's where I come in.

I help small business owners like you get their SEO sorted—without the jargon, without the £5,000 agency fees, and without spending hours learning technical stuff.

Here's what I can help you with:

SEO Audit – We look at your website and work out what's actually holding you back from ranking. Is it your keywords? Your content? Your website structure? We find out exactly what needs fixing.

Keyword Strategy – We figure out what your actual customers are searching for (like we talked about above), and build a strategy around those real searches—not generic keywords nobody's using.

Content Strategy for SEO – Once we know what your customers are searching for, we create a plan for the content that'll help you show up. Blog posts, website copy, whatever you need.

Website Optimisation – We make sure your website is actually set up to rank. Clear messaging, proper structure, the stuff Google actually looks for.

The best part? You don't need to spend a fortune. A Website Health Check gives you clarity on what's wrong and how to fix it. A Power Hour gets you a complete SEO strategy you can actually implement.