How customers find you on Google
SEO (search engine optimisation) means helping Google and Bing find your website, understand it, and show it when people search for what you do. Here is how it works, with pictures.
How Google finds your website
Google works in three steps. Your website has to pass all three before customers see it.
Crawl: Google finds your pages
Google's robot (the "crawler") visits websites and follows links from page to page. It also reads the list of pages you send it, called a sitemap.
Index: Google files them away
Google reads each page (its title, words and pictures) and stores it in its giant library, the "index". Pages that are not in the index can't show up at all.
Rank: Google picks the best answers
When someone searches, Google looks in its index and shows the pages it thinks are most useful, based on things like the words, the location and the device.
Source: Google Search Central, "In-depth guide to how Google Search works".
Paid ads vs SEO
The same search page has two kinds of results. Paid ads can appear at the top with a "Sponsored" label. Everything under them is normal (organic) results, which you get through SEO.
You pay Google each time someone clicks your ad
No cost per click. You pay once to set it up properly
Can show soon after Google approves your ad
Takes days to weeks to appear, months to climb
No. Your ad joins an auction on every search. Google looks at your bid, ad quality and the competition, so it may not show every time
No. Google decides who shows, based on how useful and trusted your page is
The ad disappears the moment you stop paying
Your page stays in the results
Partly. A higher bid helps, but ad quality counts too, and no place is guaranteed
No. Google says it does not take payment to rank pages higher
Sources: Google Ads Help (you pay for each click on your ad; "About Ad Rank": bid, ad quality and competition decide whether an ad shows); Google Search Central ("Google doesn't accept payment to rank pages higher"). Pagewright sets up SEO. We don't run paid ads.
How long until Google and Bing show your website?
A brand-new website is not on Google the minute it goes live. This is a typical timeline.
- ๐Day 0: your website goes live
We send your site and its sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, so both know it exists.
- ๐คA few days to a few weeks: Google visits
Google says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Bing is similar, and can be faster when a website tells Bing about new pages right away (a free system called IndexNow).
- ๐Within weeks: your pages can start to appear
Once your pages are in the index, they can show up in search. Even a search for your own business name is not guaranteed to show you first, especially if other businesses have a similar name.
- ๐Months: better places for bigger searches
Searches like "aircon service Bishan" have many competitors. Climbing takes months, and it needs more than SEO. See what it takes.
Sources: Google Search Central ("Crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks"); Bing, IndexNow.
Want to be on page 1? SEO alone won't get you there.
SEO tells Google and Bing that you are here and what you do. That gets you to the starting line. Page 1 is a race against every other business that wants the same customers, and Google decides the winners. Not even a search for your own business name is guaranteed.
A complete Google Business Profile
Verified, with the right category, hours, services, photos and up-to-date details. This is what shows on Google Maps.
Real Google reviews
Google says review count and review score count towards local ranking. Ask every happy customer for a review, and reply to every review, good or bad.
Being known around the web
Links, articles and directory listings that mention you. Google calls this "prominence": how well known your business is.
Useful, up-to-date pages
Real answers, prices, photos of your work and news. Pages that help people get chosen more often.
Distance
Google shows businesses near the person searching. You can't move your shop, so list the areas you really serve.
Time and competition
"Aircon service Singapore" has hundreds of competitors. It takes months of steady work, and there are no shortcuts.
๐งโ๐ป What we do
The website side: SEO groundwork, fast and secure pages, your business details in a format Google reads, and sending your site to Google and Bing.
๐ What you keep doing
Collect reviews, reply to them, keep your Google Business Profile up to date and post new photos. We'll show you how when we hand over your website.
Source: Google Business Profile Help, "How to improve your local ranking on Google" (local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence; review count and score factor in).
What SEO is, and what it is not
โ SEO is
- Helping Google and Bing find, understand and trust your website
- Clear page titles and descriptions with your service and area
- A fast, secure, mobile-friendly website
- Matching details everywhere (name, phone, address)
โ SEO is not
- Social media. Posting on Facebook or Instagram is separate and not included. We link your social pages from your website.
- Paid ads. Google Ads cost money per click and are a different service.
- A promise of number 1. Nobody honest can promise that, because Google decides.
What we do for your SEO
- ๐Titles and descriptionsEvery page gets a search title and description with your service and area.
- ๐ท๏ธBusiness details for GoogleName, phone, address, hours and prices in a format Google reads.
- ๐ฎSent to Google and BingWe add your site to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools and submit your sitemap.
- โกFast and secureLight pages that open quickly on phones, with the SSL padlock.
- ๐Matches your Google Business ProfileSo your name, phone and website agree everywhere.
We never promise "number 1 on Google". Nobody honest can. We make sure Google has everything it needs to show you, on every package.
Want customers to find you on Google?
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