SEO basics every NZ small business should know

Search engine optimisation, or SEO, means helping search engines understand your website and helping the right customers find it.

SEO is not about secretly manipulating Google. Good SEO usually starts with clear content, technically sound pages and accurate business information.

Google’s own guidance recommends building useful content for people, organising pages clearly and helping search engines discover and understand them.

Give every page a clear purpose

Each page should focus on a specific subject.

For example:

• Homepage: an overview of the business
• Service page: one main service or closely related group
• About page: business background and trust information
• Portfolio page: examples of completed work
• Contact page: enquiry methods and service area
• Blog post: a useful answer to a customer question

Trying to rank one page for every possible service and location usually produces confusing content.

Use descriptive page titles

The page title helps users and search engines understand the topic.

A weak title might be:

Services

A stronger title might be:

Residential Electrician in Auckland | Business Name

Keep titles natural. Do not repeat the same keyword unnecessarily.

Write useful descriptions

Each page should have a concise meta description explaining what the visitor will find.

For example:

Residential electrical services across Auckland, including rewiring, switchboard upgrades, lighting and maintenance. Request a free quote.

A meta description does not guarantee a particular ranking, but it can influence how clearly your result is presented to searchers.

Use headings properly

Use one clear main heading for the page, followed by subheadings that organise the content.

For example:

H1: Residential Plumbing Services in Hamilton
H2: Emergency Plumbing
H2: Hot-Water Cylinder Repairs
H2: Bathroom Plumbing
H2: Areas We Serve
H2: Request a Quote

Headings should describe the section. Do not use them only because they look visually larger.

Mention locations naturally

Local businesses should state where they operate.

Include your city, region and important service areas where relevant, but avoid repeatedly listing locations in unnatural sentences.

A useful statement is:

We provide commercial cleaning services across Wellington, Lower Hutt and Porirua.

A poor statement is:

Wellington cleaner Wellington cleaning company best Wellington cleaners.

Optimise your images

Before uploading an image:

• Resize it to the dimensions actually required
• Compress it
• Prefer WebP or AVIF where appropriate
• Use a descriptive filename
• Add accurate alternative text
• Avoid uploading multi-megabyte originals

Google recommends placing high-quality images near relevant text and giving them descriptive alt text.

Link related pages together

Internal links help visitors move through your website.

A blog post about bathroom renovation costs might link to:

• Bathroom renovation services
• Previous bathroom projects
• The quote request page

Use descriptive link text such as “view our bathroom renovation projects” rather than “click here”.

Set up Google Search Console

Google Search Console helps website owners understand whether Google can index their pages and how those pages perform in search.

It can identify indexing problems, security concerns and Core Web Vitals issues based on real-world usage data.

Publish genuinely helpful content

Write about questions customers actually ask:

• How much does a service normally cost?
• How long does it take?
• What should customers prepare?
• When is professional help necessary?
• What are the common mistakes?
• What affects the final price?

Helpful content builds trust before the customer contacts you.

SEO takes time. Focus first on making every important page clear, useful, accessible and technically reliable.