What is it that makes some companies’ websites show up on the first page of Google search results — while others never show up? What are these winning websites doing that kicks other websites down on search result pages?
The digital world is vast and wide and complex. To stand out, companies employ SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation.
What’s that, you ask?
Well, SEO is a collection of techniques and strategies that help search engines like Google ‘read’ and ‘understand’ your website.
If it’s well optimised and Google ‘likes’ it, it’ll be placed higher on search results for relevant terms searched.
Peter has been doing our SEO for our website Principal Landscapes for a few years now. Our ranking has always been very good and Peter and his team have worked diligently in the background to ensure our website is first class, functional and has a good presence online. Peter’s always available and has been great to deal with. Highly recommended!
Cullen Long
Principal Landscapes + Pools
principallandscapes.com.au
It’s all about people — or your target market — being able to find you in the vast digital library of businesses online.
In the late 90s, the world did a complete 180. Every business realised they have to be on the internet.
Search engines were simple, and SEO was mostly about stuffing keywords into web content to make it shoot up on search engine results.
Other times, one could get away by matching text color to the background, to stuff way more keywords. These sneaky tricks actually worked!
But then…search engines got smarter. They learned to flag websites that were employing these sneaky tricks: now called black hat tricks.
As a result, business owners went back to the drawing board.
They couldn’t trick search engines anymore, so it was time to get serious and implement SEO the right way.
Surprise-surprise: legit strategies began to deliver legit results.
Despite several other great search engines in business, Google still handles over 90% of all search queries worldwide. That’s not a small feat. Naturally, whenever we have a client come in for SEO, the focus is on Google.
But as we get smarter with SEO, the digital space gets bigger and better and more competitive. That in turn, makes Google pickier about what website or content is better than all others.
You see what’s happening here? We stay on our toes with SEO, trying to beat the competition — basically doing whatever it takes to please the Divine — The Google Algorithm.
The good news is, if you can please Google, all other search engines follow suit.
You see, in the world of search engines and SEO, Google is everyone’s God.
Unless you’ve been bunkering underground for the last five decades, you know exactly what a SERP is — but what does it say about your business (or another) according to your placement on a SERP?
Here’s what’s breaking: the top three results on Google end up winning 75% of all customers executing the search (study by Advanced Web Ranking).
Basically, if you’re not winning one of the top three spots, you’re scavenging for scraps.
And if you show up on the second page of a SERP?
99.22% of Google searchers will NEVER see you. The second page of Google search results is where businesses and dreams go to die.
A colleague of mine once compared SEO to a high-maintenance girlfriend. You can never forget about it. It needs constant attention. You’ve got to take time out to feed it, take care of it, nurture it. Otherwise, all hell’s breaking loose.
Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. We took over a new client’s website and worked tirelessly on SEO. We got it up to the very top of search results for the most competitive keywords in their line of business. Awesome, right?
We celebrated, and then we did the unthinkable: we started slacking.
Six months later, the website lost its luster and was buried on the second page graveyard of search results. I’ll be honest, that hurt.
Things we can never forget: The internet is dynamic and powerful. Search engines? Sophisticated, sharp, un-trickable. Google especially, is the most intricately savvy of all, and makes countless big and small changes to its algorithm every year.
You put in the hard work, your website performs and shows up on SERPs.
You slack — Google knows. It’s going to kick you to the curb.
Let’s break down the most essential elements of SEO that can set you up for success:
Keyword Research: What language are customers speaking? What is the collection of words they’re typing into Google in an attempt to find a product or service that you offer?
On-Page SEO: Google is a demanding algorithm that has some premium requirements. You make sure you’re putting all those things on your page (website), and now Google can read it, understand it, and rank it.
Content Creation: Customers now have really high standards. They need valuable, high-quality information, presented perfectly — otherwise they’ll bounce and click on the next result on a SERP. Give your customers a valuable read. Make it worth their time.
Link Building: Just like you get the popular kids to sit with you at the lunch table — get reputable sources of information to link to your site, and it serves as a testimonial for the Google algorithm. “Hey, this site is legit. Bring it up on search results.”
Technical SEO: This is backstage tech stuff that needs to be set up. Basically making sure your website is fast, user friendly, works on all devices, and is secure — the boring but important stuff.
Local SEO: If your business has a physical presence, you implement local SEO to show up on search results for Google searches around you. Say someone types ‘pizza near me.’ If your local SEO is set up, your website will show up on a SERP.
If you’re ready to dive into SEO, you start by doing an audit to see what your digital presence is like. You’ll conduct a 100% scan —- from website performance to blogs and content.
This reminds me of the time I did an SEO Audit for a client — let’s call him Zee. Zee had been struggling to get his website ranked for almost a year! Turns out, their website had accidentally been set to ‘noindex.’ Basically, the website was telling Google to skip it altogether.
Just like most people, SEO can be good, bad, or downright machiavellian.
SEO strategies and approaches are generally placed in one of two boxes:
White hat and black hat:
White Hat SEO? Nice and sweet — this is the good stuff that actually works by providing value. Work on creating awesome content, set up a website that’s nice to look at and navigate, and play by Google God’s rules.
Black Hat SEO? Shady and sly. These dark strategies are all about manipulation and trickery, and employ approaches like keyword stuffing, cloaking text, and buying links. It’s basically cheating, and gives you short-term results. Once you get caught by God, consequences can be extremely dire.
Real Talk: One of my clients we’d been working with (let’s call him Cee), showed up one day demanding we use black hat techniques. He’d been to a friend’s friend’s place, and met someone who had gotten insane amounts of traffic using trickery. Despite my best attempts to make Cee see the light, he insisted.
Well, one month later, he got results alright. His site got banned — and that’s that.
SEO is dynamic, evolving, and staying proactive and implementing accurate strategies — at the right time — can give you an unbeatable competitive advantage.
Here’s what you need to watch:
Voice Search: Voice assistants, voice search, and natural language. Optimise. Optimise. Optimise.
Mobile-First: The world is about convenience, and the primary device used is the phone glued to everyone’s hand. Have a mobile-friendly site, or say goodbye to business.
User Experience: It’s all about the consumer experience. Google is watching how people are interacting with your site. How long are they staying? Did they go anywhere beyond the landing page? Did they return? It matters. Make sure everyone who’s landing on your website is finding something of value, and is sticking around.
AI and Machine Learning: As if Google wasn’t smart enough, it’s now got AI in its arsenal.
The powerful duo now seems to have a sixth sense! Once again, it’s all about undeniable consumer value — or you’re out.
I’ve been dying to tell you about Sarah. When she came to me for help, the website for her small bakery (located in Perth) was getting no traffic. Not even the second, third, or fourth page — it was nowhere to be found!
We teamed up, and got to amping up her SEO with great content about her signature sourdough bread. Her website was optimised, and we reached out to some of the most credible food bloggers, building much-needed links to Sarah’s site.
Six months on, Sarah was on top spot for the keywords “best sourdough in Perth.” The amount of online orders she received per week grew by over 300%!
Last I heard, she was working on setting up a second location.
If that story doesn’t speak for the power of SEO, don’t know what does!
If you’re coming into this journey thinking of gaming the system, let me tell you, you’ll fall flat on your face before you can say “I am.”
As long as you’re hoping to deliver value to customers, making it fun for them to navigate through your website — search engines will notice your effort and give you top spots.
SEO is not about point A to point B. Be prepared to put in the work, understand your target consumers, what they need, wait patiently for results, persevere through some heartbreaking moments, get ready to learn, adapt and evolve, and you’ll climb search engine results.
Sounds like too much work?
SEO professionals have battle-tested, kickass strategies that are effective, work fast, and deliver results. They’re living and breathing this stuff, so you definitely don’t have to.
Hand over the hard work to an SEO professional with amazing client reviews, and you can focus on your business while they do what needs to be done for SEO.
Remember, every single website that’s ranking on SERPs for your target keywords?
They started at point zero for SEO — as you are right now.
Let’s get started today — and I bet your website will catch up!
CALL US NOW FOR A FREE QUOTE: (08) 6102 5800
Small Business SEO Guide: Where to Start When Budget is Tight
Is SEO Worth It in 2025? A Data-Driven ROI Analysis from 25+ Years in the Field
Choosing the Best SEO Company in Perth© 2025: SEO Perth Experts – Professional SEO Agency, Perth WA
