SEO and why it matters for business growth
Growth is what every business wants but it can be hard to achieve. SEO can help make it a reality.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is one of the most effective ways for business owners to grow their companies.
This page will explore what SEO is, how it can benefit your business, and the key areas to focus on if you’re looking to get started. By choosing SEO, you can
improve your website’s ranking in search engines, drive more traffic, and bring in more sales and leads.
Date updated: 21.10.25
Written by Calum Macleod
How important is SEO to a business?
SEO is one of the most important marketing tools a business can invest in because it directly affects online visibility, credibility, and long term growth. When someone searches for products or services related to what you offer, appearing near the top of Google’s results puts you in front of people who are actively looking to buy. That’s useful because unlike ads, where you pay for every click, organic traffic from SEO continues working for you long after the initial investment.
People tend to see sites that rank on page one of Google as more reputable, and that can lead to more sales and enquiries. Good SEO can reduce reliance on ads and keep your brand visible across search results for months or even years.
The core components of effective SEO
Keywords, content and links
A strong SEO strategy focuses on several key areas. Getting SEO right means tackling all of these items well.
1. Keyword research
Keywords are the words and phrases that users type into search engines. By targeting relevant keywords, you can ensure your website reaches people interested in your service or product. Start by identifying primary keywords that you think your customers would use and then find long-tail keywords after your content is live using Google Search Console. Tools like Google Keyword Planner and Ahrefs can help you discover valuable keywords with significant search volumes and manageable competition.
2. On-page optimisation
On-page SEO involves optimising elements on your website to improve rankings. This includes things like:
- Title tags and meta descriptions – These make up the title and description of your listing in Google so need to include your target keywords as well as a good description of the page.
- Header tags – Using headers (H1, H2, etc.) makes the content easier to read for the user and gives Google a good idea about the main sections of content on the page.
- Image optimisation – Adding alt text to images allows search engines to ‘see’ the image content, which can help with rankings.
- Internal linking – Linking between pages on your site helps search engine algorithms understand which pages are more important and their relation to each other.
3. Technical SEO
Technical SEO focuses on the backend structure of your website. It involves optimising your site’s speed, mobile-friendliness, security, and other elements that impact a search engines's ability to crawl and index content.
Technical SEO is not a separate optional part of SEO but an essential aspect of it. Technical SEO tasks include:
4. Content creation
High quality content is the backbone of any successful SEO strategy. Creating valuable content not only attracts more visitors but also establishes your business as an authority in your field. Ideally you want your site to gain topical authority on a subject. When creating content:
- Focus on quality content that is free of errors, well researched and complete with references.
- Include rich content like images, videos, tables, diagrams and interviews.
- Make sure you provide suitable information that comprehensively answers the user's query. Make sure you also understand the intent behind the query before planning
and writing the content.
- Focus on answering common questions in your industry. This can help to widen the number of searches you rank for, get your site to show up in rich snippets and AI overviews and help the user by providing useful information.
Regularly updating your website with fresh content also signals to search engines that your site is active, which can help maintain or improve your rankings over time.
5. Link building
Building backlinks can improve your rankings in search engines. Quality matters more than quantity, so focus on earning links from reputable sources in your industry. Some strategies for link building include:
- Guest blogging on relevant websites.
- Industry advertisements or company listings
- Local business sites
- PR mentions and links
- Creating useful linkable content
6. Monitoring rankings and traffic
SEO isn’t a one off task. If you want higher rankings and more traffic it's a steady climb of a process. Regularly monitoring your sites' performance through
tools like Google Analytics and Search Console can help you see which areas need improvement. Use data to make informed adjustments, whether that means targeting new keywords,
adding specific content or optimising old content.
The challenges of SEO and how to overcome them
SEO takes time and effort, and it can be challenging for business owners juggling multiple responsibilities. Some common SEO challenges include:
- Competition – It can be difficult to rank for highly competitive keywords. Focusing on long tail keywords and niche topics can bring in some traffic but they likely won't bring the search volume you need.
A strategy of high traffic terms combined with low traffic long tail keywords can work well. Start as soon as possible to get your site earning links and ranking strength.
- Algorithm changes – Google regularly updates its algorithms, which can affect your rankings. Having a robust reporting system set up can help you to identify issues.
- Patience – SEO results don’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual process, but the long term rewards are worth the investment.
Is SEO still important in 2025?
Yes, SEO is still important in 2025 for businesses that need more traffic to their website. Is it the same as it's always been? No. There have been numerous changes to
Google's algorithm and changes to how Google lists websites due to the introduction of AI Mode and AI Overviews. That said all of the Big Surf Digital clients
have increased in traffic over the last 12 months. There is still plenty of traffic available to a company willing to invest in SEO.
Is SEO important for every business?
SEO is important for businesses that need to be found in search engines. That sounds like all of them but there are some businesses
that can thrive without online traffic. For the vast majority though a website that gets lots of clicks is a vital piece of a business's
success. If your business can benefit from search engine traffic then there is still a lot of opportunity available through SEO. It is
true though that some businesses can be priced out of SEO before they start. If the competition is too strong and you don't have the
budget necessary to compete an SEO campaign may not be worthwhile. That's why we provide a free SEO proposal that includes keyword and competitive
research to see how long it would take to get to the top spots in Google.
What's the 80/20 rule for SEO?
The 80/20 principle, otherwise known as the Pareto Principle is a rule that states 80% of the success of something will often come from 20% of the work.
This may seem like pure fiction but it's been proven to come up again and again in life, nature and business. There are many examples where the majority of profits a company makes will
come from a small number of clients or a small number of products will be responsible for the majority of sales. Why am I telling you this? Because with SEO there are a large number of tasks that need to be done but
by applying the Pareto Principle it's possible to figure out which 20% will produce the most results so that you can cut out the tasks that don't help move things forward. It is possible to run an SEO campaign
that focuses on the 20% of tasks that will bring the most results.
