Digital Basics Part 3: SEO in Plain English

Episode summary

Why does your competitor show up on Google instead of you? In episode three of the Design Box Digital podcast, Tristan Brunsdon explains search engine optimisation (SEO) in plain English for Australian small business owners. Using a simple library analogy, he walks through how Google finds, files and ranks web pages, and the four big things Google looks for: relevance, helpfulness, trust and technical health. He busts seven SEO myths that cost small businesses money, shares five questions to ask before hiring anyone for SEO, and finishes with six practical things you can do yourself, no technical skills needed.

In this episode

  • What SEO actually stands for, and the difference between ads and organic results
  • What’s on a Google results page today, from ads and maps to the regular listings
  • How Google works: crawling, indexing and ranking, explained with a library
  • Why the words on your page matter so much to Google
  • The four big things Google looks for: relevance, quality, trust and technical health
  • Why each main service deserves its own page
  • Links as recommendations, and why cheap bulk links are a bad idea
  • Why you should own your website and domain name
  • Seven SEO myths, from “guaranteed number one” to “SEO is too technical for me”
  • Five questions to ask before you hire anyone for SEO
  • Six things you can do yourself, starting this week

Chapters

  • 0:00 – Cold open: who decides who shows up on Google?
  • 0:48 – Welcome back, and a quick recap of episodes 1 and 2
  • 2:15 – Section 1: What SEO Actually Is
  • 6:38 – Section 2: What Google Is Looking For
  • 13:02 – Section 3: SEO Myths That Cost Small Businesses Money
  • 18:10 – Section 4: What You Can Do Yourself, Starting This Week
  • 22:40 – Recap
  • 23:58 – Your One Action This Week
  • 24:54 – Call to Action and Episode 4 Teaser
  • 25:43 – Outro

Your one action this week

Set up Google Search Console, or if it’s already set up, get access to it. Look at the searches you’re appearing for, and write down the searches you’d expect to show up for but don’t. If you’ve only just set it up, give it a week or two for information to start showing up.

Resources mentioned

Next episode

Episode 4 – Local SEO for Melbourne businesses: how Google decides which businesses show up on the map, why your Google Business Profile matters, how reviews fit in, and how to show up when someone nearby searches for what you do.

About Design Box Digital

Design Box Digital is a Melbourne web design and digital marketing agency based at the World Trade Centre in Docklands. We build WordPress and Shopify websites, run SEO and Google Ads, and help businesses turn their websites into lead generators. Visit designbox.com.au to get in touch.

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Digital Basics Part 3: SEO in Plain English
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