The Logic You Need to Understand
There is a logical assumption built into the way many business owners think about SEO:
If I rank higher on Google, more potential customers will find me, and I will make more money.
That can be true.
But first, people have to be searching for the words you rank for. Then your website has to compete successfully against the other websites trying to rank for those same searches.
That is where SEO begins.
For simplicity, this article is specifically about Google, although many of the same principles apply to other search engines.
What Is SEO?
SEO—search engine optimization—is not one thing.
It is a combination of many things Google considers when deciding which websites appear in its search results and where they appear.
Think about weather.
Weather isn’t just temperature. It is temperature, humidity, wind, air pressure, precipitation, geography, and other conditions working together.
And what constitutes “good weather” depends on the circumstances. No rain can be a problem. Too much rain can be a problem. The right conditions in one location may be completely different in another.
SEO is similar.
It isn’t as complicated as weather, but there is no single ingredient that creates good SEO. Google looks at many different things, and their importance can vary depending on the search and the competition.
What Does Google Look At?
At its simplest, Google is trying to determine which websites should appear for a particular search and in what order.
Think of it somewhat like applying to join a fraternity.
It isn’t enough to say you belong. The fraternity considers what it knows about you, who knows you, who recommends you, and whether you appear to be a good fit.
Google does something similar with websites.
Here are some of the things it considers:
Content
Does your website contain useful, relevant information about the words and subjects people are searching for?
“Do the words they searchred for appear on your site and how importaint are they on your site?”
The words matter. If you want Google to associate your website with a particular subject, Google needs enough information on your website to make that connection.
Backlinks
A backlink is simply another website linking to yours.
That direction is important.
Your website linking to another business is not a backlink to you. Another business linking to your website is.
Ideally, those links come from established, credible websites with some relevance to your business or subject.
In the fraternity analogy, backlinks are somewhat like other people vouching for you.
Social Presence
An active presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other platforms expands your presence beyond your own website.
It can create additional paths to your content and opportunities for people and businesses to discover, mention, share, and link to your website.
Google Business Profile
For a local business, a Google Business Profile is an important part of Google’s understanding of the business and its local presence.
It can also affect whether and how the business appears in Google’s local results and Maps.
Website Structure
Google needs to be able to understand and navigate the website.
A well-organized site makes it easier for Google to determine what the website and its individual pages are about.
Website Performance
Page speed, image optimization, efficient code, and fast, reliable hosting all matter.
A poorly performing website can work against the other things being done correctly.
“This is another reason to keep a website well maintained.”
Mobile Usability
The website needs to function properly on phones, tablets, and other screen sizes.
Authority Over Time
Google also has the history it has accumulated about the website over time—its content, links, relevance, domain history, and other information.
This is about Google’s view of the website, not necessarily what a person visiting the website thinks about the company.
All of these things work together.
Doing one of them well does not automatically overcome weaknesses everywhere else.
And most importantly, your website is not being evaluated in isolation. It is competing against the other websites Google could show for the same search.
Why the Search Terms Matter So Much
Now we can return to the original assumption:
Higher ranking → more customers.
There is a missing piece.
Higher ranking for what?
If an SEO company gets you to #1 for a phrase almost nobody searches, you can legitimately be #1 on Google and receive almost no benefit from it.
That is why search demand matters.
The objective isn’t simply to rank.
It is to compete for searches that enough people are actually making to make the ranking worthwhile.
And that leads directly to one of the biggest problems business owners face when evaluating SEO.
A Ranking Report Can Be Completely Accurate and Still Be Misleading
An SEO company tells you:
“You’re #1 on Google.”
The first question should be:
For what search?
They tell you:
“You’re now ranking for 50 keywords.”
Again:
Which keywords, and how often are people searching for them?
This is important because the numbers don’t have to be false to create the wrong impression.
The numbers can be completely accurate and still tell you very little about whether your investment is working.
A ranking only has value in relation to the search that produced it.
What to Ask Before Hiring an SEO Company
You do not need to understand how an SEO company performs every part of its work.
What matters to the business owner is what the investment is expected to accomplish.
Before committing to SEO services, ask:
- Which searches are you trying to improve my ranking for?
- How many people are actually searching for those terms?
- How competitive are those searches?
- Where do I currently rank for them?
- What improvement do you realistically expect?
- How will you show me whether those rankings improved?
- How will we determine whether the investment is producing a return?
- How long should it realistically take before we can evaluate whether I’m seeing a return on my investment?
- What, exactly, are you guaranteeing?
- Why do I need a long-term contract?
Some of those questions cannot be answered with certainty.
That itself is important to understand.
Nobody outside Google controls Google’s organic rankings, and nobody can know in advance exactly how many customers an improved ranking will produce.
There is a difference between a reasonable expectation and a guarantee.
SEO Is Not ROI
This is the distinction that matters most.
SEO can improve your opportunity to be found on Google.
It cannot guarantee customers.
Once someone reaches your website, whether that person ultimately becomes a customer involves things beyond SEO—your website, reputation, pricing, competition, product or service, and sales process.
Those are separate subjects.
But from the business owner’s perspective, the reason for spending money on SEO is usually very simple:
You ultimately expect the investment to produce more money than it costs.
That is ROI.
So don’t judge an SEO company simply by how many keywords they rank, how much traffic increases, or whether they can show you a #1 position.
Those numbers may be useful, but they are not the final measurement.
The question is much simpler:
Is the money I’m spending on SEO producing enough value to justify what I’m paying for it?
If you understand that distinction, you are in a much better position to understand what an SEO company is actually offering—and whether it makes sense for your business.
