SEO Made Simple: How to Get Found on Google Without Being an Expert

Episode #122: SEO Made Simple – How to Get Found on Google Without Being an Expert

If you’ve ever felt like SEO is too complicated, too technical, or just one more thing on your never-ending to-do list, this episode is for you.

Your dream clients are searching for what you offer right now. But if your content isn’t optimized for search, they might never find you. The good news? You don’t need to be an SEO expert to start ranking on Google.

In this episode of Tech Savvy 101, I’m breaking SEO down into simple, actionable steps that help your content show up in search results... without needing advanced tech skills or hours of keyword research.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know exactly how to make your website and content SEO-friendly so that Google and your ideal customers can find you.

IN THIS EPISODE, I DISCUSS:

➔ The must-know basics of SEO and how to optimize your content to rank on Google
➔ Simple keyword research and content strategies that attract your ideal audience
➔ The truth about SEO timelines, myths, and what actually works for small businesses

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

📌 Keywords Everywhere – My go-to SEO tool for simple keyword research

🎧 Episode #113: Keyword Research Made Easy: A Beginner’s Guide to SEO With Keywords Everywhere

🚀 Join the waitlist for AI Evergreen Content Machine

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

01:18 – Understanding SEO: The Basics
03:03 – On-Page SEO: Optimizing Your Website
08:11 – Creating Content That Answers Questions
10:32 – Technical SEO: Making Your Content Google-Friendly
12:21 – Internal Linking: Building Authority
14:04 – Local SEO: Optimizing for Local Searches
16:00 – Keyword Research Simplified
17:38 – The Timeline of SEO Results
19:33 – Debunking SEO Myths
21:11 – Conclusion and Next Steps

LET'S CONNECT

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📺 YouTube
📱 Instagram
💡 LinkedIn
🖥️ Website
💻 Facebook Group

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Transcript

Sarah Baker 0:00

Did you know that right now, at this very moment, your dream clients are searching for the exact solution that you offer? But they might never find you! What if I told you that by the end of this episode, you could have a simple plan to change that forever? Welcome to Tech Savvy 101, AI and Automation Made Simple. Hi, I'm Sarah Baker, your new Tech Savvy Bestie. I'm a technology and automation coach, an online business owner, and a crazy busy mom of three kids under 10. Whether you're just starting to explore AI, or you're ready to level up your tech game, I'm here to help make it all feel absolutely doable. No complicated jargon, no endless tutorials, just shortcuts and simple solutions that you can start using in your business right away. So, if you're ready to start saving hours every day with smart systems and AI tools, you're in the right place. Let's get started. Welcome back to Tech Savvy 101 AI Automation Made Simple. I'm your host, Sarah Baker, your tech savvy bestie, who's here to help you simplify your business, embrace automation, and save hours every week. Today, we're tackling something that I know might make you Breakout in a Cold Sweat, SEO, aka Search Engine Optimization. Those three little letters that seem to hold so much power over whether your amazing content actually gets seen by the people who need it most. If you've ever thought, I know, I should be doing SEO, but it all seems so freaking complicated, or I don't have time to become an SEO expert on top of everything else, then this episode is my love letter to you. By the end of our time together, you'll have super simple approach to SEO that won't require a marketing degree or hours of keyword research. I'm going to break this down into bite sized actionable steps that you can implement right away, even if tech makes you nervous. Let's dive in. Let's start with the absolute basics. What exactly is SEO anyway? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. In plain English, it is the process of making your website and your content More visible to search engines, like Google, so that when someone, like your dream client, searches for something, like your content related to what you offer, your business shows up in the result. Think about how you use Google yourself. When you need to find something, you type in a question or a few keywords, and Google presents you with a list of options. SEO is all about helping your business appear higher on that list for searches that are relevant to what you do. There are three main components of SEO. First, there's on page SEO. That is everything you do on your actual website to help search engines understand your content. This includes using the right keywords, organizing your content with clear headings and making sure that your site loads quickly. Second, there's off page SEO, which is mostly about getting other reputable websites to link back to your site. This is like getting a vote of confidence that tells Google that your content is trustworthy. And third, there is technical SEO, which involves the behind the scenes stuff, like making sure your site is mobile friendly, secure and properly indexed by search engines. Now, if that already sounds overwhelming, take a deep breath. The good news is that you don't need to become an expert in all three areas. For most small businesses and entrepreneurs, focusing on the basics of on page SEO will get you 80 percent of the results with 20 percent of the effort. This is especially important when you consider that Google processes over 8. 5 billion searches per day, according to Internet Live Stats. That is a lot of people looking for solutions, and your job is to make sure that your content matches what they're actually searching for. Here's how to put this into action. Take your top three to five services or products and write down what questions someone might ask when they're looking for that solution. And don't overthink this. Just imagine that you're having coffee with someone who needs your help. What would they ask you? For example, if you're a virtual assistant, these questions might include, how do I know if I need a virtual assistant? Or what tasks can I outsource to a VA? And how much does a virtual assistant cost? Each of these questions represents a different search intent, and each one is an opportunity for you to create content that answers that specific question. Now, let's move on to strategy number two, creating content that actually answers those questions. Once you know what questions your ideal clients are asking, it's time to create content that directly answers those questions. Now, the key here is specificity. Instead of creating one general blog post about virtual assistant services, you'd create specific content for each individual question. This could look like a blog post, 10 signs it's time to hire a virtual assistant, or 23 tasks you can outsource to a VA today. Or maybe you create a virtual assistant pricing guide, what to expect and how to budget. Each piece of content should have a clear, specific title that includes the main keyword or question. An introduction that quickly shows you understand the problem. It should also include content that directly answers the question. without the fluff. And it should also include practical next steps and a clear call to action. And here's my favorite simple hack. Use the question as your headline, word for word. If someone is searching, how much does a virtual assistant cost? And your headline is, how much does a virtual assistant cost? A complete pricing guide. You're immediately signaling to both Google and the person searching that your content matches what they're looking for. HubSpot research shows that websites that blog consistently generate 55 percent more traffic than those that don't. And it's not just about creating new content. Even updating old blog posts with fresh content can increase organic traffic by up to 106%. That's huge bang for your buck when you think about that time investment. And for those of you thinking about using AI to help with your content creation, you're ahead of the curve. Gartner predicts that AI generated content is expected to power at least 90 percent of all online content by 2026. Just make sure that you're always adding your personal experience and expertise to keep it unique and valuable. The third strategy to consider is making your content easy for Google to understand. Now that you have great content that actually answers your ideal client's questions, You need to make sure Google can easily understand what your content is about. Don't worry, this isn't the technical part that scares everyone away from SEO. Here are the only technical SEO elements you really need to worry about. First, your page title. This is your H1 heading. This should clearly state what the page is about and include your main keyword. Keep it under 60 characters so it displays fully in search results. Second, your meta description. Think of this as your search result ad copy. It should entice people to click through to your website. Aim to keep it under 155 characters and make sure it also includes your main keyword. Third, use subheadings. This should be h2 or h3 to break up your content. This helps both readers and google understand the structure of your content. Each subheading should be descriptive and can include related keywords. Fourth, make sure your content is easy to read on mobile. This is something so many people forget to check and google prioritizes mobile friendly content. So make sure you check how your site looks on your phone. And here's a tool that makes it super simple. If you're using WordPress, download the free Yoast SEO plugin. It gives you little red, yellow, and green lights to show you if you've optimized these elements correctly, just follow the prompts until you get a green light. Strategy number four is building authority through internal linking. This strategy is my secret weapon because almost nobody talks about how powerful it is for small business SEO. Internal linking simply means linking from one page on your website to another page on your website. It helps Google understand the relationship between your content and which pages on your website are most important. Here's how to do it. Every time you create a new piece of content link to two to three other relevant pages on your site And don't forget to go back to your existing content to add links to your new content Think of your website like a journey. How is the person navigating your website? that you're going to get from point A to point B to point C. Where do you want them to go next? I even have a post it note stuck to my computer monitor that says, where to next? As a constant reminder of this, you don't want any dead ends in your customer's journey because dead ends means that they click away and leave your website. For example, if you write that pricing guide for virtual assistant services, you might link to your services page, your how to work with me page, and perhaps even a case study or a testimonial page. This creates pathways for both Google and your readers, or potential customers, to discover more of your content. It keeps people on your site longer, which Google loves, and helps establish your expertise on related topics. The best part? It takes about five minutes to do and has a huge impact on your SEO over time. The next strategy is optimizing for local SEO. This is important if you serve a local market. If not, you can skip this section. If you have a local business or serve clients in a specific geographic area, local SEO is your new best friend. It's actually easier to rank for local searches because you're only competing with other businesses in your area, not the entire world wide web. This is huge because according to Google, local searches lead 76 percent of mobile users to visit a business within 24 hours. That means when someone searches for a service in their area, three out of four people are looking to take action right away. Here's a super simple local SEO checklist. First claim and optimize your Google business profile, which was formerly called Google my business. This is completely free and is absolutely essential for local businesses. Make sure that you verify your business, add your correct business hours. Upload good photos of your business and choose the right categories for what you do, as well as add your services or products. Second, get consistent with your N A P, that's name, address, and phone number. Make sure your information is exactly the same across your website. your Google business profile and any other online directories. Third, encourage happy clients to leave Google reviews. Reviews are huge for local SEO and the easiest way to get them is simply to ask. After a positive interaction, send a follow up email with a direct link to your Google review page. These three really simple steps will put you ahead of 80 percent of local businesses when it comes to showing up in local searches. Now let's address the elephant in the room. What about the dreaded keyword research? Isn't that a huge part of SEO? Yes, it is. It's important, but it doesn't have to be complicated. Here's my simplified approach that doesn't require fancy, expensive tools or hours of research. One, start with Google's autocomplete. Type the beginning of a question that your ideal customers might ask into Google and see what suggestions pop up. Don't hit enter. These are actual searches people are making. If you start the sentence, see what it completes before you hit enter. Step two, scroll the bottom of the search results page to find the related searches section. These are more great keyword ideas. And step three, check out the people also ask boxes in the search results. These will show you related questions people are asking about your topic. And that's it. This gives you real search data without needing expensive keyword tools or complicated spreadsheets. If you do want to go a step further, I recommend the free tool Keywords Everywhere, or you can upgrade to their basic plan, which is only$6 a month. It gives you 400,000 credits, that show you search volume data right in your Google search results. This should be plenty for most small businesses. I've done a whole episode about how to use this tool. I will link to it in the show notes. It is Episode#113, Keyword Research Made Easy: A Beginner's Guide to SEO With Keywords Everywhere. Now, let's talk about a common question. How long does SEO take to work? And here's the honest truth. SEO is not an overnight strategy. It typically takes about three to six months to start seeing significant results from your SEO efforts. But the good news is that once you start ranking, these results tend to snowball over time. Think of SEO like planting seeds in your business garden. You're not going to get tomatoes tomorrow, but with consistent care, you'll eventually have more than you can eat. This is an essential part of your evergreen business strategy. The key here is consistency. It's much better to publish one well optimized blog post every month than to publish 10 in one month and then nothing for the rest of the year and the return on investment, it's pretty freaking incredible. According to Search Engine Journal, SEO leads have a 14. 6 percent close rate compared to only 1. 7 percent for outbound leads like cold calling. That means people who find you through Search Engine are nearly nine times more likely to become customers than people who you chase down. Businesses that invest in SEO see an average ROI or return on investment of 275 percent over time. That's an insane return for any business investment. And if you're thinking about adding video to your content strategy, that's another SEO win. Forrester Research found that pages with video content are 53 times more likely to rank on the first page of Google. That's not 53%. That's 53 times more likely. Before we wrap up, let's quickly cover the biggest SEO myths that you're welcome to completely ignore. Myth number one, you need to pay thousands for SEO experts or you can't rank. Wrong. So what's the truth? Well, while good SEO professionals are definitely worth their weight in gold, many small businesses can handle their basic SEO needs in house with just the strategies we've discussed today. Myth number two, you need to stuff your content with keywords to rank. Wrong. So, what's the truth? Keyword stuffing can actually hurt your rankings. Google's priority is providing valuable content to searchers, not rewarding people who cram the most keywords onto a page. Myth number three. SEO is all about technical backend stuff. Wrong. So, what's the truth? While technical SEO does matter, content quality and relevance are far more important for most small businesses. So focus on creating content that answers real questions that real people are asking. Myth number four. Once you rank, you're set forever. Wrong. So what's the truth? SEO does require ongoing attention. Search trends change, competitors emerge, and Google updates its algorithm. The good news is that if you're regularly creating helpful content, you're already doing the most important maintenance. And there you have it. A simple, actionable approach to SEO that doesn't require you to become an expert or spend hours on complicated strategies. Remember, the most important things are understanding what questions your ideal customers are asking. Create content that directly answers those questions. Make that content easy for both people and Google to understand and be consistent with your content creation. This approach to SEO is all about working smarter, not harder. It's about connecting with the right people who are already looking for what you offer, rather than trying to convince people who just aren't interested. If you're excited about implementing these strategies but want a complete system for creating content that drives traffic to your business 24/7, I have something special for you. I'm opening up the waitlist for my AI Evergreen Content Machine course, where I'll teach you exactly how to use SEO strategies combined with AI tools to create content that continues to bring you traffic, generate dream leads, and bring in sales for months or even years to come. Inside AI Evergreen Content Machine, you'll learn how to identify the perfect SEO topics for your specific business, my step-by-step system for creating content that ranks on Google without spending hours on keyword research, how to use AI tools to speed up your content creation process without losing your unique voice, the exact content repurposing framework I use to turn one piece of content into multiple assets that work across platforms, and my proven strategy for creating content that drives traffic and converts that traffic into actual customers. This isn't about getting more traffic, it's about creating a consistent automated system that brings qualified leads to your business without needing to do cringeworthy social trends or live on your phone 24/7. To join the waitlist and be first to know when doors open, head to the link in the show notes. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of Tech Savvy 101. If you found this helpful, I'd love it if you could subscribe and leave a review. It helps other tech curious entrepreneurs like you find the show. I'll see you really soon.