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The SEO Specialists for service-based businesses

FAQ

This isn’t your usual generic SEO FAQ page! Here are some of the questions we are most frequently asked.

No AI slop or unintelligible jargon – just real questions, and real answers, in plain English. You’re welcome 😉 .

What is SEO anyway?!

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a way of helping your website and business appear near the top of search engine results like Google, and be referenced in AI answers. 

The goal is to help more potential customers find your business when they search for the products or services you offer. Or, as we like to say at Front Page SEO: 

“Get Clicks. Get Calls. Get Clients.”

How long does SEO take to work?

I really wish I could tell you the effect is instantaneous, but the reality is SEO is a long-term strategy. While some improvements can be seen within weeks, it can take 3, 6 or even 12 months before you’ll see meaningful results.

Do I really need ongoing SEO?

SEO is not “set and forget”. While there is a handful of industries or niches which achieve great results on the back of one of our SEO Starter Packages, these are becoming increasingly rare. 

I like to think of SEO as a garden – it benefits from regular feeding and watering, pruning and weeding. Search engines evolve, competitors up the stakes, and your business changes. Ongoing SEO helps ensuring your website stays competitive and continues attracting the right sort of traffic.

What’s the difference between SEO and Google Ads?

Both involve “keywords” – but the keywords are likely to be very different; and with both, you’ll most likely need to pay an expert to get decent results.

SEO focuses on improving your position in organic search over time, while Google Ads is paid advertising.

As soon as you stop your Ad spend, the leads dry up; whereas once your SEO is doing well, it can continue to drive enquiries for months, even years to come. This is why some of our long-term clients have been able to drop back to a maintenance package! Bet you won’t find too many agencies that offer this loyalty reward 😉 .

What’s the SEO process?

While I can’t speak for other agencies, here at Front Page SEO it generally begins when a business owner books a free SEO Checkup. During this Zoom consult we analyse how the business is currently performing in the search engines and AI; what’s working well – and what isn’t. After this diagnostic, we provide our recommendations, based on the business owner’s goals and budget.

Should you decide to engage our services, we start by asking questions so we can gain a solid understanding of your business – so important if we are to promote it online.

In addition to an in-depth analysis of your site, we conduct keyword research which guides us in formulating a suitable SEO strategy to be rolled out in coming months. This strategy will likely include the following:

  • Onsite Optimisation – things we do “on” your website – writing blog posts, optimising existing web pages, etc.
  • Offsite Optimisation – things we do “off” your website – building the reputation of your business through backlinks, brand mentions, etc.
  • Google Business Profile – optimising and managing your listing.

All of these are designed to improve your visibility online, and to bring in more relevant queries.

Why isn’t my website showing up on Google?

This could be due to any, or a combination, of the following factors:

  • Your website is brand new
  • Your site isn’t properly indexed by Google
  • Not targetting the right keywords
  • No optimisation has been done
  • Your competitors are stronger
  • Technical issues

While these can sometimes be identified through our free SEO Checkup, others require more investigation.

How does SEO help with AI search?

You’ve probably heard different terms for AI search bandied around – AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation), GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) and several others.

The basic principles are the same as in SEO – however, there is a little more to it if you want your business to be cited in responses by AI platforms such as ChatGPT.

How do I know if my SEO is working?

As an SEO professional I get very excited about seeing your keyword rankings improve – because I know what we’re doing is starting to work!

However that doesn’t necessarily mean much to the business owner. They’re far more interested in getting more clicks, calls and clients – so that’s the true measure of success.

I love it when I get a phone call and they tell me “I found you in Google! (or ChatGPT)” – because then I know that my own SEO is working 🙂 . (You’d be surprised how many agencies don’t prioritise their OWN search engine optimisation … )

Got a question we haven’t covered here? Want to find out more?

Contact admin@frontpageseo.com.au or book your free SEO Checkup today!