What to know before spending money on SEO – it’s a question worth asking before you hire an SEO company for your business website.

This post was prompted by a real-life experience. I asked Siri, “How do I prepare my S-fold sheer curtains for dry cleaning?” Optimistically, I clicked on one of the first results. It was a mess: cluttered and confusing to read. So was the next. By the time I reached page two, I’d seen ten sites – none of which answered my question clearly.

As a marketer, it reminded me that good SEO isn’t just about being found. It’s about being useful. So if you’re considering SEO for your business, here’s how to make sure you’re not just ticking boxes, but genuinely reaching customers in a meaningful way.

SEO – search engine optimisation – is the process of improving your website so it appears in internet search results when potential customers look for products or services like yours.

The goal is usually to rank on the first page of Google, especially for keywords relevant to your business (e.g. marketing services Adelaide or custom shed builder Port Augusta). It matters because Intergrowth’s 2025 SEO statistics show:

• 3 in 4 people never scroll past page one of search results

• 1 in 4 click on the very first result

No wonder it’s referred to as digital real estate!

The problem with SEO done badly

In theory, SEO is one of the most targeted and cost-effective ways to attract people already searching for what you do. But in practice, it often fails – not because SEO doesn’t work, but because it’s implemented with the wrong mindset or without an overarching marketing strategy. Here’s how you know it’s gone wrong:

1. Content becomes robotic.

Many SEO companies still write blogs and landing pages that prioritise keywords over humans. This often leads to keyword stuffing – where words or phrases are repeated unnaturally to try and manipulate rankings. If your website says “affordable plumber Adelaide” eight times in one paragraph, you’re not building trust – you’re pushing people away. And Google penalises that now.

2. The website ranks… but no one stays.

You might land on page one, but if your content is vague, confusing or unhelpful, visitors will leave. That behaviour (known as your ‘bounce rate’) signals to Google that your site isn’t valuable and your rankings may drop. Even worse, you can damage your brand – you might be personal, warm and helpful in real life!

3. Business owners can’t make sense of the results.

A monthly report showing charts and traffic stats can look impressive, but data is simply information to make management decisions. To understand whether your SEO is working, you will need complementary sources to help you understand whether you’re attracting the right people, what actions they’re taking, and how your SEO is contributing to your broader marketing goals.

4. The tail wags the dog.

SEO is just one tactic. It should align with your business goals, your market, and what your customers actually need. SEO works best when it’s treated as part of a strategy – not seen as the strategy.

Before you spend money on SEO: ask these 3 questions

Before you go further, it’s worth pausing to consider what to know before spending money on SEO – because when it’s done without strategy, it can become a costly distraction.

1. Is SEO the right fit for your business? Depending on your audience and how they buy, you might see better results from email marketing, partnerships, local PR, or targeted ads. SEO is one option – not a silver bullet.

2. Is your website ready? If your site is hard to navigate, unclear, or doesn’t reflect your brand, SEO won’t help. It might just draw more attention to the problem. It

3. Can you commit to the long game? SEO is not instant. It takes time, consistency and a willingness to invest in content, updates and technical upkeep.

A good SEO company will help you understand what your customers are actually searching for – but it starts with behaviour, not buzzwords. That morning, I didn’t type “dry cleaning method for S-fold sheer curtains.” My thought process was more like, “I should get them cleaned… maybe I can take them somewhere?”

That’s the messy, human thinking SEO strategy needs to reflect. Once you understand how people really search, you can structure your website around it – from visible content like page titles and headings to behind-the-scenes details like meta descriptions and image names.

Yes, you can do some of this yourself – there are free tools, courses and language models can assist you. But SEO is layered, technical, and rarely satisfying unless it’s your thing. That’s why most businesses outsource it to a specialist.

Final thoughts

SEO can be a valuable long-term investment but it is something you should consider strategically. It works well when it’s built around real customer thinking and should fit into your broader strategy – not be the strategy. It relies on your website being ready because there’s no point bringing people through the door if they’re just going to turn back around and leave again. And if you’re looking for instant results, SEO probably isn’t the place to start. I once heard it described as the equivalent of hiring a personal trainer, where search advertising is liposuction. 

Done well, SEO will help your business show up at the right time, in the right searches, for people who are at least curious if not immediately ready to buy. But like everything in marketing, it works best when it’s guided by and connected to the bigger stratecy.