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SEO FAQs
Search engine optimization (SEO) and digital marketing can be challenging areas for a number of reasons - Google's algorithms are always changing, there are an abundance of marketing options, AI has thrown a wrench into the mix and the competitive landscape adapts and grows.
SEO doesn't have to be overwhelming. When done effectively, it can be the long-game strategy that your company needs to outrank competitors and it's just as important for small businesses and retail. Local SEO can drive 50% of mobile searchers to visit a store within a day of searching, making it indispensable for brick-and-mortar businesses
Learn about the commonly asked questions regarding SEO & digital marketing.
What is SEO?
SEO (search engine optimization) is the practice of improving a website’s visibility and the quality of its organic (non-paid) traffic in search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO involves understanding what users are searching for, the words they’re using, and the type of content that satisfies their intent, then aligning your site accordingly.
SEO encompasses multiple disciplines:
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Content Marketing - Blog posts, whitepapers, infographics, and case studies that answer users’ questions and earn backlinks. Well-structured, in-depth content engages readers and signals expertise, authority and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) to search engines.
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On-page SEO - Optimize H1/H2 tags and meta descriptions, internal linking, content quality and keyword use.
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Off-page SEO - Link building, influencer collaborations brand mentions.
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Technical SEO - Crawling and indexing - optimize your robots.txt and XML sitemaps so search engines can discover and index all of your pages. Improve site speed and mobile-friendliness to meet Core Web Vitals and mobile usability standards. Implement schema markup to help search engines understand, index and rank your site.
Is there any guarantee with SEO?
Unfortunately there isn’t and if you encounter an SEO specialist who claims to guarantee #1 positions on Google, they are using unethical, black-hat SEO practices and Google will penalize you by de-indexing your site, meaning that it disappears from search engine results. Ethical SEO focuses on sustainable growth, transparency, and long-term results.
We can, however, make an educated guess about how your website will perform for certain keywords based on factors such as competition. If you don’t see your website creep up the charts for keywords within a couple months of content rollout, it’s time to find a new SEO agency.
How often do you need to update SEO content?
As your business goals evolve - you add a new product line, or service a new region, or decide to target a new demographic. The typical recommendation is to audit and realign your strategy every 3-6 months.
As a rule, you also want to update your content regularly so Google sees that you are staying relevant and up-to-date on industry trends. You might do this through updating existing webpages, adding new ones and publishing blog posts.
Blog posts are a significant part of an optimal on-page, website content strategy. It’s recommended to publish 1-2 times per week with a word count of approximately 1000-2000 words, though HubSpot states that 37% of companies publish 2-3 blog posts weekly and 22% daily. It’s common for small businesses to start out with a handful of high value posts and scale up when time and resources allow. The quality of your blog content is key, otherwise users won’t stick around to read your content and Google won’t boost your rankings as a result.
If you mix in evergreen content - how-to’s, local guides, whitepapers and case studies - that’s high value content that requires only periodic updating, earning backlinks and showing Google you’re an authority on a given subject.
How much does SEO and digital marketing cost?
This depends on the type of services you want - one time services or ongoing, multiple landing pages or a handful.
I offer a range of packages that cover the most common offerings clients are looking for. I also offer custom packages tailored to your needs.
Many clients choose a one time package, followed up with ongoing services, such as reporting and monitoring (ensuring your site doesn’t have errors, looking for low hanging fruit such as additional keywords or backlinks opportunities), backlinks outreach, blog post writing or additional content creation.
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Which industries work best for SEO?
All industries benefit from SEO!
The primary reason I focus on SEO and website content marketing is because of its longevity. A social media post mostly becomes buried within a couple days but you can see the effects of a well-executed SEO strategy for months. You will need to update content because your competitors are updating content, but with SEO, you’ve done the hard work of establishing your website and executing your initial keyword strategy.
Which industries does KC SEO work with?
I primarily work with small and medium sized businesses on the West Coast - Washington, Oregon, California. My current areas of focus are family-owned businesses, tourism and travel, local food, breweries and wineries, artisan and boutique craft shops, community and cultural organizations, fitness and wellness, retail, non-profits, farms and agriculture, entertainment, event and wedding venues, hospitality and more.
I have also worked on SEO, Google Ads, mobile app ideation and development, branding and rebranding for tech companies in Silicon Valley (where I grew up!).
What type of digital marketing is best for a small business?
There are a ton of options available to jumpstart your marketing campaign, including Google Ads, paid databases, guest articles, whitepapers, local collaborations - you name it. I stay on top of the best marketing strategies for small businesses so you don’t have to!
Contact me for a free consultation (including a quick analysis of your current marketing tactics and competitive landscape).
Check out my blog and some of my extensive guides:
How does SEO benefit small retail businesses? Is SEO worth it for retail?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) offers small retail businesses a cost-effective way to boost online visibility, attract targeted traffic, and drive both digital and foot-traffic sales by aligning content and technical site factors with what customers and search engines look for.
Small retail businesses with limited marketing budgets benefit significantly from SEO’s high ROI:
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Enhanced Online Visibility: SEO drives organic traffic without ongoing ad spend, making it especially cost-effective for small retailers.
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Local Foot Traffic: By optimizing for local search and Google Business Profiles, brick-and-mortar stores can draw nearby customers researching “near me” queries.
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Improved Brand Trust: Ranking on page one of search results conveys credibility. 75% of users never scroll past the first page.
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Long-Term Growth: Unlike paid ads that stop working when budgets run out, SEO builds equity—quality content and links continue to generate traffic over months and years.
Pro Tips
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Identify high-intent keywords (e.g., product + location). Tools like Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest can reveal terms your local customers use.
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Publish product pages, blog posts, and whitepapers that address local customer needs (e.g., seasonality, store events). Rich, helpful content earns backlinks and rankings.
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Collaborate with local blogs, influencers, news sites and community organizations for mentions and links. Write helpful articles for niche publications, linking back to your store pages.
Take the Next Step in Your SEO Journey
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How long does it take to implement SEO?
On-page SEO - optimizing titles, headings, meta tags, content, and site structure - can be implemented quickly (often within weeks) but typically shows measurable improvements in 3–6 months. Off-page SEO - building local citations, backlinks, and social signals—takes longer to mature, with notable gains often visible after 6–12 months and requiring ongoing effort.
On-Page SEO
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Estimated Setup Time: 1–4 weeks (initial audit & fixes)
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Time to Noticeable Results: 3–6 months (traffic & rankings)
Local Citations
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Estimated Setup Time: 1–2 weeks (profile creation)
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Time to Noticeable Results: 3–6 months (local pack visibility)
Backlink Building
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Estimated Setup Time: Ongoing (2–10 hours/week)
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Time to Noticeable Results: 6–12+ months (domain authority growth)
Content Production
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Estimated Setup Time: 2–8 hours/article or asset
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Time to Noticeable Results: 6–9 months (cumulative traffic uplift)
Do I need an SEO consultant or SEO agency? Can’t I just do it myself?
You can absolutely do SEO yourself! It just takes a lot of time and effort, especially in the beginning when you’re figuring out what works. Even then, SEO is simply time consuming (see below for more details).
DIY SEO vs. Hiring a Professional
Cost
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DIY - Lower upfront. Limited by your time.
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Agency - Higher monthly retainer.
Expertise
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DIY - Learning curve. Error-prone.
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Agency - Specialized skills.
Time Commitment
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DIY - Significant, especially initially.
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Agency - Handles execution.
Scalability
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DIY - Limited by bandwidth.
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Agency - Easier to scale.
If you aren’t sure whether you need an SEO professional, start out with a free consultation and perhaps ongoing advisory sessions so you can ask questions as you learn and progress.
How long does it take to see results from SEO?
While the industry standard generally says not to expect results for a minimum of 2-3 months after launching an SEO strategy, I have personally had success after just a few weeks of building out a website architecture and writing content (roughly 10 webpages and a handful of blog posts). By success, I mean that I saw e-newsletter sign ups and client consultation requests.
On the other hand, I’ve had cases where I’m able to rank within the first couple pages of Google for a few keywords within 2-3 months but it takes 3-5 months to rank for additional keywords (mostly with highly technical, B2B SEO projects). This is primarily due to the amount of content that needs to be created (and backlink relationships that need to be established) to rank highly for keywords where major players have dominated the space for a decade+!
Why does it take so long to see results from SEO?
The predominant method for Google to see you as a major player is for you to signal E-E-A-T - expertise, authority and trustworthiness. This simply means, Google needs to see you as an authority for a given subject. If you have multiple disciplines or industries you’re aiming to rank for, it will be more time consuming to rank for each of those targeted keywords due to the amount of content and backlinks you need to generate.
It takes time to build backlinks the right way (also known as “ethical SEO”) because you need to individually reach out to news outlets, blogs, etc. A lot of businesses are submitting article requests to these channels, so it naturally takes a while to parse through the noise and approve article requests.
In this case, it can work well to first rank for keywords that have lower traffic, but also lower competition. I do this on my own website. Granted, it helps that my goal is to work primarily with small and medium-sized businesses in the PnW. I’m able to focus on strategic keywords such as “small business SEO Seattle” or “small business marketing Washington,” rather than competing for the highly competitive keyword “SEO.”
Is it better to do on-page or off-page SEO?
While both on-page and off-page SEO are crucial, you should typically focus on on-page SEO first—because it’s entirely within your control and lays the foundation for user satisfaction and crawlability. On-page SEO provides immediate, in-your-control improvements to your site’s relevance and user experience, while off-page SEO builds authority over time through signals from other domains. Once your site’s content, structure, and technical health are solid, invest in off-page efforts to build authority and compete in your niche.
Is SEO a one-time thing or do I need to optimize regularly for Google (and other search engines)?
Because search algorithms evolve constantly, effective SEO is never “finished”—it requires ongoing measurement and adjustment to maintain and improve rankings. Google updates its algorithm hundreds of times each year, which can impact rankings unpredictably.
It is common to revisit keyword strategies, content performance, backlink profiles and technical audits regularly - often quarterly or monthly - to adapt to algorithm changes and evolving user behavior. Continuous optimization ensures you maintain visibility, drive growth, and stay ahead of competitors in search results.
Can you use AI for SEO content generation? Will Google penalize you for using AI? When is it appropriate to use AI?
As of April 2025, Google does not penalize for AI-generated content. I use ChatGPT all the time to generate summaries, drafts, develop ideas for new content, find case studies and detailed industry reports that supports my research.
I frequently ask ChatGPT to assess what I write - “what are the strengths and weaknesses of this blog post?” “where can I improve?” “what links and case studies can I use to strengthen my content?” I use it to find good options of places to submit guest article requests or to discover ideal clients I hadn’t considered - “find newer small businesses in the Seattle area that match the following criteria.”
Based on my current needs, I have used ChatGPT to write entire drafts for website pages and then heavily edit this content. In select cases, this works well to generate a lot of content quickly but not every business sees a benefit from this - especially if you’re a boutique business trying to connect with customers. Robotic-sounding, ChatGPT content will not serve you well.
For a while, I tried to get ChatGPT to speed up my blog post writings more. (1-2 blog posts a week is a lot when you’re starting out!) But ChatGPT felt stiff and, well, terrible. I tried to feed it a bunch of content I wrote to establish what “in my own words” or “using my voice” meant but as of April 2025, Chat GPT isn’t there yet.
I usually find that once I have an idea that resonates with me, it goes very quickly to write a bunch of content. I often set out to write the average word count but frequently exceed that number by 1k words. It’s a good problem to have though! If the content resonates with me to the point where I want to put in the extra work, it will resonate with my target audience too. No AI-generated content can do that.
How do you optimize for AI summaries?
Implement Schema Mark Up
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AI summarization engines rely on schema to identify and extract the most relevant content. Implement JSON-LD or microdata to mark up key page elements (e.g., articles, FAQs, products).
Quality over Quantity
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AI overviews favor pages that thoroughly address a query’s intent (like a FAQ page!). Aim for comprehensive articles with clear headings, subheadings and detailed explanations to signal topical authority.
Maintain Sound Technical SEO Health!
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Fast load times, mobile optimization, and clean HTML boost the likelihood that AI bots will surface your content. Regularly audit with tools like Google Analytics, Ahrefs or SEMRush or similar to ensure technical health.
Monitor & Iterate
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Run regular experiments to see which content structures AI overviews cite, and adjust your strategy based on real-world patterns in AI summaries.
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What else do I need to know about AI and SEO?
It is important to note that AI has changed the playing field when it comes to search engine optimization. Users are getting their information from Google itself. In fact, “nearly 60% of Google searches [ended] without a click in 2024.” The need to click through into a website hardly exists anymore.
This means that you need to prioritize creating high quality content on your website so users regularly come across your brand in AI summaries.
Another aspect of the AI search summary is that these searches take up significant real estate on the 1st page of Google. Between the AI summary and Google Ads, fewer companies are seeing their content showcased on that 1st page, making competition even more difficult.
How do you optimize for voice search?
Target Conversational, Long-Tail Queries
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Research questions users ask aloud - think “How do I…” or “What is the best way to…” - and naturally incorporate those full-phrase queries into your content.
Provide Concise, Standalone Answers
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Voice assistants often read out short, direct answers (around 30 words). Place these concise responses immediately after the question in your content to increase chances of being read aloud.
Leverage FAQ and Q&A Schema
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Implement FAQ page schema to structure question-answer pairs. This both enhances traditional snippets and feeds voice assistants with easily parsed answers.
Aim for Featured Snippets
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Format definitions, step-by-step instructions, and lists in bullet-point or numbered formats. Featured snippets often serve as the source for voice responses.
Emphasize Local SEO
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Ensure your Google Business Profile, NAP (Name-Address-Phone), and local citations are up to date. Over 50% of voice searches are local in nature, e.g., “near me” queries.
How do you optimize for social media?
1. Post Regularly
Maintain a regular schedule to fully optimize your account for social media algorithms.
2. Optimize Profile Metadata
Include your primary keywords in social profile names, handles, and bios so that both in-app and external search engines surface your account.
3. Use Relevant Hashtags and Keywords
Add concise, niche-specific hashtags and keywords in post captions. Avoid hashtag stuffing. Prioritize relevance to your audience’s search behavior.
4. Add Descriptive Alt Text and Links
Write clear alt text for images and include trackable links (with UTM parameters) in post descriptions to signal topic relevance and measure referral traffic.
5. Enable Social Sharing and Embeds
Provide embed codes, share buttons, and RSS feeds to encourage manual distribution. This activity amplifies link signals and user engagement metrics.
6. Maintain Consistent Brand & Keyword Strategy
Use uniform naming conventions and keyword themes across platforms. Consistency reinforces topical relevance and aids algorithmic understanding.
7. Track Performance & Iterate
Leverage in-platform analytics and social SEO tools to monitor reach, engagement, and referral traffic, then refine your tactics accordingly.