How To Improve SEO – Focus Only On What Matters

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

If you’re new to SEO, it can feel incredibly overwhelming. There’s a ton of advice out there — and not all of it actually helps your business grow.

The trick is knowing which parts of SEO are worth your time. Once you figure that out, you can stop guessing and start seeing real results.

So, let’s break down exactly how to improve SEO by focusing on the SEO tasks that matter.

How To Improve SEO? First, Ask the Most Important Question.

Before you even think about alt tags, schema markup, or other “technical” SEO tips, ask yourself one simple question:

Am I a local-facing business or a national-facing business (or both)?

This single question changes everything when it comes to how to improve SEO. Because the truth is, SEO isn’t one-size-fits-all anymore. The strategies that work for a local business aren’t the same ones that work for a brand targeting the entire country.

Let’s start with local SEO.

How To Improve SEO if You’re a Local Business

A local-facing business serves a specific area — think restaurants, dentists, plumbers, lawyers, salons, and home improvement services.

If that’s you, these four things will make the biggest difference for your SEO:

1. Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is a free listing that helps people find you in local searches — especially in the Google Map Pack (the box with the map and business listings at the top of local results).

If you don’t have one yet, search “Google Business Profile” and follow the steps to set it up. Or, go here and pick up our local business resource bundle to show you how to do it step by step.

Once your Google Business Profile is live, fill it out completely. Add:

• Accurate business info
• Services and categories
• Photos
• A detailed description

Pro tip: Use ChatGPT to help you pick the best business categories and write your description.
Just ask something like:

“What categories should I use for my Google Business Profile if I run a digital marketing agency?”

This step alone can get you visible in Google’s local results and improve SEO faster than almost anything else.

2. Fix Your Website Structure

Your business website should match what you claim in your Google Business Profile.

That means if you list three services and two locations, your website should have:

• 3 Individual pages for each service (that each mentions the 2 locations where you offer services)
• 2 Individual pages for each location (that each mentions each of the services you offer in those locations)

This helps Google clearly understand what you do and where you do it.

If your site is vague or focused on the wrong things (like selling products when you’re really a service business), it’ll confuse Google. To improve SEO as a local business, you need to have a clear site hierarchy that quickly and easily explains what you do and where you do it.

3. Get More 5-Star Reviews

Google loves businesses with strong reputations. And customers love social proof.

The businesses that show up in the Map Pack almost always have lots of high-quality reviews.

If you’re just getting started, start small. Ask happy customers directly — through email, text, or in person — to leave a review.

The “ask” really does work. Make it part of your routine when working to improve overall local SEO.

4. Build Citations

Citations are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (your “NAP”) across the web — on online business directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and industry-specific sites.

Google uses these to verify your business is real and consistent.

You can create these listings manually, or use tools that submit them in bulk for you. The more consistent your citations, the stronger your local SEO foundation.

How to Improve SEO If You’re a National-Facing Business

Now, if your business sells products or offers services nationwide, your SEO strategy looks totally different.

Here are the four things that move the needle fastest for national SEO:

1. Do Keyword Research for Long-Tail Keywords

Instead of targeting short, competitive keywords like “marketing agency,” go for long-tail phrases — specific questions or phrases that reflect how real people search.

Example: “how to put keywords in content for SEO”

Once you identify these phrases, build your content around them. Create detailed blog posts or landing pages that directly answer the search intent.

This helps your content show up in Google’s AI overviews and improves your SEO visibility across multiple related queries.

2. Leverage YouTube for Content Marketing (Seriously)

YouTube is referenced 200x more in AI search results than any other video platform.

That means creating YouTube content around your target keywords can dramatically improve SEO in both Google and AI search.

Pair your YouTube videos with blog posts on the same topic — and embed the videos into those posts.
This “content pairing” can help you rank for 3–5x more keywords.

3. Think of SEO as “Search Everywhere Optimization”

The game has changed. Improving SEO isn’t just about optimizing for Google anymore.

Today, Google, Bing, and AI search engines pull information from multiple platforms — YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, and others.

So, start creating content for more than just your website. Share insights on social, post videos, publish on LinkedIn — it all reinforces your authority and increases your chances of being cited in AI results.

4. Understand Query Fan-Out

Here’s where things get a bit advanced when improving your SEO — but important.

When someone searches for a question like “What is a mechanical keyboard?”, Google doesn’t just look for that exact answer. It also looks for related questions — like “how does a mechanical keyboard work?” or “what are the pros and cons?”

That’s called query fan-out.

To optimize for it:

• Create multiple pages or FAQs answering closely related questions.
• Make your site structure logical and interconnected.

The more context your content provides, the more likely AI search will surface it.

Improve SEO By Prioritizing Your Efforts

When it comes to how to improve SEO, forget the endless technical checklist.

If you focus on:

• Google Business Profile
• Website structure
• Reviews and citations (for local SEO)
• Keywords, YouTube, content diversification, and query fan-out (for national SEO)

You’ll see real results — without wasting hours on things that barely move the needle.

If you're needing help with an SEO content strategy, contact us for a FREE SEO content audit where we go over the strengths and opportunities currently on your website and where to start focusing your efforts!