What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimisation, the process of getting traffic to your website through free, organic search results. In simple terms, it's about improving where you sit on the search results page, and the higher you're listed, the more people see you. Say someone types in "mortgage broker Perth", SEO is what decides how far up that list your website shows up. And the higher you rank, the more business can find its way to you. 

The good news for Smart website users is that sites are built on a search-friendly foundation, so much of the groundwork for ranking on local searches like this is handled for you. 

What helps your SEO?

A great place to start is with your Google Business Profile. Creating or claiming yours is one of the most important steps you can take, it's what helps your business appear in Google Search and Google Maps, making it easy for customers to find, contact, and trust you. A fully completed, regularly updated profile can genuinely lift your enquiries, website visits, and local rankings. Just keep your details consistent, your business name, contact details, and website address should match everywhere online. 

Your website itself should clearly explain what you do, show who you help, and highlight where you operate. Use the words your customers would actually search within page content. Think "Home Loans for First Home Buyers in Perth" and make sure it's all easy for both people and search engines to understand.

Check out the essentials checklist in our SEO Basics guide to get more information.

Making real improvements

Ready to go further? Write your own blog posts or articles, build out an FAQ section that answers real customer questions, and personalise your 'About' page with your story, experience, values, team, and a few photos. If you're using a Smart website, the Elementor editor makes each of these easy to add and update yourself, while keeping your brand front and centre. 

Then tailor your pages with the right keywords. Think like your customer, what would they type into Google to find someone like you? Focus on phrases that combine your service and your location, and use them naturally. "We help first home buyers in Perth find suitable home loan options tailored to their needs" reads a lot better than cramming "Perth home loans" into every sentence.

Quick wins worth getting right

A handful of small tweaks can noticeably shift how you show up in search, locally and otherwise:

•  Put your location where it counts, "Mortgage Broker in Perth" works a lot harder than just "Mortgage Broker." Mention your city, suburbs, or service areas naturally through your page content and headings. 
• Consider a dedicated page for each area you cover, and keep content personalised rather than templated.
• Encourage happy clients to leave a Google review, it does wonders for trust and visibility.
• Watch for the common traps: too many keywords, stale content, missing page titles and meta descriptions, forgetting mobile users, or writing for search engines instead of real people.

Get this right, and you're already ahead of most.

Give it time

SEO is a long game, and that's a good thing. It rewards brokers who keep their website fresh, their keywords relevant, and their details current. Give it a few months, sometimes up to six, and you'll start to see it: better rankings, more traffic, and a digital presence working for you around the clock.

SEO Basics guide

Want to put these tips into practice? The full guide pulls it all together, practical tips for building a stronger online presence, simple steps to improve your visibility, and step-by-step instructions for Smart website users. 

Ready to get set up right from the start?

 Sign up to Smart and get a website that's SEO-ready from day one.