Jul 10, 2025
Are you a developer or small business owner struggling
with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? In this episode of Search
Off the Record, Google Search Advocates John Mueller and Martin
Splitt break down the essentials of SEO for small businesses.
Learn practical tips for understanding your target
audience, crafting a content strategy, and measuring your SEO
efforts. They debunk SEO myths and explain when it’s time to hire
an SEO expert or agency. Get clarity on content strategy, technical
SEO basics, the importance of relevant content and how to measure
success.
This video is perfect for developers who are curious
about search and need a non-technical introduction to the SEO
space, and small business owners who want to improve their
website’s visibility in Google Search.
Resources:
Episode transcript
→https://goo.gle/sotr095-transcript
Chapters:
0:00 – Introduction: The SEO Questions We All Get
Asked
0:35 – SEO Starter Guide
0:58 – Defining Your Website Goals & Customer Focus
2:51 – Food Truck Example
4:20 – Understanding Your Customers & Search Intent
6:21- Content Strategy: What Should You Write About?
7:06 – Technical Foundation Check: Is Your Site Okay?
7:54 – Website Name Searching
9:46 – CMS
10:03- How to Approach Content Creation
11:52 – Getting Customer Feedback & Keyword Research
13:33 – How Serious Is My Goal
13:33: – How To Measure SEO Impact
14:30 – Monitoring Website Changes: Search Console & Analytics
16:03 – How Long Changes Take
17:41 – Staging Sites Vs Live Sites
18:44 – When to Hire an SEO Expert or Agency
21:14 – Red Flags SEO Promises
21:14 – Resources Mentioned
23:52 – How Long Does SEO Take
26:23 – AI and SEO
28:30 – Outro
Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt
Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral
Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes
you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations
team.
#SOTRpodcast #SEO
Speaker: Martin Splitt, Gary Illyes
Products
Mentioned:
Search Console,