SEO.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It refers to everything you do on your website to help search engines like Google understand its content and show it to people who are searching for exactly that. In its SEO Starter Guide (as of December 18, 2025), Google describes SEO as work that helps search engines understand content. For a business, this means, in practical terms: Anyone searching for “electrician Hürth” should end up on your site—not your competitors’.

How SEO Works

According to its own guidelines, Google operates in three stages: crawling, indexing, and serving search results. During crawling, automated programs find your pages and retrieve them. During indexing, Google tries to understand what a page is about and stores it. During serving, Google selects the most relevant pages from the index in response to a search query.

SEO addresses all three stages. Your pages must be accessible, clearly state what they’re about, and effectively answer the searcher’s question. According to Google, it can take anywhere from a few hours to several months after a change is made before any results become visible. There is no guarantee of a specific ranking position, and Google explicitly states: “Google does not accept payment to rank a website higher in search results.”

What Your Business Should Keep in Mind

Give each major service its own page. A page for bathroom renovations and one for heating system replacements are clearer to Google and to customers than a single page that covers everything. Our keyword research, based on a real-world example, shows which terms your customers actually use.

Mention the location and service area in the text. If you work regionally, include the locations where customers will see them: in headings, service descriptions, and testimonials. This also includes a well-maintained Google Business Profile.

Check regularly to see if Google is indexing your pages at all. You can do this for free in Google Search Console. The SEO Check gives you a quick overview of titles, descriptions, and technical details.

Be wary of ranking guarantees. If Google itself doesn't promise a specific ranking, no reputable agency can either. Instead, ask what measures are planned and how progress will be measured.

Frequently Asked Questions About SEO

How long does it take for SEO to take effect? According to Google, anywhere from a few hours to several months. So plan in terms of months and measure progress based on inquiries, not on individual days.

Can I buy a better ranking on Google? Not in the regular search results—that's what Google itself says. Paid ads are a separate section that runs independently.

SEO or advertising—which comes first? It depends on your budget and time constraints. You can find guidance on this in “SEO or Ads: Where Your Budget Should Go First.”

If you don't want to optimize your website yourself, we'll take care of it with our SEO support—from the technical aspects to the content.