Imagine you’re opening a new location for your business. You’ve got the perfect spot, a solid business plan, and clear goals for growth. But then you slap a generic, uninspired sign on the front, give zero thought to the interior experience, and wait for people to wander in. That’s the digital equivalent of launching a website with no SEO strategy—or worse, an outdated one.
As a web designer who’s worked with everything from Webflow to WooCommerce, I’ve seen business owners treat SEO like an optional add-on, something to tack on later. But here’s the truth: your website isn’t just about showing up online. It’s about showing up meaningfully, in the right places, with the right message, for the right people. Good SEO isn’t about tricking Google; it’s about deeply understanding your users and translating that understanding into something search engines can recognize and reward.
In this post, I’m going to walk you through how websites and SEO should evolve together—like a business partnership—especially for small businesses navigating the web in 2025. Whether you’re just getting started or realizing it’s time to give your digital presence a serious remodel, there’s something here for you.
One of the biggest misconceptions I run into is business owners who think of SEO and web design as two totally separate functions. A client hires someone to build their site, then six months later tries to retroactively “SEO-fy” it. That’s like building a house and then trying to reroute the plumbing—painful and expensive.
At its core, SEO is about access: helping users (and search engines) access your information in the most efficient, relevant, and intuitive way possible. From the way content is structured on a page, to the way URLs are configured, to page speed, mobile responsiveness, and image optimization—all of these are web design decisions that shape SEO outcomes.
A Webflow site that’s visually stunning but loads slowly? Not helpful. A WordPress site with dozens of plugins that conflict and create clunky code? Google notices. Even platforms like Wix and Squarespace, while improving rapidly, have quirks that can hamper site performance if the design and SEO basics aren’t integrated from day one.
I recently worked with a restaurant outside Nashville using Squarespace. Their site looked clean, had all the right pages—but they were buried deep in search results. Turns out, their homepage title tag simply said "Home," their menu was a PDF (which Google can't read like on-page content), and their images were uncompressed 3MB files. In just a few adjustments—title tags, copy structured with head tags, image compression, and a live HTML menu reformat—we took their local SEO presence from invisible to first page for several key searches within 2 months.
Good SEO isn't about chasing keywords, it's about understanding people. What are your customers really searching for when they type into that Google bar? Not just the words, but the intent behind them.
Most small business sites unintentionally optimize only for transactional terms, neglecting content that nurtures users at earlier stages of the funnel.
A local massage therapist came to me frustrated that her site wasn’t ranking. We looked at her search funnel and realized people weren't just searching for "massage in Franklin." They were searching for "relieve stress without meds," "tight lower back after sitting," and "benefits of reflexology vs massage." So we built a knowledge hub with articles answering these real questions, each strategically targeted by search volume but written like she was sitting across from her client. Her traffic doubled in five months—with an increase in inquiries by over 40%.
When you match your content to intent, your site becomes more than just a business card. It becomes a trusted guide.
Picking the right website platform isn’t about which one’s more “advanced.” It’s about which one aligns best with your business needs, technical skill level, budget, and long-term scalability. Each platform has SEO pros and cons you need to understand up front.
Pros: Clean code, fast load speeds, complete control over SEO elements (alt text, meta tags, structure). Native HTTPS and great for visual storytelling.
Cons: Slight learning curve for non-designers. Requires external tools for complex blogging or e-commerce functions.
Pros: Massive flexibility, great SEO tools like Yoast and RankMath. Easy scaling if done right.
Cons: Vulnerable to plugin conflicts and security holes. Speed can suffer with poor hosting or heavy themes.
Pros: Easy drag-and-drop interface, improved SEO capabilities (finally). Great for micro-businesses.
Cons: Code bloat, limited control over URLs. Template limitations can make customization hard.
Pros: Aesthetic designs, clean templates, decent core SEO (now supports schema and meta data better).
Cons: Still limited with URL structure and blog control. Image handling not ideal unless you tweak settings.
Let’s pause from content and talk tech. Because no matter how powerful your messaging is, if your site is slow, clunky, or disorganized, Google (and your users) will bounce. These fundamentals aren't flashy—but they matter more than most people expect.
60%+ of traffic comes from mobile. If your site isn’t responsive and touch-friendly, you’re done. Google’s mobile-first indexing means your mobile site is now the baseline. Spend the time testing every page on real devices, not just inside Figma mocks or the browser emulator.
Speed is officially a ranking factor. Use tools like PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or WebPageTest to audit load times. Compress images properly. Limit animations. Avoid third-party scripts unless necessary. Good hosting matters more than most realize—cheap hosting is slow hosting is bad SEO.
Flat, readable URLs win. Use clear hierarchies: zachsean.com/services/webflow instead of zachsean.com/page123?id=web345. And stay consistent. Complicated or duplicated navigation confuses search engines just as much as users.
If there’s one universal SEO truth, it’s this: Google loves content that helps people. But what that looks like has evolved.
Too often, I see websites with “SEO blog posts” that are 800 words of keyword-stuffed nonsense. Like buying a house staged with cardboard furniture—it looks like a site, but doesn’t feel like one meant for humans.
One of my clients, a local electrical company, ranked for nothing but their brand name for over a year. We launched a content plan addressing things people in their area Googled constantly: “do I need an electrician or a handyman,” “how much does a panel upgrade cost,” and “how to know if aluminum wiring is a problem.” The founder wrote these from his own experience, Patreon-podcast-style, being brutally honest about pricing and safety. Results? 15 new non-brand keywords on Google page one within 90 days. Booked out for weeks within 6 months.
Local SEO is often overlooked by small businesses who think it only matters for pizza joints or dentists. But whether you’re a local consultant, a designer like me, or a copywriter with virtual clients—you need to own your region’s digital map.
Local search intent is high-intent. People asking Google for "Webflow expert near Franklin TN" are ready. Don't miss that chance by being vague or hiding behind a "one-size-fits-all" site structure.
Organic traffic is never “set it and forget it.” A big part of my work includes educating clients that SEO is a living system. We don’t “finish” it, we evolve it—just like your business.
Monitor what pages bring traffic. Track bounce rate and time on site. See what queries you're showing up for—and which ones you're missing.
I recommend doing quarterly site reviews. Especially after big changes in your business (like a service launch, new niche, or geographic expansion). Treat your site like your storefront: clean the windows, rearrange the displays, talk to the people walking by.
At the end of the day, good SEO strategy is just good business strategy made digital. It's listening first, then communicating clearly, then tailoring your tools to respond to what people actually need—not what we assume they want.
As someone who works just as much as a marketing therapist as I do a designer, I always come back to this: your website isn’t for everyone. It’s for the ones you're here to serve, deeply and well. Getting found online is just the first step. Leading people to a place that feels intentional, useful, trustworthy, and aligned—that’s what wins.
If it's been a while since you thought about how your website helps people before it impresses them, consider this your invitation. Start there. Build from what’s already true. And evolve everything else from that foundation.
Copyright © Zach Sean Web Design
