What is SEO? Basic, local and advanced SEO explained

SEO stands for search engine optimisation: making it easy for Google and other search engines to find your website, understand it, and show it to people searching for what you offer.

It helps to split SEO into three levels. They cost different amounts, take different amounts of time, and are often confused in sales pitches.

How Google decides what to show

1. Finding (crawling): Google discovers your pages by following links and reading your sitemap.
2. Understanding (indexing): Google reads each page and works out what it is about.
3. Ranking: when someone searches, Google orders the pages it thinks answer the question best.

Basic SEO makes sure steps 1 and 2 work properly. Step 3 depends on your content, your competitors and your reputation, and that is where advanced SEO comes in.

Level 1: SEO basics (part of every build)

These are technical foundations every website should have. Pixel Maker includes them when building your site.

• Page titles and descriptions: the blue headline and grey text shown in Google results.
• Clear headings: one main heading per page, with sections in a logical order.
• Image descriptions (alt text): so Google and screen readers know what an image shows.
• Sitemap and robots file: a list of your pages for Google, and rules for what to read.
• Google Search Console: your site submitted to Google, plus a free dashboard showing which searches find you.
• Speed and mobile layout: slow or broken mobile pages rank lower and lose visitors.
• Share previews: the title and image shown when your link is shared on social media or in chats.
• Language tags (hreflang): so English searchers see your English pages and Chinese searchers see your Chinese pages.
• Structured data: hidden labels telling Google “this is a business”, “this is a product”, which can unlock richer results.

Results: pages usually appear in Google within days to a few weeks. This doesn’t mean ranking first. It means Google can find and read everything correctly.

Level 2: Local SEO

If your customers are nearby, the most important listing is often not your website. It’s your Google Business Profile, the box with your map pin, hours and reviews.

• A verified Business Profile linked to your website.
• The same business name, address and phone number everywhere online.
• Real reviews from real customers, with replies.

Setup is a one-off task (available as an add-on). Collecting reviews is ongoing, and it is the business owner’s job.

Level 3: Advanced SEO (ongoing work)

This is what agencies usually mean by “SEO services”. It never really finishes.

• Keyword research: finding the exact words your customers type, and how competitive they are.
• Content: writing useful pages and articles that answer those searches, regularly.
• Links: earning mentions and links from other trusted websites.
• Monitoring: tracking rankings and clicks, fixing problems, improving pages that almost rank.

Results: usually measured in months, not weeks, and very dependent on how competitive your market is.

Comparing the three levels

A warning about guarantees

Nobody controls Google’s rankings. Anyone who guarantees “page one in 30 days” is either talking about a search nobody makes or taking risks that can get a site penalised. Good SEO is honest groundwork plus useful content over time.

What you can do yourself

• Ask happy customers for Google reviews.
• Keep your opening hours, phone number and photos up to date.
• Check Search Console once a month to see which searches bring people in.
• Add a new project, product or article when you have something worth sharing.