3 SEO Quick Wins to Help Your Service Business Get Found Online
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As a service entrepreneur, you’re already wearing all the hats 👒 - serving clients, doing all the behind-the-scenes admin, marketing your business, and so your time is always in short supply. I’m also in the same boat paddling away - just charting a different course. 🚣🏻♀️
Since my goal is to make running a business easier and more profitable, today I'm talking about SEO (search engine optimization) Quick Wins.
If SEO seems a bit mysterious to you, here's a quick visual:
Think of SEO as setting up your digital storefront on a busy street in town.
It’s how you help search engines (like Google) understand what you do, so when someone searches for the services you offer, your website appears in front of them.
Effective SEO means you’re not chasing leads—you’re attracting them.
Think of SEO as setting up a prominent, visible storefront on a busy street full of potential clients.
And the best part? Unlike social media, where posts disappear in a day or two, SEO is a long game that pays you back over time. I have blog posts that I posted years ago that still get thousands of page views every single month. (and even YouTube videos)
For many service businesses - especially if they serve a local market, SEO is a much better ROI than social media. Do them both together? - Even better!
A few smart SEO updates to your website now can work for you in the background for months (and yes, even years) to come.
There are loads of tactics you can do to improve SEO, but I'm a big fan of the 80/20 principle and what I call “low-hanging SEO fruit”.
Here are 3 SEO quick wins you can knock out in a single afternoon to boost your visibility and help your dream clients find you online.
#1 Optimize Your Website’s Images: File Names & Alt Text
📝 Quick Tip:
Think of the file name as the label on the file folder, and the alt text as the note inside the folder explaining what’s in the photo and why it matters.
✅ Rename Your Image Files
Why it matters:
Search engines can’t “see” your images - they rely on the file names and alt text to understand what the images are about.
Most people upload images with names like IMG_8373.jpg, which tells Google nothing.
What to do:
Rename the file using keywords that describe the content of the image and your service. For example:
Instead of: IMG_9284.jpg
Do this: atlanta-interior-design-bath-remodel.jpg
If you're on Squarespace, you can do this after you've uploaded. (A keyworded file name is usually not my preference for my own internal file organization.) On other platforms you often have to rename the file prior to uploading.
Best SEO practices: use hyphens to separate words (Google reads those best) and lowercase only.
This small step tells search engines that your image is relevant to local interior design - and more specifically - bath remodels. This can help you rank higher in image searches and make your site more SEO-friendly overall.
Change your filenames from img_3798finalcropped.jpg to descriptive, keyword-rich filenames.
✅ Give your images descriptive Alt-text (Alternative Text)
Alt Text (Alternative Text)
This is a description you add after uploading the image—usually in your website builder’s settings. Alt text serves two main purposes:
Accessibility: It helps visually impaired users understand what the image is through screen readers.
SEO: It gives search engines more context about the image, especially when they can’t “see” what it shows.
Giving your images Alt-text makes them accessible via screen readers and gives search crawlers more context about the image.
2. Claim and Complete Your Google Business Profile
Why it matters:
Your Google Business Profile is like your modern-day Yellow Pages listing—except it’s free, way more powerful, and shows up when potential clients search for your services in your area.
Even if you don’t have a brick-and-mortar office, Google allows home-based and virtual service providers to create a profile. This can help you show up in:
Local search results
Google Maps
“Near me” search queries (even if you're virtual!)
What to do:
Go to google.com/business
Create or claim your business
Fill out every section:
Business name and category
Contact info and website
Hours
Services offered
Business description (use keywords naturally!)
Add 5+ photos of your business, work, or brand
IMPORTANT BONUS TIP:
Encourage happy clients to leave reviews. A few 5-star reviews can move the needle in a big way.
3. Submit Your Sitemap to Google Search Console
Why it matters:
Even if you’ve done everything “right” on your website, Google can’t rank your pages until it knows they exist.
Submitting your sitemap is like saying, “Hey Google, here’s my website—please start indexing it!”
This step helps:
Get your pages into search results faster
Improve your site’s visibility
Ensure all your pages (not just your homepage) get noticed
What to do:
Go to Google Search Console and sign in with your Google account
Add your website as a property
Verify ownership (your platform will walk you through how)
Submit your sitemap (usually found at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml)
That’s it! Google will now crawl and index your site more effectively.
Extra tip:
If you use Squarespace, WordPress, or Shopify—these platforms usually generate a sitemap automatically. Just copy that URL and paste it into Search Console.
Set aside an afternoon this week to tackle these three steps.
These are the kind of behind-the-scenes moves that quietly help your site show up in more searches and bring more clients your way.
Let me know if you try any of these—I love hearing your wins.
To your visibility,
P.S. - Let me know what you think in the comments below. Your feedback helps me create the best content to help you grow your business. 🙏🏻
