The SEO rabbit hole I did not expect to fall into

When I was made redundant, I saw it as an opportunity.

An opportunity to finally go all in on web design. To build my own projects. To help local businesses thrive with websites that looked good and felt considered. I was genuinely excited about this new chapter.

But as I started studying, building, and observing the landscape, I realised I needed to pivot.

Yes, I can make beautiful websites. But I am competing with incredibly talented designers, many of whom have been refining their craft for years. Realistically, it would take time for me to truly develop that designer’s eye.

I have been here before.

Years ago, I shot wedding photography as a side gig. It took around 15 weddings before I even started to understand how to capture space, colour, contrast, light and emotion. To reach even a half-competent level took close to a year, and I still was not satisfied.

Web design felt similar.

So I had to ask myself a more honest question. Is competing on beauty alone really how I help people best?

A different realisation

Through working on marketing projects as a change manager, something had already started to click for me. Seeing how organisations approached systems, behaviour change, and outcomes opened my eyes to how much structure and clarity really matter.

Most businesses do not actually need a beautiful website.

Good design helps, and I still care deeply about it. But what most small businesses really want is a website that works. One that brings enquiries, bookings, calls or sales. One that helps them be found.

They want people to arrive.

They want people to stay.

They want the site to do its job.

That is when my thinking shifted.

Have you ever seen Warren Buffett’s website for Berkshire Hathaway?

It is famously simple.

And yet it works perfectly for its audience. It is fast. It is clear. It is easy to navigate. It serves a purpose. Buffett does not need new customers. He does not need flashy design. He does not even need SEO.

But smaller, local businesses do.

Falling down the SEO rabbit hole

That realisation pulled me into a completely different world.

Global SEO.

Local SEO.

Analytics.

Tracking.

Citations.

Page speed.

Site structure.

Content.

The deeper I went, the more I realised that SEO is not a dark art or a shortcut. At its core, it is simple.

SEO is about making sure the right people can find your business when they are searching for what you offer.

Design supports that. Clarity enables it. Speed reinforces it.

Think of your website as a shopfront. Right now, it might look beautiful, but it is sitting in the middle of a forest with no roads, no street signs, and no pin on the map. Your competitors are not necessarily better. They are just easier to find, sitting on the main street with clear signage. My work is about building the highways to your door, putting up the street signs, and making sure that when someone asks Google or ChatGPT to find a physio, plumber, or salon, the path leads to you, not the competitor down the road with worse service but better visibility.

What this changed for me

This is why I pivoted.

I stopped obsessing over pixels and started focusing on outcomes. I began building websites that act like salespeople. Working around the clock. Bringing customers to the door while you are working, sleeping, or on holiday.

Your website should not be a cost.

It should be an asset.

SEO takes time. It is not instant. It is not magic. And it does not replace good service or word of mouth.

But without it, even the best business can remain invisible.

There is more to unpack here, especially around what people think SEO is versus what it actually does. I will explore that in the next few posts but for now, this is the realisation that changed everything for me.

Being found matters more than being fancy.