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I provide an SEO service for micro-businesses and sole traders, with no contracts, on a pay-by-the-hour basis. For example, I write the product listings and do the on-page SEO for a local pharmacy. You do not need to be “gouged” by the larger SEO companies in Lancashire. They are really only interested in larger companies and charge £ thousands per month. I can work from microgoals or draw up a 30-day plan.

Email geoff@electronincantation.co.uk.

This is an entry-level but comprehensive tutorial that assumes that you are starting with a new site.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It comprises various methodologies that improve the position of a website in natural search results. Search engines such as Google, Bing and others are the most commonly used.

Additionally, AI search tools such as Google’s AI overview need to be targeted. This is known as AEO, or Answer Engine Optimisation. For example, I look after the Lancashire History Blog site, and the Accrington Tramways article on the site is cited in the Google AI overview section for the search term Accrington Tramways. The AI overview is usually at the top of the search page or SERP. There are four cited sources, and getting cited in the AI results is what you should be aiming for with your content. Lastly, contrary to some of the nonsense out there, traditional SEO works with AI search also; in fact, it uses the same indexes!

What is a sales funnel?

A sales funnel is a way of visualising how a customer will get to your “money page”. Notably, the money page is usually at the bottom of the funnel, where a transaction takes place. Indeed, the object is to funnel customers through several steps to reach the purchase stage. At the top of the funnel sit the more generic keywords, such as ‘Lancashire SEO’.

The three pillars of SEO

There are three main pillars of SEO. The first is on-page optimisation; the second is technical optimisation, such as the speed a website loads. Thirdly, external factors such as inbound links from other sites also affect the search position.

Search intent

Informational

Transactional

Navigational

Finding the right keywords

Finding the right keywords for your particular use case is complicated. However, it can be broken down into several stages.

Ideation

This is where you come up with relevant keywords. As an example, here, we are optimising for a Lancashire SEO page.

This is another area where you can get “gouged”. AI keyword tools such as Surfer cost $99 per month! Therefore, here are two free ways to find the right keywords.

Lancashire SEO is a short key phrase and sits at the top of the sales funnel. Type this into Google, and it will show you a list of the most commonly used search terms.

Secondly, you can use an AI tool such as Microsoft’s free Copilot or Google Gemini.

Next comes validation

Validation

Finding the keywords to target

Search volume

Difficulty

business fit

Intent

Clustering

All this can make your head explode, so you need to follow a procedure. Here is a real-world example:

How to build a sales funnel: Accrington print example

1/Optimise the money page first with narrow search terms.

Here we have a conversion or money page for a canvas print of Accrington Station. This is on another of my sites that is based on WooCommerce and WordPress.

Yoast is used in the back end for SEO optimisation. The targeted keyphrase is ‘Accrington Station in 1963 canvas print’.

‘Accrington Station in 1963 canvas print’. is unlikely to be searched for, so you need to target more general phrases higher up the funnel.

2/ Build one topic cluster to feed the money page. Commercial intent keywords

A topic cluster is a set of keywords that customers may use to find a product. This is a difficult item to market, so you may need to use more oblique terms such as ‘Accrington rail history’ or ‘Lancashire Railways Photo’.

You can also use buy-intent phrases such as ‘Accrington print for sale’. This would be the best phrase to target for the canvas print category page on the site. Google knows to show product links when there is a buy intent keyword.

Interestingly, if you type ‘Accrington rail history’ into Google, the top two results are both my sites! This is known as ‘topic authority’, where Google ranks by how comprehensive your coverage of the topic is.

3/ Go educational at the top of the funnel.

Lastly, at the top of the funnel, you can use an article to drive traffic to the print that is for sale with a direct link. Any article on Accrington’s history would be appropriate. This method catches casual buyers and puts the product directly in front of viewers. Every item of content feeds the one below it in the funnel. Focus on one topic cluster at a time to get the best results.