Look, most of what you’ve heard about SEO is rubbish
You’re probably reading this because you’ve had about six emails today from 'experts' promising you the top spot on Google for fifty bucks. Or maybe you’ve spent a few grand with an agency and the only thing that’s increased is your blood pressure.
Here’s the reality. Most small business owners in Brisbane—the sparkies, the lawyers, the shop owners—are being sold a dream that doesn’t exist. You don’t need 'synergy' or 'pioneering digital frameworks'.
You need the phone to ring. You need more enquiries on a Tuesday morning when things are quiet. You need to make more money than you spend.
I’m going to level with you. Local SEO isn't magic. It’s mostly just common sense and doing the boring stuff right. If you’re looking for a technical manual, go buy a textbook. If you want to know how to actually win more jobs in your suburb, grab a beer and keep reading.
The big lie: 'SEO is the same for everyone'
If an agency tells you they have a 'standard package' for SEO, run. Fast.
Marketing for a local plumber in Paddington is nothing like marketing for a nationwide software company. If you’re a service business, you don’t care if someone in Perth sees your website. You care about the person three streets away whose toilet is overflowing right now.
Most 'experts' try to rank you for generic terms that don’t pay the bills. They’ll show you fancy charts showing your 'traffic' is up. But if that traffic is coming from teenagers in America doing a school project, it’s worth exactly zero to you.
We focus on getting local leads because that’s what actually puts food on the table.
Myth #1: You need a massive website with 100 pages
Honestly? Most service businesses only need about five to ten good pages.
I’ve seen blokes spend ten grand on a massive website that looks like a spaceship but doesn’t tell the customer the one thing they want to know: 'Can you fix my problem today?'
Google doesn’t reward you for having the most pages. It rewards you for being the most relevant answer to a local search. If someone searches for 'emergency glazier Brisbane', they don’t want to read a 2,000-word blog post about the history of glass. They want a phone number and a 'we’ll be there in an hour' promise.
Myth #2: Your Google Map listing is a 'set and forget' thing
Your Google Business Profile (that little map box) is the most important asset you own. It’s more important than your website in many cases.
Most business owners set it up, upload one blurry photo of their ute, and never look at it again. That’s leaving money on the table.
Google treats your map listing like a social media profile. It wants to see life. It wants to see new photos, new reviews, and updated hours. If you haven’t touched yours in six months, Google assumes you’ve probably gone out of business or you don't care. Why would they show you to a customer over the bloke down the road who posted a photo of a finished job yesterday?
How Google actually decides who wins
I’ll keep this simple. Google has one job: to keep the person searching happy. If they suggest a rubbish business, the user stops using Google.
So, Google looks for three things:
1. Distance: Are you actually near the person searching? 2. Relevance: Do you actually do what they’re asking for? 3. Trust: Do other people think you’re any good?
You can’t change your location (unless you move shop). But you can definitely change how relevant and trustworthy you look.
Winning the trust game
Trust in the digital world comes down to reviews. But not just the number of stars.
I’ve had clients ask me if they can just buy 50 five-star reviews from some bloke on the internet. Don’t do it. Google is smarter than you think, and they will nukes your listing if they catch you.
What matters is the steady flow of reviews. Ten reviews a month for a year is worth way more than 100 reviews in one week followed by silence.
And here’s a pro tip: Reply to every single one. Even the bad ones. Especially the bad ones. When a potential customer sees you handled a grumpy client with class, they’re more likely to call you. It shows you’re a real person who gives a toss.
The 'Suburb Page' trap
We see this a lot in Brisbane. A business will create 50 identical pages for every suburb from Annerley to Zillmere.
'Plumber Annerley', 'Plumber Ashgrove', 'Plumber Auchenflower'.
Ten years ago, this worked. Today? Google sees right through it. They call it 'doorway pages'. If the content is exactly the same and you just swapped the suburb name, you’re wasting your time.
Instead of trying to trick the system, you need to actually show you work in those areas. Post photos of jobs in those suburbs. Mention local landmarks. Talk about the specific types of houses in Paddington versus the new builds in North Lakes. That’s how you dominate every suburb without looking like a spammer.
Your website needs to work on a phone. No excuses.
I’m still seeing local business sites that look like they were built in 2004. If I have to 'pinch and zoom' to find your phone number, I’m leaving.
Most of your customers are searching for you while they’re standing in their kitchen, stressed out, holding a phone. Your site needs to load fast and have a giant 'Call Now' button right at the top.
If your site is slow, people will bounce back to the search results faster than a kangaroo on a hot tin roof. Google notices that. They figure your site is rubbish and they’ll stop showing it.
What does this actually cost?
Let’s talk brass tacks. SEO isn't free, and if it’s cheap, it’s probably hurting you.
You can spend $500 a month on a 'cheap' agency that does nothing but send you a confusing PDF report every 30 days. That’s $6,000 a year down the drain.
Or, you can invest properly. Real SEO involves writing good content, fixing your website, managing your reputation, and building links from other local sites. It takes time and expertise.
For a small service business in a city like Brisbane, you’re usually looking at somewhere between $1,500 and $3,500 a month for someone who actually knows what they’re doing. It sounds like a lot, but if it brings in three extra high-value jobs a month, it’s paid for itself.
I’ve written a whole breakdown on what SEO actually costs if you want to see where the money actually goes.
How long until the phone starts ringing?
If someone tells you they can get you to page one in two weeks, they’re lying.
SEO is a long game. It’s like going to the gym. You don’t do one workout and wake up with a six-pack. You have to keep at it.
Usually, you’ll start seeing some movement in 3 months. By 6 months, you should be seeing a noticeable increase in phone calls. By 12 months, you should be wondering why you didn't do this sooner.
If you need jobs tomorrow, don’t do SEO. Do Google Ads. SEO is about building an asset that earns you money for years to come without having to pay for every single click.
The 'Secret Sauce' (which isn't a secret)
If you want to beat your competitors in Brisbane, do these three things:
1. Be human. Stop using stock photos of people in hard hats who clearly don't live in Australia. Use photos of your actual team, your actual vans, and your actual work. 2. Be fast. Answer your phone. Reply to your leads. If your website brings in an enquiry and you wait two days to call them back, that’s not an SEO problem, that’s a business problem. 3. Be consistent. Keep getting reviews. Keep updating your site. Keep showing Google you’re the most active, reliable business in your trade.
My honest take
Look, you’ve got a business to run. You shouldn’t have to spend your weekends learning about 'backlinks' or 'crawlers'.
You need a partner who tells it to you straight. No jargon, no fluff, just results.
At Local Marketing Group, we don’t care about 'impressions' or 'rankings' if they don’t lead to more money in your bank account. We’re Brisbane locals who know the market and know what works for service businesses.
If you’re tired of the agency run-around and just want to grow your business properly, let’s have a chat.
No pressure, no sales pitch, just a look at what you’re doing now and how we can get that phone ringing more often.