SEO · 11 min read · Updated:
What is SEO? A 2026 starter guide for small businesses (GEO included)
SEO means your site can be found on Google and now in AI assistants' answers too. For a small business, most of the work is applying a few basic rules consistently.
In short
- SEO (search engine optimisation) is the work that helps a website appear high up, without paying for ads, in the right searches.
- SEO has four main areas: technical SEO, on-page SEO, off-page SEO and local SEO.
- GEO is the work of getting your site used as a source in the answers of AI-powered search and chat tools; its foundation is still good SEO.
- Good thresholds for Google's Core Web Vitals are 2.5 seconds for LCP, 200 milliseconds for INP and 0.1 for CLS; you can measure them free with PageSpeed Insights.
- In Heyşirket, basic SEO and the Search Console and GA4 connection are in Starter, keyword tracking, site audit and the speed report in Professional; in Premium our team does the SEO work.
The simplest answer to “what is SEO?” is this: whatever your customer types into Google, your site can be found for that search. With ads you pay per click, and visibility ends when the ads stop. SEO starts slowly but builds visibility that accumulates.
In 2026 the picture is a little wider. People now ask their questions not only in the search box but also to AI assistants. In this article we cover the four main areas of SEO, preparing for AI search (GEO), how site speed is measured, and what a small business should do in its first 30 days.
Part 1 · Definition What is SEO and what is it for?
SEO stands for search engine optimisation. It is the work that helps a website appear, without paying for ads, in the right searches and as high up as possible.
For a small business, the benefit of SEO comes down to three things. Someone looking for your service finds you, you don't pay an ad fee for that visit, and a well-written page keeps bringing customers for months, sometimes years. In return it asks for patience: technical fixes pay off within a few weeks, content and rankings usually within months.
Before Google shows a page it does three things. It crawls the page, finding and reading it. It indexes it, saving it in its library. Finally, when someone searches, it decides which page best answers the question and ranks it. SEO is about making each of these three steps easier.
Part 2 · Areas Types of SEO: technical, on-page, off-page and local
| Area | What it means | Example work |
|---|---|---|
| Technical SEO | The site is crawlable, fast and secure | Sitemap, HTTPS, mobile-friendliness, speed, redirects |
| On-page SEO | The content and tags of each page | Title, description, headings, content, internal links |
| Off-page SEO | Other sites mentioning you | Natural backlinks, directory listings, press |
| Local SEO | Appearing in local searches and on the map | Google Business Profile, name, address and phone consistency, reviews |
Technical SEO
Technical SEO means building the site so search engines can read it easily. Pages should open over HTTPS, display properly on phones, load quickly and be introduced to Google with a sitemap. When a page's address changes, the old address should redirect to the new one; otherwise old links go nowhere. Structured data, machine-readable information added to the page, tells Google clearly about your business, products and frequently asked questions.
On-page SEO
On-page SEO means each page explains a single topic clearly. The title tag is the blue line shown in search; it should say what you do and, where relevant, your city. The description is the short text under that line and affects whether people click. Inside the page there should be clear answers to the questions customers actually ask, meaningful headings, descriptive image text and links to your other related pages.
Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO is other trustworthy sites mentioning and linking to you. Natural links from industry directories, professional chambers, local news sites and your business partners' sites are valuable. Buying links or bulk link packages, on the other hand, breaks Google's spam policies and can do harm instead of good.
Local SEO
If your customers come from nearby, local SEO is the area that pays off fastest. A complete Google Business Profile, a business name, address and phone written identically on the site and the profile, real reviews and local business schema are its foundation. Step by step: how to create a Google Business Profile.
Part 3 · AI What is GEO? Preparing for AI search
GEO stands for generative engine optimisation. Its aim is for your site to be used as a source in the answers given by AI-powered search features and chat assistants. When a customer asks an assistant “which vet in Bursa is open at the weekend?”, the goal is for the answer to draw on your page.
GEO doesn't replace SEO; it's built on top of it. Google itself says no special technique is needed to appear in its AI features and that basic SEO recommendations still apply. In practice, these make the difference:
- A direct answer to the question: Define the topic clearly in one or two sentences at the top of the page; assistants like quoting sentences like these.
- Concrete, verifiable information: State your address, opening hours, service scope and price range plainly. Vague marketing language doesn't get quoted.
- Structured data: Business, product and FAQ schema make it easier for machines to understand your page correctly.
- llms.txt: A plain text file at the root of the site that tells AI tools what the site is about and which pages matter. It's still a proposed convention, not a required standard for Google; but it's easy to prepare and does no harm.
- Letting bots in: If your robots.txt unintentionally blocks AI crawlers, your content can't become a source in those tools.
Part 4 · Speed How do you measure site speed? Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are the three core measures Google uses for a page's user experience. They measure loading speed, how quickly the page responds to taps and clicks, and whether the page shifts around while loading. Google takes page experience into account in ranking; but the real gain is that visitors stay on a site that opens quickly.
| Metric | What it measures | Good |
|---|---|---|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | When the largest content on the page appears | 2.5 seconds or less |
| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | How quickly the page responds to clicks and taps | 200 milliseconds or less |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | How much content shifts while loading | 0.1 or less |
The easiest way to measure site speed is Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool. You enter your address and get separate scores and suggestions for mobile and desktop. Look at the mobile score first; most visitors come from phones. The most common fix is shrinking large images and removing unnecessary add-ons. For details on the metrics, see web.dev – Core Web Vitals.
Part 5 · Product How does the Heyşirket panel help with SEO?
The SEO menu in the Heyşirket company panel brings most of the work above into one place. On SEO › Overview you see your SEO score, search trend, open tasks and setup steps together. Here is which tool is in which plan (current prices on the Pricing page):
| Plan | What's included on the SEO side |
|---|---|
| Starter (free) | Basic SEO: title and description, sitemap and index status, redirects, content SEO score; Search Console, Google Analytics 4 and PageSpeed connections |
| Professional | Keyword tracking, page reports, site audit, page audit, speed report (Core Web Vitals history), weekly report email, backlinks, keyword research, SEO writing assistant, local SEO, AI visibility |
| Premium | Everything in Professional plus competitor and daily rank tracking; and technical SEO, content planning, backlink work, local SEO and a monthly report done by our team |
The Search Console and GA4 connection is set up without sharing passwords, by giving the panel's service account read access; the steps are in connecting Search Console and Analytics. PageSpeed is measured automatically every day for mobile and desktop; the Speed screen in Professional shows the score history, Core Web Vitals values and suggestions.
On the AI side, Heyşirket sites prepare an llms.txt file from your pages automatically; you can turn publishing it off if you prefer. The AI visibility screen in Professional shows which search and AI bots crawl which of your pages, visits coming from AI tools, and an llms.txt check.
How to spend your first week with the panel's SEO screens is covered in first steps with the SEO hub. Step-by-step help in the panel: Help › SEO hub.
Part 6 · In practice How do you do SEO? A plan for the first 30 days
A small business doesn't need to hire an agency to start SEO. If you don't have a site yet, start with building a free website. Working through the list below in order over a month closes the basic gaps on most sites.
The first 30 days
- I added my site to Search Console, submitted the sitemap and connected GA4.
- I wrote a separate title and description for the home page and each service page, saying what I do and my city.
- I have a separate page for each service that answers the questions customers ask.
- I measured my mobile score with PageSpeed Insights and shrank large images.
- I created and verified my Google Business Profile and wrote my name, address and phone the same as on my site.
- I asked recent customers for reviews and replied to the reviews I received.
- I'm listed with correct details in industry directories and on my partners' sites.
- Once a month I check the search trend to see which queries I appear for.
What is SEO and what is it for?
SEO is the work that helps a website appear high up in relevant searches without paying for ads. It lets people looking for your service find you, and a good page brings free visitors for a long time.
What is SEO, what is GEO, and how do they differ?
SEO is the work of appearing in classic search results. GEO aims for the site to be used as a source in the answers of AI-powered search and chat tools. GEO is built on SEO; clear, verifiable content and structured data are fundamental to both.
When do SEO results show?
Technical fixes can show an effect within a few weeks. Content and rankings usually take a few months. Watching the search trend weekly or monthly is the healthiest approach.
How do you measure site speed?
Enter the page address in Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool to get separate scores and suggestions for mobile and desktop. Good Core Web Vitals thresholds are 2.5 seconds for LCP, 200 milliseconds for INP and 0.1 for CLS.
Is llms.txt required?
No. llms.txt is a proposed file that tells AI tools what a site is about, and it isn't a required standard for Google. It's easy to prepare and harmless; Heyşirket sites prepare it automatically.
Open your SEO hub See your SEO score and open tasks, and complete the Search Console and Analytics connection. Go to SEO
Author: Heyşirket Editorial Team