Some recent sites, all Top Ten (ie., on the first page) for Google keywords.

'freight forwarding, Birmingham'
'freight forwarding, Manchester'
'steel forwarding'

'gozo diving'
'gozo scuba'
'gozo dive'

'anne greenacre'
'edinburgh psychotherapy'
'core process psychotherapy'

What is involved in effective seo?

Google-specific optimisation:
I concentrate on getting you a high ranking in Google, simply because Google is the best search engine.

It is theoretically possible to achieve Top Ten rankings in Google for any keyword/s, but this is dependent on several factors, not least of which is high-quality links from other sites.

Keyword marketing research:
I will identify the keyword phrases you need, and apply them in the right way, so that potential customers will find you in the Top Ten when they use Google.

Web design consultation:
Search-engine-friendly site design will ensure your site is spider-friendly.

Web copywriting:
Strong, persuasive web copy, focusing on your keywords, will keep your users interested as well as hitting the search engines.

Web page optimisation:
Sympathetic search engine optimisation of your html code.

Link building:
This is very important. Good-quality links from appropriate sites.

Over 80% of people now use search engines to find what they want. To help them find your site, take care with your optimised copy: it must be right for the search engines (for when they index your pages), but it must also be easy and stimulating to the user.

Designing your site so that it's entertaining to the user, effective in promoting your business, and optimally effective in giving search engines the right information is not easy - but it's also not a black art.