SEO invoices can be mysterious. "On-page optimisation, off-page activities, technical audit, 40 backlinks." It sounds impressive, and it tells you almost nothing. Here is what those lines mean in plain words, so you know what you are paying for and what to ask.
Technical SEO: can Google read your site?
Google sends a program to visit your website. If the site is slow, broken on mobile or confusingly built, the program gives up or misunderstands it. Technical SEO is the repair work: speeding up pages, fixing broken links, making sure every important page can be found. You pay for this mostly at the beginning.
On-page SEO: does each page answer a search?
Every page should be clearly about one thing, with a title and headings that match what people type. On-page work means rewriting titles, improving the text and linking related pages together. If your service page has fifty words on it, this is where it gets fixed.
Content: giving Google something to rank
Google can only show your site for topics you have actually written about. Content work means creating useful pages and articles around the questions your customers ask. This is ongoing, and it is where much of the monthly fee goes.
Off-page SEO: do others vouch for you?
When respected websites link to yours, Google treats it as a recommendation. Earning those links, from local directories, news sites, partners and industry blogs, is slow, honest work. Be careful here: hundreds of cheap links from junk websites can get your site penalised.
Local SEO: showing up on the map
For a local business this is often the most valuable part. It covers your Google Business Profile, reviews, photos and consistent contact details across the web.
Questions worth asking your SEO person
- Which searches are we trying to rank for, and why those?
- What exactly did you change on my website this month?
- Where did the new links come from? Can I see them?
- How many calls and forms came from Google this month?
- What is the plan for next month?
A good SEO partner answers all five without hesitation. If the reply is a cloud of jargon, you have your answer too.
You are not paying for rankings. You are paying for enquiries. A number one position for a phrase nobody searches is worth exactly zero.