SEO Optimization Examples: 8 Before-and-After Fixes for Small Business Websites

SEO advice is easier to follow when you can see it. These SEO optimization examples show common problems on small business websites, with a "before" and an improved "after" for each. The business here is a made-up bakery, but the same fixes apply to any site.

These are the practical side of our 10 SEO optimization methods.

Example 1: Page title

Before: Home

After: Maple Street Bakery | Fresh Bread and Custom Cakes in Portland

Why it's better: "Home" tells Google and searchers nothing. The new title says who you are, what you sell and where, in under 60 characters.

Example 2: Meta description

Before: (empty, so Google shows a random sentence from the page)

After: Fresh sourdough, pastries and custom cakes baked daily in Portland. Order online for pickup or call to plan your celebration cake.

Why it's better: It describes the business clearly and gives searchers a reason to click.

Example 3: Main heading

Before: Welcome!

After: Fresh Bread and Custom Cakes, Baked Daily in Portland

Why it's better: The main heading (H1) should say what the page is about. "Welcome!" wastes the most important heading on the page.

Example 4: Web address

Before: maplestreetbakery.com/page-2

After: maplestreetbakery.com/custom-cakes

Why it's better: A short, descriptive address tells people and Google what's on the page before they even click. Our guide to SEO-friendly URLs covers the rules.

Example 5: Image alt text

Before: IMG_4821.jpg with no alt text

After: Alt text: "three-tier chocolate birthday cake with fresh raspberries"

Why it's better: Google can't see images. Alt text describes them, helping you appear in image searches and helping visitors who use screen readers.

Example 6: Thin page content

Before: A Catering page with one line: "We do catering. Call us."

After: A page that explains what you cater (office breakfasts, weddings, parties), group sizes, how far ahead to order, sample menus and prices, plus a clear way to get in touch.

Why it's better: Google ranks pages that fully answer the searcher's question. One line gives it nothing to work with.

Example 7: Internal links

Before: The blog post "How to store sourdough" never mentions that you sell sourdough.

After: The post ends with "Want a fresh loaf? See our sourdough breads," linking to the product page.

Why it's better: Linking related pages helps visitors find what you sell and tells Google which pages matter.

Example 8: Broken link

Before: The menu links to /holiday-specials-2024, a page that was deleted. Visitors land on "page not found."

After: The old address redirects to the current /seasonal-specials page, and the menu link is updated.

Why it's better: Visitors reach a real page, and any value from links to the old page passes to the new one.

How to find these problems on your own site

Checking every page by hand is slow. A free scan finds missing and duplicate titles, empty descriptions, missing headings, broken links and slow pages across up to 100 pages at once. Our guide to running a free SEO site analysis explains what to look for.

Frequently asked questions

Which of these SEO fixes should I do first?
Start with titles and broken links. They're quick, and titles have one of the biggest effects on how you appear in Google.

Do I need to fix every page?
Start with your most important pages: the homepage, main services or products, and contact page. Then work through the rest over time.

Will these changes get me to the top of Google?
They remove what's holding your site back. Where you end up also depends on your competition and the links pointing to your site.

How long do these fixes take?
Most take a few minutes per page. Rewriting thin content takes longer but usually has the biggest payoff.