The tactics that SEOs (Search Engine Optimisers) deploy to help clients get found in search engine results pages are numerous (and remember, if you don't show in the first scroll you're almost invisible).

If you want to tackle SEO yourself, it's not rocket science - but it is complex. You need the appetite and time for it.

SEOs are like hedge funders, and you and I are retail traders. We're not likely to get significant results unless we commit - and invest, in tools like Ahrefs:

Ahrefs - SEO Tools & Resources To Grow Your Search Traffic

You don’t have to be an SEO pro to rank higher and get more traffic. Join Ahrefs – we’re a powerful but easy to learn SEO toolset with a passionate community.

Ahrefs

The thing is, there are no guarantees in SEO. Even if we get results, there are no guarantees they will last; the algorithms are constantly changing.

So what are the alternatives? Paid advertising. Leveraging social media. Networking. Word of mouth.

Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.

You may also be interested in these posts by Seth Godin (it's interesting that they were written a long time ago but still hold true):

The problem with search engine optimization

SEO is the purported science of optimizing your webpage so that you rise to the top of the listings in Google and Yahoo! The theory is that a huge number of people find what they’re looking f…

Seth's Blog

How to make money with SEO

There are two ways to use SEO to help your organization. One is reliable and effective, the other is a glorious crap shoot that usually fails but is wonderful when it works. I’ll start with th…

Seth's Blog