How long does SEO take to work for small businesses?

You’ll typically start seeing early gains within 4–6 weeks, but real SEO momentum builds over 3–6 months. We focus on quick wins and long-term value from day one.

What’s included in your SEO service?

We cover everything from keyword strategy and technical audits to high-quality content and local link-building—without fluff or filler work.

Why hasn’t SEO worked for my business in the past?

Many agencies chase vanity metrics or use outdated tactics. We focus on commercial outcomes like ranking for buyer-ready keywords and generating qualified leads.

How is Substrate’s SEO approach different from other agencies?

We’re built lean and ROI-first. No bloated retainers, no junior staff, no BS reports—just honest SEO work that drives real business results.

Is SEO or Google Ads better for my business?

SEO is ideal for long-term, compounding traffic. Google Ads gets results fast. Most businesses benefit from a smart mix—we’ll help you find the right balance.

Do you guarantee SEO rankings?

No honest agency should. But we do guarantee this: if we don’t deliver meaningful results, you don’t pay. That’s our performance-first model.

Can you help with local SEO for Brisbane-based businesses?

Absolutely. We specialise in helping Brisbane service businesses rank in Maps, Google’s local pack, and organic results for location-based keywords.

What’s the cost of SEO for small to medium service businesses?

Most of our clients invest $750–$2,000/month depending on competition and goals. We always tailor pricing to what will drive ROI, not just activity.

SEO Agency Brisbane

Turn Google Searches Into New Clients.

SEO isn’t just about getting to the top of Google — it’s about turning that visibility into commercial outcomes. At Substrate, we design SEO strategies that help small and medium-sized service businesses attract more qualified leads, build trust, and drive long-term growth.

Our approach goes beyond keywords and backlinks. We align SEO with your business objectives, ensuring every page, post, and optimisation effort serves a clear purpose: bringing in the right clients.

Whether you're a physiotherapist, accountant, financial adviser or professional service provider, we help you compete — and win — in search.

Get growing today!

What is SEO?

The Long Game That Builds Trust, Traffic, and Profit.

SEO — or Search Engine Optimisation — is the process of helping your website appear higher in Google search results when potential clients are actively looking for services like yours. But between changing algorithms and constant competition, doing SEO right is both a science and a strategy.

While SEO doesn’t deliver leads overnight like paid ads can, it builds lasting visibility and authority — making it one of the most cost-effective ways to grow your business over time.

At Substrate, we cut through the complexity and design tailored SEO strategies that help your business rank higher, earn trust, and attract the right kind of traffic — consistently.

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How does SEO work?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website’s visibility on search engines like Google, making it easier for potential customers to find you.

By optimizing your website with relevant keywords, high-quality content, and technical improvements, SEO drives more organic traffic, increases your brand’s credibility, and helps you outrank competitors.

This means more leads, higher conversions, and sustained growth for your business without relying solely on paid advertising.

1 / The GoogleBot and the Google Algorithm

The GoogleBot is the Google program that automatically visits and scans websites to find new or updated content. This is how Google gathers the information it needs to rank your web pages. The Google Algorithm is the set of rules Google uses to rank your website.

2 / Google E-E-A-T

E-E-A-T is Google's framework for how it evaluates the quality of content on a website. It stands for:

(E) Experience: does the author have experience in the topic
(E) Expertise: does the author have the knowledge and skill to talk about the topic
(A) Authoritativeness: is the author a credible source
(T) Trustworthiness: is the source accurate, honest, safe and reliable.

The quality of a websites content is an important consideration in the way Google assesses its quality which in turn influences how it ranks.

3 / How to SEO

Technical SEO refers to the optimization of a website's technical set-up to improve crawling and indexing by search engine bots. By addressing issues like site speed, mobile responsiveness, and secure connections, Technical SEO aims to create a seamless user experience that can positively affect search rankings.

On-page SEO involves optimizing individual web pages to improve their search engine rankings and attract more relevant traffic. By focusing on elements like title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and content quality, On-page SEO aims to make pages more appealing to search engines and users alike.

Content quality focuses on creating and maintaining high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that meets the needs of users and aligns with search engine algorithms. The objective is to enhance user experience which contributes to better search engine rankings.

Off-page SEO activity involves strategies and techniques implemented outside of a website to improve its search engine rankings and visibility. The objective is to build authority and trustworthiness through backlinks, social media engagement, and online reputation management, which signal to search engines that a site is credible and relevant.

What's included in our SEO service?

Discovery

We investigate your current site performance, target audience, and competitors to create clear and realistic objectives.

Monitoring

We monitor performance to evaluate the effectiveness of the SEO efforts. The goal is to track progress, identify any issues, and gather data for analysis.

Strategy

We craft a strategy to ensure tactics such as target keywords, content direction, and link-building are tailored to your businesses objectives.

Optimisation

We refine and optimize the SEO strategies and continuously improve the website's performance, adapting to changing algorithms and user behaviour.

Implementation

We implement the strategy through on-page and off-page optimization, content optimisation, and technical improvements.

Reporting

We provide regular reporting on the status of your website's SEO performance so you can see the impact of our work.

How much should a small business spend on Google Ads each month?

Most small businesses in Brisbane spend between $500–$3,000/month. At Substrate, we help you find the right budget for your goals and only scale what’s working.
What’s the difference between Google Search Ads and Google Display Ads?

Search Ads show up when someone types in keywords like “Brisbane insurance broker.” Display Ads appear across websites your target audience browses. We help you choose what actually drives leads.
How quickly will I see results from Google Ads?

You can start seeing leads in as little as a few days, but true performance builds over 2–4 weeks as we refine targeting, copy, and bidding strategies.
What makes your approach to Google Ads different from other agencies?

We cut out the overhead and focus on getting you results. No bloated retainers or meaningless reports, just high-performing campaigns managed by experts with a commercial focus.
Do you guarantee results from your Google Ads service?

Yes. We offer performance-based pricing so you don’t pay until you get results. That’s how confident we are in our work.
Can Google Ads work for service businesses in niche industries?

Absolutely. We’ve delivered strong ROI for financial planners, health clinics, consultants, and more. Niche industries can deliver especially good ROI where intent signals are high, conversion rates are good and there is relatively low competition.
Why are my current Google Ads not working?

Common reasons include poor targeting, bad landing pages, or agency neglect. We audit and fix campaigns to unlock actual performance.
Is Google Ads better than SEO for my business?

Google Ads delivers faster results, ideal for short term lead generation. SEO is a long-term investment but usually delivers a better ROI. The best strategy often combines both, our team can help you balance them for the best overall performance.

Digital Marketing Not Working?
Let's Get That Fixed.

Free 60-min Strategy Session
(valued at $500)

What You'll Walk Away With:

A personalised review of your current marketing strategy
ROI and lead-gen performance insights
Clarity on what’s working, what’s wasting money, and what to fix
A lean, commercial marketing roadmap you can actually use
Honest answers to your biggest marketing questions

BOOK YOUR FREE SESSION

The 2X Value Promise

"20% Cheaper. Don't Pay Till The Campaign Profits"

We guarantee two things to our clients:

Our service will cost you 20% than your last agency
We won't charge a cent for our work until your media campaign generates enough revenue to cover both ad spend and our fees.

No Fluff. No excuses. Just simple, commercial results.

Our Other Services

Google Ads

Looking for more high-quality leads? Google Ads, also known as pay-per-click (PPC), uses paid advertisements to appear at the top of Google search engine results pages. It can be one the fastest and most profitable ways to generate new clients for your business.

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Digital Advertising

Are you ready for the next phase of growth in your business? Moving into a new geography, expanding your target market or offering, or stepping up your growth ambition? Digital advertising can build your brand, engage your target market early in their purchase journey, and prime your business for long-term growth.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a cost-effective way to grow your brand, stay connected to your customers and increase organic (free!) traffic to your website. it It helps build trust, boosts your online visibility, and helps stay connected with clients, complementing your Google Ads and SEO strategies to deliver long-term growth.

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