The Myth of “Build It and They Will Come”

The old idea of “build it and they will come” simply does not work online. Without regular SEO hygiene, your website remains hidden from search engines regardless of its design and technological integration.

In today’s digital world, the customer journey is defined by micro-moments—those split-second instances when a person turns to their device to learn, do, or buy something. When key moments in the user journey are missed, your business loses valuable opportunities.

Simply put, if Google’s bots cannot find your site, potential customers won’t either. That is where SEO (search engine optimisation) hygiene comes in.

What Is SEO Hygiene?

SEO hygiene is the ongoing maintenance that ensures your website is in an optimum condition to be easily discovered by search engines. It involves addressing small yet critical issues that might be making your site “invisible.” Key elements include:

• Fixing Broken Links: Ensuring every link on your site works properly helps maintain credibility.

• Organising Content: Using clear titles and meta descriptions allows Google to accurately understand and index your pages.

Without this routine “cleaning,” even the most beautiful website can fail to attract organic traffic.

Case Study: How Simple SEO Hygiene Increased a Restaurant's Web Traffic

We had a client in the restaurant industry who had a well-designed website with quality content, yet traffic was minimal. An in-depth audit revealed several issues:

• Missing Descriptions: Many pages lacked clear summaries, leaving search engines unable to grasp the context.

• Confusing Navigation: Poor internal linking affected Google’s ability to crawl the site.

• Slow Load Times: The website’s performance lagged, negatively affecting its ranking and user satisfaction.

• Outdated Content: Some sections had not been updated, reducing their relevance and value.

By implementing an SEO hygiene cleanup—which involved updating meta tags, repairing broken links, optimising performance, and refreshing content—the client experienced a 50% increase in organic traffic within just a few months.

This long-term strategy not only boosted visibility but also reduced future SEM (Search Engine Marketing) costs.

Design + SEO = Enhancing the User Journey

Design and SEO work hand in hand to create a seamless user journey. A beautifully designed website tells your brand’s story and engages visitors, but without proper SEO, even the best design remains unseen. Likewise, good SEO strategies can drive traffic, but if the user experience falls short due to poor design, that traffic won’t convert into lasting engagement.

There’s an old saying: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” I would put it this way:

If your website is online and nobody visits it, can you really say it exists?

I will take it as a no.