It is a combination of great content/copywriting using relevant keywords research that single you out from your competition and bring your web site to the fore. Not only do the words on your pages need to describe your business and what you do, but they must define you in such a way that Google etc likes what you say and promotes your web site above your competition.
SEO is free in that it drives organic traffic to your website as oppose to PPC (pay per click) which you have to pay for. But SEO also needs to work at the back end of your web site with the Alt text and meta data elements of your pages also set up correctly.
If your SEO is not relevant, then your site will not appear in people’s searches. Rak Design can help you with part of your Marketing if you don’t have the correct key words set up.