The Essentials of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, is the process of making your website appear at the top of Google searches for terms related to the content you’re promoting. Simply put, SEO helps more people visit your website, driving more exposure to your brand and establishing you as a leader in your niche. If people trust your brand, they are more likely to buy your products or services.
There are hundreds of techniques, tactics, strategies, and stratagems that can be used to improve your website’s SEO. But, because attention spans are at an all-time low, we’ll only focus on the most crucial aspect of SEO: creating an engaging experience that delivers value to the customer at every step of their journey.
How Does SEO Actually Work?
Search engines like Google use complex algorithms to determine a website’s relevance and quality in relation to a search term. These algorithms consider various factors, including the use of keywords, the quality and quantity of backlinks, the user’s experience, and the relevance of the on-page content to the user’s search query.
When someone searches on Google, the algorithm scans the web for the most relevant and high-quality websites and ranks them in order of relevance on search engine results pages (SERPs).
SEO involves making your website and its content more relevant, useful, and navigable for users. Done right, SEO can significantly improve your chances of ranking at the top of SERPs and attracting more qualified traffic to your site.
The Importance of Keyword Research
Keyword research is at the heart of any successful SEO strategy. Defining a comprehensive keyword universe for your business is essential to identify what words and phrases people use to search for your products, services, or information. A well-defined keyword universe can then be used to create content that is relevant to your target audience and will rank well on search engine result pages.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to effective keyword research:
Identify Your Target Audience
Understand who your audience is, their interests, the problems they’re looking to solve, and where they spend time online. This initial step will guide your keyword research and content creation efforts going forward.
Brainstorm Keywords and Phrases
Once you know who your target audience is, start gathering your keywords onto one list by doing the following:
Create an Excel sheet named “[Website Name] Keyword Universe.”
List all the words or phrases you think your audience might search for, including both generic and brand-specific keywords, as well as long-tail keywords that might be super specific but less competitive.
Use Google Autocomplete, SERP features like Featured snippets, People also ask, and People also search, as well as the titles and descriptions of both sponsored ads and organic results to find more keywords that are relevant to your business and add those to your Excel sheet.
Leverage Keyword Research Tools
Utilize tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, SEMRush, and Ahrefs to gather data on search volume, competition, and related keywords.
Analyze and Prioritize Keywords
Assess your list to determine the most valuable keywords for your business. Consider factors like the search intent of that keyword, search volume, competition, and its relevance to your target audience.
Incorporate Keywords Strategically
Integrate keywords naturally into your page titles, headings, meta descriptions, and on-page content. Don’t try to shoehorn your keywords into every sentence, though. This is a black hat SEO strategy known as keyword stuffing, and it can lead to penalties from Google.
My SEO Journey
I began my SEO journey as an intern at a local SEO agency, learning from a Director of SEO who taught me everything about search engine optimization. I learned the basics through blogs like Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Land, the Moz Blog, and the Ahrefs Blog, and applied my knowledge by optimizing blog posts on client sites to rank for specific keywords.
At the time, I didn’t understand keyword optimization, like, at all. So, I used tools like LSI Graph to find words and phrases that were semantically related to my primary keyword. Then, I included a certain number of these related terms in my content based on how often they appeared in similar, high-ranking content on Google SERPs.
I also uploaded and formatted blog posts on WordPress, including adding images and ensuring mobile and desktop compatibility.
Over time, link building became a key part of our SEO strategy. We created infographics for email outreach purposes and used tools like Intellifluence and HARO to secure backlinks from reputable websites in our client’s industries. I also learned to use Ahrefs for competitor analysis and Screaming Frog for technical SEO audits.
Google Search Console provided insights into website performance, helping us track search rankings, analyze traffic, and identify issues. Towards the end of my internship, I was granted access to our client’s Google Search Console properties, so I could see firsthand how my work was affecting our client’s search performance.
Practicing SEO
I created this website to practice SEO and share my knowledge. Starting with a domain name and hosting from Namecheap, I used the Softaculous Apps Installer tool in the CPanel to set up a WordPress website, then I installed and activated the Hello Elementor theme in the appearances tab.
Using the Elementor and Elementor Pro plugins (along with a multitude of Youtube tutorials) I designed a very basic version of the website you’re reading this on today.
Once I was happy with the look of my site, I connected it to Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Microsoft Clarity to monitor performance.
Creating and optimizing content on a site I built myself has been an invaluable learning experience for me. It’s given me the freedom to try new SEO strategies, conduct keyword research for my own purposes, get better at using analytics tools, and designing WordPress websites has become almost second nature for me.
I’ve grown so much as an SEO from having my own website, and I wholeheartedly believe it’s the best way to learn SEO, outside of working in-house or at an agency.
The Future of SEO
Listen, I get it. Artificial Intelligence is all the rage right now. But the truth is, nobody knows exactly how much AI will impact search engines.
I’m not saying that AI won’t significantly influence search engines—I definitely believe it’s here to stay and that SEOs need to adapt. We’re already seeing search engines roll out AI overviews and tools across various SERPs, and I’m sure we’ll see even more AI features in the near future.
What I am saying is that whenever someone needs to find something online, there’s a 99% chance a search engine of some sort will be involved, whether it’s Google, YouTube, eBay, Reddit, or any platform with a search function. That’s not likely to change anytime soon. As long as there are search engines, people will be optimizing listings to rank higher on them.
As search engines become more sophisticated, SEOs and savvy business owners must deeply understand user search intent and create content that is not only keyword-rich but also genuinely valuable to their target audience.
“Content is king” is a popular phrase in the SEO world and it’s as true today as it was 20 years ago. Providing valuable content that meets the needs of your audience will always be at the core of successful SEO.