SEO basics
What is SEO.
In short
Search Engine Optimization. Work on a website, its content and its presence across the web so that Google shows it higher in the free, organic search results more often.
Also known as: search engine optimization
How SEO works
For every query, Google picks a handful of pages out of billions. SEO is the work of getting your page onto that short list. You do not pay per click as with ads, but you have to earn the spot: the page must be accessible to crawlers, easy to understand and a better answer than the competition.
Three pillars
- Technical SEO: Google has to be able to find, crawl and index the page. Speed, redirects, sitemaps and avoiding duplicates all matter here.
- Content: the page answers what the user is looking for, and does it better than others. Keywords, structure, headings and E-E-A-T come in here.
- Authority: other sites link to and write about yours. For Google that is a sign you can be trusted.
How long it takes
Technical fixes can show results within weeks, but steady traffic growth usually takes months. It depends on competition, the state of the site at the start and how many changes can be implemented. Anyone promising the top spot in a week is not being honest.
SEO and AI
ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews rely heavily on search results. A site that is well optimised for search is also more likely to be cited by AI. Dedicated work on AI visibility is called GEO.