Search engine optimization is more than writing title tags and getting backlinks. You’ll need several skill sets, from web development to copywriting, to maintain an SEO program that drives rankings, traffic, and revenue in 2025. An SEO company performs search engine optimization (SEO) as a service. Typically, SEO companies will use on-page, off-page, and technical optimizations to improve a site’s visibility, traffic, and revenue from organic search results.

Keywords, content, and on-page SEO

By structuring information clearly and implementing semantic SEO principles, websites can improve their chances of appearing in voice search results, especially for long-tail, intent-driven searches. Instead of recognizing them as variations of the same intent, results would be fragmented, often prioritizing keyword-heavy pages instead of truly helpful content. This inability to process conversational queries and user intent made search less effective, something semantic SEO was designed to fix. Pages with a lot of repeated keywords, even when they lack useful information, ranked better than useful pages. Search engines struggled with synonyms, context, and what users actually wanted and so provided unhelpful results. SEO is generally lengthy, typically taking a few months to see noticeable results.

Compiling these 200 factors was extremely time-consuming (it took me over 2 weeks). But in the end, I FINALLY compiled a list of 200 ranking factors that Google might use in their algorithm. In other words, if you want to rank higher in the SERPs, focus on quality backlinks. Even though Google has made thousands of changes to its algorithm since then, backlinks remain a key ranking signal. So the more of these “votes” you have, the higher your site will rank in Google and alternate search engines. It’s almost like having Google and other search engines advertise your products for you.

Internal links help readers find additional useful information on your site, and outbound links to respected sources add context and build trust. There is no fixed length, but many experts suggest aiming for at least 800–1,000 words to cover a topic thoroughly. The focus should be on providing valuable insight rather than just meeting a word count. This example addresses a common problem, uses a statistic to grab attention and sets up a solution. The main keyword was “improve email productivity,” so I made sure it appeared naturally in headings and throughout the text.

Platforms (websites and apps) where users can interact with each other, as well as create, share, and consume content. The practice of crafting a positive online perception of a brand or person – including in search results and on social media – by minimizing the visibility of negative mentions. Pay-per-click advertisements that appear above (and often below) the organic results on search engines. Large Language Models, also known as LLMs, are AI algorithms that are capable of understanding, processing, and generating human language. Trained on massive sets of data, LLMs (like GPT) can perform natural language processing (NLP) tasks, from translation to content production.

Link profile

Links are how search engines discover new pages and judge their “authority.” It’s hard to rank for competitive terms without links. PPC, or Pay-Per-Click, is a type of digital marketing where advertisers bid on specific keywords they want their ads to show up for in search results. When someone searches for those keywords, the ads appear at the top of the results page and if clicked on the advertisers pay-per-click. In Google and other search engines, the results page often features paid ads at the top of the page, followed by the regular results or what search marketers call the “organic search results”. Traffic that comes via SEO is often referred to as “organic search traffic” to differentiate it from traffic that comes through paid search. These listings are prime real estate for local businesses, often leading to higher click-through rates and conversions.

Trends like AI integration, video optimisation, and local search have gained prominence. Staying informed and adaptable ensures businesses can keep up with the demands of evolving SEO and maintain their online visibility. SEO has significantly changed over the years, adapting to technological advancements and search engine updates. Understanding what is SEO today involves recognising how its strategies have shifted from keyword stuffing to prioritising user experience and content relevance.

• Of course, it’s very helpful to learn about important tools and concepts in SEO, such as keyword research, technical best practices and other  helpful techniques before diving in.
• Otherwise, you’re unlikely to attract potential customers through SEO.
• In fact, if it doesn’t fit naturally into the description, don’t include your target keyword here at all.
• Bethan knows what it’s like to start your own businesses, they are a regular speaker at international conferences, and podcast host of “The Brave”.
• Structured data helps search engines understand the nature of your content by presenting information in a machine-readable format.

Besides the basic (but very useful) data like top queries or top pages, the Performance report is a goldmine of various deeper insights into your site’s search performance. Author from Site A writes a guest post for Site B. The post contains a link to his own web. Site B gets a free piece of content and Site A gets a free backlink. Guest posting (or guest blogging) is definitely the most popular link building technique. The next step is to find websites that might want to link to you and contact them (more on that in a while).

It doesn’t matter whether you sell a product or service, write a blog, or anything else, search engine optimization is a must for every website owner. The search engines are used by internet users when they are searching for something. SEO focuses on organic rankings, while SEM involves paid advertising. SEO builds long-term growth, whereas SEM delivers immediate but short-term results. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced professional, this course will help you learn what is SEO as it is an important part of digital marketing. Now, you’re ready to start practicing SEO on your site — and SEO.com can help.

For example, the H1 on this page is the article title, “Understanding On-page SEO” is an H2, and this section is an H3. The higher up the title is, the more relevant it is to impacting your search results. Just as you perform BHS Links a competitive analysis to identify market gaps and differentiate your products and marketing efforts, you’ll need to investigate and analyze competitors’ SEO. Use each step below to learn about strategies to improve your SEO.