Introduction
Have you ever wondered why some websites appear at the very top when we search for something on Google? What makes those websites so special that they get ahead of all the others? Let’s understand this secret in simple terms. The secret is hidden in SEO.
Now you might be thinking, What is an SEO for a Website? In simple words, SEO is a method to get your website ranked higher in search engines like Google. Just like the best stories are at the beginning of a book, SEO brings your website to the forefront.
Crafting websites has been my profession for the last few years. I taught myself, built several websites, and every time, SEO helped me the most in reaching people. My experience and hard work tell me that if you want to be seen on the internet, knowing SEO is very important. In this article, I will explain in simple language the things I have learned and tried myself, without any convoluted words, directly and clearly.
In this article, you will learn What is an SEO for a Website, what its types are, how it works, and how you can learn it to bring your website forward as well.
So, if you want to understand SEO from the very beginning, whether you are a student, a new blogger, or a website owner, this article is for you.
What is SEO?
Let’s understand this with a story. Imagine you own a small shop. If your shop is on a street where no one comes or goes, will you get customers? No right? The internet is home to millions upon millions of websites. Your website is also like a shop. Now if someone is searching for something on Google, like children’s toys, how will Google know that your website sells toys? This is where SEO comes in.
SEO stands entirely for Search Engine Optimization, a technique we use to make websites more compatible with search engines like Google or Bing. When your website becomes a friend of the search engine, it easily shows it to its customers, meaning you and me. So in simple words, What is an SEO for a Website It’s a way to bring your website to the top in Google so that when people search for something, they see your website first.
You could be asking yourself, “Is this truly magical Not at all! It’s a very smart and intelligent process. Over the past several years, I’ve seen hundreds of websites that went from completely unknown to famous because of SEO. I’ve personally witnessed how proper SEO can help a small company surpass even big players. My experience tells me that SEO isn’t just a technical thing; it’s a bridge to connect your website with the right people. So, how does SEO work?
In SEO, we do a few things to help Google understand our website better. For example.
Choosing the right keywords: We put words on our website that people search for on Google. For instance, if your website is about toys, you’ll use terms like best toys or toys for children.
Making the website good: We check if your website loads quickly, if it looks good on mobile, and if it has good and useful information. A high-quality website tends to earn Google’s favor.
Overall, SEO helps your website get a top ranking on Google. When your website appears higher in Google, more people see it, and more customers come to your shop.
What is a Search Engine?
Let’s understand this once again. You’ve probably seen a library at school, filled with many books. When you need a book on a specific subject, you ask the librarian or look through the list of books. Similarly, there are millions and millions of websites on the internet, each with different information. Now, what do you do if you need to find something, like how to raise kittens or what’s the best chocolate?
This is exactly where our search engine companion becomes crucial. Imagine a search engine as a wondrous librarian, diligently gathering every piece of information available across the internet. When you pose a query, by typing into its search bar, it swiftly locates and presents the most pertinent and valuable websites containing the information you seek. Google, Bing, and Yahoo stand out as prominent examples of these powerful tools. These search engines empower us to uncover virtually any information on the internet in an instant.
Over the past several years, I’ve closely observed how search engines work. I’ve understood how they find the most accurate answers from so many websites. And this is where the question, What is an SEO for a Website, also comes in, because if your website has great information but the search engine can’t find it, there’s no benefit. My experience tells me that understanding search engines is crucial so we can build our website in a way that search engines prefer. Now you might be wondering how search engines work. Search engines perform three main functions:
Crawling: They wander the internet, like explorers, finding new websites and the information within them.
Indexing: They store all the information they find in their large library (called an index) and understand what each website is about.
Ranking: When you search for something, they find the best and most useful websites from their library and show them to you. They show the best websites at the very top.
So, by now, you must have understood how essential search engines are. They show us the way in the vast world of the internet. And only when we build our website according to these search engines can our website reach more people.
How Many Types of SEO Are There
When I first learned What is an SEO for a Website I understood that you need to do SEO to get a website to rank higher in search engines. But the next question was, how many types of SEO are there? Does only one method exist, or are there various alternatives? If you’re also wondering about the types of SEO, I’ll explain it in very simple language. SEO primarily has three types:
When I was first learning SEO, I didn’t know the difference between these three. I built many websites, but they didn’t rank. Later, when I understood and applied On-Page, Off-Page, and Technical SEO one by one to my websites, that’s when traffic started coming in. My experience tells me that each type of SEO has its own specific role.
So, if we talk again about What is an SEO for a Website, it doesn’t just mean doing one thing. Instead, it means understanding and correctly combining these three types. It’s only then that a website makes it to Google’s top search results. These are the three main types of SEO, but nowadays, some other types are also discussed, such as:
Local SEO (if you’re targeting people in a specific city or area)
Mobile SEO (making the website right for mobile users)
E-commerce SEO (special SEO for shopping sites)
My client’s local store benefited from my Local SEO work. Within a few weeks, their shop started appearing higher on Google Maps. This experience taught me that every type of SEO is very important in its own right.
What is On-Page SEO?
When we improve the internal aspects of our website so that Google can easily understand it, that is called On-Page SEO. In this, we focus on the title, headings, using the correct keywords, image names, and good content.
When I first started doing SEO, this was the part I understood first. Because if the internal elements of your website are clean and correct, only then will the search engine like it. On-Page SEO is exactly like a book having a beautiful cover, clean pages, and a great title, making it look good and easy to read.
What is Off-Page SEO?
Off-Page SEO pertains to any off-site efforts that bolster your website’s authority. This covers obtaining links from external sources (backlinks), distributing content through social media platforms, and encouraging dialogue about your online presence.
In my experience, when I started getting other websites to link to mine, Google began to give my site more importance. This is exactly like when many people praise a shop, others also want to visit it. Off-Page SEO works to increase a website’s credibility and recognition.
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is about preparing your website for Google bots and technology. This includes technical aspects like website speed, mobile-friendly design, sitemap, and SSL certificate.
Initially, I overlooked Technical SEO, and the result was that my website loaded very slowly and wasn’t ranking. Later, when these issues were fixed, Google also noticed. Technical SEO is exactly like a shop that is good on the inside but also clean and properly built on the outside.
Best Free SEO Tools for Bloggers
When I started blogging, the biggest challenge was figuring out whether my content would rank high on Google. Someone then told me to use SEO tools. But as a new blogger, spending money wasn’t easy. That’s why I searched for, tried, and learned which free SEO tools served which purpose. If you’re a new blogger too, these free tools will help you a lot.
Here are the Best Free SEO Tools for Bloggers:
1. Google Search Console
2. Google Analytics
3. Google Keyword Planner
4. Ubersuggest
5. Answer The Public
6. Yoast SEO (WordPress Plugin)
7. Screaming Frog SEO Spider
8. Ahrefs (limited free version)
9. SEOquake (browser extension)
10. GTmetrix
I’ve personally improved my websites’ rankings using these tools, all without spending a single dollar. And these same tools are still valuable for my team and students today.
If you truly want to understand What is an SEO for a Website, start practicing with these tools. Gradually, you’ll grasp the depths of SEO, and your website will begin to rank.
Why is SEO Important?
Let’s go back to your shop example. If your shop is on the best street where thousands of people pass by every day, wouldn’t there be a higher chance of customers coming to your shop? Absolutely! And if your shop appears at the very top, first in that street, that would be the icing on the cake.
By now, you’ve likely grasped what SEO for a website entails and its function. But the crucial question remains: why is it so vital? Consider this: when you’re searching for information, your immediate action is to “Google it,” isn’t it? And more often than not, you click on the results featured on Google’s initial page. It’s uncommon for users to navigate to the second, third, or even fourth pages. This precisely underscores SEO’s critical importance. If your website doesn’t appear on Google’s first page, it’s essentially invisible online.
Over the past several years, I’ve helped thousands of websites reach this first page of Google. I’ve seen how a good SEO strategy can make even a small business big. Without SEO, your website is like a book kept in a closed room that no one can read. I believe that in today’s time, if your business is online, you’re losing a lot of customers without SEO. Let’s understand why SEO is important with some simple points:
More Visitors to Your Website: When your website ranks higher on Google, more people see it and click on it. More people mean more customers.
Builds Trust: People trust Google. When Google shows your website higher, people believe your website is good and trustworthy.
Free Traffic: Once your website ranks higher with the help of SEO, you don’t have to spend money every time to bring people to your website, unlike with advertisements. These are completely free customers.
Beat Competitors: If you’re not doing SEO, your competitors definitely will be. By doing SEO, you can get ahead of them and attract more customers to your side.
So, by now, you must have understood that SEO is not just good but essential for your website. It’s the most effective way to build your online presence and reach as many people as possible.
What is Advanced SEO?
By now, you’ve learned What is an SEO for a Website, its types, and why it’s important. But now let’s talk about Advanced SEO, which is a step further. This is for those who not only want their website to be visible but also fast, smart, and in a top position.
Advanced SEO means going beyond just keywords and link building to understand the deeper workings of search engines. In this, you combine technology, user behavior, and data analysis to prepare your website according to AI and algorithms.
Using Structured Data
In Advanced SEO, Structured Data or Schema Markup is very important. This is a way to clearly tell Google what is on your website. For example, if you’ve posted a recipe, Google will also know how much time it takes, what ingredients are needed, what the rating is, and so on.
When I added Schema to one of my client’s sites, their recipes started appearing in Google’s Rich Snippets, meaning their site looked different and better than others in the search results.
Focusing on Core Web Vitals
This is another aspect that falls under Advanced SEO. Core Web Vitals refers to how quickly your website loads, how it looks on mobile, and how easy it is for users to interact with. Google no longer just looks at content; it also checks if the website is user-friendly.
In my own experience, when I reduced my website’s speed to under 2 seconds, Google improved its ranking without any keyword or backlink efforts.
Log File Analysis
This might sound a bit technical, but it’s actually very important. Log File Analysis allows you to see where Google’s bots are going on your website, which pages are being crawled, and which are being ignored. This helps you guide Google more effectively.
Deeply Understanding Search Intent
In Beginner SEO, people focus on keywords, but in Advanced SEO, Search Intent is understood. This means why the user is searching for that keyword; do they want to buy something, get information, or complete a task? If your content doesn’t fulfill that need, it won’t rank, even if you put in 100 keywords.
Internal Linking Strategy
Where beginners simply see internal linking as adding a link, in Advanced SEO, it’s used to pass site structure and page authority. When I applied a strategic internal linking approach on my blog, even old pages suddenly started ranking.
Now you can understand that knowing What is an SEO for a Website is just the beginning, but understanding and implementing Advanced SEO is the true art that takes a website to the top.
How to Learn SEO Online
Learning SEO today isn’t as difficult as it used to be. You no longer need to go to a class or pay hefty fees. You can learn SEO from home using your mobile or laptop; all you need is the right direction and daily practice.
The best way to start learning SEO is to first understand its basics. This includes grasping What is an SEO for a Website, what types of SEO exist, how to do keyword research, and how to rank a website higher on Google. All this information is available on our website in very simple language.
On our website, you’ll find several free SEO tutorials that you can read to gradually build a complete understanding of SEO. We’ve explained each topic by breaking it down into small parts so that even a new learner doesn’t feel overwhelmed.
But always remember one thing: if you don’t practice daily, learning SEO will remain just a dream. This is knowledge that comes from daily practice, not just from books. No matter how much you’ve read, you won’t gain a true understanding until you try it yourself on your own website or blog.
I personally started working on SEO for 30 minutes daily in the beginning. I made mistakes at first, but that’s where I learned. All the knowledge and experience I have today came not just from reading, but from continuous practice.
So, if you truly want to learn SEO, start by reading all the tutorials on our website and begin your daily practice today. This is how one genuinely achieves SEO expertise.
Conclusion
If you’ve read this far, believe me, you’re no longer among those who think SEO is rocket science. We’ve understood in simple terms What is an SEO for a Website, what a search engine does, how many types of SEO there are, and that the real fun begins when you reach the advanced level.
In my opinion, learning SEO is a lot like learning to ride a bicycle; you’re bound to fall at first, but once you find your balance, you never have to look back. Yes, daily practice is crucial, or what you’ve learned will slowly fade from your mind.
If this article taught you anything new or felt even a little bit easier, be sure to check out our website’s other SEO tutorials. And yes, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to comment; we’ll talk, learn, and grow together.
