SEO Marketing: What It Is and How to Get Started

Also, PPC data can inform your SEO strategy, and the reverse is also true. A rare but malicious practice where webspam techniques are used to harm the search rankings of another website, usually a competitor. Google will take manual action on a website after a human reviewer (i.e., a Google employee) manually reviews a website to confirm whether it has failed to comply with Google’s Webmaster guidelines. Penalized websites can either be demoted or removed entirely from search results.

Include the focus keyword

Avoid selling or over-promotion on online forums, which can backfire by creating distrust. Use free tools like Grammarly, Readability Test, and Hemingway Editor to proof your content. These tools can help you find grammar and spelling errors, plus opportunities for improving your content’s readability, which you should tailor to your audience. It includes recognising the catchphrases and expressions that your target gathering of people is utilising to rummage around for data related to your industry.

SEO statistics on voice search and other emerging technologies

It provides access to market-leading SEO tools and a wealth of helpful resources, including SEO courses. For example, people who search “best PRODUCT TYPE” are typically looking for product recommendations, reviews, and comparisons to help them decide which specific product to purchase. When you find keywords you want to target, save them with the “+” button. With a Semrush subscription or trial, you can get a personal keyword difficulty score (PKD%) for each keyword.

• The history of SEO dates back to the 90s when search engines emerged for the first time.
• Adding irrelevant keywords, or repeating keywords beyond what is natural, to a webpage in the hopes of increasing search rankings.
• A list of websites, usually separated by related categories and maintained by human editors.
• Nevertheless, you should aim to make your website as fast as possible.
• Instead of recognizing them as variations of the same intent, results would be fragmented, often prioritizing keyword-heavy pages instead of truly helpful content.

Backlink analysis tools

If not, let your site builder help you out or hire someone with a background in technical SEO. When that’s done, you can start looking at site structure and the content on your pages. In 1998, two graduate students at Stanford University, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, developed “Backrub”, a search engine that relied on a mathematical algorithm to rate the prominence of web pages. In effect, this means that some links are stronger than others, as a higher PageRank page is more likely to be reached by the random web surfer. The tool lets you monitor your overall organic visibility, where 100% means a top ranking for all keywords and 0% means you rank outside the top 100 for all keywords. It most commonly involves link building, which is the process of getting other high-quality websites to link to your website.

The goal of search engines like Google is to provide a selection of the hundreds (if not thousands or millions) of content on the web. The goal is precisely to provide the results that may be most useful and most relevant to the user who is performing a search. You’ll provide your audience with relevant information to their search query.

When content aligns with search intent, users find what they need faster, reducing bounce rates and increasing dwell time. Semantic optimization structures content for logical flow, entity connections, and deep topical coverage, making it easier for users (and search engines) to navigate. In summary, SEO is all about optimizing content, building authority, and improving the overall user experience on your site. On the other hand, social media marketing is centered around building relationships and engaging with your audience on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.

Below is my 20-step guide covering the essential parts every article should include to work well for both readers and search engines. I won’t go too deep into technical details; think of these steps as a checklist to ensure your content is well-prepared. Additionally, clearly defined headings signal to search engines the hierarchy and relationship between topics, which improves indexing and ultimately boosts your visibility in search results.

For example if you’re writing a page that will appear on a blog internal to your website, you could use a URL slug that reflects your site hierarchy. On this page, squarespace.com/blog/on-page-seo indicates that this page lives on the website’s blog and is focused on on-page SEO as a topic. It’s useful to start page by page when incorporating SEO into your site.

Some of the best rank tracking tools out there can help you identify the pages ranking well for your keyword, like Ahrefs. Then, use your header tags to target your keyword, plus help users find the information they need. Search engine optimization works by optimizing a website for more than 200 search engine ranking factors. Before you close the tab on this search engine optimization 101 rundown, SEO specialists do not optimize for all 200 factors. Instead, they focus their efforts on the most significant ranking factors. Search engine optimization (SEO) is optimizing a website to improve its visibility in organic search results, like on Google.

Unique descriptions help match each page with the right query — and that’s what drives qualified, high-intent traffic. It’s equally important to note that internal links are not just for navigation; they provide search engines with contextual signals. When linking pages, use descriptive anchor text that reflects semantic keywords rather than generic phrases. SEO is a powerful tool that can define your online presence, organic traffic, and business trajectory. Whether you’re just getting started with SEO or looking to refine your existing strategy, having the proper support can make all the BHS Links difference. At Cadence, we specialize in creating tailored SEO strategies that bring the best results.