In the previous content of this series, we have gone through the process of how website development works. It's a great move to start up your brand by setting up your website and getting live on the web. But the crucial part after getting your website live on the web is to list it out on the internet properly so that it can reach out to the users online with quick searches and patterns; just imagine someone typing a topic on google and your website popping up on the first page. All this can be achieved by optimization of the website, which is termed as SEO or Search Engine Optimization.
There are different types of search engines on the internet; some of them are

1. Google

2. Bing

3. Yandex

4. DuckDuckGo

5. Ask

6. Baidu (biggest in China)

And many more in the list.

Think of Search engines as the registrars or yellow pages book for your website. It keeps the track record of all the content and information you have, and if someone is looking for something with that exact information, your name pops up with that relevant information to the specified user. In simple form, SEO is the key aspect to ranking your website up on the internet's top page.

In technical terms, Search Engine is a software program designed to identify and respond to specific questions called keywords and populate a page called SERP with relevant information available on the web. In this final part of the series, we will talk about SEO only and give a brief overview of SEO. There are many tools and technologies that can be used to make this happen, but in this part of the series we will just focus on the basics and importance.

Working of Search Engine:
Let’s now talk about how search engines work and how your sites show up.
It’s a simple but not so simple 3-step process:

1. Crawling

2. Indexing

3. Retrieval/Results

Crawling:

Crawling is the first step, which basically means crawling through all the content on your website. Search engines have bots, which are programmed in such a way that once a crawler is set up for your domain, it goes to a web page and follows all the web links given on that web page.

Then they collect all the information from that and all other web pages on your website. To help Google discover and crawl your site faster, verify ownership in Google Search Console (free) and submit your sitemap. You don’t control the crawler itself—Googlebot runs automatically—but submitting tells Google, “hey, I exist!” Google search console setup is simple and has many features to look through. In upcoming content in the near future, we will be showing you how you can set up your website and list it on google, with all the things and check out the metrics for your website. We will be launching another series for Google metrics with the latest updated content online.

Indexing:

After the bots have finished collecting the information from the web pages, they store this information into their database and then analyze the collected information. After that they provide the ranking, which means assigning the position to all the millions of pages.

After that they analyze the content, understand topics, keywords, page speed, mobile-friendliness, etc., and store everything in a huge database. This stored, organized data is called the Index. Ranking (position) is NOT decided yet—it happens later when someone searches.

Retrieval/Results:

This is the final step when a user types a query. The search engine quickly looks into its index (the giant database created during Indexing), applies hundreds of ranking factors (relevance, authority, freshness, user location, etc.), and instantly returns the most relevant pages on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). The position (rank) is decided in real-time for each search, not fixed forever.

Types of Search Engines:

Before we continue talking about search engine optimization, we have listed out some search engines above. But we haven’t figured out what the types of these search engines are. Back when the internet was rising around the year 2000, the mechanism of showing pages was different for each search engine. Yahoo was popular at that time, and that is the reason its search type was different from Google’s. You might be thinking, why is it necessary that Google ranks on top? But it's important to understand that if your content and information on the website are valuable, they should always appear in every relevant search.

Now let’s talk about the types:

• Directories: Human-edited web directories (mostly dead now). Old examples: Yahoo Directory (closed 2014), DMOZ (closed 2017).

• Meta: Search engines that don’t crawl themselves but combine results from Google, Bing, etc. Examples: Metacrawler.com and Dogpile.com (still exist but have tiny traffic).

• Crawler-based: Fully automatic bots that crawl and index the entire web. Examples: Google, Bing, Yandex, and Baidu (99% of searches today happen here).

• Hybrid: Mix of crawler and human editing (practically extinct now)
  

What is SEO?

• SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. 

• It is a process designed to optimize a website for search engines. 

• It helps websites achieve higher rankings in search engine results when people search keywords related to their products and services. 

• Thus, it increases the quantity and quality of traffic to a website through organic search engine results. 

• See the following image to understand the basic activities involved in SEO.

Basic Activities in SEO (real explanations—sourced from Google Search Central, Moz, SEMrush 2025)

1. Website Analytics
Using tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Search Console to track real user behavior, bounce rates, traffic sources, conversions, and Core Web Vitals scores. This data tells you what’s actually working vs. broken.

2. Client Requirements
Gathering business goals, target audience, competitor websites, desired keywords, and conversion targets before any work starts. This step prevents building SEO for the wrong goals.

3. Keyword Research
Finding real search terms people type in Google using tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or AnswerThePublic. Includes search volume, difficulty score, and user intent (informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional).

4. Content Writing
Creating high-quality, original content that matches search intent. Google’s Helpful Content Update (2024-2025) rewards content written by people for people, not AI spam. Must satisfy E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).

5. Website Optimization (On-Page SEO)
Technical fixes: title tags, meta descriptions, header tags (H1-H6), image alt text, URL structure, schema markup, internal linking, page speed (Core Web Vitals), mobile-friendliness, HTTPS, and fixing crawl errors in Search Console.

6. SEO Submission
Submitting XML sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, creating robots.txt, verifying site ownership, requesting indexing for new pages via URL Inspection Tool, and submitting site to legitimate directories (not spammy ones).

7. Link Building (Off-Page SEO)
Earning natural backlinks from authoritative websites through guest posts, HARO (Help A Reporter Out), digital PR, broken link building, and unlinked brand mentions. Google’s SpamBrain (2025) instantly penalizes paid or PBN links.

8. Reporting
Monthly or weekly reports showing rankings (SEMrush Rank Tracker), organic traffic (GA4), keyword movements, backlinks gained/lost (Ahrefs), conversion rates, and ROI. Clients see real numbers, not guesses.

All these activities go in a loop from 1 to 8 and back to 1—SEO is never “done”; Google releases 12+ algorithm updates per year.

How does SEO work?

Search Engines rank websites based on several factors, and only Google takes into consideration over 200 factors, like

- What is the website all about? 

- To which topic or organization does it belong?

- In terms of look and feel, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Content quality, Keywords, and links (internal and external)

- Page Experience signals (Core Web Vitals: LCP < 2.5s, FID < 100ms, CLS < 0.1)

- E-E-A-T score (especially for YMYL sites: health, finance, legal)

- Freshness (for trending topics)

- User location and search history

In a nutshell, SEO works on 2 main pillars (confirmed by Google’s Gary Illyes & John Mueller 2024-2025):

1. Meet the Search Engine Guidelines (no black-hat, no cloaking, no keyword stuffing)

2. Provide genuinely beneficial information that matches the user’s search intent

When these factors are met, your website will rank higher and stay there.

Why is SEO needed?

• Over ~92–93% (Google 91+%, others tiny) of the traffic comes from Search Engines

• Traffic works like an Oxygen for the website.

• Websites need to be ranked high in search engines

• SEO helps in ranking high in search engines.

In a simple nutshell, the usage is helping in this way: website > traffic > Leads > Customer > Business growth

Techniques of SEO

There are two techniques,

1. White Hat SEO

   • On-page SEO

   • Off-page SEO

2. Black Hat SEO

   • Cloaking

   • Doorway Page

Now let's discuss these one at a time:

White Hat SEO: White hat SEO techniques that search engines recommend and approve to be implemented on websites. These techniques work according to the SEO guidelines set by the search engines. It means it uses approved search engine optimization techniques to improve the ranking of a site on search engine results pages (SERP). Unlike Black Hat SEO, it mainly focuses on the human audience as opposed to a search engine. People who are looking for a long-term investment on their websites rely on white hat SEO techniques.

Black Hat SEO: Black Hat SEO techniques are those which Search Engines do not approve and should not be implemented on websites. These techniques do not work according to the SEO guidelines set by the search engines. These techniques exploit the weaknesses in search engines to get higher rankings for websites on the search engine results pages (SERP). It mainly focuses on search engines and not on the human audience. People who are looking for a quick financial return on their website rather than a long-term investment use black hat SEO techniques.

Let’s talk about some differences between these two:

WHITE HAT:

• The techniques that comply with search engine guidelines are used to improve search engine rankings.

• Don't need to worry about getting penalized or de-indexing of your site.

• Focused on providing quality and relevant content to the users.

• Suitable for people who are looking for a long-term investment.

• It focuses on optimum use of keywords in the title, metatags, and body of content.

BLACK HAT:

• The techniques that are not approved by search engines are used to improve the SEO of a site.

• It may get your site banned, de-indexed, or penalized by search engines.

• Don't care about the quality of the content.

• People looking for quick financial return prefer Black Hat SEO

• Keyword density is increased to achieve higher search engine ranking
  

As White Hat SEO is important, let’s talk about some techniques for that:

1. On-Page SEO

2. Off-Page SEO
   

On-Page SEO:

On Page optimization is commonly known as On Site optimization which is the major part of SEO. The techniques executed on the website to improve its ranking in the search engine results page come under this category. These measures are related to the content and HTML source code of a page. 

For Example 

• Headings

• SEO Optimized domains

• Canonical tag

• Images and its alt text

• Internal Link Building

• Sitemap

• Hidden Text

• Robots

• Error pages

• Redirect pages

• Meta tags, 

• Keyword Placement 

• Keyword Density, etc.
  

To get more details, let’s study the On-page SEO techniques.

• Keyword Research & Optimization

• Meta Tags

• Content Optimization

• Image Optimization

• Google Analytics 

• Internal Links

• URL Optimization

These are the things that need to be checked for on-page seo. In the future content we are going to work on all the techniques, but for this series, let’s talk about keyword research.

Tips to do Keyword Research:

While creating your content online and adding some content, once you've got a good list, you'll want to determine how popular each keyword is and how difficult it would be to rank for them on search engine results pages (SERPs). 

This is where a keyword tool comes in handy. There are many Keywords Research Tools available like

1. Moz Keyword Explorer 

2. WordStream Keyword Stream

3. Google Keyword Planner

4. KeyWordtool.io (Website)

Start by entering a seed into a research tool like Moz Keyword Explorer.

You'll be presented with details on how popular the search is and how difficult it is to rank well for that keyword.

To get the right keywords for your content online for your website, keyword analysis is necessary. Keyword  Analysis is a SWOT Analysis for organic and paid advertising.

SWOT Stands for

 S –  Strength

W – Weakness

O – Opportunities 

T – Threats

SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) are based on Keywords so analyze the keywords of the industry for the website and come up with keywords most relevant to the products and services offered.

Short Tail vs Long Tail
Keywords are of two types: long and short; which one to choose where is totally based on the content research and necessity.

Long Tail:

• Combination of 4-6 words

• Easy to rank

• Low search volume

• Low competition

• Helps to rank short-tail keywords

• Contains short-tail keywords

• More specific

Short Tail:

• Combination of 1-2 words

• High Search Volume

• High Competition

• Difficult to rank

• Generates high revenue if ranked

• More generic
  

Now, while setting up your blog or website and thinking about which keywords to choose, it's always better to start targeting long-tail keywords. Below are the reasons for choosing long-tail keywords.

• Long-tail keywords clearly define the user requirements.

• They are specific and to the point

• Google show only those results that match the long-tail keywords

• They stand a better chance of ranking high in the search engines.

• Ensure long-tail keywords in the Title, Heading, and First Paragraph of the page for better results. 

• Longer and specific keywords stand a better chance of conversation.

Off-page SEO:

Off-page SEO, also known as off-site SEO, refers to the various activities and techniques employed outside of your website to improve its visibility, authority, and rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). 

Off-page SEO is an essential component of search engine optimization and plays a crucial role in determining a website's overall position in search results.

For Example:

• Link popularity

• Link Exchange

• Directory Submission

• Forum Link Building

• Posting to forums

• RSS Feed Submission

• Competitor Link Analysis

• Page rank

• Press release

• Article submission

• Social Bookmarking

• Blog Submission
  

As we have talked about white page seo techniques, for knowledge purposes and information, let’s talk about Black Hat SEO techniques:

1. Cloaking 

2. Doorway Page

Cloaking:

It refers to coding webpages in such a way that search engines see one set of content and visitors see another set of content.

For Example :

• A user searching for “Gold Price"

• And clicks on a search result, "current gold price."

• But users are greeted with a travel and tourism site. 

This practice is not in accordance with Search Engine’s Guidelines which say to create content for users not for the search engines.

Doorway Page:

The poorly written pages that are rich in keywords but don't contain relevant information. And those pages that focus on the links to redirect users to an unrelated page are called doorway pages. These pages are used by black hat SEO professionals to pass on user traffic to unrelated sites.

These two techniques might give you results in traffic in the initial stage, but they risk the website's performance in the long run.

Now let’s get in some info about the necessary on-page seo techniques that should be keep in mind first while creating website content.

Meta Tags:

Meta Tags are also known as Meta Data. Meta-data is data about data or you can say the information about your page.

Meta tags are basically HTML elements/tags that are used to specify

• Page Title, 

• Description, 

• Keywords and 

• Author, etc.

Meta Keywords Syntax:

1. Classic HTML Meta Tags (SEO & Browser)

<!-- Essential -->
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

<!-- SEO Basics -->
<title>Your Page Title Here (60-70 chars)</title>
<meta name="description" content="Your page description here – 150-160 characters max for best SEO results.">
<!-- Keywords is almost ignored by Google now, but still used by some smaller search engines -->
<meta name="keywords" content="keyword1, keyword2, keyword3">

<!-- Robots control -->
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow"> <!-- or noindex, nofollow, etc. -->

<!-- Author & Copyright -->
<meta name="author" content="Your Name">
<meta name="copyright" content="© 2025 Your Company">

<!-- Favicon & Apple Touch Icons -->
<link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon">
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon.png">

2. Open Graph Meta Tags (Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, iMessage, etc.)

Sometimes we try to share the website link online on social media, so it’s good to have meta tags for social media as well:

<!-- Open Graph Basics -->
<meta property="og:title" content="Your Awesome Page Title">
<meta property="og:description" content="Description that appears when shared on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. (max ~300 chars)">
<meta property="og:type" content="website"> <!-- or article, video, product, etc. -->
<meta property="og:url" content="https://www.yoursite.com/current-page">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://www.yoursite.com/images/share-image.jpg">
<meta property="og:image:alt" content="Descriptive alt text for the image">
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200">
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630">
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Your Site Name">
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US">

<!-- Optional but recommended -->
<meta property="og:video" content="https://yoursite.com/video.mp4"> <!-- if it's a video page -->
<meta property="article:published_time" content="2025-11-22T12:00:00+00:00">
<meta property="article:author" content="https://yoursite.com/author-name">

3. Twitter / X Cards (now called X Cards)

<!-- Twitter/X Card -->
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> <!-- options: summary, summary_large_image, app, player -->
<meta name="twitter:site" content="@socialgurudeva">
<meta name="twitter:creator" content="@socialgurudeva">
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Your Title for X">
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Description shown on X (max 200 chars recommended)">
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://yoursite.com/images/twitter-share.jpg">
<meta name="twitter:image:alt" content="Alt text for image">

Meta Description:

Meta description is a short paragraph that is placed in the HTML of a webpage. It is a kind of advertising copy that briefly describes the content of your page. Meta description appears under the URL of your page in search engine result pages. It is also known as a snippet.

Instructions to write Meta Tags

1. Keywords: Incorporate the most important keywords in your meta description.

2. Readability: It should be simple and relevant and should read like a human-written sentence and keyword stuffing should be avoided.

3. Compelling: It should be as compelling as possible. i.e., it should clearly describe the content of the page.

4. Length: It should be up to 135 to 160 characters long, or else the search engine will truncate it, so keep the important keywords in the first or second line of the description.

5. Don’t repeat: Write different meta descriptions for different pages, or else the search engine may penalize you for repeating the same description on different pages.

Content Optimization:

Content optimization is a process of refining the content on the website to make it more keyword-rich, user-friendly, and beneficial for the users. Content has to be original, unique, and valuable. Content can be text, audio, videos, or infographics.

Content optimization is important because of these following reasons:

• Search Engines like optimized and user-beneficial content 

• It improves & increases search engine ranking

• Optimized content helps in driving traffic 

• Helps in building trust and brand

• It helps in establishing you as an authority

• Builds loyal user and customer base
  

Image Optimization:

Image optimization basically involves 2 things:

• Reducing the size of the image without losing quality.

• Giving a name and identity to an image to make it more accessible.

You can use image resize tools to reduce the size of the image.

Tools such as

• PicMonkey

• Pixlr

• FotoFlexr

• Squoosh.app (Google Free tool)

• TinyPNG—very popular in 2025
  

Typically image size should be under 100–150 KB for most images, with 70 KB ideal.

JPEG is the best format for an eCommerce website.

Internal Links:

Internal links are hyperlinks from one page to another page within a website. These are also known as Anchor tags. 

<a href=”https://feedinweb.com/fw/series/digital-marketing-zero-to-hero”>Digital Marketing Zero to Hero: Learn Here</a>

Content part on the page is linked to the content part of another page with hyperlinks.

It is an important SEO technique that enables you to link a new post to another old or popular post to 

Increase the traffic to the new post as well as to provide users more relevant content.

It is an important SEO technique that enables you to link a new post to another old or popular post to increase the traffic to the new post as well as to provide users more relevant content.

Live website Example we linked back to our series content.

https://feedinweb.com/blog/how-to-sign-up-on-feedinweb-start-your-writing-journey-in-under-5-minutes

Good internal linking:

Your homepage links to main pillar pages, pillar pages link to each other and to supporting articles, and articles link back to pillars and related articles, forming tight, logical clusters that boost topical authority.

Poor internal linking:

Homepage links to a few random pages; most articles have no links or only link to the homepage → many pages are orphaned, and search engines see weak structure.

Internal linking is important because of the following reasons:

• Internal linking is one of the most important parts of on Page SEO.

• Internal links help users navigate from one page to another easily.

• It provides the user with multiple reading options.

• It helps Google Crawling and indexing.

• Internal links help in improving search engine rankings.

• And it is an overlooked factor.

• Never overdo internal linking.

• Internal links reduce bounce rate.

We are going to summarize this series for now by ending this content with another thing to keep in mind regarding your website, and that is Bounce Rate.
Bounce rate is an Internet marketing term used in web traffic analysis. It represents the percentage of visitors who enter the site and then leave ("bounce") rather than continuing to view other pages within the same site.

In the future we are going to study the bounce rates while learning about the analytics tools and more advanced SEO functionalities. With this we are wrapping up this series: Digital Marketing Zero to Hero
This was just the basic series of digital marketing to start with; as SocialGurudeva, we will continue creating content that is valuable to people who are just starting out online.

#SEO #SearchEngineOptimization #DigitalMarketing #SEO2025 #GoogleSEO #OnPageSEO #OffPageSEO #KeywordResearch #WhiteHatSEO #LearnSEO #SEOTips #GoogleSearchConsole #LongTailKeywords #EEAT #SocialGurudeva