SEO from Scratch

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of making your website show up higher in Google (and other search engines) when people search for things.

How Google Works (Simply)

1. Crawl -- Google's bots visit your pages and follow links
2. Index -- Google stores and organizes your content
3. Rank -- Google decides which pages show up for which searches

You optimize for all three.

The 4 Pillars of SEO

1. Keyword Research Find out what words people actually type into Google. Tools: Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or just Google's autocomplete.

• Target keywords with decent volume and low competition
• Focus on long-tail keywords ("best running shoes for flat feet") over generic ones ("shoes")

2. On-Page SEO Optimizing individual pages so Google understands what they're about.

• Put your keyword in the page title, H1 heading, and first paragraph
• Write clear meta descriptions (the snippet shown in search results)
• Use descriptive URLs: /best-coffee-makers not /page?id=42
• Structure content with H1, H2, H3 headings

3. Technical SEO Making sure Google can actually crawl and index your site.

• Fast load times (use tools like PageSpeed Insights)