When I consult with a small business, I explain SEO as a set of practices that will improve your search ranking and online reputation. I break it down into paid ads, local search, organic search, and social signals. Because every business is different, their approach to SEO will vary. Budget is also a factor here, especially in competitive niches. There’s a lot that goes into SEO. If you focus on quality content that is engaging, you’ll do fine starting out. Answer from saltymane on reddit.com
LYFE Marketing
lyfemarketing.com › blog home › what is seo and how it works for small businesses in 2025
What is SEO and How It Works for Small Businesses in 2025
July 14, 2025 - SEO works by making certain changes to your website design and content that make your site more attractive to a search engine. You do this in hopes that the search engine will display your website as a top result on the search engine results page.
San Diego State University
pce.sandiego.edu › home › blog › how does seo work? 9 elements for beginners to know
How Does SEO Work? 9 Elements for Beginners to Know – University of San Diego - Professional & Continuing Education
March 21, 2022 - SEO utilizes things like keywords, internal and external links, and optimized content to help search engines find content and rank websites higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Can you eli5 what is seo is, what it does, and how its achieved?
When I consult with a small business, I explain SEO as a set of practices that will improve your search ranking and online reputation. I break it down into paid ads, local search, organic search, and social signals. Because every business is different, their approach to SEO will vary. Budget is also a factor here, especially in competitive niches. There’s a lot that goes into SEO. If you focus on quality content that is engaging, you’ll do fine starting out. More on reddit.com
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March 1, 2024ELI5: How does SEO work? Either paid for or free?
SEO is Search Engine Optimization. It's tactics and techniques to get your site to rank more highly in search results on Google and other search engines. Techniques to improve SEO include making sure your site's pages have appropriate title tags, meta tags; content that is relevant and up to date; making use of words and terms customers search for; following modern best practices on things like being responsive for mobile devices, accessibility for blind users, quick load speeds, secure (SSL). There are also off-site SEO like claiming listings on directories (Google Business, Yelp, industry-relevant sites/directories), having relevant inbound links (the more people who link to you, the more Google thinks your content is relevent to the terms/topic being searched). More on reddit.com
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December 17, 2023ELI5: What is SEO?
SEO is basically gaming a search engine's algorithms to make your site the most favourable. How is it done? It's hotly debated. There are two ways of 'doing' SEO; Black Hat and White Hat. White hat is basically doing what google tells you to do, which is making good user-friendly content on an easy-to read and index website. Black Hat is anything that has the chance of getting your website banned from web results. White Hat - Good content that reads well. Gets good stats for pageviews and time on page. Well indexed and layed-out site. Pages ascend and descend well, and generally make sense. Keywords for SEO Top Page Results aren't stuffed onto pages for SEO Top Page Results where the topic isn't even about SEO Top Page Results No Keywords that don't make any sense on that page, Sex, Porn Plenty of other back-end stuff that I make the dev's do. Black Hat Leaving a link to my website on pages where they don't belong Toilet Plungers . Reddit for example - doesn't pertain to Toilet Plungers. Spamming a website's comment section with links. Grow your penis by 500 inches with this one pill, Cialis, Viagra Churning, Content Spinning, Blogspam, (Becoming more and more black hat for some people) Press Releases etc Black Hat has been known to get results quick, but like anything in life, easy come easy go. Hope that helps. More on reddit.com
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October 4, 2013Noob's guide to Search Engine Optimization
I wrote this and posted it in this sub as well (among top posts of all-time now). https://medium.com/startup-grind/seo-is-not-hard-a-step-by-step-seo-tutorial-for-beginners-that-will-get-you-ranked-every-single-1b903b3ab6bb#.rtrsnxd9p
More on reddit.com 36
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September 28, 2015Videos
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SEO for Beginners: Rank #1 In Google (2023) - YouTube
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What is SEO? How Does SEO Work? SPPC SEO Tutorial #1 - YouTube
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What is SEO? A simple explanation (for dummies). - YouTube
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The BEST Local SEO Tutorial for Beginners 2026 (Full Guide) - YouTube
Digital Marketing Institute
digitalmarketinginstitute.com › blog › what-is-seo
What Is SEO and How Does it Work? | Digital Marketing Institute
April 28, 2025 - You may have heard of Search Engine Optimization or SEO but do you know how to use it to drive leads and sales? Read on to find out exactly what SEO is and how to use it effectively.
WebFX
webfx.com › home › blog › seo › what is seo in digital marketing? the seo quick beginner’s guide
What Is SEO in Digital Marketing? The SEO Quick Beginner’s Guide
October 7, 2025 - How does SEO work in practice? You research keywords, create intent‑satisfying content, optimize on-page elements, improve UX/technical health, submit URLs, and track analytics—continuously, since SEO is an ongoing process. What are the biggest benefits of SEO? It boosts visibility, traffic, credibility, and competitive standing; SEO can drive 1000%+ more traffic than organic social and delivers ~14.6% close rates.
Semrush
semrush.com › blog › what is seo? an intro to search engine optimization
What Is SEO? Meaning, Examples & How to Optimize Your Site
November 25, 2024 - Therefore, testing, analysis, and adaptation are crucial to SEO success. Search engines work by crawling, indexing, and ranking content on the internet. ... Crawling: Search engines use automated programs called bots or crawlers to explore the web and discover content. They primarily follow hyperlinks to find new pages. Indexing: After analyzing the content, the search engine determines if it’s eligible for indexing.
Search Engine Land
searchengineland.com › search engine land › seo, ppc & aio guides › article
What Is SEO - Search Engine Optimization?
September 23, 2024 - As technology evolves, so does our behavior in how we use and apply it. This has implications for how search engines evolve their product capabilities and appearances, which in turn means adaptive changes for what constitutes SEO. ... We have mentioned that technical SEO is one of the main types (or focuses) within SEO. In the past decade, significant changes have occurred in technology, shifting the focus of SEO work to include tasks and tactics that didn’t even exist a decade ago.
Mailchimp
mailchimp.com › marketing-glossary › seo
What is SEO in digital marketing? | Mailchimp
SEO means Search Engine Optimization and is the process used to optimize a website's technical configuration, content relevance and link popularity so its pages can become easily findable, more relevant and popular towards user search queries, ...
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explanation is so simple and perfect that SEO doesn’t even feel complicated anymore. When I first started, I had the same confusion what actually makes Google happy? Then I started using ubersuggest, and it helped me see which keywords people are searching for and which topics are actually worth creating content on. Basically, ubersuggest made me realize that SEO isn’t just about backlinks and rankings the first and most important step is understanding user intent. Once that’s clear, everything else naturally falls into place.
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When I consult with a small business, I explain SEO as a set of practices that will improve your search ranking and online reputation. I break it down into paid ads, local search, organic search, and social signals. Because every business is different, their approach to SEO will vary. Budget is also a factor here, especially in competitive niches. There’s a lot that goes into SEO. If you focus on quality content that is engaging, you’ll do fine starting out.
Google
developers.google.com › search central › documentation › seo starter guide: the basics | google search central
SEO Starter Guide: The Basics | Google Search Central | Documentation | Google for Developers
SEO—short for search engine optimization—is about helping search engines understand your content, and helping users find your site and make a decision about whether they should visit your site through a search engine.
OuterBox
outerboxdesign.com › home › web design & ecommerce articles › how seo works
What SEO Is and How Does SEO Work?
July 21, 2025 - When it comes to SEO, there are both technical and non-technical aspects to making a website fully optimized for search engines. So, how does SEO work with these two components? On-page SEO is handling the backend of a website, while off-page SEO is centered more around what you can’t control (we’ll explain).
SEO.com
seo.com › basics › glossary › what is seo? learn the essentials of search engine optimization
What Is SEO? Learn the Essentials of Search Engine Optimization
1 month ago - SEO is different from pay-per-click (PPC) advertising because SEO is not advertising. Search engine optimization focuses on improving a website and its content, while pay-per-click advertising focuses on improving an ad campaign and its ads.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Search_engine_optimization
Search engine optimization - Wikipedia
1 week ago - As of March 2024, Google still had a significant market share of 89.85% in Germany. As of March 2024, Google's market share in the UK was 93.61%. Successful search engine optimization (SEO) for international markets requires more than just translating web pages.
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › gblog › how-does-seo-work
How Does SEO Work? - GeeksforGeeks
July 23, 2025 - Search engines use complex algorithms that take a variety of ranking variables into account to do this. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the procedure used to increase a website's exposure in search results. It includes techniques like content ...
Indeed
indeed.com › career guide › career development › guide: what is seo?
Guide: What Is SEO? | Indeed.com
1 week ago - With proper SEO implementation, you can increase quality traffic to your website and increase your conversion rate. In this article, you will learn what SEO is, how on-page and off-page SEO work in tandem to produce results and how to implement SEO into your marketing campaign.
Socialsurgemarketing
socialsurgemarketing.com › home › guide: the beginner’s guide to seo › what is seo and how does it work?
What is SEO and How Does it Work?
January 3, 2025 - If you aren’t familiar with SEO, ... for “Search Engine Optimization” and is the process of improving positions in organic (non-paid) search results in search engines....
Ahrefs
ahrefs.com › blog › seo-basics
SEO Basics: Beginner's Guide to SEO Success
July 31, 2025 - SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is about optimizing your website and content to increase its visibility across search engines and AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity—not just for clicks, but to make sure you get mentioned in ...
Quora
quora.com › How-does-SEO-work-exactly-and-how-can-you-make-the-most-of-it
How does SEO work exactly, and how can you make the most of it? - Quora
Answer (1 of 4): SEO isn’t some dark art or Google-manipulation scheme. If you’re still asking “does seo work ?” — the answer is yes, but only when you stop treating it like a trick. Here’s how SEO actually works: Search engines like Google are trying to find and rank the most relevant, ...
Rivalmind
rivalmind.com › what-is-seo-in-digital-marketing-and-how-does-it-work
What is SEO in Digital Marketing & How Does It Work? | RivalMind
January 9, 2025 - Unlike paid ads, SEO targets organic ... visibility online. SEO works by aligning a website with the factors search engines prioritize when ranking pages—such as relevance, credibility, and user experience....
AMA
ama.org › home › marketing news articles › what is seo marketing? [a comprehensive overview]
What Is SEO Marketing? Guide to SEO Best Practices
July 30, 2025 - SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher on search engines like Google, making it easier for customers to find you when they search for products, services, or information.
Shopify Help Center
help.shopify.com › en › manual › promoting-marketing › seo › seo-overview
Shopify Help Center | SEO overview
In this context, relevant means that your content matches what potential customers are searching for and provides the information they need. For example, if you sell handmade soap, then your content would be relevant if it appears in search results when someone searches for "natural handmade soap" or "artisanal bath products". This matching of content to search queries is what we mean by SEO.