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
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.
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).
Videos
07:26
SEO in 2025: How I'd Learn it if I Were Starting Over - YouTube
11:35
SEO for Beginners: Rank #1 In Google (2023) - YouTube
01:57:03
Complete SEO Course for Beginners: Learn to Rank #1 in Google - ...
03:53
What is SEO? A simple explanation (for dummies). - YouTube
12:44
SEO for Beginners: Rank #1 In Google in 2020 - YouTube
How does SEO work?
Through the use of technical, on-page, and off page SEO tactics, marketers effectively tell search engines what their website is about and why it should rank well in search engine results pages (SERP).
searchenginejournal.com
searchenginejournal.com › seo
What is SEO? An Introduction to SEO Basics
How to learn SEO and get started?
If you want to learn SEO, there are plenty of online resources from the best SEO blogs. Hint: These sources rank at the top of search results because they’re well-known to Google as reliable sites for SEO information.
You can also check out our complete SEO glossary to get more definitions and explanations of essential SEO terminology!
Besides reading, though, consider getting hands-on experience with SEO.
You can do this by:
Creating a site
Applying for an internship
Playing with SEO tools
Using our SEO checklist
Getting first-hand experience will teach you a lot about how SEO works and
seo.com
seo.com › basics › glossary › what is seo? learn the essentials of search engine optimization
What Is SEO? Search Engine Optimization Guide for 2025
How did SEO start?
Search engine optimization started in the 1990s — its name came from either:
Jefferson Starship’s promoters
Danny Sullivan, now Search Liason at Google
Niche marketing agency
According to legend, Jefferson Starship discovered SEO when fansites outranked the band’s site. Adding what are now known as keywords to the band’s website saw its rankings grow for “jefferson starship.”
Search engine optimization has evolved since the days of Jefferson Starship, with Google becoming the leader in the industry. That’s why, when talking about SEO, most people are talking about Google SEO.
If you’re cur
seo.com
seo.com › basics › glossary › what is seo? learn the essentials of search engine optimization
What Is SEO? Search Engine Optimization Guide for 2025
Search Engine Land
searchengineland.com › search engine land › seo, ppc & aio guides › article
What Is SEO - Search Engine Optimization?
September 23, 2024 - Get started learning the basics of search engine optimization – how SEO works, why it's important, the different types of SEO and much more.
Moz
moz.com › homepage › introduction › seo 101
SEO 101: What is it, and why is it important? The Beginner's Guide to SEO - Moz
April 1, 2019 - For true beginners, this chapter gives you a baseline for what SEO is, why it matters, and how you should frame your thinking around it going forward.
Semrush
semrush.com › blog › seo basics: how to do seo for beginners
SEO Basics: How to Do SEO for Beginners
February 21, 2025 - Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website to help it appear more prominently for relevant topics when people search using Google and other search engines.
Moz
moz.com › homepage › seo learning center › what is seo? search engine optimization best practices
What Is SEO? Search Engine Optimization Best Practices - Moz
October 16, 2025 - Whether you're running a blog, an online store, or a local business site, understanding SEO can increase your reach and success. SEO works by helping search engines understand your website content and ensuring it appears for relevant searches.
SEO.com
seo.com › basics › glossary › what is seo? learn the essentials of search engine optimization
What Is SEO? Search Engine Optimization Guide for 2025
1 month ago - Search engines use their evaluation and index to generate relevant organic search results. Search engine optimization uses how search works to optimize a site for organic search results.
Search Engine Journal
searchenginejournal.com › seo
What is SEO? An Introduction to SEO Basics
October 15, 2025 - At its core, the meaning of search engine optimization (SEO) is increasing your website’s visibility in the organic search results of major search engines. To get that visibility, you must understand three core components: What types of content ...
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.
Top answer 1 of 29
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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.
Yoast
yoast.com › home › seo blog › seo basics › what is seo (search engine optimization)?
What is SEO? • SEO for beginners • Yoast
March 25, 2025 - SEO is both the art and science of improving a website, and pages within, to be as visible as possible for when people search for a relevant topic within any search platform. SEO covers many areas from technical aspects including optimizing ...
Bluehost
bluehost.com › home › marketing › seo › seo fundamentals: 2025 beginners guide
SEO Fundamentals: 2025 Beginners Guide
In summary, SEO is the foundation of online success. By optimizing your website and content, understanding search engine workings and differentiating between organic and paid search results, you can enjoy the numerous benefits that SEO brings ...
Published November 10, 2025
WordStream
wordstream.com › home › blog › seo basics: complete beginner’s guide to search engine optimization
SEO Basics: A Beginner's Guide to SEO | WordStream
April 19, 2024 - So we’re delivering: This article will be an introduction and overview of search engine optimization (SEO), a mandatory marketing tactic if you want your website to be found through search engines like Google.
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, ...
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Search_engine_optimization
Search engine optimization - Wikipedia
1 week ago - SEO helps websites attract more visitors from a search engine and rank higher within a search engine results page (SERP), aiming to either convert the visitors or build brand awareness. Webmasters and content providers began optimizing websites for search engines in the mid-1990s as the first ...
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 ...
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 - SEO (search engine optimization) is an effort to get more unpaid visibility in search engines like Google.
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.
SEOmator
seomator.com › seomator.com/blog › what is seo? how does it works?
What is SEO? How Does It Works? - SEOmator
August 13, 2023 - In simpler words, SEO is a way of ensuring a website can be found in search engines for words and phrases relevant to what the site is offering. Now that you have a brief understanding of what SEO is, let's take a deep dive into why it's important, ...
Quora
quora.com › What-is-SEO-and-how-does-it-work-for-beginners
What is SEO and how does it work for beginners? - Quora
Answer: 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...