What is SEO Marketing?
If you have ever wanted to learn how to do basic SEO, this guide will help you understand the essentials in a simple, beginner-friendly way. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is all about improving your website so it shows up on search engines like Google when people look for what you offer. Search engine optimisation and how to do it, is easier than it sounds. It is simply about helping both users and search engines find you easily. Let us understand what exactly Search Engine Optimization is.
Think of the internet as a massive library and search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo as the librarians. Their goal is to recommend the most useful “books” – in this case, websites, to users searching for information. By using the right keywords, optimizing content, speeding up your website, and earning quality backlinks, you help these search engines recognise your site as valuable and trustworthy. Worthy enough to show on the first pages of the search engine results.
When people ask, “how can I do SEO for my website” the answer lies in understanding both organic and paid methods. Organic traffic comes naturally from SEO done for your website through valuable content and user experience. Paid marketing involves running ads to instantly feature at the top of search results. Organic SEO takes time but builds lasting visibility, while paid ads bring quick traffic but stop as soon as you stop paying.
Imagine you open a coffee shop. If you invest time in SEO, your café appears when people search “best coffee in Delhi.” That’s organic traffic. But if you pay for an ad to show up immediately, that’s paid marketing. Learning SEO, how to do it requires you to combine both strategies: using SEO for long-term trust and paid marketing for short-term visibility.
This blog will guide you through how to do basic SEO step by step so you can build a strong online presence that keeps working for you. If you want to learn about paid marketing, please read this article. We will start with understanding the concepts first, and then in the next section, elaborate on them to create a simple process for you with the required checklists.
SEO Basics – Key Concepts You Must Know
If you have always thought, why some websites rank on the first page of Google while yours remain invisible, you must learn how to do basic SEO. Before you start optimizing your website, learning a few fundamentals can make all the difference. Think of this as your friendly guide to search engine optimisation.
But let us understand one basic concept: you don’t want just anyone visiting your website-you want the right people. The goal is to attract visitors who are already searching for what you offer. That’s where SEO comes in. It helps your content reach the right audience at the right moment. I will show you how to do basic SEO and walk you through the main pillars of SEO: keywords, on-page SEO, technical SEO, and off-page SEO.
Keywords – What They Are and How People Search
The first step of learning how to do basic SEO, is your focus on keywords. Even before you start writing your content. Keywords are the exact words or phrases people type into Google to find what they need. For example, if someone searches “best coffee beans for espresso,” Google looks for pages that match that phrase.
But here’s the interesting part – every keyword searched has a specific well defined intention behind it. This is what is called search intents and they are – informational, navigational, and transactional.
If learning how to do basic SEO is really your objective always align content with these intents. If you’re creating an informative post, answer your reader’s questions clearly. If you’re promoting a product, make the buying process smooth and engaging.
Matching intent is not just strategy – it is helping your customers finding exactly what they are looking for. So keyword research is essential step of the answer to that one question which brought you here – How do I do basic SEO of my website? Research and pick one primary keyword and a few secondary ones that describe your product or service and match the user intention to avail your service. That’s your foundation for mastering SEO.
On-Page SEO – Content, Titles, Meta Tags, Headings
Once you’ve selected the right keywords, the next step in learning how to do basic SEO is improving your website content. This part is on-page SEO and focuses on everything within your site that helps search engines understand and rank your pages better.
Start with your title tag – that’s the clickable headline that appears on Google. Then write a clear, engaging meta description that encourages people to click your link. Headings (H1, H2, H3) organize your text and create hierarchy in your content, making it easy to read and understand for users as well as search engines. Every keyword placed in these, helps boosting your rank on the search engine. Even your URL should be descriptive and include keywords so that customer (and search engines) can understand the topic from it and you get the ranking.
Your webpage is your digital front for the customers. When your titles, visuals, and writing are consistent and easy to follow, visitors stay longer, and Google notices. A good rhythm between clarity, relevance, and design is at the heart of mastering how to do basic SEO.
Technical SEO – Speed, Mobile, Crawlability, Sitemaps
Technical SEO is all about how your website works behind the scenes. You could have amazing content, but if your site takes forever to load or doesn’t look good on mobile, you’ll lose visitors fast.
To improve performance, start by compressing large images, removing unused plugins or codes/themes, and enabling caching. Then, ensure your site is mobile-friendly since most users browse on their phones. Set up a robots.txt file to tell search engines which pages to crawl, and create an XML sitemap to guide them. These steps are the base of how to do search engine optimisation effectively. A technically sound site always builds a strong foundation for your future SEO success.
Off-Page SEO – Backlinks & Authority
Now that you’ve taken care of what’s on your website, let’s look at what happens beyond it. Off-page SEO is all about building trust and credibility across the web. When other websites link to yours, it’s like earning a genuine recommendation that tells search engines your content is worth noticing. Focus on earning quality backlinks rather than chasing quantity and that is how you do the SEO.
Also, while generating links, a single link from a respected site in your niche can be more powerful than dozens from random blogs. You can earn strong backlinks through digital PR, collaborations, or simply by creating share-worthy content. So decide consciously about the links you get from each website.
SEO isn’t about tricking algorithms; it’s about earning trust through value and relevance. The effective strategies about how to do the SEO always come down to trust and value. SEO works best when you aim to help people first and let search engines recognize your effort naturally.
Step-by-Step SEO Marketing Tutorial
Now that we have understood the core concepts of doing basic SEO, let’s walk through a practical, repeatable workflow you can follow. Treat this as a checklist you can apply to one page at a time.
Step 1 – Research & pick the right keywords
Good keyword research sets the direction for everything else. We should choose the keywords which convert the visitor into the customer and are easy to rank at the same time.
Actionable steps
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Review the topic you wish to write about. Write down 5 seed keywords – simple phrases that capture the main idea (e.g., “how to do basic SEO”, “local seo tips”, “SEO building for websites”).
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Use a keyword tool to expand those seeds into longer, realistic search phrases. Look for:
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One or two long-tail phrases (3-5 words) per seed which show that user’s intent matches with you requirement.
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Question-style keywords (how/what/why) you can answer in an FAQ.
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Note estimated volume and competition. For beginners, favor lower competition long-tail phrases like “how can I do SEO for my website”, which you can realistically rank for.
Tools & shortcuts
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Quick free options: Google Keyword Planner (via Ads account), Google Trends, AnswerThePublic.
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Paid tools: Ahrefs/SEMrush/Ubersuggest.
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Keep everything in a simple spreadsheet: Seed → Long-tail → Search Intent → Volume (est.) → Priority.
Step 2 – Map keywords to pages / content plan
Don’t spray keywords across the site. Map them cautiously with the objective of each page on your website.
Actionable steps
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Make a simple mapping table (one row per page) including Page, Primary keyword, related keywords, Goal (traffic, leads, sales).
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Assign each primary keyword to a single page only.
How to prioritize
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Start with pages that already have some traffic but low conversions – small wins are motivating.
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New pages: target long-tail, low-competition phrases first.
Step 3 – Write SEO-friendly content
High-quality content that answers user intent, wins.To do basic SEO is not chasing algorithms – it’s about understanding what people are looking for and giving them exactly that. You might ask how long should the content be for SEO? This is simple. The size of content can depend on the objective of every page on the site. An explainer blog will be long (2000-2500 words) But a feature showcasing services page will be short (600-800 words). Focus on creating value for the customer.
Actionable steps
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Begin with a clear, meaningful title that reflects your topic, includes the primary keyword naturally and promises value.
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Write a short intro (1-2 paragraphs) that addresses the user’s need and includes the primary keyword once within the first 100 words.
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Use headings and subheadings (H2/H3) to organize your ideas. These make your content easier to read and help search engines understand its structure. Put related keywords into subheads where it reads naturally.
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Keep sentences short, use bullet lists, and include examples or quick screenshots to help understanding.
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Add 1-2 relevant internal links guiding readers to other helpful pages on your site and add 1-2 authoritative external links leading to credible sources. These not only improve navigation but also signal relevance and trustworthiness.
Before/after tip
Make sure you review your content at least once after you finished writing, Before hitting publish. Make sure it flows naturally. Reading your content and rewriting it can align your content for better understanding as well as search engine ranking. If your opening paragraph is vague, rewrite it to promise a specific outcome: e.g., “Learn a step-by-step method to pick keywords and how to do basic SEO.”
Step 4 – On-page SEO optimization checklist
Fixing on-page SEO is easier than we think. Start by fixing the basics – clear titles, short URLs, and descriptive headings. Add meaningful meta descriptions and make sure your images have proper alt text. These small steps help both users and search engines understand your page better. Guide visitors with helpful internal links. When everything feels clear and organized, people stay longer, and search engines reward that. Here is a short checklist which will take care of all your On-page efforts.
Checklist to follow before publishing
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Title tag: <60 characters, primary keyword near start if possible, compelling enough for the user to click for every page on your website.
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Meta description: 120-160 chars summarizing benefit; include a related phrase.
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URL: short, readable, keyword-friendly (e.g., /seo-marketing-tutorial).
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H1: mirrors the title and includes the primary keyword.
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H2/H3s: use related terms and question keywords.
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Internal linking: link to at least 2 relevant pages.
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Images: optimized size, descriptive filename, alt text.
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Schema: add Article or FAQ schema where appropriate.
Quick test
Open the page preview and skim it as a user-if the value is obvious within 5 seconds, you’re on the right track.
Step 5 – Technical SEO checks & launch
I have already mentioned that creating a website and publishing a valued content is just half the task done. You also need to ensure that users can find this content and be able to browse it without any delays or difficulty. Make sure the page is visible and fast – technical problems decrease your ranking.
Before you hit publish
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Mobile test: Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to ensure readability and usability on phones. Your mobile users are key contributor to your traffic.
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Speed test: Run PageSpeed Insights. Fix large images or blocking scripts.
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Crawl & Indexing: Ensure the page is not blocked for indexing by search engines in robots.txt and is included in your sitemap. Submit the URL to Google Search Console.
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HTTPS & canonical: Confirm HTTPS is active and site is secure. Fix your canonical tags to avoid any duplicate content issues.
Publish flow
Publish → Submit sitemap / request indexing → Share the new page on social channels and internal networks.
Step 6 – Backlinks & promotion (Off-Page SEO) optimization checklist
Content without promotion is like a brochure in a locked drawer – no one will ever find it. You have already created something valuable, share it actively. Reach out to relevant websites, bloggers, and communities in your niche to earn quality backlinks. Post it on social media, newsletters, and forums where your audience spends time.
Promotion steps
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Share internally: Post the new page in your company Slack, newsletter, and social accounts.
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Outreach for links: Find 5-10 sites that link to similar topics; send a short, personalised outreach offering your page as a fresh resource.
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Guest contributions: Offer a short guest post or resource excerpt that links back to your page.
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Community value: Share answers on Quora/Reddit/industry forums with a helpful excerpt + link (don’t spam).
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Repurpose: Convert key points into a short video, carousel post, or infographic and link back to the blog.
Step 7 – Measure, iterate, and scale Your SEO Efforts
SEO is not “set and forget” technique. Things change, so do your competitors and your ranking. Fresh data might arrive or a new piece of information could emerge. Track, learn, and improve.
Metrics to monitor
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Organic traffic (users/sessions) – are more people finding the page?
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Impressions & clicks (Search Console) – how often your page appears and how often it’s clicked.
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CTR: If impressions are high but CTR is low, It indicates that the first 2 seconds of your information is not enticing for the user. Improve title, meta description.
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Average position: Which queries and positions are you getting?
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Conversions: Leads, signups, or contact forms from the page.
Review cadence:
Review cadence means a series of assessments to evaluate performance and progress of your strategy.
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Weekly: Check for major traffic swings and indexing errors.
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Monthly: Review keyword positions and CTR; identify pages that need refresh.
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Quarterly: Expand high-performing pages and add new cluster content.
SEO Iteration ideas
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Add fresh data, update examples, or extend the article with new subtopics.
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If a page is stuck on page 2 of SERPs, add 500-1,000 words of depth and earn a few quality links.
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Use Search Console to find queries with impressions but low click rate – rewrite title/meta for higher CTR.
Final tips to make this SEO Marketing tutorial work for you
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Focus on one page at a time; complete the entire cycle (research → write → optimize → promote → measure).
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Keep your primary keyword visible but natural – use related phrases to avoid stuffing.
If you want to know more or discuss ho you can rank your website on the first page of the search engines, contact our team. You can also visit our SEO services page to know more about our services.