SEO determines whether people find your content through search engines. Get it right, and you build a compounding asset. Get it wrong, and you’re invisible to the people actively searching for what you offer.

Why SEO Matters

Organic search traffic has unique advantages over paid acquisition:

  • It compounds - Content that ranks well continues driving traffic for months or years
  • It’s targeted - Searchers have explicit intent; they’re looking for something specific
  • It’s cost-effective - After initial investment, traffic doesn’t require ongoing ad spend

The tradeoff: SEO takes time. Expect 3-6 months for results on competitive terms.

The Three Pillars of SEO

1. Technical SEO

Your site must be crawlable and indexable. Search engines can’t rank what they can’t find. Core requirements:

  • Fast load times - Target under 2.5 seconds for Largest Contentful Paint
  • Mobile-friendly design - Most searches happen on mobile devices
  • Secure connection - HTTPS is a ranking signal
  • Clean URL structure - Descriptive, readable URLs
  • XML sitemap - Help search engines discover your pages

2. Content

Content is what actually ranks. Create pages that satisfy search intent better than competing pages:

  • Target specific keywords - Know what people search for
  • Match search intent - Informational, transactional, or navigational
  • Provide comprehensive coverage - Answer related questions
  • Update regularly - Fresh content signals relevance

Backlinks remain a top ranking factor. Quality matters more than quantity:

  • Earn links naturally - Create content worth linking to
  • Guest posting - Contribute to relevant publications
  • Digital PR - Create newsworthy content or data
  • Avoid shortcuts - Link schemes get penalized

Getting Started

Begin with a technical audit. Use Google Search Console to identify crawl errors, indexing issues, and Core Web Vitals problems. Fix the foundation before focusing on content.

Next, do keyword research. Find terms with:

  • Reasonable search volume
  • Manageable competition
  • Clear commercial or informational intent

Create content that genuinely helps searchers. Optimize title tags and meta descriptions. Build internal links between related pages.

Track progress in Search Console. Monitor impressions, clicks, and average position. SEO is iterative—analyze what works and do more of it.

Common Mistakes

  • Ignoring technical issues - Great content won’t rank on a broken site
  • Targeting impossible keywords - Compete where you can win
  • Thin content - 300 words won’t outrank comprehensive guides
  • Impatience - SEO takes months, not days

Next Steps

Start with one focus keyword. Create the best page on that topic. Build a few quality links. Monitor results. Then scale what works.

SEO isn’t magic. It’s systematic execution of fundamentals over time.