1. History
1.1. Started as alpabetical orders of websites
2. Search Engines
2.1. Examples
2.1.1. General Search Engines
2.1.1.1. Google
2.1.1.2. Bing, Yahoo, Etc
2.1.2. Vertical Search Engines
2.1.2.1. Playstore/Appstore
2.1.2.2. YouTube
2.1.2.3. Pinterest
2.1.2.4. E-commerce Platfroms (Amazon, Shopee, Lazada, etc.)
2.1.3. Social Media Platforms (FB, IG, etc)
2.2. How it Works
2.2.1. Crawling
2.2.1.1. Is Google able to access your site?
2.2.1.2. Robots crawl in your website to check the contents and label it
2.2.2. Indexing
2.2.2.1. Is Google able to add your site to their database / index?
2.2.2.2. *Site:YOURURL * - To check if your website is indexed
2.2.2.2.1. Just wait for goole to index your site, we never know when but it will
2.2.3. Ranking
2.2.3.1. Is your site worthy to rank in Google
2.2.3.2. Check SERP
2.2.4. Serving Results
2.2.4.1. Presents the most relevant webpages in the Search Engines Results Page (SERP)
2.2.4.2. Organic SERP Archieved thru:
2.2.4.2.1. Content Optimization
2.2.4.2.2. SEO
2.2.4.2.3. Local SEO
2.2.4.2.4. Keyword Research
2.2.4.2.5. Understanding the User Intent
3. SEO Team Structure
3.1. SEO Strategist
3.2. Project Manager
3.3. Copywriter
3.4. Developer
3.5. Virtual Assistant
4. SEO Major Ranking Factors
4.1. Domain and Page-Level Factors
4.1.1. Domain Authority
4.1.2. Page Authority
4.1.3. URL Structure
4.2. User Experience (UX)
4.2.1. Page Speed
4.2.2. Mobile-Friendliness
4.2.2.1. Mobile-First Indexing
4.2.2.2. Mobile Page Speed
4.2.3. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
4.2.4. Dwell Time
4.2.5. Bounce Rate
4.3. On-Page SEO
4.3.1. Title Tags
4.3.2. Meta Descriptions
4.3.3. Heading Tags (H1, H2, H3)
4.3.4. Image Optimization
4.4. Content Quality and Relevance
4.4.1. High-Quality Content
4.4.2. Keyword Optimization
4.4.3. Content Freshness
4.4.4. Search Intent
4.4.4.1. Informational Intent
4.4.4.2. Navigational intent
4.4.4.3. Transactional Intent
4.4.4.4. Commercial Intent
4.5. Backlinks (External Links)
4.5.1. Quality of Backlinks
4.5.2. Quantity of Backlinks
4.5.3. Anchor Text
4.6. Technical SEO
4.6.1. Crawlability
4.6.2. Indexing
4.6.3. HTTPS Security
4.6.4. Canonicalization
4.6.5. Structured Data (Schema Markup)
4.6.6. Website Structure
4.6.7. Categories of HTTPS Status Codes
4.6.7.1. 1xx – Informational
4.6.7.2. 2xx – Success
4.6.7.3. 3xx – Redirection
4.6.7.4. 4xx – Client Errors
4.6.7.5. 5xx – Server Errors
4.7. Local SEO
4.7.1. Google My Business (GMB) Profile
4.7.2. Local Citations
4.7.3. Online Reviews
4.7.4. Location-Specific Keywords
4.8. Social Signals
4.8.1. Social Shares
4.8.2. Brand Mentions
4.9. Core Web Vitals
4.9.1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
4.9.2. First Input Delay (FID)
4.9.3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
4.10. E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
5. SERP
5.1. Organic Results
5.1.1. Knowledge Graph/Panel
5.1.1.1. Knowledge Panel Review
5.1.2. Featured Snippets - 8% Clickable per ahrefs
5.1.3. Shopping Results/Popular Products/Google Merchant Listings
5.1.4. Local Pack
5.1.5. Top Stories
5.1.6. Image Pack
5.1.7. Video Results/Carousel
5.1.8. People Also Ask (PAA)
5.1.9. Sitelinks
5.1.9.1. 2 Forms
5.1.9.1.1. Links that take searchers to a page on a website
5.1.9.1.2. those that take searchers to a section of a page
5.1.10. App Install
5.1.11. Shops
5.1.12. Rich Snippets
5.1.13. Related Searches
5.1.14. Related Products
5.2. Paid Results (Ads)
5.2.1. Google Text Ads
5.2.2. Google Shopping Ads
5.2.3. Map-Local Search Ads
5.2.4. Shopping-Multistore
5.3. 2024 New Updates
5.3.1. Perspectives
5.3.2. Featured Snippets
5.3.3. AI Generated
6. Key Points
6.1. Google ranks PAGES, NOT WEBSITES, but considers the authority of the website
6.2. If your page gets top 1, it does not mean you will be top 1 in every other pages results
6.3. SEO is a long term work
6.4. Always stay updated on the updates on the Algorithm
6.5. Always showcase E-A-T
6.6. Generally there will be movement of rankings in 3-6 months
7. Elements of SEO
7.1. Pillars
7.1.1. Keyword Research
7.1.1.1. Understand Your Target Audience and Their Intent
7.1.1.1.1. Search Intents
7.1.1.2. Identify Primary, Secondary, and Long-Tail Keywords
7.1.1.2.1. Primary Keywords: These are the main, high-volume keywords directly related to your business or product. (e.g., "luxury real estate")
7.1.1.2.2. Secondary Keywords: These are closely related to the primary keyword and provide additional context. They could be synonymous or LSI keywords (e.g., "high-end homes," "exclusive properties").
7.1.1.2.3. Long-Tail Keywords: These are more specific, often lower-volume keywords, but they typically convert better because they indicate strong intent (e.g., "luxury waterfront properties in Miami").
7.1.1.3. Competitor Analysis
7.1.1.3.1. Identify Competitors: Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to find out which keywords your competitors are ranking for.
7.1.1.3.2. Keyword Gaps: Look for opportunities where your competitors rank but you don’t, and focus on those keywords.
7.1.1.3.3. Benchmarking: Understand the difficulty of ranking for certain keywords compared to your competitors.
7.1.1.4. Keyword Metrics to Focus On
7.1.1.4.1. Search Volume: How many people are searching for a particular keyword monthly.
7.1.1.4.2. Keyword Difficulty (KD): How hard it is to rank for a keyword, based on current competition.
7.1.1.4.3. Cost-Per-Click (CPC): Useful for gauging the commercial intent of a keyword (high CPC usually indicates a valuable, transactional keyword).
7.1.1.4.4. Click-Through Rate (CTR): Understand how likely users are to click on your site when it appears for a given keyword.
7.1.1.5. Keyword Segmentation
7.1.1.5.1. Branded keywords include your company name (e.g., "Zillow luxury properties"). Non-branded keywords focus on the service or product without the brand name (e.g., "luxury homes for sale").
7.1.1.5.2. Local Keywords: If you have a local business, target location-based keywords (e.g., "real estate agent in Miami").
7.1.1.5.3. Seasonal Keywords: Some keywords have seasonal spikes (e.g., "homes for sale during the summer"), so include seasonality in your strategy.
7.1.1.6. Keyword Mapping and Allocation
7.1.1.6.1. Keyword Mapping: Assign each keyword to a specific page or content piece on your website to avoid keyword cannibalization.
7.1.1.6.2. Keyword Allocation: Ensure that keywords are used naturally in URLs, title tags, headers, meta descriptions, and throughout the content.
7.1.1.7. Voice Search and Natural Language Processing (NLP)
7.1.1.7.1. Voice Search: People use more conversational keywords when using voice assistants like Siri or Alexa. Focus on question-based and long-tail keywords.
7.1.1.7.2. NLP: Google's BERT and other NLP technologies understand the context better, so use natural language and keyword variations in your content.
7.1.2. On-Page SEO
7.1.2.1. Title Tags: Include primary keywords and keep titles under 60 characters.
7.1.2.2. Meta Descriptions: Craft compelling, keyword-rich descriptions under 160 characters that summarize the content and entice clicks.
7.1.2.3. Header Tags (H1, H2, H3): Use header tags to structure content and include relevant keywords in headings.
7.1.2.4. URL Structure: Create clean, keyword-rich URLs that are descriptive and easy to read.
7.1.2.5. Keyword Optimization: Integrate relevant primary and secondary keywords naturally into the content.
7.1.2.6. Alt Text for Images: Provide descriptive alt text for images that includes relevant keywords.
7.1.2.7. Internal Linking: Link to other relevant pages within your site to guide users and improve crawlability.
7.1.2.8. Mobile-Friendliness: Ensure the site is responsive and works well on mobile devices.
7.1.2.9. Content Quality: Write original, valuable, and informative content that meets user intent and keeps visitors engaged.
7.1.3. Content SEO
7.1.3.1. Keyword Research: Identify high-traffic, relevant keywords using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush.
7.1.3.2. Content Creation: Develop in-depth, engaging content that aligns with user search intent and addresses their needs.
7.1.3.3. Content Length: Longer content generally ranks better, but it must remain relevant and well-structured.
7.1.3.4. Content Freshness: Regularly update and refresh old content to keep it relevant.
7.1.3.5. Multimedia (Images, Videos): Use high-quality images, infographics, and videos to enhance engagement.
7.1.3.6. Content Formatting: Break content into short paragraphs, use bullet points, and provide summaries to improve readability.
7.1.3.7. User Intent: Create content that aligns with searcher queries, including transactional, navigational, and informational intent.
7.1.4. Technical SEO
7.1.4.1. Crawlability & Indexability: Ensure search engines can easily crawl and index your content (e.g., XML sitemap, robots.txt, and internal linking).
7.1.4.2. Site Speed: Optimize page loading times by compressing images, minifying code, and leveraging browser caching.
7.1.4.3. Mobile Optimization: Ensure the website is mobile-friendly and passes Google's Mobile-Friendly Test.
7.1.4.4. Core Web Vitals: Improve metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) to enhance user experience.
7.1.4.5. SSL Certificate: Ensure the website uses HTTPS for security.
7.1.4.6. Structured Data & Schema Markup: Use schema to help search engines understand content (e.g., reviews, recipes, FAQs).
7.1.4.7. Canonicalization: Use canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues.
7.1.5. Off-Page SEO
7.1.5.1. Backlinks: Obtain high-quality, relevant backlinks from authoritative websites to boost domain authority.
7.1.5.2. Social Signals: Promote content on social media platforms to drive traffic and build brand awareness.
7.1.5.3. Brand Mentions: Gain mentions of your brand or website in online content (even without a link), as search engines consider this for credibility.
7.1.5.4. Guest Posting: Contribute content to external websites in exchange for backlinks.
7.1.5.5. Influencer Marketing: Collaborate with influencers to promote your content and drive organic traffic.
7.1.6. Local SEO
7.1.6.1. Google Business Profile Optimization: Ensure your Google Business Profile is optimized with accurate business details and regular updates.
7.1.6.2. Local Citations: Ensure your business is listed consistently across local directories.
7.1.6.3. NAP Consistency: Make sure your business's Name, Address, and Phone number are consistent across the web.
7.1.6.4. Reviews & Ratings: Encourage customer reviews and respond to them to improve local search visibility.
7.2. Other Elements
7.2.1. Natural Language Processing (NLP)
7.2.1.1. Semantic Search: Understands the meaning behind a query, not just keywords, by focusing on the intent and context.
7.2.1.2. Entities & Relationships: Optimizing content to address real-world entities (e.g., people, places, things) and the relationships between them.
7.2.1.3. Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) Keywords: Incorporates related and synonymous keywords naturally into your content to provide more context and depth.
7.2.1.4. Content Relevance: Focuses on creating contextually rich content that matches searcher intent rather than purely keyword-driven content.
7.2.2. E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
7.2.2.1. Expertise: Demonstrate expertise in your field by creating well-researched and detailed content.
7.2.2.2. Authoritativeness: Establish authority through backlinks, mentions, and citations from reputable sources.
7.2.2.3. Trustworthiness: Build trust with transparent business practices, contact information, and secure browsing (HTTPS).
8. SEO Cycle/Processes
8.1. Data Benchmarking
8.1.1. Record everything before doing any optimizations
8.1.2. Google Analytics - Traffic Monitoring
8.1.3. Google Search Console - Website health and performance monitoring
8.2. Keyword Research and Mapping
8.2.1. Process
8.2.1.1. Understand Your Niche and Audience
8.2.1.2. Generate a List of Seed Keywords
8.2.1.2.1. Words or phrases that define your content
8.2.1.2.2. Classifications of Keywords
8.2.1.2.3. Types
8.2.1.3. Use Keyword Research Tools
8.2.1.4. Analyze Keyword Metrics
8.2.1.5. Identify Long-Tail Keywords
8.2.1.6. Analyze Your Competitors
8.2.1.7. Group and Organize Your Keywords
8.2.1.7.1. Keyword Mapping/Allocation/Architecture
8.2.1.7.2. Avoid keyword stuffing
8.2.1.7.3. Avoid Keyword Cannibalization
8.2.1.8. Prioritize Keywords
8.2.1.9. Create Content Around Keywords
8.2.2. Gotch Process
8.2.2.1. Prioritize SERPs
8.2.2.2. Keyword Research
8.2.2.2.1. Group by intents
8.2.2.2.2. Have certain metrics what to use
8.2.2.2.3. Use filtering to see which keywords best to use
8.2.2.2.4. Know which keywords to prioritize
8.2.2.3. Diagnoze Rankings
8.2.2.4. Create SEO Action Plan & tracker
8.2.2.5. Build the SEO Contents
8.2.2.5.1. Write persuasive intros
8.2.2.5.2. Edit your SEO content
8.2.2.6. Conduct SEO Test
8.2.2.7. Technical SEO Audit
8.2.2.8. Fix Non-Indexable Content
8.2.2.9. Handling 404 Errors
8.2.2.10. Word Count Analysis
8.2.2.11. Crawl Depth
8.2.2.12. Internal Linking Opportunities
8.2.2.13. Data-Driven Content Audit
8.3. Website Audit
8.3.1. Nathan Gotch
8.3.1.1. Preparations
8.3.1.1.1. Setup Google Analytics (GA4)
8.3.1.1.2. Google Search Console
8.3.1.2. Process
8.3.1.2.1. Track the right SEO KPIs
8.3.1.2.2. Run Screaming Frog
8.3.1.3. His 70-Checklist
8.3.1.3.1. Are you tracking SEO performance?
8.3.1.3.2. Are you tracking the right SEO KPIs?
8.3.1.3.3. Is the website crawlable and indexable?
8.3.1.3.4. Is your website mobile-friendly?
8.3.1.3.5. Does your website load fast?
8.3.1.3.6. Do you have an SSL certificate, and is it working properly?
8.3.1.3.7. Is the website design modern and updated?
8.3.1.3.8. Is your website using aggressive interstitial popups?
8.3.1.3.9. Does your website use aggressive ad placements?
8.3.1.3.10. Does your website have trust pages?
8.3.1.3.11. Does your website have detailed author bios?
8.3.1.3.12. Do you have pages deindexed that shouldn’t be?
8.3.1.3.13. Is your website bloated/too much?
8.3.1.3.14. Does your website have bloated pages?
8.3.1.3.15. Does your website have thin content?
8.3.1.3.16. Does your website have outdated content?
8.3.1.3.17. Does your website have pages with an engagement rate of less than 20?
8.3.1.3.18. Does every page on your website have one title tag and one H1 tag?
8.3.1.3.19. Does your website have a significant amount of spelling and grammar errors?
8.3.1.3.20. Do you have pages with backlinks but no traffic?
8.3.1.3.21. Do you have 404 pages with backlinks?
8.3.1.3.22. Are all of your pages less than three clicks deep into your architecture?
8.3.1.3.23. Do your pages have enough internal link coverage?
8.3.1.3.24. Are you leveraging your most powerful pages for internal linking?
8.3.1.3.25. Does your website have redirect chains?
8.3.1.3.26. Does your website have duplicate content?
8.3.1.3.27. Does your website have a significant number of broken links?
8.3.1.3.28. Does your website have a significant amount of AI content?
8.3.1.3.29. Is the H1 tag above the fold?
8.3.1.3.30. Are heading tags structured correctly?
8.3.1.3.31. Is your primary keyword in the URL?
8.3.1.3.32. Is the keyword in the Title Tag?
8.3.1.3.33. Is the keyword in the Meta Description?
8.3.1.3.34. Is the keyword in the H1?
8.3.1.3.35. Is the keyword in the First Sentence?
8.3.1.3.36. Is the keyword in the first H2?
8.3.1.3.37. Is the content greater than 50% original?
8.3.1.3.38. Is the content 100% unique outside of the domain?
8.3.1.3.39. Is the content 100% unique relative to other pages on the website?
8.3.1.3.40. Is the word count sufficient?
8.3.1.3.41. Does the content have a 95+ Grammarly score?
8.3.1.3.42. Is the page optimized well for NLP?
8.3.1.3.43. Does the page/content satisfy the intent?
8.3.1.3.44. Does content strategy/angle add unique value relative to the competitors?
8.3.1.3.45. Is the content up-to-date?
8.3.1.3.46. Is the page readable, scannable, and easy to digest?
8.3.1.3.47. Does the content have 100% unique, high-quality images and videos to break it up?
8.3.1.3.48. Is the content helpful?
8.3.1.3.49. Is the content original?
8.3.1.3.50. Is the content accurate?
8.3.1.3.51. Is the content safe?
8.3.1.3.52. Does the content demonstrate a high degree of effort?
8.3.1.3.53. Is the content written and/or fact-checked by an SME?
8.3.1.3.54. Is the SME prominently displayed?
8.3.1.3.55. Does each author have a dedicated and detailed author page?
8.3.1.3.56. Are all sources of information cited?
8.3.1.3.57. Does the content demonstrate first-hand experience?
8.3.1.3.58. Does the content demonstrate in-the-field experience?
8.3.1.3.59. How well does the content share a personal experience, perspective, or feelings on a topic?
8.3.1.3.60. How well does the content speak from a first-person perspective?
8.3.1.3.61. Does content demonstrate that it was produced with some degree of experience, such as actual product use, visiting a place, or communicating what a person experienced?
8.3.1.3.62. Is the page built for goal completions?
8.3.1.3.63. Do you have user-tracking software installed?
8.3.1.3.64. Is the page using correct schema markup?
8.3.1.3.65. Are there any other pages on our website targeting this keyword (keyword cannibalization)?
8.3.1.3.66. Does the page have 5+ unique internal links (excluding the navigation)?
8.3.1.3.67. Is the internal anchor text optimized well?
8.3.1.3.68. Does the page have as many internal links as the top competitor?
8.3.1.3.69. Is the page no more than 3 clicks deep into the architecture?
8.3.1.3.70. Does the page have at least 5 supporting assets?
8.3.2. My Process
8.3.2.1. Run SEO Optimer to audit a page (not whole website)
8.3.2.1.1. Run on Ubbersuggest
8.4. Onpage SEO
8.4.1. Site Architecture
8.4.2. Meta Title
8.4.2.1. Limited to 50-70 characters only
8.4.2.2. With keywords in a sentence or phrase type
8.4.2.3. Add sales term like "Trusted", "Best", etc
8.4.3. Meta Decription
8.4.3.1. Make sure with keywords and other marketing terms, with CTA
8.4.4. Unique and High Quality Content
8.4.4.1. Uniform fonts, sizes, etc
8.4.5. URL Structure
8.4.5.1. Changing url will be reindexed by Google
8.4.6. Image Filenames, Geotagging, Format, Size, Alt Texts
8.4.6.1. Remember images can be ranked in Google Images, so optimize it as well
8.4.6.2. Recommended format for images is Webp
8.4.6.3. Geotagging cannot be done if no physical address
8.4.7. Use of right headings
8.4.8. Local SEO Schema
8.4.8.1. Generate a local schema with technicalseo.com, then copy the html code and paste on your website
8.4.9. Create blogs to showcase authority and expertise
8.4.10. Make sure optimized for NLP (Natural Language Processing)
8.4.11. Use heatmaps, digital experience trackers
8.5. Offpage SEO
8.5.1. Use appropriate domain like .edu, .gov etc
8.5.2. Backlinks
8.5.2.1. Guest Posting
8.5.2.1.1. Where can you get a source? Just find on Google (Topic-Guest post)
8.5.2.1.2. Find similar websites that would make send being a guest
8.5.2.1.3. Other websites offer "Write for Us", so we can submit our content there
8.5.2.2. Participate in online communities like Quora, Reddit, etc
8.5.2.2.1. Create an account with it, answer questions with your profile or brand, be consistent, it requires time
8.5.2.3. Quality Local Niche Link Directories
8.5.2.4. Memberships/Awards
8.5.2.4.1. Getting featured
8.5.2.4.2. Submit for nominations or entries
8.5.2.5. Social Media
8.5.2.5.1. Brand is everywhere in social media
8.5.2.6. Local Business Citations/Directories
8.5.2.6.1. Enter your business on the directories both local and national, there are a lot of directories so try each one
8.5.2.7. Try to get backlinks from your competitor's
8.5.3. Create and Optimize Google Business Profile
8.6. Reporting/Data Analysis
8.6.1. Compare the results of past and previous in a specific period
8.6.2. Organic results should always be included as it really shows the SEO optimizations
8.6.3. Show other important metrics
8.6.4. Google Analytics
8.6.5. Google Search Console
8.6.6. SEO Keyword Target Rankings