Getting your website to appear on Google can feel like a bit of a minefield. You may have a good website, useful services, and strong products, yet still struggle to attract organic traffic. The problem is often not the business itself. Your website may simply need better search engine optimisation. So, how do you do SEO? SEO involves improving your website so search engines can understand it and people can find it through relevant searches. It covers keyword research, useful content, on-page SEO, technical SEO, internal linking, authority building, and ongoing performance checks. You don’t need to change everything at once. A clear SEO process lets you work through the important areas in the right order.
Quick Answer:
To do SEO, start by understanding what your audience searches for and why they search for it. Then improve your website, create useful content, fix technical issues, build relevant authority, and measure your results. A simple SEO process is:
Research → Plan → Optimise → Create → Build Authority → Measure → Improve
There is no single change that guarantees higher rankings. SEO works through many connected improvements, and results can take time.
What Is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimisation. It is the process of improving a website so search engines can understand its pages and users can find relevant information through organic search. SEO can help improve:
- Search visibility
- Organic traffic
- Relevant website visits
- Brand awareness
- Qualified enquiries
Google’s SEO Starter Guide explains the basic practices website owners can use to help search engines crawl, index, and understand their content. Google Search Central SEO Starter Guide SEO isn’t about trying to trick Google. It’s about making your website easier to understand and more useful for the people you want to reach.
How Does SEO Work?
Search engines need to discover pages, understand their content, and decide which results are useful for a particular search. Google’s SEO Starter Guide provides further guidance on helping search engines understand your site. Your website therefore needs to make three things clear:
- What do you offer?
- Who is it for?
- Which searches does it genuinely answer?
For example, imagine a London electrician. A page targeting “emergency electrician London” should clearly explain the emergency service, the areas served, the problems handled, and how customers can get help. A page that simply repeats “emergency electrician London” dozens of times won’t make it more useful. This is why good SEO starts with understanding the user, not inserting keywords into every paragraph.
How to Do SEO Step by Step
Step 1: Start With an SEO Audit
Before making changes, find out what is already working and what needs attention. An SEO audit reviews important areas of your website, including its content, technical setup, search visibility, and links. Check:
- Which pages receive organic traffic
- Which keywords already bring impressions
- Which pages are indexed
- Whether important pages can be crawled
- Whether pages have useful titles and headings
- Whether internal links are working properly
- Whether important pages have relevant content
- Whether there are broken or unnecessary pages
Don’t rush into deleting pages just because they don’t rank. First understand why they are underperforming and whether they can be improved.
Step 2: Do Keyword Research
Keyword research helps you understand what your audience types into search engines. Start with the products, services, problems, and questions your customers care about. For example, an SEO agency in London might research terms around:
- SEO services
- technical SEO
- local SEO
- SEO audits
- content optimisation
- keyword research
Tools such as Google Keyword Planner can help identify search terms and related ideas. You can also use Google Search Console to find queries for which your website already receives impressions. Google Search Console’s Performance report provides data such as clicks, impressions, click-through rate, queries, and average position. Don’t choose keywords based only on search volume. Consider whether the search matches your audience, service, and business goals. Long-tail keywords can also be useful because they often describe a more specific need, but they should still match real user intent.
Step 3: Understand Search Intent
Search intent means understanding what someone wants when they search. This is one of the most important parts of an SEO strategy. For example:
| Search | Likely Intent |
| What is SEO? | Informational |
| How to do SEO | Informational |
| SEO checklist | Informational |
| SEO agency London | Commercial |
| Hire SEO consultant London | Transactional |
The page should match the reason behind the search. Someone searching “what is SEO?” needs a clear explanation. Someone searching “SEO agency London” may want to compare providers. Trying to make one page rank for every type of search can make the content unclear.
Step 4: Plan Your Website Structure
A clear website structure helps users and search engines move around your site. Your main service pages should connect with relevant supporting content. For example:
SEO Services
↓
Technical SEO
Local SEO
Keyword Research
Content Marketing
Link Building
Each supporting page can then link to related guides and useful resources. This creates a logical website SEO strategy rather than a collection of disconnected pages.
Step 5: Optimise Your Pages
On-page SEO focuses on improvements made directly to a webpage. Important areas include:
Page Titles
Create a clear title that tells users what the page is about. Include the main topic naturally when it makes sense. Avoid stuffing several keywords into the same title.
Headings
Use headings to organise the page. Your main page topic should have one clear H1. Use H2s for major sections and H3s for supporting sections. Good headings also make content easier to scan.
URLs
Keep URLs short and descriptive. For example:
/how-to-do-seo/
is clearer than a URL containing random numbers or unnecessary words.
Content
Explain the topic properly and answer the questions your audience actually has. Don’t add paragraphs simply to make the page longer.
Images
Use relevant images where they help explain the subject. Descriptive file names and useful alt text can also help search engines understand images. The purpose of alt text is to describe meaningful image content, particularly for people who use screen readers.
Step 6: Create Helpful Content
Content creation is a major part of SEO. Your content should be:
- Useful
- Accurate
- Original
- Easy to understand
- Relevant to the search
- Kept up to date when information changes
Google’s guidance encourages content created to help people rather than content created mainly to manipulate search rankings. Google’s guidance on creating helpful content This matters when writing blog posts, service pages, guides, and landing pages.
Before publishing, ask:
- Does this page answer the user’s question?
- Does it provide something useful that the reader can act on?
- Would I still publish it if search engines did not exist?
Those questions can quickly expose thin or search-first content.
Step 7: Improve Content Optimisation
Content optimisation means improving existing content so it is clearer, more useful, and better aligned with its purpose. You may need to:
- Add missing information
- Improve headings
- Clarify confusing sections
- Update outdated facts
- Add useful examples
- Improve internal links
- Remove unnecessary repetition
Don’t rewrite a page simply because it hasn’t reached the top of Google yet. First check its performance and identify the actual problem. A page receiving impressions but few clicks may need a better title or clearer search match. A page receiving traffic but few enquiries may have a content or conversion problem.
Step 8: Add Internal Links
Internal linking means linking one page on your website to another relevant page on the same website. It helps users discover related information and helps search engines understand relationships between pages. For example, this article can naturally link to Wixdek’s:
- SEO services
- Technical SEO
- Local SEO
- Content marketing
- Link building
Use descriptive anchor text that tells readers where the link goes. Avoid adding internal links simply to increase the number of links on a page. Every link should have a reason.
Step 9: Work on Technical SEO
Technical SEO helps search engines access, understand, and process your website. Important areas include:
Crawling
Search engines need to be able to access important pages. Check for problems caused by:
- Incorrect robots.txt rules
- Poor internal linking
- Server errors
- Unnecessary redirects
Indexing
A page generally needs to be indexed before it can appear in Google’s organic search results. Check important URLs in Google Search Console and investigate indexing problems.
Mobile Experience
Your website should work properly across mobile devices. Text should be readable, navigation should be usable, and important content should not be hidden or difficult to access.
Page Experience
Website performance matters for users. Google explains these measurements in its Core Web Vitals documentation. Google’s Core Web Vitals include:
- LCP: measures loading performance
- INP: measures responsiveness
- CLS: measures visual stability
Google currently defines good Core Web Vitals thresholds as LCP of 2.5 seconds or less, INP of 200 milliseconds or less, and CLS of 0.1 or less. These are useful targets, but meeting them alone does not guarantee strong rankings.
HTTPS
Your website should use HTTPS to protect connections between users and your website. Technical SEO is not about chasing every technical metric. Fix problems that prevent users or search engines from accessing and understanding your important pages.
Step 10: Build Relevant Authority
SEO also involves building your website’s authority and reputation. This is where off-page SEO comes in. One important area is link building. A backlink is a link from another website to your website. Good link building focuses on earning relevant links because another website finds your content useful. Useful ways to earn links can include:
- Original research
- Helpful industry resources
- Digital PR
- Expert contributions
- Useful data
- Strong guides
Avoid buying large numbers of low-quality links or using tactics designed only to manipulate rankings. Google’s spam policies specifically warn against practices intended to manipulate search rankings, including scaled content created mainly for search engines. Quality matters more than simply collecting a large number of links.
How to Improve Google Rankings
There is no guaranteed formula for reaching position one. Instead, focus on improving the areas that affect your website’s ability to satisfy searchers. Start with:
- Match pages to search intent.
- Create genuinely useful content.
- Improve important on-page elements.
- Fix technical problems.
- Strengthen internal linking.
- Build relevant authority.
- Keep important information accurate.
- Measure performance and improve weak areas.
If a page is already ranking, don’t automatically rewrite the whole thing. Look at what users are searching for and where the page falls short. Small, focused improvements can be more useful than a complete rewrite.
How to Measure Your SEO Performance
SEO needs regular measurement. Google Search Console is one of the most useful tools for this because it shows how your website performs in Google Search. You can review the Search Console Performance report for clicks, impressions, CTR, queries, and average position. You can monitor:
| Metric | What It Shows |
| Impressions | How often your result appeared |
| Clicks | How often users clicked |
| CTR | The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks |
| Average position | The average position reported for your result |
Google notes that average position is an aggregate metric, so it should not be treated as the exact position you will see for every search. Look for meaningful changes rather than worrying about every daily movement. For example, compare:
- Which pages gained traffic
- Which pages lost clicks
- Which queries gained impressions
- Which pages have low CTR
- Which topics are bringing qualified visitors
This gives you evidence for your next SEO actions.
How Often Should You Do SEO?
SEO should be treated as an ongoing process rather than a one-off task. A sensible routine might include:
- Weekly: Check important technical or performance issues.
- Monthly: Review traffic, rankings, queries, and conversions.
- Quarterly: Review content, keyword opportunities, competitors, and technical health.
The exact schedule depends on your website and how quickly things change. If a major website change or search update affects performance, investigate the data before making large changes. Google Search Console can help you compare search performance over time and identify pages or queries that need attention.
SEO Checklist for Beginners
Use this simple checklist when starting SEO:
| SEO Task | Done |
| Complete an SEO audit | ☐ |
| Research relevant keywords | ☐ |
| Understand search intent | ☐ |
| Improve website structure | ☐ |
| Optimise page titles and headings | ☐ |
| Create helpful content | ☐ |
| Add relevant internal links | ☐ |
| Check crawling and indexing | ☐ |
| Improve mobile usability | ☐ |
| Review Core Web Vitals | ☐ |
| Build relevant backlinks | ☐ |
| Track Search Console data | ☐ |
| Update important content | ☐ |
Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid
Keyword Stuffing
Repeating the same keyword again and again can make content difficult to read. Use your main keyword naturally and focus on covering the topic properly.
Creating Content Just for Keywords
Don’t create pages simply because a keyword has search volume. There should be a real reason for the page to exist.
Copying Competitor Content
Look at competitors to understand the search landscape, but don’t simply rewrite their pages. Bring your own experience, examples, explanations, and useful information.
Publishing Lots of Low-Value Pages
More pages do not automatically mean better SEO. Google’s spam guidance warns against scaled content created primarily to manipulate search rankings rather than help users. See Google’s spam policies for Google Search for the current guidance.
Ignoring Existing Pages
A website can have good content that simply needs improvement. Check existing pages before creating hundreds of new ones.
Expecting Instant Results
SEO can take time. Search engines need to crawl and reassess changes, and competitive searches may take longer to improve. Focus on steady improvements instead of chasing overnight ranking changes.
How Wixdek Approaches SEO
At Wixdek, we see SEO as a connected process rather than a list of isolated tricks. We start by understanding the business, audience, search intent, and existing website performance. From there, the work can include keyword research, content optimisation, technical SEO, internal linking, authority building, and ongoing performance analysis. The exact priorities depend on the website. A local business in Chelsea may need a different SEO strategy from an ecommerce company serving customers across the UK. That is why SEO should be based on evidence and business needs rather than a fixed checklist.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Do SEO
How Do I Do SEO for My Website?
Start with an SEO audit, research relevant keywords, understand search intent, improve your pages, create useful content, fix technical issues, build relevant authority, and track performance through tools such as Google Search Console.
Can I Do SEO Myself?
Yes. Beginners can handle many basic SEO tasks themselves, including keyword research, page optimisation, internal linking, content improvements, and Search Console checks. More complex websites may need specialist support for technical SEO, large-scale migrations, international SEO, or advanced site problems.
How Long Does SEO Take to Work?
There is no fixed timeframe. Results depend on factors such as competition, website history, technical health, content quality, authority, and the work being completed. Some changes may be noticed sooner, while competitive searches can take much longer.
What Are the Main SEO Techniques?
The main areas include:
- Keyword research
- Search intent analysis
- On-page SEO
- Content optimisation
- Technical SEO
- Internal linking
- Link building
- Performance tracking
These areas work together rather than operating as separate tricks.
What Is the Difference Between On-Page and Off-Page SEO?
On-page SEO focuses on your website and its pages. Off-page SEO focuses on signals and activity outside your website, including relevant backlinks and brand mentions.
What Is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO focuses on the parts of a website that affect crawling, indexing, accessibility, performance, and how search engines understand the site.
How Can I Increase Organic Traffic?
Start by finding which pages and queries already perform well. Then improve relevant pages, fill genuine content gaps, target useful search opportunities, strengthen internal links, and fix technical problems that limit visibility.
Does SEO Guarantee Google Rankings?
No. Nobody can honestly guarantee a specific Google ranking. SEO improves a website’s ability to be discovered and understood, but search results depend on many factors outside a business’s direct control.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to do SEO doesn’t mean memorising hundreds of ranking theories. Start with the basics. Understand your audience, research what they search for, match pages to their intent, create useful content, improve your website structure, fix technical problems, and build genuine authority. Then measure what happens and improve your work based on evidence. That is the SEO process in a nutshell:
Understand → Optimise → Publish → Measure → Improve
For a business website, the best SEO strategy is rarely about doing everything at once. It is about finding the areas that matter most, fixing them properly, and continuing to improve as your website and audience change.
