Find out what is SEO and how it works to promote your business as a powerful digital marketing tool.
Get our complete Core Web Vitals optimization checklist, templates, and tools used by 1000+ successful websites.
Join 15,000+ marketers • No spam • Unsubscribe anytime
SEO is a long-term digital marketing approach that increases website traffic by helping your pages rank higher in unpaid search results.
Today, every industry has many competitors online. When someone searches on Google, they usually click on one of the first search results. Websites that appear on the bottom or the second page are rarely seen or clicked. If your website is not ranking high, potential customers may never find you.
To attract more visitors, your website needs to appear higher in search results. That is where SEO comes in. SEO moves your website up on the search results, so more users see it, click on it, and choose your business instead of your competitors. In this guide, you will learn what SEO means, how it works, and the basic steps involved.
As part of digital marketing, SEO improves your website’s structure and content so that search engines like Google place it higher on search results when people search for products or services you offer. The main goal of SEO is to increase organic (free) traffic and improve online visibility by placing it where people can see it before the competitors.
Here are the common concepts of SEO explained in simple terms:
SEO is crucial in digital marketing because it helps your business appear in front of people who are already searching for products or services you offer. When your website ranks higher on Google, you get more organic traffic without paying for ads. Over time, it provides long-term growth, better return on investment, and a steady flow of potential customers.
SEO improves a website in such a way that search engines can understand its content, store it, and rank it higher in organic (non-paid) search results. It follows a step-by-step process that includes crawling (discovering web pages), indexing (saving those pages in the search engine’s database), and ranking (deciding which pages appear first based on relevance, quality, user intent, and technical performance).
Search engines like Google use special programs called bots to discover web pages on the internet. These bots scan your website, follow links, and collect information about your pages. If your website structure is clear and easy to navigate, search engines can crawl it properly.
After crawling your website, search engines analyse the content of each page and store it in their database. This process is called indexing. During indexing, Google tries to understand what your page is about by looking at your keywords, related phrases, headings, images, internal links, and overall content quality.
If a page is properly indexed, it becomes eligible to appear in search results when users search for related terms. However, if your content is low quality, duplicated, or blocked by technical issues, it may not be indexed at all, which means it will not appear on Google.
Ranking is the process Google uses to decide the order in which websites appear in search results. It is based on how relevant, useful, and trustworthy they are for a user’s search.
Google’s algorithm compares many websites and evaluates which page is the most relevant and useful for that search. It looks at factors like keyword relevance, content quality, backlinks (other websites linking to you), website speed, mobile-friendliness, and overall authority. The goal is to show users the most helpful and trustworthy results at the top.
A key concept Google considers while ranking websites is E-E-A-T, which helps measure content quality and credibility. It stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Search engines also analyse how users behave after they click on your website. These behaviours are called user signals, and they help Google understand whether your content is useful and relevant. Strong user signals tell Google that your page is valuable, which can help improve your rankings over time.
Keywords are the foundation of SEO because they connect what people search for with the content on your website. When you use the right keywords, your website can appear in front of users who are actively looking for your products or services.
Keywords are the words or phrases that users type into search engines like Google. For example, someone might search for “best school in Kathmandu” or “SEO services in Nepal.” SEO helps your website match these search terms so it can appear in the results.
These are the types of keywords in SEO:
To choose the right keywords, understand the search intent, check the monthly search volume to assess traffic potential, and analyse the competition to select keywords that offer good volume with manageable difficulty.
SEO is generally divided into three main types: on-page, off-page, and technical. Each helps improve your website’s visibility on Google differently.
On-page SEO focuses on optimising the content and elements within your website. This includes using the right keywords naturally in your content, writing clear and helpful information, structuring proper headings (H1, H2, H3), and optimising meta titles and meta descriptions. Good on-page SEO helps search engines understand what your page is about and improves user experience
Technical SEO ensures that your website works properly for both users and search engines. It includes improving website speed, making your site mobile-friendly, organising a clear site structure, and ensuring pages can be easily crawled and indexed. Without strong technical SEO, even good content may struggle to rank because search engines cannot access it easily.
Off-page SEO focuses on building your website’s authority and trust outside your website. This mainly includes getting quality backlinks from other websites, building brand mentions, and improving your overall online reputation. Strong off-page SEO signals to Google that your website is trustworthy and valuable.
Many factors, like content quality, keyword relevance, backlinks and UX, influence how well your website ranks on Google. Understanding these factors helps you improve your SEO strategy effectively.
The benefits of SEO are sustainable traffic, higher trust and credibility, better long-term return on investment, compounding growth over time, and stronger brand authority.
SEO usually takes 3 to 6 months to show noticeable improvements, while strong and highly competitive rankings can take longer. Minor improvements, such as better indexing, small traffic increases, or ranking for low-competition keywords, can sometimes happen within the first few weeks. The timeline depends on factors like industry competition, keyword difficulty, your website’s current authority, and its technical condition.
A new website may take more time because it has little trust and no strong backlink profile, while an established website with existing traffic and authority may see faster improvements. SEO is a long-term strategy, and better results require consistent effort and patience.
Local SEO helps local businesses appear in search results when people nearby are looking for their products or services. When someone searches for terms like “best dentist near me” or “restaurant in Kathmandu,” local SEO helps your business show up on Google Search and Google Maps.
By optimising your Google Business Profile, using location-based keywords, collecting customer reviews, and building local citations, SEO increases visibility in your area. This brings more traffic, phone calls, store visits, and inquiries from customers who are ready to buy, call your business, or contact you for services.
Before starting your SEO journey, avoid common mistakes like ignoring keyword research, creating content only for search engines, neglecting technical SEO, and failing to track performance. Avoiding these problems from the beginning helps build a strong foundation and prevents slow or unstable growth later.
Many beginners skip proper keyword research and target keywords that are too competitive or not related to their business. This wastes time and effort because the website may not rank or attract the right audience. Instead, use simple tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to find relevant, business-focused keywords that match what your customers are actually searching for.
Some people create content only to rank on Google, not to help customers. This often leads to poor-quality, keyword-stuffed content that is hard to read. Google now values helpful and easy-to-understand content and also looks at user behaviour, including bounce rate. If visitors leave quickly, it can signal that the content is not useful. Always write for people first and search engines second, focusing on solving real problems and improving user experience.
Beginners often ignore basic technical issues like slow website speed, poor mobile design, missing HTTPS security, or broken links. These problems can stop search engines from properly indexing your pages. Even good content may not rank if the website has technical errors, so checking these basics is very important. If you are not familiar with coding or website setup, it is better to work with a developer to fix these issues correctly.
Many beginners make SEO changes without tracking key metrics like organic traffic, keyword rankings, CTR, bounce rate, conversions, and indexing status to measure results properly. Without tracking, you cannot know what is working. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor traffic, user behaviour, and keyword rankings. Tracking helps you improve your strategy based on real data.
Hiring an agency without proven experience can lead to poor results and wasted money. Also, trying to handle complex SEO alone without proper knowledge can cause mistakes. A trusted SEO partner can save time, avoid errors, and guide your growth in a structured way. Always check reviews, experience, and real past results before choosing an agency.
SEO matters today more than ever because online competition is increasing in every industry, and search engines are becoming smarter with AI-driven results. Only the businesses that optimise their websites will stay visible, while those that don’t get pushed down in rankings.
SEO also creates long-term value. Unlike paid ads that stop when the budget ends, organic rankings can bring steady traffic for years. People trust organic results more, which builds credibility and supports sustainable online growth.
SEO usually takes about 3 to 6 months to show noticeable improvements, but stronger results may take longer depending on competition and your website’s condition. SEO is a long-term strategy, and consistent effort brings better results over time.
Yes, local SEO can greatly help small and local businesses by making your website appear when nearby customers search for your services or products. This results in more calls, shop visits, and inquiries.
SEO is mostly ongoing, but some things only need a one-time setup, like connecting to Google Analytics, Search Console, and other SEO tools. Search engines update their algorithms regularly, and competitors are always improving their websites. Continuous content updates, optimisation, and monitoring are needed to maintain and improve rankings.
Yes, free tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Google Keyword Planner (if you have a Google Ads account) can help you track performance, find keywords, and understand how users interact with your website.
You can start basic SEO yourself by learning the fundamentals, but professional agencies have experience, tools, and strategies for your niche that can save time and reduce costly mistakes. Working with an experienced agency is crucial if your business operates in a competitive industry.
SEO focuses on improving your website to rank in organic (free) search results, while SEM (Search Engine Marketing) includes paid advertising. SEO brings long-term traffic, while SEM provides faster but paid results. SEO is technically part of SEM, although in common practice, SEM is known as a paid strategy involving active ad campaigns.
Don’t let poor Core Web Vitals hurt your SEO rankings. Get expert help from Nepal’s leading digital marketing agency and see results in 30 days.
500+
Websites Optimized
40%
Avg Ranking Boost
30 Days
To See Results
99%
Client Satisfaction
Trusted by 12,000+ sites
Our proven Core Web Vitals optimization checklist has helped 12,000+ websites improve their SEO rankings.
