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What is SEO? A Beginner’s Guide on How It Works

  • November 28, 2025

SEO isn’t only about ranking on the top search results. If you really want to increase your website’s visibility organically, then you need to understand this marketing strategy beyond its basics. And this article covers exactly that.

Perhaps you’re still a beginner, and some guides you found might sound too technical. But set aside your worry because we’ll try our best to put every concept in layman’s terms and not be overwhelming.

If your business isn’t optimizing for search, don’t let the opportunity pass you by. Make the first step to boost your brand organically with our SEO Services at X Digital Media that will put you in front of your target market!

What is SEO in Digital Marketing?

Search Engine Optimization is the process of optimizing a website to improve its visibility and rank high in organic search results. It allows businesses online to be discovered in search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, and Baidu.

The main goal is simple: when people search for specific information, products, or services your brand offers, your website should appear in the top results.

In the same way, Search Engine Optimization isn’t only about adding keywords to a page. It involves writing content (blog post or static), optimizing site structure, improving user experience, and building trust with both users and search engines.

In comparison to other digital marketing strategies, like Pay-Per-Click, with SEO, you don’t have to spend a huge amount of money. You can dominate the search engine with the right practices and strategy. Not to mention that it is ideal for long-term organic growth, as long as you remain consistent.

Essential SEO Terms and Definitions You Should Know

As mentioned, SEO comes along with a variety of jargon. So, before delving deeper into SEO Digital, we prepared a list of key terms that you often come up with.

Here’s a brief SEO Glossary for the important terms you need to be familiar with.

  • Algorithm: A set of rules and guidelines used by search engines to determine which pages should appear in search results and if they are worth indexing in the first place.
  • Backlink: It refers to a link from another website pointing to your site. The better quality backlinks signal trust to search engines, which improves site ranking.
  • Branded Keyword: Search terms that include your business or brand name, often used by people already familiar with you.
  • Content: Any information published on your site can be in the form of text, images, or videos to be consumed by your audience. One example is a blog post.
  • Core Web Vitals: It is a Google metrics that measure website speed, interactivity, and visual stability, all of which affect user experience and rankings.
  • Domain Authority: It refers to a score that predicts how well a website is likely to rank compared to competitors.
  • E-E-A-T: Simply an abbreviation for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is a factor used as a guideline to determine the quality of a page.
  • External Link: A link that directs users from your website to another site.
  • Google Analytics: It is a free web analytics tool that collects and analyzes data from websites to gain better insights into user behavior, website performance, and other performance metrics.
  • Google Trends: A tool by Google that shows the popularity of search queries over time, helping you spot trending topics.
  • Heading: The titles and subheadings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) on a page structure your content and make it easier to read.
  • Homepage: The main page of your website that often serves as the starting point for navigation.
  • Internal Link: It refers to a link that connects one page of your website to another for users and search engines to easily navigate your site.
  • Index: The database of web pages that search engines have discovered and stored to show in search results.
  • Keyword: A specific word or phrase that people type into a search engine. It serves as a bridge between a user’s query and a website.
  • Keyword Difficulty: It measures how hard it is to rank for a specific keyword based on competition and search volume.
  • Keyword Research: The process of finding and analyzing search terms people use so you can target the right audience.
  • Keyword Stuffing: Overusing keywords unnaturally in content in an attempt to rank higher, a practice penalized by Google.
  • KPI: Or Key Performance Indicator tracks how well your SEO efforts are performing, such as traffic or conversions.
  • Link Building: The strategy of acquiring backlinks from other websites to increase your site’s authority.
  • Long-Tail Keyword: A longer, more specific keyword usually consists of three or more words that usually have lower competition but higher conversion potential.
  • Meta-Description: The short summary that appears below a page title in search results, designed to attract clicks.
  • Off-Page SEO: It refers to every SEO effort done outside your website. One common example is link building.
  • On-Page SEO: It refers to every SEO effort done within your website, such as content uploading, headings, and meta tags.
  • Organic Search: The unpaid search results that appear in Google based on relevance, not ads.
  • Query: The exact word or phrase a user types into a search engine.
  • Rank: The position of your web page held in search results for a specific query.
  • Relevance: How closely your content matches what the user is searching for.
  • ROI: It is used to measure how much value or profit you gain from your SEO efforts compared to what you spend.
  • Search Engine: A tool or platform like Google or Bing that helps users find information online.
  • Search Engine Results Page (SERP): It is the page you see after entering a search, showing organic listings, paid ads, and other features.
  • Technical SEO: The process of optimizing the more technical elements of your website to achieve a better ranking in the search results.
  • Traffic: The number of visitors who come to your website, often measured through tools like Google Analytics.
  • User Experience: How easy, enjoyable, and useful your website feels to visitors, which directly impacts rankings.
  • White-hat SEO: It is an SEO practice that falls within the guidelines set by search engines.

How SEO Works and What You Need to Know to Get Started

Once you understand search engine optimization, understanding its other concepts in general can be much easier. Although choosing the best digital marketing SEO Company still matters, it is still better that you have an idea of its three-step process, including the following:

Crawling

Before being ranked in the search results, the first step is for your website to be crawled by a search engine. As the name implies,  it uses a web crawler (or spiders) to discover new or updated pages on the web. They scan the site’s content, links, and structure to figure out what your page is about.

Indexing

The next step is indexing. Once the page is crawled by a bot, it then gets stored in a massive database known as the search index. Think of it as Google’s library, where your content is filed under the right category so it can be retrieved later. If your page isn’t indexed, it won’t appear in search results at all.

Ranking

As for the final step, there comes the “ranking”. This is where a search engine’s algorithm will come into play. When someone types a query, on Google, for example, the search engine pulls information from the index and arranges the results in order of relevance and quality—and that’s where ranking happens.

Simply put, think of it like you’re in a library. Crawling is when a librarian walks through the shelves and checks for every new book and updated version. Once done, those books will be carefully Indexed in the librarian’s system. And Ranking happens when someone asks the librarian for the best book on a topic. Basically, that is how it works.

Top Benefits of SEO for Your Growing Brand Online

Once you opt for the top SEO Agency, there are a lot of benefits waiting for you. But we’re not going through each of them one by one. Instead, we only listed the three advantages that will give you enough reason to avail our service today!

Help you build credibility

In comparison to other marketing strategies, SEO is the most natural way to promote a business online. You don’t need to pay the search engine; they will be the ones that put you at the top if they meet the qualifications. And once you do, it signals trust to users on how credible your site is for search engines like Google to put you in a higher spot. Over time, it strengthens your reputation.

More website traffic

SEO Search Optimization drives targeted visitors who are already searching for products or services like yours. Instead of chasing leads, you attract them naturally through higher rankings. The result is not just more traffic, but quality traffic that has a better chance of converting into loyal customers.

Ideal for long-term brand success

If there’s one reason that makes SEO better than paid ads, it’s the fact that even if your budget runs out, it can deliver lasting results. You just need to be consistent with your strategy and best practices. With regular optimization, your content continues to rank and help you bring new visitors month after month. That’s why it’s one of the sustained ways to build and maintain brand growth online.

Book a Discover Call Today and Discover the Power of SEO With Us!

Taking that first step for long-term brand success doesn’t always need to be complicated. Sometimes all it takes is a one discovery call with us.

By doing so, you can gain better insights into how SEO can specifically help your business grow. Learn more about SEO Monthly Packages XDigitalMedia and how our affordable service puts you on the right track with your marketing strategy.

You just have to click the “Contact Us” button above and allow us to help you reach your next business milestone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Search Engine Optimization important?

Using SEO as your marketing strategy can increase your visibility and improve your ranking. And by ranking higher, it attracts more organic traffic and builds trust with potential customers. Since it is ideal for long-term growth, it also gives you more cost-effective marketing strategies.

Which is the best SEO Company?

Suffice to say, X Digital Media is one of the leading agencies, thanks to its group of expert and proven services. Not only in terms of SEO but in others such as Website Development, Digital Ads, Social Media Management, and Email Marketing.

How long does SEO take to work?

Generally, there is no specific time for how long it will take for this marketing strategy to work. It can be affected by a variety of factors. However, the general timeline can take from three to six months to work, and in some cases, a whole year. So if you want a better and promising outcome, right from the start, then choose the best Search Engine Optimization Company today.