What is SEO?

1. What is SEO?: Introduction to Seo

You can listen to the audio summary of this article, which I prepared with NotebookLM, on Spotify!

SEO stands for: Search Engine Optimization

In short, it means: “The work of making your website more visible on search engines like Google.” The more visible you are, the more visitors you get.

The more you reach the right people, the more effective the results will be.

1.1. What Does SEO Do?

Let’s explain with an example:

You have an e-commerce site and you sell phones. You want someone who searches for “iPhone 14 Pro Max” to come to your site. But if your page is on page 5 or 10, is this possible?

Of course not.

90% of users only click on results on the first page.

That’s why we can say that SEO encompasses all the work done to improve rankings.

1.2. Why SEO is Necessary?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is entirely shaped by the ranking factors determined by search engines.

Search engines, particularly Google, consider hundreds of criteria to determine whether a web page provides users with the most appropriate and valuable results.

The primary goal of SEO efforts is to best meet these ranking criteria, thereby satisfying both the expectations of search engines and the needs of users.

According to the results of the study conducted by First Page Sage, Google Algorithm Current Ranking Factors are distributed as shown in the table below.

1.3. What are the Purposes of SEO?

SEO has several main purposes:

•Visibility: To enable people looking for your products or services to find you.
•Traffic: Attracting organic (free) visitors from search engines.
•Conversion: Turning these visitors into customers, followers, subscribers, etc.
•Brand Trust: Being higher in Google rankings increases people’s trust in your brand.
•Long-Term Growth: SEO is not temporary like an advertising campaign; it is an investment that can provide benefits for years.

1.4. What is SEO Not?

SEO is sometimes misunderstood. Let’s correct a few misconceptions first:

•SEO is not a magic wand. No one can guarantee being on page 1 in 1 week.
•SEO is not just keyword placement.
•SEO is not just about technical tricks to “trick” the Google algorithm.

SEO is the process of improving the user experience. Because Google’s goal is to give the user the best result. Therefore, SEO experts should try to make people happy, not search engines.

1.5. Why is SEO So Important?

Think of it like this: You opened a store, but no one goes there. Its location does not even appear on the map. This is exactly how a website without SEO is invisible in the digital world.

By 2025, about 8.5 billion searches will be made on Google every day. 75% of users never leave the first page.

One reason why organic search traffic is so valuable is its high conversion rate.

As you can see in the graph, the Digital Marketing Conversion Rates Report data shows the conversion rates across many different channels, and SEO ranks among the best.

If you have a business, blog, or personal brand, SEO is still a must.

1.6. Basic Categories of SEO

We can roughly divide SEO work into 4 main categories:

1. Technical SEO: It is the process of optimizing the infrastructure of your website in a way that Google can understand and crawl quickly.
2. On-Page SEO: Optimization of on-page elements such as page titles, content quality, images, and meta descriptions.
3. Content SEO: Strategic content production that enables the user to access the information they are looking for, satisfyingly and originally.
4. Off-Page SEO: Off-site factors such as external links (backlinks) to your website, and social signals.

These categories are not independent of each other. On the contrary, SEO is truly effective when they all work together in harmony.

2. Technical SEO: Making the Invisible Visible

Imagine you are building a building. No matter how fancy, aesthetic, or useful it is, if the foundation is not solid, it will collapse at the slightest shake. This foundation for websites is technical SEO.

Technical SEO is all the infrastructural work that enables search engines like Google to easily crawl, understand, and rank your site.

This is the part that is usually looked at first in SEO projects, but then neglected because it is not “visible”. But know that no matter how great your content is, if your site can’t be properly crawled by Google’s bots, you don’t stand a chance.

2.1. Crawling and Indexing Infrastructure

In order for Google to understand your website, it must first crawl and index your pages. The most critical elements that affect this process are:
•robots.txt file: A control file that tells Google which pages it should or should not crawl.
•Sitemap.xml: A roadmap that presents all the important pages on your website to Google. It should be submitted through Google Search Console.
•Noindex and canonical tags: Used to prevent duplicate content and to prevent unnecessary pages from being indexed.

2.2. What to Do to Get Indexed Fast?

Here are a few practical suggestions:

2.3. How to Add a Site to Google Search Engine?

Having a website appear in Google search results is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to the site. Here is the process of adding a site to Google step by step:

2.3.1. Sign up for Google Search Console

Google Search Console is used to promote your website to Google and track its performance.

2.3.2. Verify Website

Verification can be done by uploading an HTML file, adding tags, or through a domain name provider so that Google can verify that you own it.

2.3.3. Submit Sitemap

You should provide Google with an XML sitemap to better understand the content of your site. Example: https://sitename.com/sitemap.xml

2.3.4. Check Robots.txt File

This file determines which pages Google can crawl. Misconfiguration can prevent your site from being indexed.

2.3.5. Create Quality and Original Content

Google ranks the pages that best respond to users’ needs. Producing original, experience-based, and useful content according to HCU (Helpful Content Update) criteria increases your ranking.

2.4. User Experience (UX)

Google is increasingly taking user behavior into account in its algorithms.

The user is coming to your site:

•Does he open your page fast?
•Does it exit immediately?
•Does he/she scroll?
•Does he/she click on CTA (Call to Action) buttons?
•Does he/she navigate to other pages?

The answers to these questions directly affect your SEO performance.

Core UX factors:

•Page Landing Speed: Slow-loading pages, especially on mobile devices, cause big losses.
•Mobile Compatibility: Google now indexes the mobile version first (Mobile-first indexing).
•Readability: Short paragraphs, clear headings, and simple designs keep the user on the site.
•Call to Action (CTA): It should be presented what the user will do.
•Reducing Inhibitors: UX enemies such as pop-up attacks, cluttered menus are now even more harmful.

2.5. Core Web Vitals – Technical Measurement of User Experience

In recent years, Google has started to evaluate user experience with technical metrics.

These three key metrics are called Core Web Vitals:

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) – How long does it take for the largest content of the page to load (Target: <2.5 seconds)

INP (Interaction to Next Paint) – Visual response time after the user has interacted (Target: <200ms)

CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) – Whether there are page load shifts (Target: <0.1)

These metrics directly affect both desktop and mobile user experience. Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool is great for measuring these scores.

2.6. Mobile-First Indexing: It’s No Longer Desktop, It’s the Device in Your Pocket

Google now ranks sites based on their mobile versions. So, no matter how good your desktop version is, if there is a problem on mobile, your ranking may drop.

Things to consider in this context:

•Responsive design on mobile (single URL, compatible with all devices)
•Legibility of text
•Tactility of buttons
•Mobile page speed
•JavaScript is not blocked on mobile

For mobile compatibility testing: Google Mobile Compatibility Test

The most common mistake I encounter in my projects: sites that work great on desktop, but slow down on mobile due to huge images.

2.7. HTTPS and Security

HTTPS is a ranking criterion. Secure connections give confidence to the user, but also to the search engine.

•SSL certificate must be active.
• “Mixed content” (both http and https) pages should be avoided.
•The lock mark must appear intact in the browser.

2.8. Accessibility and Code Quality

Technical SEO cares about people, not just bots. In particular, accessibility criteria (WCAG standards) improve both user experience and SEO:

•Adding meaningful alt tags to images
•Defining labels for forms
•Pay attention to color contrast
•Enable keyboard navigation

Also, it is important that the HTML semantic structure is correct (e.g., h1 is only 1 grain, section and article structures in place) allows more accurate analysis of the page structure.

2.9. Site Structure and URL Architecture

To make it easier for Google to crawl:

•URLs should be short, readable, and contain keywords
•Category/subcategory structure should be simple
•Internal linking should be built in a logical way
•Broken links (404) should be checked regularly

My suggestion: Use site crawling tools such as Screaming Frog and Sitebulb regularly and periodically to audit these structures.

2.10. What Happens Without Technical SEO?

•Pages are not indexed, do not rank
•Users flee the page due to page speed
•Mobile incompatibility lowers conversion rates
•Bots cannot crawl your site properly.
•Visitors’ trust is damaged

So while technical SEO may seem like a “background job”, it is the backbone of SEO success.

3. On-Page SEO: Mastering On-Page

Imagine a restaurant; the exterior is great, and the location is perfect. But once inside, the menu is poorly designed, the waiters don’t know what they are doing, and the food is far from what you expect. What happens? You won’t go back, right?

The pages of your website work in the same way. After inviting search engines in with Technical SEO, optimize that experience with On-Page SEO. You need to make it easy for the user to find what they are looking for. Not only should the user easily find what they are looking for, but your page should also be seen as “the most powerful resource on the subject” in search engine terms.

So, how is this done? Let’s take a look together.

3.1. Headings H1, H2, H3 Hierarchy

Page titles tell both the user and Google what the page is about. But the important thing here is the structuring:

•Each page should have only one H1.
•Sub-headings should be H2, and the smaller headings below it should continue with a hierarchy like H3, H4, etc.
•The keyword should naturally appear in the H1 title.

I usually recommend the following: Make your title as attractive as a magazine cover, but also appeal to search intent.

3.2. Meta Title and Meta Description: Your Digital Showcase

The meta title is the blue link that appears in search results. Description is the short description just below it. These two are the most critical elements that determine your click-through rate (CTR).

Tips:

•Title should be between 50-60 characters.
•Description should be between 120-160 characters, clear, interesting, and action-oriented.
•The keyword should be at the beginning.
•Each page should have unique meta information.

Think of meta descriptions like a sales representative making a sale. It is both difficult and very effective to summarize a page in 2 sentences.

3.3. URL Structure: Both Short and Meaningful

Page URLs are one of the most invisible but effective components of SEO.

•Short, readable, and keyword-containing URLs like https://sitename.com/what-is-seo/ are ideal.

•Avoid unnecessary parameters, meaningless structures such as ?id=1234.

Think of URLs as folder names. Both the search engine and the user should understand what’s there when they look at the address bar.

3.4. Semantic SEO: Speaking Google’s Language

Today, SEO is no longer just focused on “keywords”. Google evaluates content semantically (meaning-based).

•Use words that are close in meaning to the keyword (LSI keywords)
•For example, the content on “things to consider when buying a washing machine” should include words such as “white goods”, “energy
efficiency, “capacity selection”
•Google ranks your page based on how much information it provides on a topic

In other words, it is now imperative to approach the issue “broadly and intentionally”.

3.5. Internal Linking: Link Pages Together

Your website is kind of like a city. Pages are neighborhoods. Internal links are the roads between these neighborhoods.

•Link to other pages from text containing keywords
•Build links from overarching content to subpages and vice versa
•Feed low-traffic pages from powerful pages

Google uses internal links both to understand page structure and to “rank importance”. It is one of the most effective ways to keep the visitor on the site.

3.6. Image Optimization: Not Only Aesthetic, SEO Tool

•Optimize the size of images (use WebP if possible)
•Do not leave alt tags empty – also essential for accessibility
•Make the image names meaningful: not img123.jpg, like what-is-seo.webp
•Organic traffic from images is considerable.

Many content creators don’t realize that images also contribute to rankings. However, Google Image Search is also a traffic source.

3.7. Structured Data and Rich Snippets

Google uses structured data to better understand your content. This allows you to stand out as a rich snippet in SERPs.

Areas of use:

•Content such as articles, products, reviews, events, FAQs, and how-tos
•Details such as rating stars, price, and availability

What is the benefit?

•Attract more attention
•Higher click-through rate (CTR)
•Voice search and compatibility with AI assistants

Application suggestion: Review the schemas suitable for your field on Schema.org and integrate them into your site. Test with Rich Results Test Google’s Tool.

4. Content SEO: Conquering Search Engines with Content

That cliché you often hear in digital marketing is true: “Content is king.” But today, content is not only king; it is also a guide, psychologist, and sales representative.

If well-crafted content reaches the right person at the right time, it will influence and mobilize them.

Producing quality content does not mean “writing a lot”. Bloated articles with copied information don’t work anymore.

Google is not interested in how long the content is, but how much value it adds.

4.1. Understanding Search Intent: Matching Search Intent

Before you start producing content, you should ask yourself: “What does the person searching for this content want to know, do, or buy?” “Does this content solve the searcher’s problem?”

This is the most overlooked point in content SEO. Because content that does not match the search intent of the user will not rank high in the search engine, no matter how well written it is.

An example: Let’s take the title “Best smartphones 2025”. The person doing this search probably wants to see comparative, feature-oriented, unbiased content. If you praise only one brand, the visitor will leave the page immediately. Google gets this signal too.

Search intent falls into four groups:

Informational: “What is SEO?”, “How to brew tea”
Navigational: “Facebook login”, “Amazon customer service”
Transactional: “SEO service prices”, “Best vacuum cleaner”
Commercial Investigation: “iPhone 15 or Samsung S24?”

Every piece of content should target one of these four intent groups. Otherwise, bounce rate will increase, and Google will drag you down.

4.2. Topic Clusters: Topic Dominance, Not Keyword Dominance

SEO no longer focuses on individual keywords, but on topic clusters.

So you cannot gain authority on a broad topic such as “SEO” with a single article. I am just summarizing here. 🙂

Instead:

•Main topic: What is SEO (homepage/pillar content)
•Subtopics: Technical SEO, On-Page SEO, Content SEO, Link Building, SEO Tools, etc. (supporting content)

In this way, both the internal linking structure is strengthened and Google understands that you are an expert in this field.

In my projects, I have seen organic traffic increase every time I create many different sub-contents under a main topic. Why? Because each subtopic worked like a ring around the main topic.

4.3. E-E-A-T: Content Google Trusts

One of Google’s quality assessment criteria is E-E-A-T:

•Experience
•Expertise
•Authoritativeness
•Trustworthiness

In other words, the content should be based on direct experience, expert opinion, and reliable sources, not just informative. These criteria are especially vital in the “YMYL – Your Money, Your Life” category, such as health, finance, and law.

Tip: Even mentioning the name of the content author and linking to their LinkedIn profile or biography sends an E-E-A-T signal.

4.4 Content Formats: Not Always Text

SEO content is not just blog posts. It is possible to reach a wider audience with different content formats:

•List contents: “Top 10…”
•Guides “SEO from beginner to advanced”
•Comparisons “Ahrefs vs Semrush”
•Q&A: “Frequently asked questions about SEO”
•Video transcripts
•Data visualizations

Different formats appeal to different intentions. This diversity is also rewarded by Google.

4.5. Content Update: Old Content, New Gain

Google loves fresh content. But that doesn’t always mean writing new articles.

Regularly update your previously written content:

•Update dates
•Add new information, trends
•Repair broken links
•Refresh meta descriptions

In some of my projects, I have achieved a 20-30% traffic increase just by updating the content, because the updated content proves to both the user and Google that it is “still valid”.

4.6. Keyword Usage: Naturalness is Everything

It used to be fashionable to use the keyword 20 times on the page. Now this method can even get you penalized for “keyword stuffing”.

What to do:

•Use the keyword in the title, first 100 words, and one or two subheadings
•Include LSI (related) words
•Write without breaking the user experience

Remember: Google now understands sentences and context. Focus on the solution to the problem, not the keyword.

4.7. Content Quality: Quality, Not Quantity

Do you think that sites that publish 5 pieces of content a day and none of them have any depth, or sites that produce comprehensive articles once a week, win?

The latter, of course.

•Authenticity
•Depth
•Readability (paragraph layout, bullet points, visuals)
•Language appropriate for the target audience

These are the cornerstones of quality content.

5. Off-Page SEO & Link Building: Building Digital Reputation

Imagine you are looking for the best restaurant in a city you have just moved to. You asked several people and they all recommended the same place. What do you do? You probably go there. This is exactly how Google works.

Here, “others recommending you” means backlinks in the digital world. This is the basis of Off-Page SEO: Having your site referenced by other sources.

But link building is no longer as simple as “get links and move up”. Let’s look at the intricacies of this business.

5.1. What is a Backlink? Why is it so important?

A backlink is a link from another site to your site. Google evaluates these links as a kind of “vote of confidence”. Think of it like this:

If authoritative sources such as Harvard, BBC, or Forbes link to a site, Google says: “We can trust this site because trusted places recommend it.”

Since the early years of Google, backlinks have been one of the most powerful ranking signals. And they still are.

But it’s not just how many links you get; it’s who, how, and why you get them.

5.2. 5 Key Characteristics of a Quality Backlink

• Should come from Authoritative Sources: Trusted sites with high Domain Authority.
• Should come from Related Subject: Links from related content in the same sector are more valuable.
• Should Be Naturally Placed: Not “Click here”, but organic links in the content flow.
• Should Be Followable (dofollow): NoFollow links are valuable, but dofollow ones contribute directly to SEO?
• Should Be Diverse: Instead of hundreds of links from a single source, a balanced profile from different sources is good.

From my own experience, I can tell you that natural links from small, niche industry sites are much more effective than paid links from large, irrelevant news sites.

5.3. How to Get Backlinks (Naturally)

There is no need to deal with spam methods to get links anymore. It is possible to earn links naturally. Here are some effective methods:

5.3.1. Quality Content Production

Yes, this is still the most natural way to earn links. Produce so-called “link bait” content:

•Statistical compilations
•Original research
•Long guide contents
•Infographics

5.3.2. Guest Posting

Reach out to blogs related to your industry, write useful content. Get a link from your profile in return. But beware!
→ Avoid “post on every topic” invitations from spam networks.

5.3.3. Broken Link Building

Go to a site, identify broken (404) links. Then, suggest similar content you have. It is both useful for them and earns you links.

5.3.4. Entering Resource Pages

For example, aim to be included in lists such as “Best SEO resources”. For this, you must have produced quality, educational content.

5.4. Harmful Backlinks: Silent Bullets of the Enemy

Not every link is beneficial. Some may even harm your site. In particular

•Links from spammy blog networks
•Links from “blacklist” sites, such as gambling, adult content, hacking sites
•A large number of artificial backlinks are coming in suddenly

These can be perceived as “manipulation” by Google and penalized.

What to do.
Check in Google Search Console→ Links tab. Suspicious. You can disavow links with the disavow tool. But beware, misuse can damage your rankings.

5.5. Social Signals and Brand Searches: New Generation Off-Page Signals

Signals other than backlinks are becoming more important:

•Social media posts (especially those with high engagement)
•Google search volume of the brand name (brand search volume)
•Mentions on podcasts, YouTube, and forums

These signals, even if they are not direct backlinks, give Google the message: “This brand is active online, people are interested in this site.”

Especially in local SEO projects, there are many examples of social media interactions gaining rankings.

5.6. Link Profile Tracking: You Can’t Give Direction Without Measurement

Backlink acquisition is not something to be done once and left. It should be followed continuously.

Tools you can use:

•Ahrefs
•Semrush
•Moz
•Google Search Console

Metrics to watch out for:

•New / lost connections
•Anchor text distribution
•Pages with links
•Diversity of domain names (referring domains)

My suggestion: Get your backlink report every month, check for harmful links, and take advantage of opportunities.

6. SEO Compatible Content Writing: Searching and Telling, Not Just Writing

SEO compatible content writing may sound like a technical task. However, the essence of this job is to get into the reader’s mind and make Google say, “Look, I’m solving this”.

While doing keyword optimization, you have to appeal to the reader’s emotions. You have to convince both the algorithm and the human.

Is it easy? No, it’s not. Is it possible? Definitely yes.

I will now explain the basic principles of striking this balance.

6.1. Writing Content According to User Intent

First and most critical rule: The purpose of the content must match the user’s purpose.

Before Google ranks a page, it asks: “Does this content meet the needs of the searcher?”

Ask this before you start writing: “What does this searcher want to achieve? Information? Comparison? Is it a purchase?”

Example: “Best laptop 2025″→ User expectation: Brand comparison, specification table, price/performance analysis.

If you don’t meet these expectations in the content, Google won’t rank you just because the keyword is mentioned.

6.2.Building Structure with Headings (H1, H2, H3)

SEO-friendly content is readable content. Headings allow both the reader and Google to understand the post.

•H1: Main title (only 1 time per page)
•H2: Main sub-headings
•H3: Sub-headings linked to H2

Tip: Always place the keyword in the H1 and one or two H2 headings. But don’t force it, keep the natural flow.

6.3. Keyword Usage: Moderate and Natural

In the past (i.e., in my youth🙂 ), it was useful to pass the same word 10 times in the content. Now, this tactic can turn into a penalty.

SEO compatible content:

• The keyword must appear in the first 100 words URL
• Meta description, ALT tags of images
• LSI (closely related) keywords should also be used

Example:
Keyword: “organic coffee” → LSI examples: natural coffee, additive-free coffee, organic filter coffee

6.4. Meta Description and Title Tag

One of the elements that contributes the most to SEO is the title and meta description that persuade the user to click.

Title (Title Tag):

•Maximum 60 characters
• The keyword must be at the beginning
•It should be eye-catching and clear

Meta Description:

•Maximum 160 characters
•Summarize what the user will find
•Must include a CTA (call to action)

📌 Sample meta description:
“We’ve compared the best laptops of 2025 with price/performance analysis. Be sure to check this guide before shopping!”

6.5. Internal Linking: For a Strong Site Architecture

SEO-compliant content works not only for itself, but also for the other content of the site. That’s why internal linking is so important.

•Link to relevant content
•Redirect the user to the next step
•Use the keyword in anchor texts

6.6. Using Visuals, Tables, and Lists

Google reads the image’s description (ALT tag). Likewise, users prefer elements like tables and lists over long text.

Suggestions for use:

•Use an image every 300-400 words
•Present complex data in a table
•Provide quick access to information with bullet points

6.7. Content Length: Not Just Long, It Should Be Deep

Google likes long content but not “empty verbiage”. The important thing is to cover the topic in detail, in depth, and comprehensively.

•Average 1200+ words
•Inclusiveness: Each question should be answered with subheadings
•Authenticity: Must be your content, not a copy

Pro Tip: Analyze your competitors’ ranking content. Add information that they don’t provide. This will signal to Google that “this is the best content”.

6.8. CTA (Call to Action): Call the Visitor to Action

Every piece of content should have a purpose. You should make it clear what you want the user to do.

Example CTAs:

•”Start a free SEO analysis now.”
•”Subscribe to our newsletter for more tips.”
•”Click here to check out our SEO services.”

Writing SEO-friendly content requires not only writing skills but also analysis, planning, optimization, and persuasion.

That’s why a good SEO writer is part data expert, part strategist, and part storyteller.

7. Measurement and Success Criteria in SEO: Seeing the Invisible

Great, now we come to the point where we measure the success of your SEO efforts: Measurement and Success Criteria in SEO.

Because SEO is a process that can never be managed without measuring. You wrote, optimized, produced content, gained backlinks…

But how do you know if it’s working?

In this section, we will talk about how to evaluate SEO success, which metrics you should monitor, and how to take action from this data.

SEO is a process that works with a combination of many variables. The only way to know if you are successfully executing this process: measurement.

But here’s the critical thing: What you measure is as important as why you measure it.

If traffic to a page is increasing, is that good? Yes, it is.

But if the incoming traffic leaves immediately, leaving no interaction, is that a success? No, it is not.

In other words, in SEO, you should evaluate metrics not only as “has it increased or decreased?” but also as “does it serve my goal?”.

7.1. Organic Traffic: The Beginning of Everything

This data, which you can easily track from Google Analytics and Search Console, is the key performance indicator of SEO.

What to look for?

•Organic traffic volume (total number of clicks)
•Change in traffic over time (weekly, monthly, yearly)
•Distribution of traffic sources
•Analyzing traffic spikes by content, category, or page

Strategy:

•Replicate the structure that attracts traffic.
•Analyze and update content that is losing traffic.
•Measure the average time for new content to generate traffic (usually 3-8 weeks).

7.2. Keyword Rankings

The clearest indicator of a content’s SEO success is where it ranks for its targeted keyword.

Tools

•Google Search Console (position tracking)
•Paid rank tracking tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush, and Ubersuggest

Track

•Ranking of the target keyword
•Rankings in long-tailed variations
•Jumps and falls

7.3. Bounce Rate and Time on Page

Does the person who comes to your site browse your content and leave immediately? Or does he spend time?

These metrics are considered indirect signals in Google rankings. It is important because it shows user satisfaction.

Where to Track?
•Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Ideal Values:

•Bounce rate: 30-60
•Time on page: 1-2 minutes minimum

Strategy:

•Long but flowing paragraphs→ keep the user on the page
•Use of videos and infographics increases→ page time
•CTA and internal links→ leads to next step

7.4. Conversion Rate (SEO Dependent)

SEO is not only about bringing traffic, it’s also about engagement and conversion. That’s why conversion is one of the most important KPIs (“Key Performance Indicators”) you should measure in an SEO project.

What is Conversion?

•Product purchasing
•Newsletter registration
•Form filling
•Download e-book
•Service request

Important Note: To demonstrate the business value of SEO, you must have the answer to the question “how much of the organic traffic have we converted?”.

7.5. Evolution of the Backlink Profile

Backlink acquisition is an essential part of any SEO strategy. But it is important not only to get links, but also to keep your link profile healthy.

Points to Measure

•Number of new incoming links per month
•Domain name diversity (not many links from one source, but one link from many sources)
•Dofollow vs nofollow ratio
•Proportion of Toxic (harmful) links

Tools

•Ahrefs
•Moz
•Semrush
•Google Search Console (links tab) Strategy:
•Analyze your backlink profile regularly every month.
•Strengthen the pages with weak links.
•Further improve the content you receive quality backlinks for.

7.6. Technical SEO Score and Page Speed

Google’s ranking algorithms are very sensitive to technical errors. It won’t rank a site that loads slowly and is full of broken links.

Metrics to Track:

•Page speed score (Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix)
•Core Web Vitals: LCP, FID, CLS
•Crawl errors (Google Search Console)
•Mobile compatibility

7.7. SEO ROI (Return on Investment)

Calculating how much your SEO work has earned you shows the sustainability of your project.

How to Calculate?

The organic traffic that SEO brings you→ the conversion rate of this traffic → the monetary value of these conversions

For example:

5000 visitors per month→ 2% of them buy→ each sale is 10 USD → 100 sales → 1000 USD revenue

If you spend 150 USD per month on SEO: the ROI = 1000 / 150 = 6.67.

The success of SEO is not just to appear on Google, but to influence and mobilize the visitor. And all this success cannot be sustainable without monitoring the right KPIs.

8. Current Trends in SEO

The world of SEO is constantly changing. Algorithms are being updated, user behavior is evolving, and technologies are developing. This means that strategies that work today may be obsolete tomorrow.

8.1. Google’s AI-Powered Search Updates (SGE)

Since 2023, Google has been working on Search Generative Experience (SGE), an AI-enriched search experience. Although it is not yet fully active globally, this system seems to fundamentally change the SEO world.

What is SGE?

Providing summarized and guiding information that directly responds to the user’s search in an AI-powered search box. This means that the user can see most of the answer in the search results before going to a website.

Impact on SEO:

• Fewer clicks, more “zero-click search”
•Content quality is more important as it is easier to access information
•The concepts of “E-A-T” – expertise, authority, and reliability – are even more prominent

What to do?

•Support your content with clear, comprehensive, and reliable sources
•Increase your brand authority (with backlinks, social media, expert writing staff, etc.)
•Use structured data to increase the likelihood of being cited by the SGE

8.2. Voice Search Optimization

“Hey Siri, where is the nearest coffee shop?”

“Ok Google, tell me about 2025 electric cars.”

People are no longer just typing; they are also searching by speaking. Especially on mobile devices and smart home assistants, this rate is approaching 30%.

What is changing?

•Long, natural language is at the forefront
•Content that directly answers questions stands out
•Local SEO is becoming more important. What to do?
•Create paragraphs that answer questions such as “How is it done?”,

“What is it?”, “Why?”

•Add FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) sections
•Create content that matches local search intent, such as “near me”

8.3. Content Generation with Artificial Intelligence: Threat or Opportunity?

Artificial intelligence-assisted content production has become widespread. While this accelerates the content production process, it also brings some risks.

Risks

•Increase in poor quality, unoriginal content
•Google’s automated content filtering systems (such as SpamBrain)

Opportunities:

•AI-powered software saves time on tasks such as data analysis, content structure planning, and suggestion generation
•Build the skeleton of your content strategy

What to do?

•Always human audit AI content
•Produce original, creative content that delivers value
•Writing that feels like it was written in a human voice stands out

Google’s official stance:

❝ Content written with AI is not penalized if it is useful, authentic, and user-oriented. However, artificial content without depth, written just for ranking, just to fill content, will be penalized. ❞ – Google Search Central Blog (2023)

8.4. Visual and Video SEO

Users consume more images and videos than text. Google knows this and increases the contribution of visual/video content to SEO.

For video SEO:

•Use keywords in YouTube descriptions
•Add transcripts and subtitles
•Optimize the titles of your embedded videos

For visual SEO:

•Be sure to fill in ALT tags
•Make file names descriptive (example: seo-analysis-2025.png)
•Reduce the size of images but maintain quality

Pro Tip: Ranking in Google’s “Images” and “Video” tabs diversifies organic traffic sources.

8.5. Mobile-First SEO (Mobile-First Indexing)

Google now indexes sites according to the mobile version. In other words, mobile compatibility, not the desktop version of your site, is one of the main determinants of your SEO success.

Important Criteria:

•Mobile compatible design (responsive)
•Fast loading pages
•Easy-to-read content structure on mobile
•Clickable buttons and menus

What to do?

•Test your site on mobile devices
•Increase page speed (GTmetrix, PageSpeed Insights)
•Customize the mobile experience (e.g., content ordering, menu structure)

8.6. E-E-A-T and Content Credibility

Google 2023 finally added another “E” to the “E-A-T” concept: Experience. Now, a piece of content needs to convey experience, not just expertise.

Example: Health article written by a doctor→ Specialty Doctor giving an example from his own case→ Experience

What to do?

•Enrich author profiles
•Share your own experiences and customer results in the content
•Include expert opinions

9. Conclusion: Learn – Apply – Check

The world of SEO cannot be managed with a fixed strategy. You must constantly monitor, test, update, and learn.

However, no matter what, content that provides value to the user will always prevail.

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