The essential SEO tutorial for thriving in the age of AI-driven search

You want to learn about search engine optimization (SEO), but where do you start? We were all SEO beginners once, so take heart: There’s lots to learn, but I’ve got plenty of expert advice and a step-by-step guide to get you started.

We’ll cover basic SEO vocabulary, review a step-by-step SEO tutorial to get your strategy started, and take a deep dive into AI. Throughout, I’ll include tips from HubSpot SEO pro Victor Pan and SEOFOMO newsletter founder Aleyda Solís.

Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

SEO Basics

To understand where we’re headed, let’s first take a quick look back. The traditional SEO playbook focuses on targeting keywords, climbing search rankings, driving traffic, and converting that traffic into leads or sales. Here’s how it works.

Key Words to Know

Understanding the foundational SEO vocabulary is important. Let’s dive into a few key terms:

• Search Engine Optimization optimizes your website to provide the high-quality information searchers look for. Good SEO also helps you rank higher in search results for specific keywords. That gets you in front of a bigger audience.
• On-page SEO improves search rankings. On-page elements include keywords used in your content or back-end elements like site structure.
• Off-page SEO focuses on actions that improve your search engine rankings outside your website, like backlinks from other websites.
• Link building involves getting to your content on other high-quality websites. That builds authority and credibility.
• SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) are the results page you see when you conduct a search on Google or another search engine.
• White-hat SEO tactics align with accepted and recognized best practices. If you follow these tactics, your site will rank.
• Black-hat SEO continues the good cowboy versus bad cowboy metaphor. These tactics manipulate search engine algorithms to rank websites higher in SERPs through unethical means.
• E-E-A-T stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trust. It’s part of Google’s search quality rater guidelines and one of the factors Google uses to determine a page’s relevance and authority.
• Keywords are phrases users type into a search engine to find content.
• Keyword research involves finding search terms that relate to your business to help you inform your website pages and content.
• Organic/organic results are any results in SERP that are unpaid and appear because of a page’s relevance to the search query.
• Organic traffic is traffic that comes from organic results.
• Ranking factors are elements that impact where your site may fall in search results, like your page authority.
• A search intent is why a user conducts a search.

1. Content SEO: Write great content.

My number one tip for content SEO is simple: Write really good content. Savvy SEO strategists know what people are searching for and have genuinely helpful content to address those needs. A shoddy post stuffed with keywords won’t compel people to stick around.

2. Technical SEO: Improve the technical elements of your website.

Even the best content on the internet won’t get any readers if Google can’t find it. That’s why technical SEO matters. The goal here is to set a strong technical foundation so that Google and other search engines can easily find and crawl your website so that it shows up in search results.

Technical SEO can seem complicated if you don’t have a lot of technical experience. Don’t try to do everything at once. A good CMS — like, ahem, HubSpot — takes care of the more technical aspects so you don’t have to. Go deeper into technical SEO with our technical SEO guide.

3. Sharing and backlinking: Make sure that users can find your website.

Because your content is great, people want to share it. Congratulations! Now let’s talk about how to build those backlinks.

HubSpot’s Victor Pan says to ask yourself, “Why do people want to share what you created?”

He identifies three simple answers to that question:

• “One, you’re super local, so it’s very relevant. You might even be the only person talking about it.”
• “Two, you could have data or a perspective that only your site can share, because of access that you have,” like original research or other proprietary data.
• And lastly, “your content triggers an emotional response.”

Pro tip: Don’t waste money buying backlinks. Google has clearly stated that “no one can buy better PageRank.” Since links contribute to PageRank, purchasing backlinks is ineffective and risks penalties.

We’ve got a complete guide on backlinking when you’re ready to give it a shot.

4. Keep an eye on AI.

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, calls AI-driven search “the next chapter of search,” and he believes it’s here to stay. So, how is the search trend shifting now?

Consider this: When someone has a problem, they might turn to ChatGPT for answers. If your brand is discovered there, they can learn about your products or services entirely within that session — without even visiting your website!

The overall value of AI search-based discovery is rising, too. A single visitor arriving through an AI-powered search platform is estimated to be 4.4 times more valuable than one from conventional organic search.

So, by the time someone lands on your website after exploring your brand via ChatGPT or similar platforms, they’re already well-informed and far more likely to convert.

So today, you’re not just looking to drive traffic to your website. You also need to appear prominently on AI-powered platforms.

You can learn more about generative engine optimization (GEO) to stay on the cutting edge.

5. Optimize for AIOs.

Google’s AI Overviews are now a part of the search experience. When you type in a query, an AI-generated answer appears with helpful links. If you show up in AIOs, people are exposed to your brand and services. That’s true even if searchers don’t click through.

If your brand has a long history and high SEO rankings, you’re probably already getting cited by and benefiting from AIOs. But, if you’re new to the space, you’ll have to adapt your strategy.

I recommend focusing on longtail, bottom-of-the-funnel keywords related to your offering. There will be less competition for these queries, so you’re more likely to be cited in the AIO. Beyond that, your keywords will address a specific pain point tied to your offering.

The people searching for that long phrase are already in need of what you sell. So, you’re primed to show up in front of potential buyers.

6. Understand vector embedding

Vector space models help search engines show more accurate and relevant results.

Imagine each web page or document as a dot on a giant graph. This graph has many dimensions, and each dimension represents a different word (like “SEO,” “content,” or “ranking”).

If two web pages use similar words, the dots that represent them will be close together. If they use very different words, the dots will be farther apart.

By measuring the distance between these dots, search engines can figure out which pages are more similar to each other and which ones are most relevant to what someone searched for. This approach enhances search accuracy, delivering more relevant results to users.

As a result, simply targeting specific keywords is becoming less effective. Data and context matter more.

Search Engine Journal calls this shift semantic drift. If you notice a drop in search traffic, it may be because your content’s vector no longer matches the evolving vector of user search intent. Understanding how vectors work can help you stay relevant.

How to Learn SEO

Learning SEO is a big task, and because SEO best practices change over time, international SEO consultant Aleyda Solís “highly, highly recommends that you don’t go to a single source.” It’s why on her own site, LearningSEO.io, she’s compiled guides and information from many different resources.

Solís offers this pro tip: “See what works for you within your context,” because even if the information is accurate, “it might not be right for your circumstances.”

Here are a few ways you can do that.

1. Read and watch reliable resources.

There are a lot of educational resources out there to read and watch that will help you build your knowledge of SEO. Here are some of my recommendations.

Google still has a little more than 90% of the search market worldwide, so add its Search Central Blog and Search Quality Rater Guidelines to your list.

AI-powered search engines are a fast-growing segment of the search landscape, so if you want to see how AI perceives your website and brand, take HubSpot’s AI Search Grader tool for a spin (it’s pretty cool).

2. Take free courses.

If you benefit from structured and guided learning, an SEO course is another option to build on your SEO skills. A bonus is that many courses offer certificates upon completion. These are some high-quality options:

3. Stay on top of the trends.

Especially with the advent of AI-powered search, SEO changes and evolves on a sometimes daily basis. Algorithms get updated, new trends surface, and consumer behaviors change.

For example, in December 2022, Google added an E for experience to the old E-A-T guidelines. Experience ensures that content is helpful, relevant, and created by someone with experience in the subject at hand. (And, it’s a key differentiator between computers and humans, as AI-generated content scrambles to get a robotic foot in the door.)

One of the most important factors in becoming an SEO expert is staying on top of the trends so you can pivot when major industry shifts happen. We cover changes in the SEO landscape on the HubSpot Blog, and Google also maintains a running list of major updates that can impact your SEO success.

4. Know how AI works.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping SEO and how content is discovered. So, I recommend staying on top of AI trends and knowing how search algorithms are shifting in response.

Personally, I find Semrush’s content valuable. Their 2025 AI research has been especially interesting. (For example, did you know that 89% of information cited by ChatGPT comes from sources that rank 21 or lower?)

Search Engine Journal has been another critical resource as I navigate the shift.

5. Study your competitors.

Learning from your competitors is a great way to understand the keys to their success.

Pan suggests looking at websites that are doing well and seeing what other pages they link to, so that when you’re “thinking about creating content, it’s not just a single piece of content you’re creating, but the whole journey that a user might go through.” Your content should cover a natural progression of topics.

You can conduct a competitor analysis to uncover new keywords, where competitors get backlinks (also called inbound links) from, and other new opportunities to capitalize on.

Featured resource: Our free Competitive Analysis Templates help you conduct a thorough analysis of competitors in your niche, and this step-by-step guide walks you through how to use the template for an SEO competitive analysis.

6. Learn by doing.

I’ve always found that I’ve learned best by doing. So, I recommend taking an experimental approach to the process.

If you already have a website, you can practice by doing a competitor analysis and updating your current strategy based on your findings. If you don’t have a website, consider building one, implementing your new SEO knowledge, and monitoring metrics.

One of the best things about SEO is that a wide variety of tools are available to help you along every step of the way.

7. Use SEO tools.

Considering the breadth and depth of the internet, it would be a nightmare to do some of the essential SEO functions by hand — this is where SEO tools come in to save the day. They’ve saved me significant time and energy and quickly brought me the results I’m looking for.

Here’s a list of tools I recommend:

• HubSpot’s SEO Marketing Software offers SEO recommendations to improve your site, optimize page content, and measure ROI.
• AI Search Grader, another HubSpot tool, analyzes how visible your brand is to AI search engines.
• Our Website Grader scores your site based on factors like mobile friendliness and SEO optimization.
• Google’s Search Console can help you measure your site traffic and fix SEO performance issues.
• Google Analytics helps you view important metrics to understand your SEO efforts, like the measure of organic vs non-organic traffic.
• Ahrefs is a favorite of HubSpot bloggers. It helps you conduct keyword research and track important stats like search volume and CTR.
• Jasper is an AI writing assistant that can help write SEO-optimized blog posts with target keywords.

Once you’re more fluent in the vocabulary of SEO, it’s time to jump in and get hands-on. Since I’ve promised you the shortest SEO tutorial ever, I’ve broken it down into three very broad categories for beginners: content, technical, and sharing.

As you get more familiar and comfortable with SEO, you can build out strategies in each of these categories using the links I’ve provided below.

Building an SEO Strategy: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Building an SEO strategy can feel overwhelming if you’re just getting started. This tutorial will guide you through the process until it becomes second nature.

1. Understand search intent.

You can have the perfect blog post — well-written, informative, and genuinely interesting. But, if no one is searching for the key term, no one will find your content. Knowing your search intent helps you connect with your audience and create content that’s actually valuable.

So, think: Who is your audience, and what do they need to know? How does your offering solve a real pain point, and what content would communicate that message?

Answers to these questions translate into keywords. You can try to capture these queries throughout your content.

The focus on relevant, helpful information will also help you add E-E-A-T elements to your post. Google uses these guidelines to establish your page authority. In short, spammy content will lag, while genuinely helpful posts rise to the top.

Focus on creating concise, factual, and well-structured content that delivers real value. Learn more about SEO writing to see how you can get it right.

2. Run a competitor analysis.

In SEO, the ultimate goal is to secure a top spot on the first page. That mindshare can help you appear in AIOs and end up in front of organic searchers. Competitors stand between you and that number one ranking. So, I always start with a competitor analysis.

I start by creating a spreadsheet and listing the sites that are already on the first page. I note their title phrases and content structure. This helps me understand what’s working and identify opportunities to improve my own content. I can then see if there are fresher angles to feature, newer trends to include, or elements competitors are missing that I can capture.

My ultimate goal is to understand what my content needs to be the most helpful and comprehensive.

Pro tip: Check out these free competitive analysis templates to help you conduct a thorough analysis of competitors in your niche.

3. Improve your own on-page SEO.

When tackling on-page SEO, I think about user behavior and experience. What elements can I add that people could click on to learn more? What elements would make my site frustrating or unusable that would drive people away?

These elements often relate to on-page SEO. Here are some elements to keep an eye on:

• The title tag appears in search results and browser tabs. It should be 50-60 characters and include your primary keyword.
• The meta description offers a brief summary of the page content that appears below the title in search results. I try to make this text descriptive, without including in-the-weeds business details. I want people to click on the page and then learn about the service/product being offered.
• Post headers (H1, H2, H3, etc.) structure your content hierarchically. Headeing levels make your posts easy to read — both for search engines and for humans.
• URL structure should be clean, descriptive, and include relevant keywords. Avoid long URLs with unnecessary parameters or numbers.
• Internal links to other pages on your site can help distribute page authority and guide users through your content.
• Image alt text makes images visible for screen readers and search engines. It should be concise and include relevant keywords when natural.

Pro tip: User engagement metrics are increasingly recognized as important ranking factors. So, content design has become essential. Try adding elements like how-to videos and interactive tools to enhance user engagement and provide extra value on your page.

Working With WordPress

WordPress is one of the most common content management systems for websites. It’s also what I’ve primarily worked with throughout my career. I’ve found the Yoast SEO plugin to be essential in getting these sites to rank. It’s where I craft my SEO titles, slugs, alt tags, headings, URL structure, and meta descriptions.

The Yoast plug-in also guides me through the recommended word count. With the premium SEO analysis, I can also get SEO improvement suggestions for the text itself.

For example, I can see that I haven’t included any internal links or targeted specific keyphrases in the content. I’m also alerted that my subheaders don’t exactly reflect the content in the body. So, I have to use the right keywords to have a much higher chance of ranking on the SERP.

The plugin also gives me valuable feedback on what’s working well. After all, who doesn’t appreciate recognition when they’re doing things right?

Optimizing for AI

Now that we’re also optimizing content for AI platforms, understanding strategic AI opportunities has become increasingly valuable. I’ve found that Semrush AI Toolkit does the job.

I like that Semrush offers both short-term and medium-term action plans. For instance, in the medium term, they suggest incorporating clear FAQs, explainer videos, and detailed step-by-step guides. These tactics answer a huge question: Is the user getting enough value from your page?

If the answer is yes (and users spend more time engaging with my content), your content sends a strong positive signal to search engines.

4. Dive deep into technical SEO.

When ranking sites, search engines rely heavily on structured data, page speed, mobile-friendliness, and crawlability. So, having a solid grasp on technical SEO is essential to dominating search. Here are some elements you need to know:

• XML sitemaps list all important pages on your website for search engines to discover and crawl. It should be submitted to Google Search Console and updated regularly as content changes.
• Page loading speed, or how quickly your page loads for users, impacts search. You want your site to load quickly for a better user experience. I improve my site’s loading speed by reducing image sizes, cleaning up code, and enabling browser caching.
• Schema markups provide additional context to web crawlers by labeling specific pieces of information. This data helps Google’s web crawlers understand the content and the sections within it. I like to think of the crawlers as readers who are skimming my blog. They want an overview of the article I will cover and the breakdown of the subtopics within the piece.
• Mobile-first indexing means that Google uses the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking. Your mobile site should have the same content and functionality as your desktop version.
• Server response codes are HTTP status codes that indicate whether web requests were successful (200), redirected (301/302), or failed (404/500). Proper code implementation ensures search engines understand page status correctly.
• Voice search optimization involves incorporating natural language and question-based keywords that match how people speak. This can help you rank when people ask a question to Alexa, Siri, or Google Home.

I recommend going deeper into technical SEO with our technical SEO guide. It also takes you through crawlability, indexability, renderability, rankability, and clickability.

5. Think local.

Don’t overlook local SEO! It’s especially powerful when someone searches for “near me” and your business appears at the top. There’s no better marketing than being right there when potential customers are actively looking.

If you have a storefront, you want to have it listed on Google, so it can show up on Google Maps, driving visibility and foot traffic.

Here are some tips to keep in mind for local SEO:

• Add local keywords. Incorporate city or neighborhood-specific terms into your meta tags, descriptions, and website content.
• Build local backlinks. Collaborate with local businesses or sponsor events to earn high-quality backlinks and improve local search visibility.
• Use Google My Business. Create and verify your listing to appear in local searches and Google Maps. Ensure all business details (address, phone number, hours, and services) are accurate.
• Encourage reviews. Ask happy customers to leave reviews on Google. The better your ranking is, the higher is the chance that you get visited by customers.

6. Consider media richness.

Rich media includes audio, graphics, video, polls, or other interactive features. Think like a user: Do you want to read a 4,000-word block of text, or do you want animations or graphics to help break that up? By structuring this data in the backend, you can optimize your content to make it more appealing in the SERPs.

7. Build historical optimization into your strategy.

When I work on SEO for a site with a large content library, I often find that some of the content is outdated. But that doesn’t mean it’s useless.

At a previous job, I reorganized and rewrote event recaps that were no longer serving their original purpose. Because each event centered around a specific topic or theme, it was easy enough to update the titles, headings, and images. I also updated statistics, the content itself, and the publish date.

It didn’t happen overnight, but those pages crept back up in Google’s rankings once they became relevant to our audience again.

Another way to optimize older content is to add more examples and make sure any existing examples are still correct. Double-check links and anything else that may have changed, like step-by-step instructions.

SEO basics still matter in 2025.

Today’s SEO landscape involves making helpful content for humans while optimizing for AI. If your website isn’t technically sound, you risk being overlooked, no matter how good your content is. Avoid slow load times, missing schema markup, or poor indexing.

Remember, persistence is key. SEO is a long-term game. You won’t see real results overnight. Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint; success comes from endurance, not speed.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.