Search Engine Optimization (2025)

FAQs

What is meant by search engine optimization? ›

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of orienting your website to rank higher on a search engine results page (SERP) so that you receive more traffic. The aim is typically to rank on the first page of Google results for search terms that mean the most to your target audience.

Yes, you can do SEO yourself! DIY SEO involves managing all aspects of SEO in-house, including tasks like researching keywords, optimizing your site, monitoring rankings, setting up analytics, and more. Search engine optimization (SEO) doesn't always require help from an specialist.

SEO stands for 'Search Engine Optimization', which is the process of getting traffic from free, organic, editorial, or natural search results in search engines. It aims to improve your website's position in search results pages (SERPs). Remember, the higher the website is listed, the more people will see it.

Free SEO Courses with Certification

Create a free Semrush account to get started. HubSpot Academy contains a more content-oriented set of courses, including videos on inbound marketing, email marketing and even Instagram marketing.

How much does SEO cost? While many businesses pay between $1,500 to $5,000 per month for SEO, you could pay as little as $100 per month or upwards of $30,000, depending on several factors. SEO service pricing can vary largely depending on the size of your business, the scope of your project, and your SEO provider.

Use free SEO tools to help plan and execute your SEO strategy for free. Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMRush have features to find keywords, audit your site, and generate backlinks for free.

SEO costs usually range from $250 to $10,000 per month, with most businesses (63%) spending between $500 and $5,000. On average, agencies charge $3,209 per month, while freelancers charge $1,348. The most common hourly rate for SEO is $100-$150, with 25% of SEOs charging this amount.

Earning Potential

SEO services range dramatically. Some companies will pay their SEO agency $30,000 plus per month, whereas others may pay a consultant a few thousand dollars per month for SEO services. The price you charge depends on the ROI you can produce for the company.

In practice, SEO is the art and science of matching your content - webpages, products and services-with what people are searching for online. It's a great way to ensure that your business, website, products and pages are easily found online via searches. Without SEO, no one will know you exist online.

Does Google do SEO? ›

Google SEO is the series of steps you take to tweak your site for higher rankings in Google search results. When someone searches a keyword or phrase on Google, they get a list of results that Google considers the best solution to their needs.

The most common example of on-page SEO is optimizing a piece of content to a specific keyword. For example, if you're publishing a blog post about making your own ice cream, your keyword might be “homemade ice cream.” You'd include that keyword in your post's title, slug, meta description, headers, and body.

The goal of performing SEO on any given webpage is to improve the quality of your content, so search engines will choose to list your content within search results. By improving and expanding your website's content, you will increase the quantity of traffic that your web content receives from search engines each day.

SEO utilizes things like keywords, internal and external links, and optimized content to help search engines find content and rank websites higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).