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SEO Starter Guide

SEO is 3 pillars.
That's it.

Google and AI assistants rank a website that is easy to read, with the best answer to the question, from the business the web trusts most. Get those three right, and you rank.

5-minute read Links to free lessons for every step
Start with pillar 1 Rather have it done for you?
Three pillars holding up the top of a search results page
  1. 1 On-Page Optimization Make your website easy for Google and AI to find, load and understand.
  2. 2 Content Publish the best answer to the question your customers ask.
  3. Most important 3 Authority Be the business other websites, customers and communities vouch for.
A website that is easy to readPillar 1
The best answerPillar 2
The most authorityPillar 3
Page oneon Google, and the mention in AI answers

Pillars 1 and 2 get you in the race. Pillar 3 decides who wins it.

1Pillar 1 · On-Page Optimization

Make your website easy to read

Start with the foundation. Before Google can rank a page, or an AI can quote it, it has to find it, load it and understand it. On-page optimization means a website that is properly built: clean code, a clear structure, fast pages.

  • Titles and headings that say exactly what each page is about.
  • Fast and mobile-friendly pages that load in a blink on a phone.
  • Clean URLs and internal links, so every important page is one click from another.
  • A sitemap, structured data and no indexing errors, so nothing stays invisible.
Mostly a one-time job. With AI and the right skills, this is a project you do properly once, then keep clean. Nobody needs to fiddle with it every week.

Go deeper in SEO University

On-page SEO checklist Technical SEO checklist Page speed Internal linking Headings Rich snippets
A website being tuned: speed, mobile, structure and sitemap all checked
Do it yourself, freeThe SEO Checklist 122 steps in the order to do them, with impact and difficulty ratings and the procedure for each. Get the checklist Or have it doneTechnical audit & optimization Every SEO Agency plan starts with a full technical SEO audit and optimization of your website. See the SEO Agency

2Pillar 2 · Content

Deserve to be the answer

A website Google can read is only worth something if it says the right thing. Google and AI assistants are in the business of giving people the best answer. Your job is simple to say: when someone asks the question your business solves, publish the answer that deserves to be shown, and mentioned.

  • Answer the question people actually search, in their words, not your internal jargon.
  • Be better than what ranks today: clearer, more complete and more useful.
  • Show first-hand experience: your numbers, your examples, your photos.
  • Keep it current, and update a page when the answer changes.

Go deeper in SEO University

Keyword research Easy-to-rank keywords Write content that ranks Content briefs Updating old content
One answer card chosen above the others by search and AI
Do it with SEO BuddyAI Content Engine Knowing which article is worth writing is the hard part, so that is what it automates: your Search Console and your competitors' rankings choose the month's plan, then it writes, illustrates and publishes the articles on your blog. See the AI Content Engine

3Pillar 3 · Authority Most important

Authority breaks the tie

Take two dentists in the same city, or two SaaS products in the same market. Both publish stellar content (pillar 2). Both have a well-built website (pillar 1). The one with more authority outranks the other, every time.

Authority is the rest of the web vouching for you: backlinks, product mentions, reviews and social proof.

Go deeper in SEO University

What is link building? White hat link building Domain authority Link building strategies Google trust signals
Two equal websites, the one with more links, stars and mentions on the top step

Same content, same website. Who ranks first?

An illustration, not real businesses.

Dentist ASaaS A Ranks #6
On-page optimization Well built
Content Stellar
AuthorityLow
1230websites linking
3814reviews
23mentions
Dentist BSaaS B Ranks #1
On-page optimization Well built
Content Stellar
AuthorityHigh
140900websites linking
412260reviews
1860mentions

Pillars 1 and 2 are equal, so they cancel out. Authority is the only difference left, and it decides the order.

Backlinks

Other websites linking to yours: the vote Google has counted since day one.

Product mentions

Your name in the articles, lists and threads people read, the same ones AI assistants learn from.

Reviews

Ratings on Google and on the review sites of your industry, from real customers.

Social proof

Customers, press and communities talking about you in public, where people can see it.

Build authority with SEO Buddy

Guest Blog Database110,000+ sites that accept guest posts, each with its Domain Rating, traffic and price. We handle the outreach and placement. Browse the sites Link Building CampaignFind relevant link prospects and their contacts, then send a three-email outreach sequence from your own mailbox. Start a campaign Link Chest2,400+ easy-to-get backlink opportunities, checked and sorted by what each one asks of you. Open the chest Reddit/Social MarketingFind the Reddit threads, videos and posts Google ranks for your keywords, and reply with drafts that mention you honestly. Find your threads Link Building ServicesRelevant links earned by real outreach and placed for you. You approve every site first. See the service SEO UniversityFree lessons on link building, off-page SEO and authority, no account needed. Start learning

The whole plan, on one screen

That's all SEO is

Three jobs, in this order. Build the website properly once, then keep publishing and keep earning authority, and your traffic compounds.

1On-Page

Build it properly, once

Fast, clean, structured and indexable, then kept that way.

The SEO Checklist (free)

2Content

Be the best answer

Every month, publish pages that answer what your customers search, better than anyone else.

AI Content Engine

3Authority

Get the web to vouch for you

Backlinks, mentions, reviews and social proof, month after month.

Guest Blog Database Link Building Campaign Reddit/Social Marketing Link Chest

Done for you

Does this feel like a lot?

It is, when you also have a business to run. Be honest about which one you are:

A startup on a tight budgetStill sorting out distribution? Everything above was built for you. Start free and do it yourself.
An established businessAlready generating revenue, and want the best in the industry on it? Let our SEO Agency run all three pillars.
  • 1First, your website. Every plan starts with a full technical SEO audit and optimization.
  • 2Then content. Articles written and published for you every month.
  • 3And authority. Outreach, niche edits, Reddit posts, media placements and local citations.
  • One strategist who owns your plan, and one monthly report with every link and article, live.

Plans from $1,000 a month, run by the team that built SEO Buddy.

Get my growth plan See the SEO Agency
The three pillars carried up the hill for you

Start today

Pick a pillar and take the first step

Create a free SEO Buddy account for the SEO Checklist and a look at every tool, or keep learning with the free lessons in SEO University.

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