Do you know your SEO basics?
- esraakaram90
- May 28
- 4 min read
Search is no longer just about ranking on Google. It is about being discoverable across search engines, answer engines, and AI systems. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of increasing the quantity and quality of organic traffic by improving visibility in search engines. The early growth of Airbnb offers a compelling example of SEO as infrastructure. Rather than relying on paid traffic, Airbnb built a scalable system of location-specific pages aligned with user intent: “places to stay in London,” for example. This approach mirrors what is now described as programmatic SEO, where structured content is generated at scale to match predictable search patterns (https://www.semrush.com/blog/programmatic-seo/). What is significant here is not the tactic itself, but the logic underpinning it. Airbnb did not chase visibility; it mapped demand. By aligning its content architecture with how users search, it created a system where visibility could compound over time.
Where Most SEO Strategies Fail
Despite this, many organisations continue to treat SEO as a checklist rather than a system. Websites are launched without proper indexing, content is created without clear intent alignment, and performance is measured through traffic alone. These are not surface-level mistakes, they are structural failures. A site that is not indexed in Google Search Console is not underperforming; it is effectively invisible. Content that lacks hierarchy or metadata is not simply unoptimised; it is difficult for search engines to interpret. Similarly, the absence of backlinks does not just limit reach—it signals a lack of credibility within the broader web ecosystem.
As McKinsey & Company notes in its work on digital performance (https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-digital-quotient), organisations that fail to build integrated digital systems often struggle to sustain growth, even when initial acquisition metrics appear strong. This blog outlines three key SEO core pillars.
Technical SEO
To treat SEO as infrastructure requires consistency across four areas: technical integrity, content relevance, authority building, and performance measurement. This includes ensuring your site is indexed and fast, structuring content around real search intent, building credible backlinks, and tracking meaningful metrics such as organic traffic, conversion rates, and authority scores. As outlined in Semrush’s SEO checklist (https://www.semrush.com/blog/seo-checklist/), these elements form the foundation of sustainable search performance. These include:
● Website indexed in Google Search Console
● Mobile-friendly & Page speed optimisation
● Scan for errors or broken links
● Mobile friendly
This infrastructure is built across several interdependent layers. Technical performance ensures that a website can be accessed and indexed; content establishes relevance by aligning with user queries; authority signals, such as backlinks and brand mentions, indicate trustworthiness; and measurement frameworks track performance over time. According to Semrush (link), these elements collectively shape how search engines evaluate and rank content, reinforcing the idea that visibility is not accidental, but engineered.
On page, Content SEO
What matters is not the presence of these elements individually, but their integration. SEO only becomes effective when it operates as a system rather than a series of disconnected actions. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) emerged as the foundational system through which digital visibility was structured and scaled. In its earliest and most enduring form, SEO is the practice of optimizing websites to rank within search engines like Google, ensuring that content appears when users search for relevant information. While often reduced to a set of tactics—keywords, backlinks, and technical fixes, SEO is better understood as an infrastructure: a system that determines what becomes visible, and therefore what becomes knowable, online. These include:
● Meta titles and meta descriptions
● Clear H1 structure and relevant keywords
● Internal and external links
A useful example of this foundational model can be seen in the growth of Airbnb, which invested heavily in SEO during its early expansion. Rather than relying solely on paid acquisition, Airbnb built thousands of highly optimized landing pages targeting location-based searches such as “places to stay in [city].”
Off page, Authority SEO
These pages combined strong technical performance, localized keyword relevance, and user-generated content, allowing the platform to scale its visibility globally. The strategy illustrates how SEO, at its core, functions as infrastructure: once established, it continues to generate visibility at scale. Some examples of this continuation are:
● Backlinks and brand mentions
● Local SEO (GBP, NAP, Reviews)
Yet even at its most effective, traditional SEO has always carried a limitation: it optimizes for being found, not necessarily for being understood. Many organizations have historically focused on acquisition metrics—traffic, rankings, impressions, without fully accounting for the depth of user engagement or intent. This gap between visibility and meaning sets the stage for the next phase in the evolution of search.
Stay tuned! We unpack GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) in our next edition = optimising content for AI systems like: ChatGPT.
Build a Stronger SEO Foundation for Your Business
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SEO and why is it important?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving your website’s visibility in search engines like Google. It helps businesses increase organic traffic, build credibility, and generate more leads and conversions online
What are the three main types of SEO?
The three core areas of SEO are Technical SEO (website performance and indexing), On-Page SEO (content and keyword optimisation), and Off-Page SEO (backlinks, authority, and brand reputation).
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO focuses on making your website accessible and understandable for search engines. This includes page speed, mobile responsiveness, indexing, fixing broken links, and ensuring proper website structure.
Why are backlinks important in SEO?
Backlinks act as trust signals for search engines. When credible websites link to your content, it increases your authority and improves your chances of ranking higher in search results.
How long does SEO take to show results?
SEO is a long-term strategy. Most businesses begin to see noticeable improvements within three to six months, depending on competition, website quality, and consistency of optimisation efforts.
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