SEO: getting found on Google

SEO (search engine optimisation) earns traffic from organic (unpaid) search results. It compounds over time but takes months.

How search works

Google crawls pages (follows links, reads sitemaps), indexes them (understands and stores content), and ranks results by relevance and quality for each query: matching search intent, content quality and expertise (E-E-A-T: experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness), links from other sites, and page experience.

Keyword research

• Understand search intent: informational ("how to write a resume"), navigational ("hiresol login"), commercial ("best internship sites"), transactional ("apply for marketing internship in Pune").
• Tools: Google Keyword Planner, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, Semrush, Ubersuggest, Google autocomplete and "People also ask".
• Balance search volume, difficulty and relevance; long-tail keywords (more specific, lower volume) convert better and are easier to rank for.

On-page SEO

• Title tag (about 50–60 characters, main keyword near the start, compelling) and meta description (about 150–160 characters; affects clicks, not ranking).
• One H1, a logical H2/H3 structure, the keyword used naturally, comprehensive content that fully answers the query.
• Clean URLs (/jobs/marketing-internship-pune), descriptive image alt text, internal links to related pages.
• Structured data (schema.org) for rich results: FAQs, job postings, products, reviews.

Technical SEO

Crawlable site structure, XML sitemap, robots.txt, canonical tags for duplicate content, fast loading (Core Web Vitals), mobile-friendly design, HTTPS, fixing broken links and redirect chains, and correct status codes (301 for moved pages, 404 for missing ones).

Off-page SEO

Earning backlinks from relevant, reputable sites (guest posts, digital PR, partnerships, tools and data people cite), brand mentions, and for local businesses a complete Google Business Profile with reviews.

Measuring SEO

Search Console (impressions, clicks, average position, queries, indexing issues), organic sessions and conversions in GA4, keyword rankings over time.

Check yourself

• Write a title tag and meta description for a page listing "data analyst internships in Bengaluru".
• What's the difference between on-page and off-page SEO?
• What does a canonical tag do?