What the Fish is SEO?
A Brief Story of Search Engine Optimization

Why do I need SEO?
Let say, you have a website. It’s your pride and joy, built with care and filled with products or services you know people need, you spent a lot on it too. You’re confident it can attract customers.
But there’s a problem: no one is visiting. Even though you know at least about 100 people search for your type of service every month, none of them reach your site.
So, what’s going on?
You turn to Google, searching for your own business. You scroll through the first few pages, then ten pages… and nothing. It’s like your website doesn’t exist in the digital world. Welcome to the harsh reality of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization.
Diagnosing the Problem
You realize that something is wrong, so you decide to investigate.
- SERP Check: Your website isn’t anywhere near the top results. No wonder nobody’s finding you!
- Site Audit: Time to look under the hood. You run a site audit and find a glaring issue—your content doesn’t match what people are searching for. Perhaps you haven’t used the right keywords, or worse, you didn’t even know you needed them!
This is when it clicks: you need to speak the same language as your potential visitors. But how?
Speaking Your Audience’s Language
Enter keyword research. This is where you uncover the magic words that your customers are typing into Google. It’s like decoding a secret message. You dig deep, finding out exactly what people are searching for within your niche.
Once you have your list of golden keywords, you can’t just dump them into your site. Google is smart—it won’t be tricked by keyword stuffing. You need to integrate them naturally and meaningfully.
Building Great Content
Now that you know what people are looking for, it’s time to create content that answers their questions and provides value.
- Content Planning: You organize your thoughts and map out what needs to be written.
- Content Creation: You write compelling stories, guides, and product descriptions that use your keywords in a way that feels natural and helpful.
You publish the content and wait for the magic to happen… but nothing changes. Still stuck on page 10, ain’t nobody gonna see page TEN! What’s going on now?
Letting Google Know You Exist
It turns out that Google doesn’t automatically see the updates you’ve made to your site. With over 1.13 billion websites online, Google’s crawlers—those bots that scan websites—need to be notified.
You head over to Google Search Console, submit your URL, and request Google to crawl your site. It feels like being in line at a crowded restaurant—you’re waiting for your turn to be served.
But you can’t just sit there. You need to make sure your site’s structure is ready to impress when Google finally pays attention.
Optimizing Your Site Structure
Here’s where technical SEO comes in. You need to fine-tune the framework of your website:
- Meta Tags: Tell Google what your page is about.
- Schema Markup: Help search engines understand your content better.
- Headings, Links, and Sitemap: Organize your content in a way that’s easy to navigate.
Finally, after a few weeks, Google crawls your site. But there’s still work to do—errors pop up, and you need to fix them.
Niche Competition Factor
You’ve optimized your site, but your rankings are still lagging. Why? Well, you’re not alone in this SEO race. There are hundreds or even thousands of competitors trying to rank for the same keywords.
You do what any smart business owner would do—you check out the competition. You visit the top-ranking pages to see what they’re doing differently.
Google’s E.E.A.T Criteria
You discover that Google doesn’t just rank pages based on keywords. It uses E.E.A.T to judge websites:
- Expertise: Does your content come from someone with real knowledge and experience? Google favors experts who answer common queries clearly and thoroughly.
- Experience: Is your site easy to use? Fast loading times, simple navigation, and good design matter. A cluttered, slow website won’t stand a chance.
- Authoritativeness: Are others talking about your brand? Google looks at backlinks (other sites linking to yours), directory listings, and social media mentions to judge your credibility.
- Trustworthiness: Is your site following best practices? Spammy tactics like keyword stuffing can tank your rankings. Transparency and reliability are key.
Outrank Your Competitors
To beat your competitors, you need a competitive edge. You study their content and look for gaps—keywords and topics they haven’t covered.
This is your chance to shine. You create new, valuable content using those gap keywords, making your site even more comprehensive and relevant than theirs. Google starts to take notice.
The Continuous Process
And that is SEO. And best part, it’s kept on moving — new competitors, new contents, new rankings, new core updates, new protocols.
SEO isn’t a one-time project. It’s a cycle of research, optimization, and improvement. You keep refining your content, finding new keywords, and staying ahead of competitors. Over time, your site climbs the ranks, getting closer to the first page.
And one day, you see it—your site appears at the top of the search results. Traffic flows in. Customers start calling. The effort was worth it.
SEO may seem daunting at first, but it’s all about understanding how search engines work and providing real value to your users. By following these steps—researching keywords, creating great content, optimizing your site, and staying competitive—you can turn your website into a traffic magnet.
So, are you ready to embark on your SEO journey? It’s never late to start.