Do you know Hubspot claims that 93% of online experiences begin with a SEO?
Google holds almost 92.05% of the global search engine market share.
And nearly 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results.
The science of search engine optimization ensures that your content appears on the top searches in Google ranking. It dictates how much exposure your website will receive through organic means. SEO is not just limited to online exposure or on-page practices. It goes beyond exploring other realms of search engine marketing, such as technical SEO and off-page practices.
In a holistic view, SEO is a complete circle encompassing a mix of strategies to ensure your website remains at the top in the most sought-after search engine, Google.
If you’re new to the SEO world or you’ve recently established your digital presence, you might be wondering what SEO is all about. Well, we can’t live up to the standards of Hubspot, but we definitely would love to share a similar value.
Let’s read.
Search Engine Optimization – The Science Behind SEO & How it Works?
The Three Golden Pillars
Authority – So, what is an authority in SEO? Authority, in simple terms, is the weight given to your particular website page compared to other competitors online.
Search engines like Google leverage multiple factors (more commonly known as signals) when analyzing the authority of a webpage. Why does authority hold significance? It’s because Google comes across millions and billions of pages almost daily. And somehow, the algorithm is trained to pick the best information online from a credible source. With Google, it’s more like coming up with the most relevant information from reliable sources. So let’s say if you search for a query, “Best Nike Shoes to Wear in 2025,” you want articles that give you the best information.
The results you see when you search your query make them authoritative.
One of the core pillars of Search Engine Optimization is establishing the authority of your website. Google wants to prioritize content one that satisfies the user with accurate and reliable information. We all want to read valuable stuff that completely answers the query.
For Google, it’s all about serving users with the most authoritative pages for answering queries. The more prominent ones can have more exposure to Google ads.
How Does Authority Work?
In SEO, authority is about creating web pages, which Google’s algorithm acknowledges.
A few of the earliest search engines mostly relied on human evaluators; however, as the World Wide Web expanded, it became almost impossible for authoritative websites to scale.
Moz came up with a solution.
It introduced a metric called the Domain Authority and launched a tool named Domain Authority Checker (DA). The tool predicts how well a website is developed and whether it will rank on search engine results pages (SERPs) compared to competitors or it won’t. The score ranged from 0 to 100, with a higher score showing a better ability to rank up in SERPs.
Relevance – Relevance is all about how closely your content matches what someone is searching for. Google isn’t just scanning for keywords anymore—it’s assessing intent. That means if someone types “Best Nike Shoes to Wear in 2025,” Google’s looking for content that actually understands the user’s goal. Are they looking for running shoes? Stylish casual wear? Performance on the court?
Relevance isn’t just about what’s on the page—it’s also about structure, clarity, and topical depth. If your content doesn’t answer the query clearly, or if it’s crammed with fluff, Google will know. That’s why SEO today emphasizes semantic search and user experience. You’re not writing for robots—you’re writing for people with the help of robots.
Consider relevance as Google’s way of matching the right answer to the right question. Your content has to be timely, accurate, and purpose-driven. The more your page speaks directly to what the user is looking for, the more relevant—and therefore more visible—it becomes.
In short, relevance is how you earn attention. Authority is how you keep it.
Experience – Experience is Google’s way of asking: “Does the person behind this content actually know what they’re talking about?”
It’s not just about writing what’s correct—it’s about showing you’ve been there and done that.
Assume someone searches “Best DSLR Cameras for Wildlife Photography.”
Can you trust a blog coming from someone who is a tech intern, someone who has never held a camera, or someone who is not even a seasoned photographer?
You need someone who is aware of the field stories, who shares personal shots, and who is well aware of lens preferences.
You want to hire someone with real-world experience because you want your content to display authenticity – and Google recognizes that.
Experience-driven content is just something else; it comes in many forms, such as expert tips or behind-the-scenes insights.
So, you can be a nutritionist who wants to share their diet plan or a parent sharing their firsthand experience on baby sleep training – who would you trust?
Someone who speaks from a position of experience. So, when you’re creating content, ask yourself: “Have I actually done this?” If yes, prove it.
Show your process, share your results, and speak from experience.
That’s what makes content not just informative—but trustworthy, relatable, and real.
Paid Search vs. Organic Search – Understanding the Difference (and Why SEO Matters More in the Long Run)
Paid search is exactly what it sounds like—you pay to appear at the top of search results.
It’s fast, it’s effective in the short term, and yes, it can drive clicks. But the moment you stop paying, the visibility vanishes.
On the contrary, organic search is all about earning your spot. It’s about optimizing your website for Google so it ranks higher based on the three pillars discussed above. Search Engine Optimization is a tentative process and can take more time and effort to grow. However, the payoff for SEO implementations is long-lasting. A well-optimized landing page may rank on a certain set of keywords and eventually attract more reliable traffic for months or even years without requiring additional costs. For paid search, you need to make sure that it’s done right. Paid search gives your brand the visibility, credibility, and compounding returns it deserves.
Just think of paid search as renting a billboard on a busy highway—you pay for the spot, and once you stop paying, your advertisement will be taken off. You can think of organic search as planting a tree. You water it every day, and it takes time to grow. However, once it’s fully grown, it will provide you with fruits, shade, and additional benefits. Similarly, a website with organic reach will offer traffic, trust, and visibility without ongoing ad spend.
How Do Search Engines Work?
Search engines have bots which crawl, index and rank website content. They deliver the best answers for relevant user queries. Here’s a complete breakdown of how these bots work:
- Crawling – Think of search engines as digital explorers. They use bots (called spiders) to scan the internet—page by page, link by link—collecting data from websites.
- Indexing: Once a page is crawled, the search engine stores it in a massive database (the index). This is where it analyzes the content—text, images, structure, keywords—to understand what the page is really about.
- Ranking: When someone types a query, the search engine doesn’t search the web in real time—it searches its index. Then, using complex algorithms, it ranks the most relevant pages based on hundreds of factors like content quality, relevance, authority, page speed, mobile-friendliness, and user experience.
A good example which I can quote is when someone searches something on the Google, such as “how to start a podcast in 2025,” Google will instantly scan its index for pages that answer.
It will find the most clear, trustworthy and well-structured content from authoritative sources. And then, it will prioritize the list organizing them in the correct order within Google.
How Does Google Order and Rank Search Results (and How Can It Be Optimized for RankBrain)?
Google doesn’t just rank pages by keywords anymore—it uses artificial intelligence, and one of its key players is RankBrain. This machine learning system helps Google understand the intent behind a search query, even when it’s vague or hasn’t been searched before.
So, how does it rank content? It analyzes how users interact with search results.
If people click your page, stay for a while, and don’t bounce back to Google—that’s a good sign. But if they leave quickly or pick another result, Google takes that as a red flag.
RankBrain learns from these patterns and reorders search results accordingly.
If you want to optimize your content for RankBrain, you need to focus on:
- Search Intent: Make sure your content matches why someone is searching, not just what they type.
- Engagement Metrics: Improve click-through rates (with strong titles and meta descriptions) and reduce bounce rates (with clear, relevant, valuable content).
- Natural Language: Write like a human, not like a robot. RankBrain prefers conversational, easy-to-read language that directly answers questions.
What Is an SEO Strategy (and Why It Matters)?
SEO is a plan to create, optimize and promote content so it attract more organic traffic to your website. SEO specialists often use a mix of strategies to increase search visibility online & attract more organic traffic to your website. It requires implementation of a mix of techniques such as keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO and link building practices.
SEO is considered a porven digital marketing practice which can easily be aligned with any website. If you want to improve your site’s visibility in search engines like Google or Microsoft Bing, a proven SEO framework will give your brand the exposure it needs online. Whether a website promotes product, offer services, or believe in sharing expert knowledge on specific topics, SEO can work wonders by driving organic traffic and bringing more customers.
A good SEO marketing strategy starts with keyword research.
Step # 1 – Perform Keyword Research
Keyword research is the foundation for any proven SEO framework.
SEO specialists normally use a mix of keyword research tools such as SEMRush or Ahrefs to perform thorough keyword research and find the most relevant keywords to optimize.
They categorize them into primary & secondary keywords. As soon as they organize a curated list, they search up more relevant LSI variations and optimize the content accordingly.
While SEMRush and Ahrefs have paid accounts, there’s also a free way to search keywords. You can use Google Suggest, Google’s autocomplete feature, to get relevant suggestions. Start typing a keyword into the Google’s search field and make use of the Google Suggest.
These keywords are often worthwhile because you know they are coming straight from Google.
The suggestions that appear in the autocomplete section can easily be mapped relevantly within your content. You can also check “People Also Ask” and “People Also Search for” options to source more relevant queries and keywords for mapping the content semantically.
Long Tail vs Short Tail Keywords
There are two types of keywords available.
Short-tail keywords which have greater search volume and higher competition. On the other hand, long-tail keywords are longer, have less search volume & lower competition.
You can use a mix of both (short tail and long tail) keywords within your respective content.
This way, your content will be better optimized for searches.
Step # 2: Scan the Top-Ranking Pages
So now, you are aware of what keywords will work best.
It’s time to search for relevant topics to cover using these keywords.
You can start by searching up your query and scanning through Google Search.
Check the top 10 results appearing in Google Searches. See what other competitors are writing. Scan through the searches and identify what topics are more predominantly covered.
For example, if I searched for a query, “What is SEO?” I came across a list of similar topics.
I can find links from “Search Engine Land,” “Google for Developers” & “Moz” which are ranking on top searches. Most of them are best practices or SEO starter guides, which tells me my next post on the topic “What is SEO?” must be written in a guide format so it ranks.
Step # 3 – Identify Competitors
Next, I will perform a competitor analysis.
You can use any tool of your choice, (like SEMRush or Ahrefs) to perform a complete SEO competitor analysis. For me, it’s SEMRush, so I’ll use it to check what the competitors are doing.
These tools make it super easy and save you precious time.
So, head on to the Domain Overview option on your SEMRush tool.
Enter your URL.
Here, you will find important and relevant information such as Authority Score, Organic Search Traffic, Backlinks, and Traffic Share.
Now scroll all the way down to “Main Organic Competitors.”
These are competitors who are ranking their websites for similar keywords.
In fact, you will find a similar target audience once that you’re trying to reach out.
When you click the “View Details” button, it will take you to the next screen, where you can review competitors separately. Here, you can look at common keywords shared across domains.
The “Common Keywords” will show how many keywords you share with each website. If you observe a higher number of common keywords, then you can consider them your competition.
In the end, you will be able to find at least 4 to 5 main organic competitors.
Step # 4: Create Something Better
Once curated, it’s time to write some high-quality, value-driven, and informative content.
Good content is great content. When you’re writing content, you are tasked with two responsibilities. You have to write something different and creative. And you have to make sure that it’s written better. At times, you’re looking for something bigger and better.
You want to give your readers something that keeps them hooked.
And these are the times when you’re better off creating content that’s entirely unique compared to what’s already circulating in the market. Believe it or not, uniqueness is exactly what sets your content apart from the sea of sameness online.
For example, I recently spent a lot of time researching content online, hoping to find something that would genuinely educate me on the latest builds in Diablo 4. And let me say this: I really dig Diablo 4—especially the Necromancer class.
There’s just something wildly cool about raising the dead and using them to defend yourself on a creature-ridden battlefield. It’s an out-of-the-box experience! I came across a ton of content, and some of the build guides for the Necromancer class on GameRant and ScreenRant really stuck with me.
They were simple, engaging, and informative—exactly what I needed to understand: how to build my class effectively. That’s when I thought, why not replicate that same essence for my blog? (Yup, we run a gaming blog too!)
Since I was already deep into Diablo 4 and loving every bit of it, I went all in with my research and crafted a solid piece covering all the essentials for a killer Necromancer build.
Because I wrote it with fluency, passion, and genuine insight, the article started ranking for necromancer-related keyword searches across different platforms.
Voila! I cracked the code.
Content is the real game—especially when it’s written from the heart.
Sure, I could’ve gone the typical route and written something like “15 Tactics to Master Necromancer Builds in Diablo 4” or “25 Best Ways to Dominate with the Necromancer Class.”
But that wouldn’t have served the purpose.
Instead, I wrote something entirely different: “Necromancer Build – Pyromancy Sorcerer Extreme Build for Expert Players.”
And guess what? The post absolutely crushed it in the SERPs.
Because the content stood out, it earned major shares.
We can do something similar in our personal case as well. For example, if we are planning to cover an article on “What is SEO,” like I am, we can go the extra mile and experience it ourselves.
Hop on online, turn to YouTube, and find major sources to learn SEO.
Once you get the basics, start performing on your own.
Write in order to satisfy not just Google’s traditional user intent but to actually dispatch information that is usable, shareable, and educational.
Step # 5: Optimize for On-Page SEO
No great content is going to rank unless it is keenly keyword-optimized.
On-page optimization isn’t just about curating the best keywords and choosing LSI variations to map them within content. There’s much more to on-page optimization, such as strategically adding keywords to places where Google’s bot will crawl and index it.
On-page SEO is vast and in-depth.
If you want to learn more about on-page SEO, feel free to read our post on:
On-Page SEO – A Complete Guide on How to Optimize for Ranking
To sum it up, three core parts of on-page SEO optimization exist.
Internal Linking
Internal linking is the core of search engine optimization.
However, it will only bear fruit when it’s done commendably well.
You want to add links from high-authority web pages when it comes to link building. Imagine your website is everything tech, and you want to rank content in the tech category.
You chose to cover a topic related to “Cybersecurity Skills – Things You Need to Know Before Jumping in Server Side Security,” and you’ve previously covered posts to complement it.
Now, to make the most of it, you can sequentially interlink multiple posts you have deeply covered for the cybersecurity niche & map them accurately within your existing content.
Keyword-Friendly URLs
Another important aspect of Search Engine Optimization is designing keyword-friendly URLs.
You can start by creating short URLs designed to outperform long URLs in your specific niche. That’s where I make my URLs, either just the keyword or something which includes the necessary keyword. For example, you can create URLs.
www.rankhive.ae/seo-tactics-on-page-optimization
www.rankhive.ae/cybersecurity-skills
Semantic SEO
The final phase of effective on-page optimization is writing content following the semantic rules.
The rule of semantics is simple. You can start by searching long-tail queries, which are often explored by people for a particular topic. Let’s say you’re writing a post on social media, such as:
“10 Best Digital Marketing Practices Everyone Must Know in 2025.”
To satisfy the semantics, you will have to explore multiple long-term key phrases that are relevant to your particular post. These may often include things like:
- What is content marketing?
- How does social media marketing play an important role?
- What role does AI play in digital marketing?
- What is omnichannel marketing?
- How do you define your target audience?
These are just a few queries that people often search for on the Internet when they are interested in digital marketing. By covering these queries within your content, you can easily optimize articles for semantics. This way, it increases the post’s overall chance to rank up.
As discussed above, most of these semantic requirements often come from a website’s “People Also Ask” or “People Also Read” sections. Just sprinkle these queries within the content.
You can simply sprinkle any terms of your choice within the content.
How to Set Objectives for Your SEO Strategy?
Evaluate Website – As an SEO marketing specialist, start by assessing your website. Go ahead, take your time, and perform a thorough evaluation of your website. Start by reviewing your website’s structure, check page speed, and assess the content quality and mobile responsiveness. There are many ways to assess a website; the most predominant ones are Google Analytics & Search Console. These tools can help you find potential areas of improvement. Design a roadmap that aligns with your SEO objective and sets a strong foundation for your SEO journey.
Set SEO Marketing Goals – When you don’t have clear goals, your SEO efforts can fail. SEO is like scouring through a sea of marketing goals and setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals to keep your strategy focused and on track. As someone sliding into the SEO world, ask yourself what your aim is when you implement proven tactics. Is it to give your organic traffic a push? Is it to boost your keyword rankings, or is it simply to optimize your website for conversion? Define clear objectives & track performance.
Decrease Bounce Rate – Bounce rate is how soon a person jumps back to Google from your website after coming on it. The last thing you want is a website with slow page load time, confusing navigation, and not-so-engaging content. A high bounce rate of a website signals you deeply need to improve your website’s user experience (UX). Simply optimizing content & existing design elements can encourage deeper site engagement & increase overall dwell time. The more engaging your website experience is, the longer visitors will stay.
Improve Domain Authority – Domain Authority (DA) is a metric that predicts how well your website will rank on search engines. The higher your DA, the better your chances of ranking higher. To improve DA, focus on earning quality backlinks, producing high-value content, and increasing social signals. Consistency in providing relevant and authoritative content will establish your site as a trusted source, ultimately boosting your DA over time.
Benchmark Your SEO Performance – Before improving, you need to know where you stand. Benchmarking your SEO performance helps you establish a baseline. Use tools like SEMrush, Moz, or Ahrefs to evaluate your current keyword rankings, traffic sources, and backlink profile. Regularly checking your progress against competitors will ensure you’re on the right path, and you can adjust strategies when necessary to stay ahead.
Attend SEO Workshops – SEO constantly evolves, and staying ahead of the curve requires continuous learning. Attending SEO workshops or webinars provides you with up-to-date insights, strategies, and best practices directly from industry experts. Networking with other professionals in the field also opens opportunities for collaboration and idea-sharing, further enhancing your SEO knowledge and implementation.
Have Patience – SEO is a long-term investment. Results don’t happen overnight, and it often takes months to see significant changes. Having patience is key to success in SEO. Keep refining your strategy, monitor your progress, and trust the process. Consistency, diligence, and a long-term mindset will eventually lead to stronger rankings, increased traffic, and improved conversions.
AI SEO & What’s Coming?
The future of SEO is here; it talks about AI-driven innovations used to perform keyword research, optimize meta information, or implement on-page deployments. It also helps with link building and finding new link opportunities, leading the way for future digital marketing.
Search is Going Conversational
Long gone are the days when you would simply optimize your content on relevant keywords to see it appear on the top searches in Google. Now, with Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) technology, searches are becoming more natural and query-based. When they search specific queries, they don’t just type in “best running shoes 2025” anymore. Instead, they ask, “What are the best running shoes for flat feet under $100?” or “What brand is the best for buying running shoes in 2025?” It shows that brands using question-based queries well optimized for long-tail keywords are expected to take your content up. Websites which focus on helpful and conversational content answer the intent more directly compared to shorter ones.
Content Quality > Keyword Stuffing
As AI continues to evolve, so do the rules of SEO. Search engines are no longer just looking at keywords—they’re evaluating the actual value of your content. With systems like Google’s Helpful Content Update, the algorithm now favors original, insightful, and written content with real human clarity. Fluff won’t cut it. Going forward, the only content that will stand out is the kind that truly educates and engages the reader. So, if you’re thinking about the future of AI and SEO, remember this: write for humans first. That’s not just good advice—it’s your competitive edge in an AI-driven search landscape.
AI-Written Content Will Be Scrutinized
AI is quickly becoming a powerful assistant in content creation, helping streamline research and first drafts—but it’s not a replacement for human creativity. Google has made it clear: it doesn’t care who writes the content, as long as it’s helpful, original, and genuinely valuable. What it does penalize is low-effort, generic AI-generated material that adds no real insight. That’s why human oversight is more important than ever. To stand out, you need to go beyond the automation—refine what AI gives you, add personal perspective, and infuse your content with the kind of clarity, nuance, and relevance only a real voice can offer.
Search Engine Algorithms Are Learning Faster
Search engine algorithms are becoming smarter and faster, thanks to advanced machine learning models like RankBrain and MUM. These systems go beyond basic keyword matching—they’re now interpreting context, sentiment, and even how users interact with your content. In the future of SEO, this means surface-level optimization won’t be enough. To stay ahead, you’ll need to build comprehensive content clusters around core topics, while also improving your site’s structure and user experience. What’s the end goal? Keep visitors engaged, reduce bounce rates, and signal search engines that your content is worth ranking.
Concluding Thoughts
The SEO game is changing—and fast.
AI is rewriting the rules, search engines are getting smarter, and users are no longer just searching—they’re expecting answers, instantly and intelligently.
To stay visible, you can’t just chase rankings; you have to earn them with content that informs, engages, and truly connects.
It’s no longer about outsmarting the algorithm but understanding your audience better than anyone else.
Not sure where to start? Let Rank Hive be your unfair advantage. We blend human creativity with AI precision to help your brand rise—organically, strategically, and sustainably.
