What is SEO and Why it Matters
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) means optimizing a website to appear as high as possible in the organic results of search engines like Google. The main difference is between organic traffic (free, obtained through optimization) and paid traffic (PPC ads - Pay Per Click).
- SEO brings long-term free traffic, but requires time and strategy.
- Paid ads bring immediate results, but cost continuously.
- The best results appear when combining organic + paid.
Practical Example — Shoe Website
<title>Men's Sports Shoes | BrandX</title>
<h1>Sports Shoes for Men</h1>
<p>Discover our collection of <strong>sports shoes</strong> for running, fitness, and urban style.</p>
Exercise: Write an SEO title and an attractive meta description for the category "elegant women's shoes".
Types of SEO
SEO has several branches, each contributing to website visibility:
- Technical SEO — site structure, speed, proper indexing
- On-page SEO — titles, subtitles, strategically placed keywords
- Content SEO — articles, descriptions, optimized blog
- Off-page SEO — link building, reviews, external mentions
- Local SEO — optimization for nearby searches and Google Maps
- A shoe website can benefit from local SEO (e.g., "sports shoes Bucharest").
- A fashion blog supports content and on-page SEO.
Basic Resources for Beginners
To understand and apply SEO correctly, you need official resources and tools:
- Google SEO Starter Guide — official Google guide
- Semrush — comprehensive platform for research, keywords, and competitor analysis
How to Measure SEO Success
SEO success is not only about Google ranking but also about business impact. Here are the main indicators:
- Organic traffic — how many visitors come from Google
- Visibility — how many keywords rank and in which positions
- Conversions — how many sales or leads come from organic
- ROI — the ratio between SEO investment and profit generated
Example — Monitoring Results
Keyword: "men's sports shoes"
Initial position: page 3
Position after 3 months SEO: top 5
Organic traffic growth: +250 visitors/month
Conversions: 15 orders/month
Exercise: Choose a relevant keyword for a product category (e.g., "women's leather sandals") and determine which metrics you would monitor to evaluate success.