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What We’re Doing

We’re learning the building blocks of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by splitting it into two simple categories: The Human Part and The Robot Part. 

I like to start here because I find it helps make a big, overwhelming topic feel doable. Instead of trying to learn “all of SEO” at once, we’re going to focus on understanding how real people experience your site, and how search engine bots read it behind the scenes. You'll see how these two groups work together to help your site get seen by more of the right people (yes, human people!).

This is an Awesome Websites foundation!

Why It Matters

You want people (who you don’t already know) to find your website, right? If this thing is gonna be your best marketing tool, it’s ideally working while you sleep.

Not just impressing your mom, but actual clients and customers, who have never met you before, who are looking for what you do. That’s what SEO is for.

Take the time to optimize your site for search engines helps your website show up in search results when someone is actually searching for what you offer.

Good SEO helps the right people find you. The ones who are already Googling the things you do best. So instead of constantly trying to get attention on social media, your website is quietly working in the background to attract and guide the people who are already looking for you.

The Human Part helps make your site feel clear, trustworthy, and welcoming. The Robot Part makes sure search engines can actually find and understand what’s there. You need both for SEO that actually works.

When humans love your content, search engines take note

(sorry for the deeply creepy human-robot love picture here…)

So… what IS SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s how we help search engines (like Google) understand what your site is about, and how we make sure it shows up in search results when someone’s looking for what you offer.

I like to think of your website like a tiny bookstore in a huge city. 

Having good SEO is like a combination of a bright sign outside and a well-organized layout inside. You appear on maps, and have glowing recommendations from other shops in town and even appear in some travel guides.

Without taking the time to optimize your site for search engines, you’re relying on people to just magically find you and stumble in to your incredible bookstore. Of course it happens sometimes. But with good SEO, you're pointing the way clearly.

It’s about writing and structuring your site in a way that makes both humans and search engine robots say: “Ah! This is exactly what I was looking for.”

The Human Part of SEO

This is everything that helps actual people enjoy your site. Remember, when humans love your content, search engines take notes.

(We’ll get into almost all of these in microlessons, so don’t worry too much right now about figuring everything out!)

High-Quality Content
 Write stuff that's helpful, relevant, and easy to understand. Google rewards content that genuinely answers a question or solves a problem.

Keyword Research
Find out what your people are actually typing into the Google search bar. Then use those exact words in your content so it matches what they’re Googling.

Content Optimization
Use those keywords naturally and put them in the right places: in your titles, headers, and body text in a way that still sounds like you.

Descriptive URLs & Page Titles
Your page URL should give a clue about what’s on the page. Example: yoursite.com/about is better than yoursite.com/page2. Bonus points for including a keyword.

Good User Experience & Good Flow (aka “website density”)

Make your site explorable! Think: easy to navigate, every page links you to another one, readable fonts, clear calls to action, and a friendly vibe that makes people want to stick (and click!) around.

Alt Text for Images

Alt text is a short description you add to every image on your site. It helps visually impaired users understand what’s in the image, and it gives search engines extra context, too. Google wants to see pretty much all of your images with alt-text so that it knows you care about people’s experience on your site (and so it can show your images in google search results…) Keep it clear, descriptive, and helpful. “Screenshot2024finalfinal.jpg”? Not so much.

High Quality Backlinks

Backlinks are other websites that link back to us. When we take the time to develop high quality backlinks, it’s a trust signal to Google! Chambers of Commerce, real business directories, being a guest blogger or other citations on other websites that link back to your website are some small, easy places to start!

The Robot Part of SEO

This is all the behind-the-scenes tech stuff that helps Google’s bots scan, sort, and rank your site properly. My favorite tool to check how the robots are feeling about my website is right here: https://pagespeed.web.dev/

Crawlability + Indexability
Bots need to be able to see your site. That means no broken links, no weird barriers, and making sure every important page is easy to find.

Site Speed
Slow sites = sad bots and frustrated humans. Optimize your images, ditch unnecessary plugins, and keep things snappy. 

Mobile-Friendliness
Over half of all traffic comes from phones. If your site isn’t mobile-ready, you’re losing people (and rankings).

Website Density
A site with connected pages, internal links, and clear structure shows search engines you’re a legit business, not a ghost town.

Heading Structure (H1s, H2s, etc)
Robots use your headings to understand your page layout. Use one H1 (that’s your main title), then organize the rest with H2s and H3s to show hierarchy. 

Only ever use ONE H1 per page, and make sure it’s your most SEO-friendly wording - because that’s what you’re telling Google the page is about.

How the robots are feeling about my website today

Go Do âś…

Today’s Tiny Task: Do an “SEO Sweep” on one page of your website

Instructions

First! Run a PageSpeed Test
 Go to PageSpeed Insights and pop in your homepage URL.

  • Take a screenshot of the results so you know where you’re starting from.

  • 📸 Drop your screenshot in the comments below so we can track our progress together!

Do a quick “SEO Sweep” using the Human Part of SEO:

  • Is the content helpful and clear?

  • Are you using one keyword or phrase your dream client might actually enter into the Google search bar? Does the keyword show up in your:

    • Page title (you might need to google how to find this in your specific website builder!)

    • Your H1 (and that it’s your ONLY H1 on the page?)

    • Image alt text

  • Is your URL short, readable, and descriptive?

  • Does your homepage clearly link to other pages on your website?

  • Do all of your images have alt-text? 

This isn’t about doing it perfectly. It’s about taking one small step to help humans (and search engines) better understand what your site is all about.

Next Steps

Make a plan to look at each page of your website and conduct an SEO Sweep site wide! Put it on the calendar, your to-do list, or however else you’ve got yourself keeping your website awesome!

👇 Let’s Talk About It

How did your PageSpeed score go? Any surprises in your SEO sweep? Drop your screenshot and a quick note in the comments!

Additional Resources 👇

Test Your Website