What is SEO, and how does it help a website?
Outline
- Introduction to SEO
- Definition, purpose, example
- SEO as an organic, long-term strategy
- How SEO Works
- Crawling, indexing, ranking
- Search intent
- Key factors (relevance, quality, UX, backlinks, etc.)
- Algorithm updates & SERP features
- Types of SEO
- On-Page SEO
- Off-Page SEO
- Technical SEO
- Local SEO
- Content SEO (E-E-A-T, freshness, depth)
- Voice Search SEO
- Video SEO
- How SEO Helps a Website
- Improves visibility & rankings
- Drives targeted traffic
- Builds trust & credibility
- Better user experience
- Cost-effective marketing
- Boosts brand awareness
- Increases conversions & sales
- Measurable with analytics
- Gives competitive edge
- Why SEO Matters in the Long Run
- Results continue beyond paid ads
- Keeps you ahead of competitors
- Adapts with user behavior & Google updates
- Supports customer journey
- Scalable with business growth
- Conclusion
- SEO = visibility + credibility + growth
- Not a one-time job, but an ongoing investment
1. Introduction to SEO
Let me tell you straight, SEO is not some magic trick. It is simply making sure your website shows up when people search for what you offer. The goal is obvious: get found, get clicks, and build trust without burning money on ads every day.
Think about your own habits. When was the last time you went to the second page of Google? Hardly ever, right? That is exactly why SEO matters. If you are not on page one, you are invisible.
Here is a personal story. A student of mine in Bengaluru ran a tiny dosa shop. He asked me, “Sir, how do I beat the bigger restaurants on Swiggy?” I told him, “Forget ads for now. Start with Google My Business. Add proper timings, upload real photos, and encourage customers to drop reviews.” Within three months, his shop started showing up for “best dosa near me” searches. He did not spend a rupee on ads, but his footfall doubled. That is the power of local SEO.
Now, SEO vs ads: ads are like renting a house, the moment you stop paying rent, you are out. SEO is like building your own house. You invest once, maintain it, and it keeps giving returns. Plant it like a mango tree, and it will keep giving you fruits for years.
A great Indian example is UrbanClap (now Urban Company). Back in 2014, they did not have the money to spend crores on ads like Justdial. So what did they do? They created SEO rich landing pages like “Plumbers in Delhi” and “Makeup Artists in Mumbai.” Those pages are still pulling in organic traffic today. That is compounding growth, something ads can never give you.
2. How SEO Works
Alright, let us peel back the layers. SEO is not guesswork; it is a process.
a) Crawling, Indexing, Ranking:
Google has millions of little robots crawling around the internet. They scan your site, store it in Google’s library, and when someone searches, they pull up the most relevant result.
Search “buy organic honey online India” and you will often see brands like Farm Naturelle or Organic India. Their sites are fast, structured, and trustworthy, that is why they rank.
I once helped a friend in Coorg who sold homemade honey. His site was invisible at first. We fixed his product descriptions, added blog posts about “benefits of raw honey,” and made the site faster. Within six months, he was on page one and getting steady orders from Bengaluru and Chennai, without spending a paisa on ads.
b) Search Intent:
This is where SEO clicks. Search intent simply means why someone is searching, are they learning or ready to buy?
Byju’s nailed this. Instead of only pushing “Byju’s app download,” they wrote articles like “NCERT solutions for Class 10 maths.” Students were already searching for that. Byju’s answered the need, earned organic traffic, and gently nudged those students to their paid app.
I always tell my students: stop thinking like a business owner, start thinking like your customer. Once you match intent, SEO becomes ten times easier.
c) Key Factors: Relevance, Quality, UX, Backlinks:
Google does not care who you are; it cares how helpful your site is. Relevant content, fast loading, clean structure, and trusted links, get this right, and rankings follow.
Look at Zomato. Every restaurant page has menus, photos, reviews, and maps. It is user focused, constantly updated, and packed with real content. That is why they always show up when you search “best biryani in Hyderabad.”
I worked with a small cafe in Mysuru that thought a Facebook page was enough. After we rebuild their site with proper menus and reviews. We mirrored what Zomato does. Their Google visibility shot up within weeks.
d) Algorithm Updates and SERP Features:
Here is the tricky part: Google keeps changing the rules. People cry, “SEO is dead!” but really, only shortcuts are dying.
When Google rolled out Mobile First Indexing, many Indian businesses lost traffic overnight. This happened because their sites were not mobile friendly. But Swiggy? They went up. Why? Because they had optimized for mobile from day one, knowing most Indians browse on phones.
One of my clients panicked when their traffic was heavy. Turned out their site looked awful on mobile. Once we fixed it, their traffic slowly recovered. Lesson? Do not fight Google, adapt.
3. Types of SEO
Let us be honest, SEO is not just theory. I have seen businesses grow or sink depending on how well they understand these types. Let me walk you through them the way I would explain to my students.
On Page SEO
This is like cleaning and decorating your own house. If your titles, meta descriptions, and images are messy, no one will feel welcome. Take Hebbars Kitchen. I once searched for a dosa recipe while staying in Bangalore, and they popped up first. Why? Because they use simple, rich keyword titles like Masala Dosa Recipe | Karnataka Style. Clear, neat, and exactly what people type into Google.
Off Page SEO
This is word of mouth for your website. In the early days, Zomato did not throw crores into ads. Food bloggers and newspapers kept linking to them because they were genuinely useful. I remember reading a Delhi foodie blog that said, If you do not know where to eat, just open Zomato. Those mentions told Google and people that Zomato was worth trusting.
Technical SEO
This is the plumbing of your website. Nobody sees it, but if it breaks, everything collapses. Flipkart’s Big Billion Day fiasco proved it. The site slowed down, carts were abandoned, Twitter was full of complaints. Later, when they fixed speed and mobile issues, trust and traffic came back.
Local SEO
I once helped a small bakery in Jaipur run by an elderly couple. They could not fight bigger chains, so we set up their Google My Business profile, added photos, and asked customers for reviews. Within weeks, they ranked for cake shop near me. Watching their shop fill with birthday orders was one of the most satisfying moments of my career.
Content SEO (EEAT, freshness, depth)
Practo does this beautifully. Their health blogs feature doctors’ names and real advice, not half baked tips. My cousin once Googled symptoms of dengue during monsoon season in Mumbai and clicked on Practo. Why? Because people trust content that feels credible.
Voice Search SEO
In India, this is a game changer. I once met farmers in Uttar Pradesh during a workshop. They did not type their queries. They asked Google in Hindi, like आज का मौसम कैसा है? (What is the weather today?). Businesses that optimize regional languages are tapping into a whole new market.
Video SEO
If you are not on YouTube, you are invisible to an entire generation. I have mentored UPSC aspirants, and most of them study from Un academy videos. Search for UPSC preparation tips and you will see why. They nail titles, descriptions, and captions. That is SEO at work.
4. How SEO Helps a website
Now, let us talk about why all this matters. I have seen SEO change the destiny of businesses, from homestays to honey brands.
Improves Visibility and Rankings:
One of my students in Delhi started an organic clothing brand. She targeted specific keywords like organic cotton kurtas. Within months, her store showed up on page one. She did not just get clicks. She got loyal customers.
Drives Targeted Traffic:
A small homestay owner in Coorg wrote a blog titled best coffee plantation stays in Coorg. That single post doubled his bookings in one season. That is targeted traffic, people already planning to visit plantations.
Builds Trust and Credibility:
If ICICI Bank shows up first for best savings account in India, most people assume it is reliable. Ranking itself feels like a stamp of approval.
Better User Experience:
Swiggy’s app is fast, clean, and checkout takes seconds. Google rewards sites that treat users well.
Cost Effective Marketing:
Ads are like rent. Stop paying, and you are out. SEO is like owning a house. Khadi India invested in content around handloom sarees and ecofriendly fabrics. Now they enjoy free, compounding traffic.
Boosts Brand Awareness:
Urban Company is a great example. Even before I clicked, I kept seeing them on top for AC repair or salon at home. After a while, I did not need Google. I just opened their app.
Increases Conversions and Sales:
A Hyderabad based honey brand I worked with ranked for pure honey online India. Sales doubled in three months. People with purchase intent landed right on their product page.
Measurable with Analytics:
A Pune agency showed me their Analytics. One blog on How to get GST numbers brought 70 percent of their leads. That is proof, not guesswork.
Gives Competitive Edge:
Look at Nykaa. They built blogs like Best Lipsticks under ₹500. Millions searched, millions clicked, and suddenly, small beauty shops could not compete. SEO became their silent weapon.
5. Why SEO Matters in the Long Run
SEO is patience. Paid ads are like opening a water tap. Water flows if you pay, but the moment you stop, it dries up. SEO is like digging a well. It takes time and effort, but once done, it keeps giving for years.
One of my students in Pune ran a small organic grocery store. At first, he relied on Google Ads. Sales were good, but when he paused them, the website went silent. We then worked on SEO, optimizing for terms like organic fruits in Pune and buy millet online India. Three months later, people began walking into his store saying they found him on Google Maps. That is the real power of SEO.
Now, look at Zomato. Search for pizza delivery near me or best biryani Hyderabad, and Zomato shows up. That is not luck. It is years of SEO investment. Meanwhile, plenty of good apps fade away because they never built organic presence.
And SEO adapts with people. A few years ago, voice search barely existed. Today, even my mom says, “Ok Google, where is the nearest medical store? A dental clinic I worked with in Bengaluru optimized for voice friendly queries like best dentist near me opened today. Bookings jumped within months.
It also shapes the buying journey. A Delhi student once searched for the best laptops for students under 50,000 and found a blog from a local electronics store. A week later, she bought them. SEO answered her questions, built trust, and guided the purchase.
Finally, SEO grows with you. A Jaipur café owner I mentored started by ranking cafes in Jaipur. When his café chain expanded, we scaled SEO for national keywords like best coffee brands in India. Today, he ships his coffee across states. That is why even giants like Tanishq and Big Basket never stop SEO. It grows with their ambition.
6. Conclusion
Here is how I sum it up: SEO = visibility + credibility + growth. It gives the same power to a tiny kirana shop as it does to an ecommerce giant.
But SEO is not a onetime project. You cannot do SEO for a month and expect magic forever. It is like fitness. You cannot hit the gym for 30 days and then quit, hoping to stay healthy lifelong. You need to keep at it. Update your content, track results, improve.
I have seen this firsthand. A small bakery in Mumbai that kept blogging about cakes and festival specials is now famous across the city. On the other hand, those who quit too soon complain, SEO does not work. The truth is, they did not give it time.
The businesses in India that win, whether it is a single store bakery or a chain like Apollo Hospitals, are the ones that see SEO as a long term investment. They stay visible, relevant, and trustworthy. And most importantly, they keep growing, year after year.
