Worried SEO is too technical? These SEO basics for beginners explain how search engines find and rank pages. The short answer: Google crawls, indexes, then serves results, and you can’t pay for a higher spot.
This guide is one piece of the wider topic of digital marketing, and it covers how search works rather than advanced tactics.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Stages of Google Search | 3 (three) stages, and not every page makes it through each one |
| Payment that buys a higher rank | None: Google does not accept payment to rank a site higher |
| Guarantee that your page is crawled, indexed or served | None, even if the page follows Google’s Search Essentials |
| Most common ways Google discovers URLs | 3 (three): backlinks, sitemaps and URL submissions |
| Google’s share of the search engine market | 91.43% (Ahrefs figure) |
These figures come from Google’s guide to how Search works and from Ahrefs’ guide to how search engines work. They can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
What SEO actually means
SEO, short for search engine optimization, is about helping search engines understand your content and helping people find your site and decide whether to visit it. That is how Google’s SEO Starter Guide describes it.
There is no shortcut. The same guide says there are no secrets that will automatically rank your site first in Google, but following best practices should make it easier for search engines, not just Google, to crawl, index and understand your content.
It helps to know what a search engine is. It is a searchable database of web content, and it has two main parts:
- The search index: a digital library of information about webpages.
- Search algorithms: computer programs that match results from the index to a search.
Most beginner guides focus on Google, and Ahrefs gives a reason: it reports that Google owns 91.43% of the search engine market, so it can send you more traffic than other engines because it is the one most people use.
SEO basics: how Google finds, stores and ranks your pages
Google Search is a fully automated search engine that uses software known as web crawlers to explore the web. Google’s documentation says that Search works in three stages, and not all pages make it through each stage.
- Crawling: a computer bot visits and downloads known URLs. Google’s crawler is called Googlebot.
- Indexing: information processed from crawled pages is added to the search index.
- Serving results: when someone searches, the algorithms match and rank relevant results from the index.
Indexing matters because users can’t find you unless you’re in the index. Because not every page makes it through each stage, passing one step does not mean a page reaches the next.
How does Google discover your pages?
You do not have to submit every page by hand. Google says the vast majority of pages in its results are not manually submitted, but are found and added automatically when its crawlers explore the web.
According to Ahrefs, the three most common routes to discovery are:
- Backlinks: if someone links to a new page from a known page, Google can find it from there.
- Sitemaps: these tell Google which pages and files you think are important on your site.
- URL submissions: site owners can request crawling of individual URLs in Google Search Console.
In practice, that means linking your important pages from other pages and keeping a sitemap up to date. Both give crawlers a clear path to what you want found.
What decides where a page ranks?
Search algorithms are formulas that match and rank relevant results from the index. Nobody outside Google knows every ranking factor, because Google hasn’t disclosed them, according to Ahrefs.
One factor that is widely discussed is the backlink, a link from a page on one website to another. Ahrefs calls backlinks one of Google’s strongest ranking factors, and says pages with a few high-quality backlinks often outrank those with many low-quality ones.
You also cannot buy your way up the organic results. Ahrefs notes that you can’t pay to appear in organic results, and Google states that it doesn’t accept payment to crawl a site more often or rank it higher, adding that anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
A simple beginner checklist
You can act on the basics without technical skills. Work through these steps in order:
- Read Google’s Search Essentials, since sites that follow them are more likely to show up in Google’s search results.
- Build pages with your users in mind, because helping people decide whether to visit is the point of SEO.
- Link to your important pages from other pages, so crawlers can find them.
- Create a sitemap that lists the pages and files you think matter.
- Use Google Search Console to request crawling of individual URLs when needed.
- Aim for a few good links from quality sites rather than many poor ones.
Treat these as a starting point. As Google’s starter guide puts it, some suggestions might not apply to your business.
Where SEO fits in your marketing
SEO gets people to your pages, but it does not decide what they do next. If you want to see how a visitor moves from a search result towards a purchase, read about what is a marketing funnel to place search in the bigger picture.
Once people arrive, you may want a way to stay in touch with them. Our guide to email marketing best practices covers that next step.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay to rank higher in Google’s organic results?
Show answer
No. Google says it doesn’t accept payment to crawl a site more frequently, or rank it higher. Paid results from advertisers are separate from organic results.
Will following Google’s guidance guarantee my page appears?
Show answer
No. Google doesn’t guarantee that it will crawl, index or serve your page, even if it follows the Search Essentials. Sites that follow them are, however, more likely to show up in results.
Is SEO only about Google?
Show answer
No. Google’s starter guide says best practices should help search engines in general, not just Google, to crawl, index and understand your content. Still, Ahrefs reports Google owns 91.43% of the search engine market, so most guides focus on it.
What is a sitemap?
Show answer
A sitemap tells Google which pages and files you think are important on your site. It is one of the common ways Google discovers pages, alongside backlinks and URL submissions.
