What is SEO: Complete guide to being number 1 by 2025

For example, an e-commerce that optimises the content and usability of its product pages can significantly increase its sales, while a blog with structured content attracts thousands of organic visitors every month. The online shop can simplify the buying process and thus convert more sales. The blog can divert information traffic to products on offer and increase the customer base.

The entry of AI, a fiercely competitive environment and the speed at which we experience the evolution of digital tools make SEO an extremely important discipline for businesses in 2025. In this comprehensive guide, we break down everything you need to know to understand SEO in 2025 and position yourself as a leader in search results.

What is SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and what is it for?

The SEO, o web positioningSEO is the set of strategies and techniques that are applied to your website to improve its visibility in search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. The main objective of SEO is to appear in the first positions of the organic results, generating quality traffic and, consequently, more sales opportunities. The really important search engine in the sector is Google which has 95% of the market share, therefore, it is on this engine where you have to focus your marketing efforts.

What are the main benefits of SEO?

• • Organic traffic: Attract users who are looking for solutions directly related to your content. For example, an online shop that optimises its product page for "trainers" can receive hundreds of daily visits from users interested in buying them, without the need to invest in paid ads. Positioning keywords in a natural way saves you money on ads that disappear from the search results when you leave the campaign.

• Increased visibility: Increase your brand's online presence. A well-optimised blog with quality content ranks for keywords related to a specific topic, this increases your brand exposure and pushes service pages or product categories to the first page of Google. For example, a site that publishes content about healthy recipes could capture consistent traffic from searches such as "green smoothie recipes". In order to perhaps sell a manual on healthy smoothies through Kindle.

• Return on Investment (ROI): Unlike paid advertising (SEM), SEO has an upfront cost that can generate long-term benefits. According to a BrightEdge study, more than 53% of web traffic comes from organic searches, showing its effectiveness as a sustainable and profitable investment.
• Organic traffic: Attract users who are looking for solutions directly related to your content.
• Increased visibility: Increase the presence of your brand on the internet. Being on the first page of Google for keywords relevant to your sector is also a good branding strategy. 

For example, imagine that your potential customers in your city constantly see your brand and products on the best billboards in your streets. Don't you think that this increases the positive perception of your brand?

What types of searches can I find in search engines?

Understanding search types allows you to optimise your SEO strategy according to users' intentions:

1. Information search: The user searches for information to acquire knowledge or answers to direct questions. For example, someone who types into Google "What is SEO and how does it work". He or she is probably researching to learn more about the topic, and a page with a clear explanation can attract this type of user in the information phase.
2. Navigational search: The user is looking for a specific page, such as "Gmail login" or "Official Nike website". In this case, well-known brands have an advantage, but optimising your site with keywords related to your brand can also help you capture this traffic.
3. Commercial / transactional search: The user is looking to buy or perform a specific action. For example, "Buy trainers online", "Buy trainers online" or "Buy trainers online".Request a quote for web design"or "price for SEO services". Optimising your online shop or service website with clear calls to action and optimising for these terms can improve both traffic and conversions.

What are Google updates?

Google is constantly updating its algorithm to deliver the best results for users. For example, Google's "Helpful Content" update, launched in 2022, prioritises websites with useful and relevant content, penalising those that create automated or written content solely to manipulate rankings. 

This especially affected blogs that were abusing keywords without offering real value, boosting those that actually responded to user search intentions. These updates affect how pages rank and mean that SEO strategies must continually adapt.

Both commercial and informational content on websites should be monitored by SEO analysts to identify possible content cannibalisation, lack of indexation due to low quality, duplicate content and to update and even redirect it. 

Major Google updates:

• Google Panda (2011): Penalise low-quality content.
• Google Penguin (2012): Control the quality of incoming links.
• Google Hummingbird (2013): Focus on semantics and search context.
• Pingeon (2014): One of Google's biggest local search updates.
• E-A-T (2019): Google started to take into account aspects for the ranking of a page in terms of: experience, authority, credibility.

Major Google Updates (2020-2024):

1. Core Update (May 2020):
   It impacted sites with low-quality content and penalised those with low relevance to users' search intentions. It benefited sites with extensive, well-researched and useful content.
2. Core Web Vitals (2021):
   Introduced key metrics to assess user experience: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID) y Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). This change prioritised the speed, interactivity and visual stability of web pages.
3. Spam Updates (2021-2022):
   Released at different times, these updates aimed to reduce the visibility of spammy content and low-quality links, strengthening the integrity of search results.
4. Product Reviews Updates (2021-2023):
   Focused on prioritising detailed, useful and original product reviews. Penalised generic reviews or reviews based on superficial information.
5. Helpful Content Update (2022):
   Designed to identify and de-prioritise content created exclusively to manipulate rankings. It rewarded pages that offered useful, relevant and user-centric information.
6. March Core Update (2023):
   Adjusted global rankings based on new quality parameters, affecting both content and inbound links. It benefited sites with a solid structure and optimised user experience.
7. SpamBrain Enhancements (2023):
   Improved content and manipulative link detection capabilities through artificial intelligence.
8. December Helpful Content Update (2023):
   Extension of the update of useful content, with a focus on identifying automatically generated content with no added value for users.

How is SEO used in digital marketing?

The SEO and digital marketing work together to attract and convert potential customers. In this context, SEO not only improves web positioning, but also reinforces other strategies, such as valuable content and social media campaigns. It is important to design the SEO strategy in function and subordinate to the marketing strategy. 

For example:

An ecommerce site can have hundreds of product categories. However, as a matter of cost, margin and even seasonality, the Marketing Director may set certain categories as a priority for optimisation. Therefore, the SEO consultant must focus on what is a priority for the company and balance the SEO priorities accordingly. 

Joint SEO and digital marketing strategies

• SEO and SEM Marketing: Combine organic and paid traffic to maximise results.
• Optimised content: Use blogs and videos to rank for relevant keywords.
• Local SEO: Attract nearby customers through geographic optimisation.

What does it take to be an SEO?

A SEO specialist needs to master different areas, it is not an easy profession, nor can any digital marketing specialist fit in. Here are some of the necessary skills:

1. Techniques: The use of tools such as Google Analytics y Google Search Console is essential for monitoring the performance of a website. For example, an SEO specialist can analyse Search Console data to identify which keywords generate the most traffic and adjust content accordingly. Other important paid tools to develop the profession with guarantees are Semrush, Screaming Frog, Local Falcon and others.
2. Analytical: Interpreting data to convert it into actionable strategies is key. For example, when observing that a page has a high CTR but low conversion, the specialist could optimise the calls to action, meta descriptions and content to attract users with a buyer profile. At this point, the seo expert should evaluate if there could be a price or product problem as a reason for the low conversion and communicate it to the Marketing Director of the company.
3. Creativity: Generate engaging and relevant content that aligns with users' intentions. For example, developing an interactive guide that explains "how SEO works" not only improves the user experience, but can also gain valuable backlinks and increase the site's authority.

How to do SEO on my website?

To do SEO with guarantees, the first thing you should do is to perform an SEO audit of your website, your map page, your social networks and any digital entity you own.  This establishes a fundamental starting point to get your SEO off the ground. Then you need to study your competitors in depth, develop a comprehensive keyword study. Once you have done this, you will have the starting point established and you will be able to draw up your SEO strategy document that will lead the way for the next 12 months of work.

Basic and general steps to optimise your website:

1. Keyword research: Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to identify relevant keywords that your users are searching for. For example, if you have a clothing e-commerce, you might discover that "buy cotton t-shirts" is a popular term and focus on optimising your product pages for this term.
2. Quality content: Create unique, informative and well-structured articles. For example, a step-by-step guide on "How to combine colours in your daily outfit" could attract organic traffic if it is well optimised with clear headings and keywords.
3. Technical SEO: Improve aspects such as the loading speed of your site by using tools such as PageSpeed Insights. For example, if you find that your page takes more than 3 seconds to load, you could reduce the size of your images or implement a caching system.
4. Link building: Generate quality external links through collaborations with other relevant sites in your industry. For example, you could write guest posts on related blogs and link back to your homepage or specific sections of your website.

What is SEO? Examples

Example 1:

• A blog optimised for "How to choose car insurance" can attract users interested in insurance by ranking high. For example, including relevant keywords such as "best car insurance 2025" and structuring the content with clear headings and lists of pros and cons improves the user experience and increases the chance of attracting organic traffic. In addition, linking to additional resources, such as insurance calculators or customer reviews, can generate more authority and engagement from readers.

Example 2:

• An online shop that optimises its product pages with unique descriptions and customer reviews improves its visibility and conversion. For example, including detailed descriptions that answer frequently asked questions from users, such as "What are the features of this product?", can increase buyer confidence. In addition, adding high-quality images, demo videos and clear call-to-action buttons, such as "Buy now", reinforces purchase intent and improves the user experience.

Digital marketing: Understanding how the ecosystem works.

Digital marketing is a complex ecosystem that encompasses different strategies and tools to connect with audiences in online environments. From SEO to paid advertising, each component has its role to play in the growth of a brand. 

For example, combining social media campaigns with a content strategy can increase reach and conversion. Understanding the relationships between these tactics, along with the company's marketing and business objectives, all working as a well-oiled machine, is critical to success.

How to create a successful SEO strategy?

Create a SEO strategy Successful search engine optimisation involves a planned and structured approach that allows you to achieve your traffic and ranking goals. A well-thought-out strategy should aim to increase search engine visibility for the keywords and to improve the user experience in order to improve the CTRincreases the authority of your site and, ultimately, increases your turnover and the brand awareness.

For example, if your goal is to rank for a recipe blog, a key step would be to identify long tail keywords such as "healthy dessert recipes for kids" and create optimised content that appeals to that specific audience. In addition, perform a SEO audit as discussed above, it is critical to identify technical issues, such as broken links or slow load times, that need to be corrected before implementing on-page SEO and even off-page SEO. Constantly measure the results to adjust your approach as necessary.

Important steps to define the SEO Strategy

1. Define clear objectives: You want to increase organic traffic, improve your domain authority and branding, generate leads to incorporate into your sales funnel or get downloads of a test product for market research. Clearly defining what you want to achieve is extremely important to move forward.
2. SEO audit: Analyse the current state of your site: where am I at the moment from an SEO point of view?
3. Competitor research: Who are my competitors and what are their strengths and weaknesses? Conduct a full keyword gap study with Semrush in addition to your initial keyword study.
4. Backlink gap study: Conduct a link gap study with respect to your competitors - are they outperforming you in domain authority, what are the main links that give them that link advantage, and what are the most important ones? domain authority?
5. Implement an action plan: To correct the technical SEO problems encountered
6. Optimise existing content: Improve what you already have. Improve onpage SEO.
7. Create new content: Aligned with relevant keywords.
8. Measuring results: Use tools such as Google Search Console to evaluate progress.

What is On-Page SEO?

The On-Page SEO is everything that is done within the website that is not technical. It therefore refers to the optimisation of all the internal elements of a website that contribute to improving its search engine ranking. It is an essential component of any SEO strategy, as it helps search engines to better understand the content of your site and helps users to find relevant information.

For example, a page dedicated to "cooking recipes" should include clear titles, such as "The best homemade dessert recipes", and optimised meta descriptions that attract clicks. In addition, incorporating images with descriptive alternative text, such as "image of a chocolate cake", improves both the accessibility and relevance of the content. In this section we will explain the key elements that make up On-Page SEO and how to optimise them to maximise results.

The On-Page SEO focuses on optimising the internal elements of a website to improve its positioning.

What is Off-Page SEO?

The Off-Page SEO is everything that is done off the page. It is therefore,  a set of strategies focused on improving the authority and relevance of your website through external actions. Unlike On-Page SEO, which focuses on optimising internal elements, Off-Page SEO seeks to build your page's reputation on the web through link building or backlinks. This includes inbound link generation, brand mentions, and social media presence.

For example, when other relevant sites link to your content, search engines interpret this as a sign of trust, and these signals significantly improve your position in search results. In addition, strategies such as collaborating with influencers or actively participating in digital communities can increase both visibility and traffic to your website.

For example, in real life we can draw a comparison between linkbuilding and word of mouth. Normally companies that have a great effect on word of mouth enjoy great authority for an excellent service or product. On a digital level, having pages with a high domain authority and reputation link to your content gives your own website authority and therefore a better ranking for your keywords. 

• Link building: Quality inbound link building. For example, collaborating with relevant blogs in your niche to write guest posts can be a very effective strategy. Imagine you have a fitness site; you could publish an article on "Tips for working out at home" on a health blog and link to your home exercise related products or services page.
  Another successful tactic is to create valuable content, such as infographics or original research, that other sites want to share. This generates natural links that increase your site's authority.
• Content marketing: Publish on external blogs and social media. For example, a company offering web design services can write technical guides that are widely shared on platforms such as LinkedIn, generating valuable traffic and links.
• Brand mentions: Increase site authority. Collaborating with local or international media to get coverage of your products or services not only enhances your reputation, but can also generate backlinks from high authority sites.

What is Technical SEO?

The Technical SEO optimises structural aspects of your site to facilitate its indexing by search engines. This type of SEO focuses on ensuring that search engines can crawl and understand your content effectively, guaranteeing that all of your content is indexed by search engines. urls of your website are indexed. On the other hand, he also monitors the core web vitals for fast loading on mobile and pc versions. Among other things, the technical seo consultant ensures that no cannibalisation occurs, which destroys the positioning of important keywords and urls. The following are some of the functions of this discipline within SEO:

Common shares:

• Improve loading speed: The speed of your site directly influences the user experience and search rankings. For example, using a CDN (Content Delivery Network) service or compressing images can significantly reduce load times.
• Implement structured data (schema markup): These help search engines understand the content of your page. For example, an ecommerce site might use schema to display prices, ratings and availability directly in search results, improving CTR.
• Configure the robots.txt file correctly: This file tells search engines which pages to crawl and which not to crawl. Incorrect settings can block important content or allow unwanted pages, such as administration panels, to be indexed.

The Technical SEO optimises structural aspects of your site to facilitate its indexing by search engines.

What is Local SEO?

The Local SEO is a key strategy for businesses that aim to attract customers within a specific geographic location. This type of SEO focuses on improving your company's visibility in location-related searches, such as "restaurants near me" or "web design in Santa Cruz de Tenerife". The main tools to achieve this are: optimising the website for local terms, optimising the map tab, opening local directories and map citations. 

Tips for Local SEO:

• Complete your Google Business Profile: Make sure your information is up to date, including name, address, telephone number and opening hours. Add attractive images of your business and answer frequently asked questions that customers may have.
• Include local keywords in your content: Optimise your website with relevant terms that include your location, such as "best electrical appliances shop in Madrid" or "family lawyers in Valencia". This helps search engines identify your local relevance.
• Encourage customer reviews: Ask your satisfied customers to leave reviews on Google. Reviews not only improve your reputation, but also influence your local search rankings.

Practical example:

Imagine you have a coffee shop in Barcelona. To attract local customers, you can create a blog post titled "The best cafés in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter" and highlight your location and specialities. At the same time, you optimise your Google Business Profile to show up in searches for "cafés near me" with attractive photos and positive reviews.

The Local SEO not only improves your visibility, but also increases the trust and interest of customers who are close to you.

How to do SEO on social networks?

Although the social media do not directly affect your Google ranking, they are an excellent tool to support your SEO strategy. They can generate more traffic to your site, strengthen your brand and improve engagement with your target audience.

Effective actions:

• Share content from your blog on social networks: Publish your articles with attractive calls to action, such as "Find out how to optimise your website with these SEO strategies". Make sure to use attractive images or short videos that increase interaction.
• Encourage interaction with your publications: Respond to comments from your followers, create polls or questions related to your industry. For example, a marketing agency could ask "What is your biggest challenge with SEO?" to generate discussion and engagement.
• Use relevant hashtags to reach new audiences: Research popular hashtags in your industry and combine them with niche tags. For example, a post on content strategy might include #MarketingDigital, #SEO, and 1TP5ContentStrategy.
• Create exclusive content for social networks: Post previews or excerpts of your articles in a carousel or story format, including links back to your homepage or relevant blog posts.
• Collaborate with influencers: Identify relevant profiles in your industry that can amplify your content. A recommendation from an influencer can increase traffic to your website and generate natural backlinks.

Although social media does not directly affect your Google ranking, it is an excellent tool to support your SEO strategy.

What is the difference between SEO and SEM?

SEO and SEM are two fundamental strategies in digital marketing, but they differ in how they drive traffic to your website. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and understanding their differences will help you decide which is best for your goals.

SEO:

• Organic positioning: SEO focuses on optimising your site to appear in organic search engine results without paying for clicks.
• Long-term results: Although it may take time to see results, the traffic generated is sustainable and does not depend on an ongoing budget.
• No pay per click is required: Once the strategies are implemented, organic traffic does not generate additional costs.

Example: An online shop that optimises its product descriptions and uses relevant keywords can appear in the top results for terms such as "buy trainers" and attract steady traffic.

SEM:

• Paid positioning: Use paid advertisements to appear at the top of search results.
• Immediate results: By setting up a Google Ads campaign, your site can start receiving traffic immediately.
• Requires ongoing budget: Traffic depends directly on the budget allocated to the campaign.

Example: A dental clinic that launches an SEM campaign for "dental implants in Madrid" can appear in the first search results and attract potential customers instantly.

Which one to choose?

If you are looking for sustainable results and have time to build your strategy, SEO is ideal. However, if you need fast traffic for a specific promotion, SEM may be more appropriate. Many companies combine both strategies to maximise their results.