SEO Course
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What doing SEO means
In one line: you make a website the best, most findable answer to what your audience searches, then prove it to search engines. Doing SEO is not a single action; it is a process you repeat.
In short: doing SEO means research what people want, create the best answer, make it easy for Google to find, earn trust, measure, then repeat. New to the idea? Read what is SEO first.
The SEO process at a glance
The whole SEO process in one table, each step links to its deep dive:
| # | Step | What you do | Deep dive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audit and setup | Connect tools, find current issues | SEO tools |
| 2 | Keyword research | Find winnable terms and intent | SEO for beginners |
| 3 | Content plan | One page per intent, mapped | Types of SEO |
| 4 | On page SEO | Optimise the page itself | On page SEO |
| 5 | Technical SEO | Crawl, speed, structure | Technical SEO |
| 6 | Off page SEO | Earn links and authority | Off page SEO |
| 7 | Measure | Track, learn, repeat | SEO tools |
It matters because the first organic result earns about 28.5% of clicks and the top three take roughly 68.7% (Sistrix; First Page Sage 2026). Doing SEO well is how you reach that top.
Step 1: Audit your site and set up tools
Start by seeing where you stand. Connect Google Search Console and an analytics tool, then run a crawl to find broken links, missing titles, slow pages and un indexed content. You cannot improve what you have not measured. See the best SEO tools.
Step 2: Do keyword research
Find the exact phrases your audience searches, and read the intent behind each. Group related terms so one page targets one intent, which is how you avoid competing with yourself. Prioritise terms you can realistically win (lower difficulty, clear intent).
Example: a bakery finds "gluten free birthday cake delivery", low competition, clear buying intent. That one keyword, answered well, is worth more than chasing the giant term "cake". More on this in SEO for beginners.
Step 3: Plan content around search intent
Map each keyword group to a page and give it a job: inform, compare, or convert. One clear page per intent, linked together into topics. This content plan is the backbone of doing SEO: it decides what you will optimise in the next steps.
Step 4: Do on page SEO
This is where most of the work happens, on the page itself:
| Element | What to do |
|---|---|
| Title tag | Clear, compelling, includes the target term |
| Headings (H1 to H3) | Structure the answer; one H1 per page |
| Content | Genuinely answer the query, better than page one |
| Internal links | Link to and from related pages with descriptive anchors |
| Images | Compress, add descriptive alt text |
| URL | Short, readable, keyword relevant |
Full guide: on page SEO.
Step 5: Do technical SEO
Make it effortless for Google to crawl, render and index your site: fast load and good Core Web Vitals, mobile friendly, clean site structure, XML sitemap, no crawl blocks, and structured data where it fits. See technical SEO.
Step 6: Do off page SEO (earn links)
Rankings need trust from the wider web. Earn quality backlinks through genuinely useful content, outreach and digital PR. A few strong links beat many weak ones. See off page SEO.
Step 7: Measure, review and repeat
SEO is a loop, not a launch. In Google Search Console, track impressions, clicks, average position and which queries you win; double down on what works and fix what does not. Then repeat the process on the next set of pages. See the best SEO tools.
How to do SEO yourself or for free
You can absolutely do SEO yourself: Google Search Console and many core tools are free, and the process above works on any site. Free gets you far, but a structured course with real projects and mentorship gets you ranking faster and helps you skip the tactics that backfire.
Learn by doing, faster. CourseUnbox's certified SEO course walks you through this exact process on a live project, mentored by practitioners.
Common mistakes when doing SEO
- Skipping keyword research: optimising for terms nobody searches, or that you cannot win.
- Two pages, one intent: cannibalising your own rankings.
- Chasing tricks: keyword stuffing and bought links get penalised.
- Ignoring technical health: great content Google cannot crawl will not rank.
- Quitting too early: SEO compounds over months, not days.
Related resources
About the author
Jugal Chauhan
Founder, Course Unbox
Jugal Chauhan is the founder of Course Unbox and a digital marketing and SEO practitioner with 12+ years of experience. He has driven growth for brands like Bata India and Airtel and led teams at leading edtech companies, and now teaches SEO and digital marketing to thousands of learners through live, project based cohorts.