Getting Found on Google | Rank or Die 360° Learning
Master the fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization and understand how to get websites ranking on Google's first page.
⏱️ Duration: 75 minutes learning + 45 minutes activity
of all website traffic comes from search engines
of users click organic results, not ads
never scroll past the first page
cost per click with SEO (after optimization)
Google Ads: ₹20-50 per click
SEO: ₹0 per click (after initial optimization)
Long-term value: A blog post ranking on page one can generate traffic for years. A paid ad stops the moment you stop paying.
Users trust what Google naturally ranks higher than paid advertisements. When your site appears organically on page one, you're seen as an authority in your field.
The Reality: If you're not on page one of Google, you barely exist in the digital world. Most users never venture beyond the first page of search results.
Think of Googlebot as a spider that constantly explores the web. It follows links from one page to another, discovering new and updated content every single day. When you publish a new blog post, Googlebot eventually finds it by following links from other pages or through your XML sitemap.
After Googlebot crawls your page, Google analyzes the content. It reads the text, examines images (through alt tags), understands the structure, and stores all this information in a massive database called the index. This is like Google creating a library card for your page.
When someone searches, Google doesn't search the entire web in real-time. Instead, it searches its index and decides which pages to show based on over 200 ranking factors. These include relevance to the search query, quality of content, page speed, mobile-friendliness, backlinks, and user experience.
⚠️ Key Insight: You can't rank if you're not indexed. You can't get indexed if you're not crawled. SEO starts with making sure Googlebot can find and understand your pages.
Why Intent Matters: Google's entire mission is to give users exactly what they're looking for. If you understand search intent, you can create content that matches what Google wants to show.
User wants: To reach a specific website
Examples: "Facebook login," "YouTube," "Gmail"
Strategy: Focus on brand keywords, optimize your homepage
User wants: To learn something or find an answer
Examples: "How to start a blog," "What is SEO," "Best time to post on Instagram"
Strategy: Create detailed blog posts, how-to guides, tutorials, explainer videos
User wants: To research before making a purchase decision
Examples: "Best laptops 2025," "iPhone vs Samsung," "Top SEO tools"
Strategy: Comparison articles, product reviews, "best of" lists
User wants: To buy right now
Examples: "Buy iPhone 15 Pro," "Book hotel in Mumbai," "Order pizza near me"
Strategy: Optimize product pages, make checkout seamless, local SEO
Title tags are what appear as the blue clickable headline in Google search results. They tell both users and Google what your page is about.
Length: Keep titles between 50-60 characters. Google typically cuts off anything longer with an ellipsis (...)
Keyword Placement: Put your primary keyword near the beginning. "SEO Tutorial for Beginners" is better than "Learn Everything About SEO"
Branding: Include your brand name at the end, separated by a pipe or dash. "SEO Tutorial | YourBrand"
Uniqueness: Every page should have a unique title tag. Never duplicate titles across pages.
❌ Bad: "Home - Welcome to Our Website"
✅ Good: "Digital Marketing Agency in Mumbai | SEO, PPC, Social Media | BrandName"
Meta descriptions are the short paragraph that appears under your title in search results. They don't directly impact rankings, but they dramatically affect whether people click on your result.
Length: Aim for 150-160 characters. Google will cut off anything longer.
Include Keywords: When a user's search query appears in your meta description, Google bolds those words, making your result stand out.
Call to Action: Tell users what to do. "Learn how to..." "Discover..." "Get started today..."
Value Proposition: Why should someone click YOUR result instead of the nine others on the page?
❌ Bad: "This is our website where we talk about many things related to digital marketing."
✅ Good: "Learn SEO from scratch with our step-by-step 2025 guide. Free tools, real examples, actionable strategies. Start ranking on Google today!"
Headers organize your content and help both users and Google understand what's most important on your page.
H1 (Main Heading): Every page should have exactly ONE H1 tag. This is your main topic and should include your primary keyword. Think of it as the title of a book.
H2 (Major Sections): These break your content into main sections. They're like chapter titles. Use multiple H2s to organize different topics.
H3 (Subsections): These break down H2 sections further. They're like subchapters.
H4-H6: Use these for even more detailed breakdowns, but most pages don't need to go this deep.
Example Structure:
H1: Email Marketing Tips for 2025: 10 Strategies That Actually Work
H2: Why Email Marketing Still Matters
H3: Email ROI Statistics
H3: Email vs Social Media
H2: Strategy #1: Build Your List Organically
H3: Lead Magnet Ideas
Your URL structure impacts both user experience and search rankings. A good URL tells users and search engines what the page is about before they even click.
Use Keywords: Include your target keyword in the URL.
✅ Good: yoursite.com/seo-for-beginners
❌ Bad: yoursite.com/page?id=12345
Keep It Short: Shorter URLs are easier to share and remember.
✅ Good: yoursite.com/email-marketing-tips
❌ Bad: yoursite.com/blog/2025/01/15/ultimate-complete-guide-to-email-marketing
Use Hyphens, Not Underscores: Google treats hyphens as spaces.
✅ Good: digital-marketing-course
❌ Bad: digital_marketing_course
Use Lowercase: Stick with lowercase to avoid confusion.
Avoid Stop Words: Words like "and," "the," "of," "a" add no SEO value.
⚠️ Important: Once a page ranks, changing its URL can hurt rankings. If you must change it, use 301 redirects.
Keyword research is the process of finding words and phrases that people type into search engines. You want to find keywords that have search volume, low competition, and commercial intent.
💡 The Long-Tail Strategy: While individual long-tail keywords have low volume, they collectively account for 70% of all searches. Targeting 100 long-tail keywords can bring more traffic than targeting 5 competitive short-tail keywords.
Free tool showing search volume, competition, and keyword ideas
Visualizes questions people ask around topics
Shows search volume, SEO difficulty, and CPC
Professional-grade competitive research
Search Volume: How many times per month people search for this keyword. Higher isn't always better—you want volume that matches your capacity.
Keyword Difficulty (KD): A score (usually 0-100) indicating how hard it is to rank. Look for KD under 30 if you're just starting.
Cost Per Click (CPC): How much advertisers pay for this keyword. High CPC often indicates high commercial intent.
Search Intent: Is this informational, commercial, or transactional? Match your content type to the intent.
Trend: Is search volume increasing, decreasing, or seasonal? Use Google Trends to check.
of mobile users abandon sites that take longer than 3 seconds to load
reduction in conversions for every 1-second delay
more ad revenue for sites loading in 5 seconds vs 19 seconds
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance. Should occur within 2.5 seconds. This is how long it takes for the largest image or text block to load.
First Input Delay (FID): Measures interactivity. Should be less than 100 milliseconds. How quickly your site responds when a user clicks something.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability. Should be less than 0.1. Prevents buttons from moving around while page loads.
🔧 Tool: Use Google PageSpeed Insights to get a score (0-100) and specific recommendations.
Since 2019, Google primarily uses the mobile version of your website for indexing and ranking. If your site doesn't work well on mobile, you won't rank well—even for desktop searches.
of all web traffic comes from mobile devices
of online purchases in India via mobile
Responsive Design: Your site should automatically adjust to fit any screen size. Text should be readable without zooming. Buttons should be large enough to tap with a finger (minimum 48x48 pixels).
No Flash or Intrusive Popups: Flash doesn't work on mobile. Popups that cover the whole screen frustrate users and get penalized by Google.
Fast Load Times: Mobile users are even more impatient. Your mobile site should load in under 3 seconds.
Easy Navigation: Hamburger menus are standard. Make sure menu items are spaced enough for accurate tapping.
Readable Text: Use at least 16px font size. Break text into short paragraphs. Use plenty of white space.
🔧 Test Tool: Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test. Enter your URL and it tells you if your site passes.
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) encrypts data between your website and your visitors. HTTP does not. Google has confirmed that HTTPS is a ranking signal.
⚠️ Bottom Line: In 2025, HTTPS is not optional. It's a baseline requirement for any website that wants to rank and be trusted.
The Client: Rajesh LifeSpaces, a real estate developer in India
The Challenge: Low organic visibility, few keywords ranking, overshadowed by competitors with bigger budgets
Organic session growth (4,001 → 5,003)
Keywords ranking on page 1 (previously 3)
Click-through rate (up from 1.2%)
Increase in conversion rate
Reality: SEO isn't dead; it's evolved. Google processed 8.5 billion searches per day in 2024. As long as people use search engines, SEO matters.
Reality: There's no magic keyword density. Google understands topics without exact keyword repetition. Focus on writing naturally and comprehensively.
Reality: Quality beats quantity. One exceptional 3,000-word guide ranks better than ten mediocre 300-word posts.
Reality: Google has confirmed that Facebook likes and Twitter shares do NOT directly impact rankings. However, social media can indirectly help by driving traffic and brand awareness.
Reality: SEO is ongoing. Google's algorithm updates 500-600 times per year. Competitors keep improving. Successful SEO requires continuous effort.
You'll become SEO consultants and audit a real website. Work in pairs to analyze everything we just learned.
Look for: missing meta descriptions, slow page speed, broken links, poor mobile experience, thin content, duplicate content, missing alt text, poor URL structure, no SSL, orphan pages
Find keywords that are relevant, have decent search volume (100+ monthly), low competition (KD under 30), and the site doesn't currently rank for
For one keyword, Google it. Note what type of content ranks, content length, domain authority, number of backlinks
Rewrite existing pages following today's best practices
If the client can only fix three things this month, what should they be? Justify with expected outcomes.
Check loading speed and get optimization suggestions. Shows Core Web Vitals scores.
Keyword research, competition analysis, and backlink overview.
Chrome extension to quickly view all meta tags, headers, and structured data.
Chrome extension to find broken links instantly.
Best audit wins a coffee voucher + we'll feature it as a professional portfolio sample with instructor testimonial!
💡 Remember: SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. The work you do today might not show results for 2-3 months, but those results compound over time.
We'll master copywriting formulas, write headlines that demand clicks, and create content that turns readers into customers.
See you next session!