Want to learn SEO properly, without the fluff?
This hub gives you a structured pathway from beginner to confident practitioner — all in one place. Each section builds on the last so you understand why things work, not just what to do.
Written and curated by Kasra Dash to introduce the full SEO fundamentals landscape and connect you to every core topic.
This page is your educational homepage for SEO — designed to introduce Google and readers to every foundational subtopic while distributing internal link equity through contextual summaries.
How to Use This Page
Because SEO is a system, not a single tactic, you’ll move from fundamental concepts to hands-on practice:
- Start with the Fundamentals to grasp how search engines work.
- Build your skills with Technical, On-Page, Off-Page/Links, Content, AI & SEO, and Frameworks.
- Stay current with updates, glossaries, and implementation checklists.
Authored by Kasra Dash as a contextual bridge to the full SEO Fundamentals library.
Start with SEO Fundamentals
Master these first principles, because understanding mechanics (crawl → index → rank) makes every later tactic more effective.
- What is SEO?
-Discover what Search Engine Optimisation means, why it matters, and how it fuels business growth. - How SEO Works — Learn how SEO aligns your site with search engine crawling, indexing, and ranking processes.
- How Search Engines Work — Understand the science behind crawling, indexing, and ranking so you can optimise with purpose.
- The 3 Pillars of SEO — Explore Technical, On-Page, and Off-Page optimisation — the stable architecture of any SEO strategy.
- SEO vs SEM vs PPC — See how organic SEO differs from paid search (PPC) and the broader SEM umbrella.
- Why SEO Matters — Learn why SEO is essential for compounding visibility, durable traffic, and profitable growth.
- How Long Does SEO Take? — Set realistic timelines and understand the inputs that accelerate results.
- Search Engine Algorithms — Learn how algorithms determine rankings and what that means for your content.
- SEO Glossary — Browse 100+ terms every marketer should know, from canonicalisation to zero-click.
- SEO Strategy for Beginners — Follow a step-by-step blueprint to build a strong SEO foundation.
- What Are Keywords? — Understand what keywords are, how to discover them, and how they map to intent.
- Ranking Factors — Explore the technical, content, and off-page factors that influence success.
- Google Indexing — See how Google indexes and retrieves pages — and how to get indexed faster.
Tip: Work through the list in order. Because each concept underpins the next, you’ll avoid shallow tactics and build durable skills.
What should I learn first — content, links, or technical?
Start with how search works and the 3 pillars. Since technical issues can block discovery, fix crawlability and indexing first; therefore your content and links can be evaluated properly. Then build out intent-led content and acquire relevant, trustworthy links.
Build on Your Foundation
Once the fundamentals are clear, expand into the operational disciplines that drive performance at scale.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO → ensures → discoverability and efficient crawling.
Because your site architecture and performance control how bots access pages, improvements here compound all other work. Focus on URL structure, internal linking, XML sitemaps, robots directives, canonicalisation, Core Web Vitals, and structured data.
On-Page SEO
On-Page SEO → aligns → content with searcher intent.
Therefore, optimise titles, headings, body copy, images, and schema to clarify meaning. Use entities and related terms naturally to help search engines disambiguate topics.
Link Building (Off-Page)
Authoritative links → signal → trust and relevance.
As a result, prioritise quality over quantity: digital PR, useful tools/assets, and editorial placements that real audiences value.
Content SEO
Content strategy → maps → topics to user journeys.
Because topic clusters organise knowledge, build pillar pages, supporting articles, and FAQs that interlink coherently. Maintain freshness with scheduled updates.
AI & SEO
AI tools → accelerate → research, briefs, clustering, and QA.
Consequently, you can scale semantic coverage while preserving human editorial judgement. Always validate AI outputs against E-E-A-T principles.
SEO Frameworks
Repeatable frameworks → reduce → guesswork.
Since systems improve consistency, use frameworks for keyword selection, content scoring, internal linking, and experimentation (A/B and holdout tests).
Schema note: This hub is designed to work with ItemList + BreadcrumbList so Google understands the page as an educational index with structured navigation.
How do these sections connect to the Fundamentals?
Each advanced area references and expands on a Fundamentals concept. For example, “How Search Engines Work” informs Technical SEO decisions, while “What Are Keywords?” underpins Content SEO. Because the whole course is interlinked, you’ll find contextual links that guide you forward from every base article.
Key Semantic Relationships at a Glance
- Search Engine → crawls → Web pages
- Crawler → discovers → URLs
- Index → stores → parsed page representations
- Ranking Algorithm → orders → results by relevance
- Query Intent → guides → content optimisation
- Technical SEO → improves → crawl efficiency
- On-Page SEO → clarifies → topical relevance
- Off-Page Links → confer → authority signals
- Structured Data → enhances → machine understanding
- Internal Links → distribute → PageRank and context
- Keyword → maps to → user intent
- Content Freshness → influences → ranking + CTR
Memorise these relationships; they are the mental model you’ll reuse in every optimisation.
How long will it take to see results?
Because SEO depends on crawl cycles, competition, and content depth, timelines vary. New sites often see traction in 3–6 months; established sites may move faster once technical bottlenecks are removed and topical coverage improves. Manage expectations with leading indicators: impressions, index coverage, and keyword footprint. See How Long Does SEO Take? for detailed variables.
Why Learn SEO with Kasra Dash
Because this hub is written by a practitioner who thinks in systems, not hacks, you get a curriculum deliberately sequenced to build topical authority. The page’s objective is explicit: position /learn/ as the educational homepage for the SEO ecosystem, then introduce all core areas of SEO with contextual links to the full Fundamentals library.
- Clear intent: “learn SEO”, “SEO tutorials”, and “how to start SEO.”
- Beginner-friendly navigation: jump into specific guides or follow the full pathway.
- Strong internal linking: 13 Fundamentals + 6 advanced clusters to consolidate equity and understanding.
Because everything is internally consistent — structure, links, schema, and copy — Google can better understand the relationships between topics, and readers can progress without confusion.
What makes this hub different from a random blog category?
This isn’t a loose list of posts. It’s a contextual bridge: each summary introduces a concept, explains where it sits in the SEO system, and links you to the exact next step. Therefore you always know what to learn next — and why it matters.
Your Next Steps (Pick One Path)
- I’m brand new
- Read: What is SEO? → How SEO Works → How Search Engines Work
- Do: Create a glossary of unfamiliar terms as you go.
- Outcome: You’ll understand how search engines find, store, and rank pages.
- I want quick wins
- Read: The 3 Pillars of SEO → Ranking Factors
- Do: Fix technical blockers (indexing), update titles/meta for intent, and add internal links.
- Outcome: Faster crawling, clearer relevance, and better distribution of authority.
- I’m planning content
- Read: What Are Keywords? → SEO Strategy for Beginners
- Do: Build topic clusters and an editorial calendar by intent stage.
- Outcome: Scalable content that matches how people search.
- I’m stuck on indexing
- Read: Google Indexing
- Do: Audit coverage, sitemaps, robots, canonicals; remove bloat and fix duplication.
- Outcome: Cleaner index, stronger signal-to-noise, faster evaluation.
Proof You’re Learning the Right Way (Causality Checklist)
- Because you understand crawling, you prioritise log-file insights and internal linking before chasing links.
- Because you map intent, you write answers that satisfy queries, not just match keywords.
- Because you optimise architecture, Google can interpret your site with fewer crawl waste issues.
- Because you interlink related pages, PageRank and context flow to where they matter most.
- Because you iterate with frameworks, you reduce guesswork and document what works.
If you can explain why each action helps crawling, indexing, or ranking, you’re doing SEO — not just ticking boxes.
Keep Learning & Stay Updated
SEO changes; the principles don’t. As a result, the best strategy is to keep your fundamentals sharp while monitoring updates to algorithms, SERP features, and user behaviour.
- Bookmark this /learn/ hub for quick reference.
- Subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates to the Fundamentals library and new frameworks.
- Revisit the Glossary and Ranking Factors pages quarterly to refresh your mental model.
Will I need paid tools to learn?
No. You can learn the concepts and implement most fundamentals with free resources (Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, Screaming Frog free tier). As your programme scales, paid suites can accelerate research and QA — but they don’t replace understanding.
