What is SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)?: A guideline-driven framework for sustainable Google rankings

My name is Shaun Anderson, and I’ve been a professional SEO specialist since 2001.

In that time, I’ve seen SEO (search engine optimisation) evolve from a niche, technical discipline into a core component of business strategy. The internet is filled with conflicting advice, but after auditing thousands of websites, my approach is grounded in a single, unwavering principle: the most effective SEO strategy is to align your website with Google’s own published guidelines systematically.

This isn’t about chasing algorithms. It’s about building a high-quality, trustworthy website that serves its users first.

This approach, often called white-hat SEO, is the only pragmatic path to long-term, sustainable success. To make this actionable, I’ve distilled my entire process into a simple framework that turns SEO from a guessing game into a logical process:

Get Relevant, Get Trusted, and Get Popular.

Pillar 1: Get Relevant – The Foundation of User Intent

Before you can rank, Google needs to understand what your pages are about and which user queries they satisfy. This starts with a deep understanding of user intent. Modern keyword research isn’t about finding phrases to repeat; it’s about understanding the why behind a search.

A user’s query signals their goal – whether it’s to Do something (transactional), Know something (informational), or Go somewhere (navigational). Creating content that perfectly satisfies that intent is the first step to a positive user experience.

Once you understand the user’s goal, SEO is the practice of structuring your page to clearly communicate its relevance. This includes using your target keyword phrase naturally in the page title and main content.

A critical mistake I see is known as “keyword cannibalisation,” where multiple pages target the same term, effectively competing with themselves and diluting your site’s authority. As Google’s John Mueller has advised, it’s always better to have fewer, stronger pages over lots of weaker ones.

Or you just end up competing with yourself.

Pillar 2: Get Trusted – The E-E-A-T Mandate

Relevance gets you into the game, but trust helps you win. In today’s search environment, proving your website is a credible source is paramount. The blueprint for this is Google’s own Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

While the human raters who use this document don’t directly rank websites, their feedback is used to refine the algorithms that do.

Therefore, the guidelines tell us exactly what Google considers a high-quality site.

The core of these guidelines is the E-E-A-T SEO Checklist, which I consider to be the basis for a site’s overall E-E-A-T Quality Score. My entire methodology is built around translating this from an abstract concept into a practical checklist of actions.

1. Experience: Added in December 2022 to combat sterile, AI-generated content, this looks for proof that the author has first-hand life experience with the topic.
2. Expertise: This assesses the creator’s depth of knowledge and skill in the subject matter.
3. Authoritativeness: This is about your reputation, determined by what independent, external sources say about you.
4. Trust: Google has stated this is the most important member of the E-E-A-T family. Trust is built on transparency: clear contact information, author bios, and accessible policies. To systematise this, I developed the E-E-A-T Tool, which helps generate the essential policy documents that build these foundational trust signals.

The Technical SEO Audit using the Hobo SEO Dashboard is the tangible foundation of trust. A slow website with a poor user experience erodes trust instantly and sends negative quality signals to Google.

Pillar 3: Get Popular – Earning Authority Signals

A relevant, trustworthy site needs to be validated by the wider web, and in Google’s ecosystem, this is primarily measured through links. However, the only sustainable link building strategy is to earn links by creating assets so valuable that other reputable sites want to reference them.

Engaging in unnatural link schemes is a direct violation of Google’s guidelines and a fast track to a penalty.

While many focus on external links, one of the most powerful and overlooked strategies is a smart internal linking strategy. Internal links help Google understand the context of your content, distribute authority (or “PageRank“) throughout your site, and improve the user experience by guiding visitors to related pages.

A Systematic Process for a New Era of Search

This framework of Relevance, Trust, and Popularity is an interconnected system. The rise of generative AI makes this approach more critical than ever.

The only way to stand out from a flood of low-effort, AI-generated articles is to build a defensible moat of quality, transparency, and earned authority. My approach to AI is not to generate content, but to use it as a tool to scale the distribution of verified, factual information about an entity, making your site the canonical source of truth.

SEO is not a one-time fix; it’s an ongoing process of improvement that requires a systematic approach.

To manage this complexity, I’ve consolidated my entire 20+ year process into a comprehensive Free SEO Checklist and a suite of Hobo SEO Tools designed to monitor a site’s health against these very guidelines. By focusing on creating a genuinely helpful, authoritative, and user-friendly resource, you are not just “doing SEO” – you are building a resilient, long-term business asset.

Hobo EO Dashboard is an automated, autonomous reporting system that tracks your progress over time.

For those just starting, I’ve translated these complex, evidence-based principles into a manageable and encouraging framework. I strongly encourage you to explore the Beginner’s Guide to SEO. It provides a stable foundation that won’t become obsolete and sets you on the right path by focusing on what truly matters for sustainable success.

Key Takeaways

• Focus on Guidelines: The most sustainable SEO strategy is to align your website with Google’s own published webmaster guidelines.
• Serve Users First: Create content for people, not just for search engines. A helpful and satisfying user experience is a primary goal.
• E-E-A-T is Paramount: Build and demonstrate your Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and, most importantly, Trust in everything you publish.
• Earn Links, Don’t Build Them: Create content so valuable that other high-quality, relevant sites will want to link to it naturally.
• SEO is a Process: Success comes from a systematic, long-term commitment to quality, not from short-term tricks or loopholes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How long does SEO take to work?

For a new site in a competitive niche, you should see meaningful results in 6-12 months. SEO is a long-term investment in building momentum through consistent, high-quality effort over time, not flipping a switch.2

Is SEO better than paid ads (PPC)?

They are different tools for different jobs. SEO builds a long-term, sustainable asset that generates organic traffic over time. PPC delivers immediate traffic for a direct cost. Most successful businesses find that a strategic mix of both works best.

Can I do SEO myself?

Absolutely. The principles I’ve outlined here are understandable, but execution requires significant time and effort. A great place to start is with a thorough audit using a comprehensive guide like my SEO Tutorial and be prepared for a process of continuous learning.

What is the most important part of SEO?

In my opinion, it’s Trust. All other elements – a technically sound site, expert-level content, a great user experience, and earned links – are ultimately signals that contribute to building trust with both your users and with Google. Within the E-E-A-T framework, Trust is the final and most crucial component that holds everything else together.

Concluding Summary

The world of SEO is always changing. Google releases thousands of updates every year. But while specific tactics may evolve, the core principles of quality, relevance, and trust are timeless. By focusing on creating a genuinely helpful, authoritative, and user-friendly resource, you are not just “doing SEO” – you are building a resilient, long-term business asset that will serve you for years to come.

About the Author

Shaun Anderson is the Head of SEO and founder of Hobo Web. With over two decades of hands-on experience starting in 1999, he has established a reputation for his in-depth, practical knowledge and consistent advocacy for ethical, guideline-driven SEO practices. As the writer of the Hobo SEO Blog and creator of tools like the Hobo SEO Dashboard and the Hobo EEAT Tool, his work is rooted in demystifying the complexities of search to help businesses achieve sustainable, long-term success..