6 Steps I’m Taking to Improve SEO for My Website

So, I'm diving into something new—SEO. If you're like me and just getting started with optimizing a website, it can feel a bit overwhelming. There are a lot of moving parts to getting your site to rank on Google. But as I’ve started learning, I’ve realized it’s not as intimidating as it seems once you break it down into simple steps. Here’s what I’ve learned (and what I’m trying!) as I work to improve my own website’s SEO.

Step 1: SEO Keyword Research

This is where my SEO journey began—figuring out which keywords to target. I found out that tools like Semrush can really help you discover what people are searching for and how competitive those keywords are. I’m using Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to explore terms that might make sense for my website, and wow, there’s a lot to take in!

For instance, I’m looking at keywords like software engineer portfolio or personal blog—which are closely related to what my website is about. Here’s some data I pulled from Semrush (this tool is new to me, so I’m still figuring it out!):

I’m still learning how to target keywords that I can realistically rank for. The advice I’ve come across is to focus on keywords with lower competition to get started—so that’s what I’m aiming for.

Step 2: Competitor Analysis

Next, I started looking at what others in my space are doing. I installed a Chrome extension called MozBar, which lets me see things like a site’s domain authority. I’m checking out competitors’ websites, especially those that rank highly for the same keywords I want to target.

For example, I looked at Brittany Chiang’s software engineer portfolio site. She ranks well for the keyword “software engineer portfolio,” so I’m taking note of how her pages are structured and what content she’s including. It’s a bit of trial and error, but it’s giving me ideas for how I might structure my own content.

Step 3: Figuring Out What Content to Write

This part’s tricky because I’m still figuring out what kind of content I should include on my website. Based on the competitors I’ve looked at, it seems like having clear, well-structured content around my targeted keywords is key.

For now, I’m planning to write content that targets things like full stack engineer and personal blog—but I’ll need to dig deeper into what will actually help me rank better. I’ll definitely be checking out what others are doing and trying to find my own unique spin.

Step 4: Outlining and Writing Content

When I’m writing content, I’ve learned that it’s important to include keywords naturally throughout my titles and headings. For example, if I’m targeting “software engineer portfolio,” I’ll use it in my title tag and H1 heading to help Google understand what my page is about.

Here’s a rough outline of what I’m going for:

• Title Tag Example: “Software Engineer Portfolio | How I Built Mine”
• H1 Tag Example: “Building a Software Engineer Portfolio from Scratch”

It’s still a work in progress, but I’m trying to make sure everything aligns with the keywords I want to target.

Step 5: Optimizing Metadata

Metadata is one of those things I didn’t even realize was important until I started reading about SEO. I’ve learned that while meta descriptions aren’t a huge ranking factor, they do help encourage people to click through from search results.

So I’m optimizing my title tags and meta descriptions like this:

• Page Title: “Rohan Samavedam | Full Stack Engineer | Personal Blog”
• Meta Description: “Welcome to my portfolio and personal blog. Check out my projects and blog posts.”

I’m still tweaking these as I go and figuring out how to make them more impactful without over-optimizing.

Step 6: Tracking SEO Performance

Finally, I’ve learned that you can’t just “set it and forget it” with SEO—you have to track how it’s performing. I’m using Semrush (on their free trial!) to monitor how my keywords are doing and whether my site is actually moving up in search rankings. It’s all new to me, but I’m trying to keep an eye on how things progress and adjust as needed.

So, that’s where I’m at with my SEO journey so far! I’m definitely still learning, but I hope these six steps give you an idea of how to get started if you’re in the same boat. SEO takes time and patience (which I’m quickly learning), but with the right tools and strategies, I’m hopeful it will pay off.