Looking for an accurate, up-to-date and helpful guide to the “big picture” elements of search engine optimization?

Good news: We’ve just updated and expanded our popular What is SEO resource.

Search Engine Land’s guide, which was originally published in 2010 (here’s what it looked like, via the Wayback Machine), has earned hundreds of thousands of links and been viewed by millions of people.

Search engine optimization remains critical for companies of all sizes and types. Our revised guide can help you whether you’re just beginning your SEO career journey or you need an authoritative and trustworthy resource to help explain the basics of SEO to clients.

Our revised guide explains:

• How SEO is different from PPC and SEM.
• Why SEO is important: Did you know SEO is forecast to be a $122.11 billion industry by 2028?
• The main types of SEO: Technical, content and off-site optimization, as well as some specializations (e.g., enterprise SEO, local SEO).
• How SEO works: The people, processes, technology and activities that, in combination, contribute to SEO success.
• How to learn more: Additional resources and some tips to set you up for SEO success.

We hope you find our refreshed SEO guide to be a useful resource that offers the knowledge you need to start successfully optimizing your website in 2023.

Read our guide: What Is SEO – Search Engine Optimization?