How to Do SEO Yourself: A 5-Step DIY SEO Quickstart Guide

Are you dreaming of more traffic and customers, but wincing at the hefty price tags of SEO agencies? You’re not alone. Many small business owners and budding entrepreneurs find themselves in the same boat.

The good news? You can grab the SEO reins and steer your website towards higher rankings yourself.

Welcome to the world of Do It Yourself SEO.

But wait, can you really do SEO yourself? Isn’t it best left to the “experts”? Not necessarily. While SEO is a specialized field, you can absolutely learn and implement the fundamentals yourself.

Think of it like home renovation. You could hire a contractor for everything, but with a little know-how and elbow grease, you can definitely tackle painting a room or even installing new flooring. DIY SEO is similar – you can build a solid foundation and see significant improvements, especially when you’re just starting out.

Why DIY SEO in 2025?

In today’s digital landscape, SEO isn’t optional – it’s essential. It’s how you get found online. And while algorithms evolve faster than your sourdough starter recipe, the core principles of SEO remain surprisingly consistent.

Plus, who knows your business better than you? DIY SEO allows you to deeply understand your audience, your website, and your online goals, leading to a more authentic and effective strategy. And let’s be honest, in the early days of a business, every penny saved is a penny earned. DIY SEO can be incredibly budget-friendly when you’re bootstrapping.

Now, let’s be clear: DIY SEO isn’t a magic wand. It takes time, effort, and a willingness to learn. There will be moments when you feel like you’re deciphering ancient hieroglyphics (SEO acronyms, anyone?). But with this guide, we’ll break down the complexities into digestible steps. We’ll cover everything from the basics to actionable strategies and the tools you’ll need.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll unpack:

• SEO in Plain English: We’ll ditch the confusing jargon and explain what SEO really is, without the tech headaches.
• 5 Easy Steps to Get Started: We’ll break down SEO into simple, bite-sized actions you can take right away.
• Essential (and Often Free) Tools: We’ll fill your SEO arsenal with beginner-friendly tools that get results.
• Answer if DIY SEO Is Right for You: We’ll give it to your straight on whether doing SEO yourself is the best path for you right now.

Ready to take control of your website’s SEO and online visibility?

Let’s dive in. (Or jump to a section of interest using the table below.)

SEO Basics: The Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

Before you start tweaking title tags and chasing backlinks, let’s get grounded in the fundamentals. Understanding the SEO landscape is like knowing the rules of the game before you step onto the field.

So, what exactly is SEO, and how does this whole search engine thing work anyway?

What Is SEO? Getting Found In the Digital Crowd

In the simplest terms, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art and science of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Think of SERPs as the digital yellow pages, but way more powerful.

When someone types a query into Google, Bing, or any other search engine, they’re presented with a list of websites that the search engine deems most relevant to their query. SEO is all about making your website one of those top results.

The ultimate goal of SEO? To increase organic traffic to your website.

Organic traffic is the holy grail — it’s the free, non-paid traffic that comes from people clicking on your website links in search results. And trust me, organic traffic is the most sustainable and valuable traffic you can get. Why pay for ads constantly when you can build a steady stream of visitors finding you naturally?

Think of it this way: To get more traffic, you need to rank higher, and to rank higher, you need to optimize for SEO.

Makes sense, right?

How Search Engines Work: Crawling, Indexing, & Ranking

Search engines like Google are like librarians for the internet. They have a complex process to find, organize, and rank all the information out there.

Here’s a simplified breakdown of how they work:

Crawling

Search engines use automated programs called “crawlers” or “spiders” to explore the internet. They follow links from one page to another, discovering new content and updating existing content. Think of them as digital explorers constantly mapping the web.

Indexing

Once crawlers find pages, they analyze their content and add them to a massive index, like a giant library catalog. This index stores information about each page, including keywords, content type, and other signals. If a page isn’t indexed, it’s essentially invisible to search engines.

Ranking

When someone performs a search, the search engine consults its index to find the most relevant and high-quality pages. It then ranks these pages in order of relevance, presenting the results to the user. This ranking process is based on hundreds of factors (Google keeps the exact number a closely guarded secret, but we know it’s a lot).

Google’s algorithm, the driving force behind its ranking system, is constantly evolving. They regularly release updates (sometimes subtle, sometimes seismic) to improve search quality and combat spam.

While the specifics are always changing, the fundamental goal remains the same: to provide users with the most relevant, helpful, and trustworthy results for their search queries.

This brings us to a crucial point: search intent. Because it’s not just about what people search, it’s also about the why.

Search Intent: Answering ‘Why’ Someone Performs a Search

Search engines are increasingly focused on understanding what users actually mean when they search. Are they looking to buy something? Find information? Be entertained?

The answer to these questions is the search intent for that query.

There are 4 types of search intent:

1. Navigational: The user wants to reach a specific website or web page.
2. Informational: The user is looking for information on a specific topic.
3. Commercial: The user is considering making a purchase and wants to compare options.
4. Transactional: The user is ready to make a purchase and is looking for a place to do so.

Your SEO efforts should always align with search intent. This means creating valuable, high-quality content that truly addresses user needs.

Today, this idea of satisfying user intent is no longer just “good practice” — it’s the cornerstone of modern SEO.

The Key Components of SEO: Building Your SEO Strategy

To conquer the digital landscape, you need to build a solid foundation. Think of it as constructing an SEO Pyramid. Each layer serves a different purpose to support your ranking efforts.

This visualization puts the most foundational elements at the base. As you progress higher, you’ll pass through different facets of SEO and complete tasks that strengthen your website’s overall SEO performance.

Technical SEO: The Base Layer

This is the foundation of your SEO strategy. It’s all about making sure your website is technically sound and easily accessible to search engines.

You can think of it like the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of SEO because it focuses on the site’s infrastructure. Without a strong technical foundation, other SEO efforts can be compromised.

Key elements include:

• Website structure and architecture
• Site speed and performance
• Mobile-friendliness (responsive design)
• Website indexing and crawlability
• HTTPS security
• XML sitemaps and robots.txt files

Technical SEO is equally important to user experience (UX). After all, if your site isn’t working properly or taking too long to load, users will hit the back button before you get a chance to even say, ‘wait!’.

On-Page SEO: The Content Core

Once your technical foundation is solid, you can focus on your website’s content. This section focuses on creating valuable content that resonates with your audience. It also aims to help search engines match your web pages to relevant queries.

Key elements include:

• Keyword Research: Understanding what your audience is searching for
• Content Optimization: Crafting high-quality, relevant content that incorporates keywords naturally
• Internal Linking: Connecting relevant pages within your site and using appropriate anchor text
• Image SEO: Making images search-friendly

At the core of on-page SEO lies a crucial element: keywords. These aren’t just arbitrary words; they are the bridge connecting your content to your audience.

When someone searches for information, they use specific words or phrases. Your goal is to use those same words, naturally and strategically, within your content.

Think back to how search engines match pages to user queries. A significant part of that matching process relies on recognizing the language used in both the query and the website content. That’s why on-page SEO emphasizes incorporating relevant keywords in key areas.

You should include your focus keyword in the following areas:

• SEO title
• Meta description
• H1 Title
• Subheadings (H2, H3, etc.)
• URL
• Body copy

(We’ll get more into these content optimizations later.)

Off-Page SEO: The Authority Ascent

This component focuses on building your website’s authority and trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines. Essentially, you want to get endorsements for your website from other reputable sources. These act like votes of confidence, telling other users and search engines that your site is trustworthy and valuable.

Key elements include:

• Link Building: Earning high-quality backlinks from other websites
• Brand Mentions: Getting your brand name mentioned online
• Social Signals (to a lesser extent): Engagement on social media platforms

(Optional) Local SEO: The Proximity Peak

If you have a brick-and-mortar business or serve a local area, local SEO is crucial. These strategies ensure users can find your business when performing local searches. It’s like saying “Hey, I’m here! I have what you need, and here’s where you can find me.”

Key elements include:

• Optimizing your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)
• Building local citations (listings in online directories).
• Managing online reviews

Understanding these components is crucial for crafting a well-rounded DIY SEO strategy. You can’t just focus on one area and expect to see results. It’s about building a strong and balanced SEO strategy, starting with the technical foundation and working your way up.

Ready to start building?

Let’s move on to the step-by-step guide.

DIY SEO Guide: A 5-Step Process to Higher Rankings

Follow these 5 steps to learn how to do SEO yourself:

Step 1: Keyword Research – Find What Your Audience is Actually Searching For

Imagine building a store without knowing what products people want to buy. Sounds a bit silly, right?

Keyword research is the SEO equivalent of market research. It’s about understanding the words and phrases your target audience uses when they search for products, services, or information related to your business.

That way, you know which terms to target in your content. And, ultimately, rank for those terms when people search for them.

Why Is Keyword Research Important?

Keyword research helps you:

1. Identify the terms your audience uses in search engines.
2. Inform your content strategy to align with search intent.
3. Optimize your on-page SEO for the right keywords.
4. Find easy ranking opportunities in SERPs.

Keyword Types to Know

Keywords can fall into many categories. Here are some of the most common:

• Short-tail keywords: These are broad, generic terms, usually 1-2 words long (e.g., “SEO,” “coffee,” “shoes”). They have high search volume but are very competitive.
• Long-tail keywords: These are longer, more specific phrases (e.g., “diy seo guide for small business,” “organic fair trade coffee”). They have lower search volumes but are less competitive. They tend to have higher conversion rates too because they target users with a more specific intent.
• Low-competition keywords: These words and phrases have few websites competing for them. More often than not, they’re long-tail keywords. These terms are easy to rank for, even for new websites.

At LowFruits, we focus on helping you find keywords that fall into the last two categories (long-tail and low-competition). These keywords are low-hanging ranking opportunities, ripe for the taking.

We use proprietary algorithms and user-friendly metrics to make spotting these keywords easy for small business owners.

Take this keyword report from KWFinder as an example:

I’ve highlighted the following metrics:

• SERP Difficulty Score (SD): The LowFruits metric for keyword difficulty. 1 is easy to rank for, and 3 is hard.
• Weak Spots: Low-authority domains ranking in the top 10 search results. Keywords with multiple Weak Spots are easy to rank for in top positions.

By focusing on keywords with low SD scores and multiple weak spots, you’ll focus your content efforts on keywords you can actually rank for. No more wasted time on too-hard keywords where you don’t stand a chance.

Now, let’s see how to do it.

How to Do Keyword Research for DIY SEO (Without Breaking the Bank)

You don’t need expensive tools to get started with keyword research. There are plenty of free resources at your disposal:

Brainstorm

Start by putting yourself in your customer’s shoes. What questions do they have? Do they need help with a specific problem? What words would you type into Google if you were looking for your products or services? Write down a list of these initial keyword ideas.

Leverage Free Tools

Google has several free tools you can use for keyword research. Some of the most popular include:

1. Google Trends

Want to know if a keyword is trending up or down? Google Trends shows you the popularity of search terms over time. It’s great for identifying seasonal trends and emerging topics.

2. Google Ads Keyword Planner

While technically designed for Google Ads, Keyword Planner is a powerful free tool for keyword research. You’ll need a Google Ads account (you can create one for free without running ads). It provides keyword ideas, search volume data, and competition levels.

3. Google Search

One of the best tools for keyword research is Google itself. And it comes with unlimited searches 🙂

I like using the Autocomplete feature, which is when you start typing a query but don’t hit enter. Google will populate results based on the text entered thus far. You can write these down as additional keyword ideas.

Another good place to look is at the bottom of search results. Google has an area titled, ‘People also search for,’ which can give you additional ideas for your content and keywords.

Invest in a Keyword Research Tool

If you want to take your keyword research to the next level, it’s a good idea to invest in an SEO keyword research tool.

And the good news is that you don’t have to break the bank to get one.

For small business owners, new bloggers, and DIY SEO’ers, I recommend using LowFruits.

LowFruits is one of the best SEO tools for small businesses because it focuses on hidden-ranking gems. These are keywords that have low competition, high conversion rates, and low-authority domains that are easy to outrank.

Imagine you’re a pet store owner, and you just used the LowFruits KWFinder tool to search “dog food.” You’d get a lot of results.

But, now that you know to focus on low SD scores and multiple Weak Spots, finding low-competition keywords takes merely seconds. (I also recommend sorting by keyword search volume, so you can get the highest volumes first.)

In the example above, you have 5 keywords that are all easy (SD score of 1) and have multiple low-authority domains ranking for them.

And the best part? They’re combined search volume is over 40K!

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is why you do keyword research.

Step 2: Website Check-Up – Make Sure Google Can ‘See’ You

Technical SEO is typically where website owners will start to notice an increased heart rate. And, to be honest, sometimes it still makes me nervous too. (And I’ve been in the SEO game for 6+ years.)

But here’s the thing, technical SEO is definitely a specialty, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

In fact, if you’re just now starting your technical SEO journey, you’re in way better shape than I was several years ago.

There are a lot of tools out there now that make “scary”, technical things less intimidating, like site audits and testing for responsiveness.

So, let’s keep this section simple and get you geared up to check your website’s technical performance!

Website Speed – Is Your Site Fast Enough?

Slow websites are frustrating. Users and Google like fast websites with quick loading times.

So, here’s what to do:

1. Check your speed. Go to Google PageSpeed Insights and type in your website address. Click Analyze. It will give you a performance score for desktop and mobile speed.

You’ll also get a list of diagnostics by scrolling down the page. This can help you spot any potential issues with site speed.

2. Compress your images. This is a super simple speed fix (and SEO best practice). You may not have known that big images can slow your website. But compressing them into a smaller file size can keep the image quality while reducing load times.

You can use free tools like CompressJPEG to compress images. (It does other file types too, like PNG, GIF, and PDF.)

After downloading the compressed images, you can upload them to your website.

To improve site speed, you can also consider the following tasks:

• Enable Browser Caching: This allows browsers to store static files (like images and CSS) so they load faster on subsequent visits.
• Consider a Content Delivery Network (CDN): For more advanced speed optimization, a CDN can distribute your website’s content across multiple servers globally, reducing loading times for users worldwide.

Mobile-Friendly – Does Your Site Work on Phones?

According to mobile search statistics, over 60% of website traffic comes from mobile devices.

That’s why it’s absolutely critical for your site to work well on phones!

First, check the mobile-friendliness of your website using the same Page Insights tool as earlier.

But this time, click on the Mobile tab.

It will tell you if your website is mobile-friendly. Good news is, most modern website themes are already mobile-friendly, so you’re likely good here!

HTTPs – Is Your Website Secure?

Look at your website address in your browser. Does it start with “https://” and have a little padlock icon? That means it’s secure (HTTPS).

Google prefers secure websites.

If you don’t have HTTPS, contact your website hosting provider and ask them to set up an SSL certificate for you (it’s often free or very cheap).

Google Search Console – Your Free SEO Command Center

Google Search Console is free to use and absolutely essential for DIY SEO. Think of it as your SEO command center, providing data, insights, and tools to monitor and improve your website’s performance.

Here’s how to set up Google Search Console (GSC):

1. Go to Search Console and sign in with your Google account.
2. Add a Property: Click “Add property” and choose either “Domain” or “URL prefix” property type. “Domain” is generally recommended for comprehensive coverage, but “URL prefix” is simpler for beginners.
3. Verification: Follow the verification instructions (e.g., DNS record verification for Domain property, HTML file upload or HTML tag for URL prefix property). Choose the method you find easiest.
4. Explore GSC: Once verified, explore the GSC dashboard. Key areas to check regularly: “Performance” (shown below), “Coverage,” “Sitemaps,” “Mobile Usability,” “Security issues.”

There’s a lot of data in GSC, so don’t worry if you feel a little overwhelmed at first. The good thingi s that it’s pretty user-friendly, so it just takes a little time to get past the initial learning curve.

With technical SEO basics covered and Google Search Console set up, you’ve laid a solid foundation for your DIY SEO journey!

Next, we’ll move on to On-Page SEO — optimizing your website’s content to attract both search engines and your target audience.

Step 3: On-Page SEO – Optimize for Search Engines & Users

On-page SEO is about making each page of your website clear and optimized for search engines and people. This includes using your target keywords in the key areas and optimizing for readability.

Let’s focus on the essentials, starting with what users see in search results — metadata.

Metadata – Create a Strong Search Listing

Metadata are HTML elements that search engines use to understand the content of a web page. These tags can also be used to generate a website’s listing in SERPs. Here are some of the most important and tips for each:

• SEO Titles: The blue title link in search results. Keep it under 60 characters, and make it enticing! Good titles earn clicks.
• Meta Descriptions: The text summary below your clickable title. Aim to keep it under 160 characters. It should be compelling and provide an accurate preview of your web page’s content.
• URL: The site address appears at the top of your search listing. Keep it concise and clear. A good URL structure for SEO uses as few words as possible while still being keyword-rich.

Here’s what this data looks like in search results:

Content Optimizations – Add Keywords Strategically

In addition to what users see in SERPs, it’s important to be strategic about the optimizations in your actual content.

Let’s look at some of the most important elements to optimize with your primary keyword:

• H1 Title: This is the main title of your page. You should only have one per page, and it should accurately reflect the content.
• Header Tags (H2, H3, etc.): These are subheadings that help break up the various sections of a page. Subheadings help you organize information in a logical order. They also make it easier for users and search engines to understand the overall content of your page and find the specific information they’re looking for.
• Body Copy: Naturally, you should optimize the main body copy of your page. This involves writing high-quality content that aligns with user intent. Write for people first, but don’t forget about search engines either. Include keywords naturally throughout your text and avoid keyword stuffing.

Readability – Make It Easy for Users to Read

Readability is all about the user. It’s a set of best practices for creating an enjoyable reading experience that makes it easy for the user to digest your content.

Some readability optimizations include:

• Writing in simple language
• Using short paragraphs and lists
• Breaking up blocks of text with white space
• Adding multimedia elements, like images and videos
• Including clear subheadings to organize content

If you’re a WordPress user, you can use SEO plugins like All in One SEO to perform readability checks. It gives you real-time feedback for how and where you can improve content readability.

Image SEO – Help Search Engines Understand Your Images

Image SEO is the practice of optimizing your images for search engines. It’s an important component of on-page SEO because search engines can’t ‘see’ images like you and me. Instead, they rely on text elements to decipher their content.

Let’s look at an example.

Here’s an image of Chinese wisteria:

If I named this image “IMG2827101.jpg” and didn’t write any alt text for it, Google would have no idea what it is. Google also might not know that I want to rank for “chinese wisteria” queries.

That’s why we need to tell it.

Here’s a better way to optimize the above image:

• Image file name: chinese-wisteria.jpg
• Alt text: Purple Chinese wisteria tree in full bloom.
• Image title: Purple Chinese Wisteria

Ultimately, you should include your primary keyword in image optimizations. No need for overkill — just one instance per element will suffice.

Internal Links – Build an Interconnected Website

Internal linking is the practice of linking across multiple pages of your website. It aids in content discovery and helps users and search engines understand how your various pages are connected.

Typically, you’ll see internal links as underlined text with a colored hyperlink.

Here’s an example of how they look in one of our LowFruits blog posts:

In the above example, the words “local SEO for small businesses” is the anchor text of the first link.

Anchor text is the clickable text of your hyperlink. It’s important to make it descriptive and accurately reflect the linked page. Ideally, you’d use your primary keyword, but you can also use related keywords.

Using descriptive anchor text will help search engines associate your page with the appropriate queries. It also improves UX because it gives users a preview of what’s to come by clicking the link.

Your Quick On-Page SEO Task

For your 5-10 most important pages, go ahead and optimize the following:

• Title Tag
• Meta Description
• H1 and subheadings
• Content (make sure it’s good!)
• Images (alt text & compression)
• URLs and internal links

SEO is a long-term investment, but these quick optimizations can give you the head start you need to start standing out in search results.

Step 4: Link Building – Get Other Websites to Notice You

Now that you know how to get your audience and search engines to notice you, it’s time to broaden your reach to other websites.

Link building can sound complicated to beginners and busy business owners. But at its heart, it’s really just about getting other websites to talk about you and link to your website. Think of it like online word-of-mouth.

Why Is Link Building Important?

Remember Google as the librarian? If lots of other good “books” (websites) in the library “recommend” your “book” (website) by linking to it, Google thinks, “Hey, this must be a pretty good book!”.

These “recommendations” or backlinks help boost your website’s credibility and authority in Google’s eyes, which can lead to higher rankings.

Now, how do you get these votes of confidence without being pushy or spammy?

Let’s find out.

Easy Ways to Get Backlinks (Beginner-Friendly)

1. List Your Business in Online Directories (If You Have a Local Business)

If you have a local shop, restaurant, service business, etc., getting listed in online directories is a really easy way to get a few basic backlinks.

Think of online directories like online Yellow Pages. Websites like Yelp, Yellow Pages, Bing Places, Apple Maps, and industry-specific directories list businesses.

What’s great about online directories is that a lot of the time you have control of your listing. This way, you can make sure all business information is up-to-date and accurate.

Why it helps: When you list your business, you usually include your website address, and many directories will link back to your website. These are often simple, but helpful, backlinks.

Action: Search on Google for “online business directories” or “[your industry] directories.” Find a few reputable directories and list your business. Make sure your listing includes your website address!

2. Share Your Content on Social Media

When you create awesome content on your website (like helpful blog posts, guides, videos), don’t keep it a secret! Share it on your social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).

Why it helps: Sharing on social media gets your content seen by more people. While social media links themselves might not be the most powerful type of backlink for SEO, it can lead to:

• Increased Visibility: More people see your content, which can lead to more website traffic.
• Natural Links: If people see your content on social media and think it’s valuable, they might share it on their websites or blogs and link back to you. This is how you can earn backlinks naturally over time.

Action: Whenever you create new content on your website, share it on your relevant social media platforms. Make your social media posts engaging to encourage people to click and share.

Here’s an example of how we share new blog posts on our LowFruits Twitter account:

We put our link in the comments because that’s what works for us, but play around with different locations to see what gets the best engagement from your followers.

3. Do some guest blogging!

Guest blogging is writing articles for other websites in your industry or niche. Sometimes, when you guest blog, you can include a link back to your website in your author bio or within the article.

Here’s a good example using these opportunities to create backlinks:

In addition to linking to the guest author’s brand websites, there are also links to his social media accounts. This is an excellent way to build a stronger brand awareness and more comprehensive online presence.

Why it can help: Guest blogging on reputable websites can get you backlinks from those sites and expose your brand to a new audience. It’s a good way to expand your reach and build trust in your niche.

Key Takeaways for Backlinks

• Aim for quality over quantity. Not all backlinks are equal, so aim for those that are high-quality and relevant to your niche.
• Keep it simple at the beginning. If you’re just starting out, focus on the easy methods first (listing in directories and sharing on social media). This way, you can start getting your name out there quickly.
• Don’t get caught up with link farms. Link farms are networks of websites created solely for the purpose of inflating the number of backlinks pointing to a specific site. These sites often have low-quality, spammy content and exist only to manipulate search engine rankings. Because of this, Google penalizes websites who engage in link farming.

Your Simple Link-Building Task

If you have a local business, find and list in a few online directories. You can also start sharing your website content on social media. These are great first steps in getting other websites to notice you and building brand awareness.

Step 5: Simple Tracking – Check If Your DIY SEO Is Working

You’re putting in effort with your DIY SEO — that’s awesome! Now, you probably want to know if it’s actually working, right?

Tracking your SEO performance doesn’t have to be complicated. We’ll focus on three super simple things you can check regularly to see if you’re on the right track.

Why Bother Tracking SEO Performance?

Imagine you’re planting a garden. You wouldn’t just plant the seeds and walk away, would you? You’d check to see if they’re sprouting, if they need water, if they’re growing. Tracking your SEO is similar — it helps you see if your efforts are “sprouting” into results (aka, rankings).

How to See If Your SEO Is Making a Difference

When you’re starting out, there’s no need for fancy spreadsheets or complex reports. Let’s start by using a free tool we already talked about: Google Search Console.

1. Google Search Console – Quickly Check for Indexing Issues

Google Search Console (GSC) is like Google telling you directly if it’s having issues indexing your website. We’ll just do a quick check for any major problems.

1. Log in to your Google Search Console account.
2. Go to the the Pages Report, located in the left menu under Indexing.
3. Look for at the Not indexed metric. This number tells you how many URLs Google hasn’t indexed (meaning, they’re not being served in search results.)

What to look for: Don’t panic if this number is high. Sometimes, you need to tell search engines to not index specific pages. (Think check-out pages, user accounts, etc.) The point of paying attention to this metric is to see if there are any pages you do want search engines to index, but they aren’t. Scroll down and investigate to find out if that’s the case. GSC will tell you which pages aren’t indexed and why.

2. Google Analytics – See If More People Are Visiting Your Site

Google Analytics is another free SEO tool that belongs in every website owner’s arsenal. It allows you to see who’s visiting your website and how they’re getting there.

For Google Analytics (GA), we’ll focus on just one super simple thing ot check: website traffic from organic search.

1. Log in to your Google Analytics account. (Don’t have an account yet? Here’s a step-by-step guide for setting up Google Analytics.)
2. Navigate to the Acquisition Report, located in the left menu.
3. Click Overview to see the Acquisition Overview Report.
4. Look for Organic Search. In the Acquisition Overview report, you’ll see different “traffic channels” – ways people are finding your website. The number by Organic Search is traffic coming from search engines like Google, Bing, etc. It does not include paid traffic.
5. Compare dates around when you started to do SEO yourself (located in the top right). This will show you if sessions (traffic) has increased since your changes.

What to look for: Check the numbers for Organic Search over time. Are they going up? If you’re consistently working on your SEO, you should see this number gradually increase. If it’s going up, that’s a good sign your SEO efforts are starting to bring in more visitors from search engines!

3. LowFruits Rank Tracker – Monitor Your SEO Keyword Rankings

You’ve done the keyword research, written the content, and made your web page search-friendly. Don’t you want to see if you’re ranking for the keywords you targeted? Of course you do! That’s half the fun — and all the reward.

The LowFruits Rank Tracker makes it easy to check SEO rankings and track their performance.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Navigate to Tracker from the left menu.

2. Enter or paste the keywords you want the tool to check and track. Then, enter your domain and some additional settings (country, language, device, fetch frequency).

3. Click Track.

That’s it for setting it up!

Now, you just wait for the tool to collect data. (It will generate a report rather quickly but will need a little time to start showing changes. This will depend on the fetch frequency you chose when setting it up.)

Here’s what your Tracker dashboard will look like after gathering keyword position changes:

This tool gives you a quick and easy understanding of how your keywords have changed since the last SERP fetch. In the above example, we can see that we have improved our position for 11 keywords and decreased our position for 14.

We can also see exactly which keywords experienced these changes.

Furthermore, you can expand any keyword to its historical position tracking over time. This is a great way to pinpoint if any content updates or SEO changes made a difference in a keyword’s position.

Overall, it’s a very beginner-friendly tool that makes tracking keyword performance easy. It’s considered one of the best rank trackers available and comes at a budget-friendly price.

LowFruits Pricing: Subscription plans start as low as $21/month.

And that’s it for basic tracking!

Key Takeaway: Don’t get bogged down in lots of data and complicated metrics right now. Just keep an eye on these three simple things to get a general sense of how your DIY SEO is progressing. Simple tracking is better than no tracking at all!

DIY SEO: Is It Right for You? + When to Get Help

So, is DIY SEO the right path for you? Let’s look at some pros and cons.

DIY SEO Pros

• Saves money. This is a huge advantage (and why most people choose to go the DIY route). Doing SEO yourself is way cheaper than hiring a digital marketing agency. It’s great for startups and small businesses on a budget.
• You’re in charge. You have full control over your SEO strategy. You understand the nuances of your business best, allowing for targeted optimizations.
• Direct access to data and results. You have immediate access to analytics and performance data, allowing for rapid adjustments and fine-tuning of your SEO strategy. You can see what’s working and what’s not, in real time.
• You learn a lot. By doing SEO yourself, you gain an intimate understanding of your website and audience. These insights are invaluable in the long-term and can support any future business endeavors.

DIY SEO Cons

• It takes time. SEO takes effort and consistent work. It’s not a quick fix. You’ll need to invest time to learn and implement SEO strategies. This can be tricky if your workload is already at its maximum.
• It’s not a one-and-done job. Even if you can do all the initial set up and optimizations, SEO isn’t a set-and-forget-it type of task. You always need to work on it. Whether it’s writing new blogs, updating old landing pages, or doing outreach for backlinks, there’s a lot of components that need attention — all the time.
• SEO can be difficult. SEO is always changing, and it can get a bit complex. (I told you how I still don’t love doing technical SEO tasks, but that’s because it’s not my particular speciality.) Algorithm updates can also change the game and leave you wondering what to do next.
• You might need help later on. As your website grows, or if you’re in a very competitive industry, you might eventually need help from an SEO professional. This can be costly and require you to adjust your marketing budget appropriately.

When to DIY vs. When to Get Help (Quick Comparison)

DIY SEO is great for:

• Beginners just starting out
• Small businesses with limited budgets
• Anyone who’s willing to learn and invest time in SEO
• Building a solid SEO foundation

Consider hiring an SEO professional when:

• You’re in a very competitive industry and need faster, more aggressive results.
• You have a large or complex website.
• You don’t have the time or desire to learn and do SEO yourself.
• You want to take your SEO to a very advanced level.

The Bottom Line: DIY SEO is a fantastic starting point for anyone with a website. You can absolutely achieve real results by doing it yourself, especially in the beginning. You can always re-assess later and decide if you need professional help as you grow.

Next Steps: Keep Learning & Experimenting

Wow, you made it! You’ve just taken your first steps into the world of DIY SEO.

And guess what?

You’re now equipped with the knowledge to start making a real difference in your website’s visibility online. Give yourself a pat on the back — that’s a fantastic first step!

The most important takeaway? DIY SEO is absolutely within your reach, even as a beginner.

Don’t let the jargon or the perceived complexity of SEO scare you off. We’ve broken it down into simple, manageable steps, and you have the tools to get going right now — mostly for free!

Remember, you don’t have to become an SEO expert overnight.

Just start with the basics. Pick one step from our guide — maybe keyword research, or doing a quick website check-up. Take action on that one step. Then move on to the next. Little by little, you’ll build momentum, and you’ll start to see your website gaining traction in search results.

Your Next Actions Are Simple:

• Pick ONE thing to start with. Don’t feel like you have to do everything at once. Choose the step that feels most manageable to you right now and focus on that.
• Be consistent. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Even small, consistent efforts over time will add up to significant results. Set aside a little time each week to work on your DIY SEO.
• Keep learning. The world of SEO is always evolving, but the fundamentals we’ve covered here will remain important. Keep exploring, keep learning, and keep experimenting.

And If You’re Ready for More:

Feeling motivated and what to start applying what you learned NOW? Here’s a quick recap of our 5-step DIY SEO guide to get you going:

• Start with keyword research (Step 1). Find the keywords your audience is searching for. Discover the search intent, too.
• Do your website check-up (Step 2). Make sure your website is fast, mobile-friendly, and set up with Google Search Console.
• Optimize the on-page SEO of your most important pages (Step 3). Make your content is clear and helpful. Write for users first, search engines second.
• Share your next post on social media (Step 4). Whether it’s LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, promote your next blog post, sale, or page on your social media accounts. Don’t forget to link back to your site, too.
• Optional: Sign up for a online local directories (Step 4). If you have a local business, find a an online directory in your industry and make a listing. This is an easy method to get backlinks.
• Set up a tracking system (Step 5). Pick a rank tracker tool and use it to track your keyword rankings over time. You should also have a system in place to monitor overall SEO performance. I recommend LowFruits for keyword tracking and Google Analytics and Search Console for monitoring performance.

Final Thoughts

I hope this do it yourself SEO guide was helpful. I really wanted to make it accessible to anyone, including the total SEO novice.

The reality is, you can do SEO yourself. You know your business best, you understand your audience, and now you have a beginner’s toolkit to help them find you online.

SEO just takes a willingness to learn and patience. So, take a deep breath, revisit Step 1 of our guide, and get started today. Your website’s journey to the top of search results begins now — and you’re in the driver’s seat! Go get those rankings!