Lesson 1 / 32

What is SEO?

Q: Which SEO pillar do developers primarily control?

Technical SEO — site speed, crawlability, structured data. Developers build the technical foundation; content and marketing teams handle on-page and off-page optimization.

The fundamentals of search engine optimization and why developers need to understand it.

Why SEO matters

SEO is the practice of improving your website's visibility in search results. When a user searches "best pizza near me" or "how to learn JavaScript," SEO determines whether your site appears at the top or on page 10. Good SEO means free, organic traffic; bad SEO means users never find you.

Three pillars of SEO

Technical SEO ensures search engines can crawl and index your site. On-Page SEO optimizes content, titles, and structure. Off-Page SEO builds authority through backlinks and social signals. Developers own technical SEO; it's built into the code and architecture.

Organic vs paid search

Organic traffic comes from unpaid search results; paid traffic comes from ads (Google Ads, Bing). Organic traffic is slower to build but costs nothing per click and lasts. Paid traffic is immediate but stops the moment you stop paying.

Quick check: Which SEO pillar do developers primarily control?

Technical SEO — site speed, crawlability, structured data
Off-Page SEO — backlinks and social signals
Content writing and keyword research

Answer

Technical SEO — site speed, crawlability, structured data — Developers build the technical foundation; content and marketing teams handle on-page and off-page optimization.