freecourses.digital
Lesson progress: 0 of 3 activities done
All lessons in SEO for Beginners Lesson 0.1 of 26

Module 0: Introduction

  1. 0.1What is a search engine?
  2. 0.2How do search engines work?
  3. 0.3What is SEO?
  4. 0.4How to start SEO

Module 1: Keyword Research

  1. 1.1What are keywords in SEO?
  2. 1.2What is search intent?
  3. 1.3How to find keywords for your website
  4. 1.4Keyword difficulty
  5. 1.5Keyword mapping

Module 2: On-Page SEO

  1. 2.1What is on-page SEO?
  2. 2.2How to optimize a page for a keyword
  3. 2.3How to write title tags and meta descriptions
  4. 2.4How to use headings for SEO
  5. 2.5Internal linking for SEO

Module 3: Link Building

  1. 3.1What is link building?
  2. 3.2What makes a good backlink?
  3. 3.3How to get backlinks for beginners
  4. 3.4Blogger outreach

Module 4: Technical SEO Basics

  1. 4.1What is technical SEO?
  2. 4.2How to check if a page is indexed
  3. 4.3How to find broken links on a website
  4. 4.4XML sitemap and robots.txt for beginners
  5. 4.5How to do a basic SEO audit

Module 5: Measuring SEO Results

  1. 5.1How to set up Google Search Console
  2. 5.2Clicks, impressions, CTR, and position explained
  3. 5.3Your SEO action plan

What is a search engine?

Start here if you are brand new.

This lesson covers

  • What a search engine is
  • Common search engines you already use
  • The difference between a search engine and a browser
  • Why search engines matter to a business

Short answer

A search engine is a website or app that helps you find information online. You type a question or a few words, and it shows a list of pages, videos, images, or places that match. Google and Bing are search engines. YouTube, Google Maps, and AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity also work as search engines.

What a search engine does

The internet has billions of web pages. No one can visit them all. A search engine does that work for you.

When you type “where to buy school supplies in Divisoria,” the search engine looks through its records of the web. In less than a second, it shows the pages most likely to help.

The words you type are called a search query. The page of results you see is called the search engine results page, or SERP.

Search engines you already use

Search engineWhat it is best known for
GoogleThe search engine most people in the Philippines use
BingMicrosoft’s search engine. It also powers results on Yahoo and other services
DuckDuckGoA search engine focused on privacy
YouTubeSearching for videos, like tutorials and reviews
Google MapsSearching for nearby places, like clinics and restaurants
AI search toolsTools like ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, and Google’s AI Overviews that answer in full sentences

Each one works a little differently. But they all try to do the same job: show the most useful answer, fast.

Search engine vs browser

Many beginners mix these up. A browser is the app you use to open websites. A search engine is a website that finds other websites.

A browser window with a search engine inside it showing resultsBrowser (Chrome, Safari, Edge)🔍 school supplies DivisoriaSearch engine (Google, Bing)
The browser is the app. The search engine is the website inside it that finds pages for you.
  • Browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft Edge
  • Search engines: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo

Think of a browser as a jeepney and a search engine as the barker who tells you which jeepney goes where. You need both, but they do different jobs.

Browsers come with a default search engine. Chrome and Safari use Google by default. Edge uses Bing. You can change this in the browser settings.

Why search engines matter to a business

When people need something, they search first. A mom in Cavite looks for “pediatrician near me.” A student searches “cheap laptop for online class.” A business owner searches “accountant for small business Makati.”

If your business does not show up in those results, those customers find someone else. Search engines are often the first place customers meet you.

That is why learning how search engines work, and how to show up in them, is a valuable skill for freelancers, VAs, and business owners.

Search engine or not?

Tap Search engine or Not a search engine for each item.

  • Google

  • Chrome

  • Bing

  • Safari

  • YouTube search

  • Facebook Messenger

Quick quiz

1. What does a search engine do?
2. Which one is a browser, not a search engine?
3. What is a SERP?

Common mistakes

  • Thinking Google is the only search engine. Bing, YouTube, Maps, and AI tools also send visitors.
  • Mixing up browsers and search engines. Chrome opens pages. Google finds them.
  • Thinking search is only for big companies. Small local businesses get found through search every day.

Your action

Key terms

Search engine
A website or app that finds information online that matches what you type.
Search query
The words you type into a search engine.
SERP (search engine results page)
The page of results a search engine shows.
Browser
An app that opens websites, like Chrome or Safari.
AI search
Tools that answer questions in full sentences using information from the web.

Questions beginners ask

Is Google the internet?

No. Google is a search engine that helps you find pages on the internet. The pages themselves belong to millions of different websites.

Are AI chat tools search engines?

Many now work like one. Tools like ChatGPT search and Perplexity look up web pages and summarize them. Course 7 covers how to show up in AI answers.

Want someone to handle SEO for your business while you learn? The team at Remar Digital can help.