Website Optimization Fundamentals
What is SEO, really?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about helping search engines understand your website and making sure it performs well for users. While many people associate SEO with keywords and content, there's another crucial side to it — technical SEO. This includes things like how fast your site loads, whether all your pages are accessible, and if your images and files are properly optimized. Search engines want to recommend websites that offer a smooth and reliable experience, so even small technical issues can impact your visibility in search results. By keeping your site clean, fast, and easy to navigate, you're helping both users and search engines alike.
Keeping your website performing well isn’t a one-time job — it’s all about routine maintenance. As your site grows, things like broken links, outdated files, or slow-loading pages can creep in and quietly affect your performance. Regular check-ups help you spot these issues early, keep everything running smoothly, and give your site the best chance to rank well in search results. Reviewing your site a few times a year, especially after big updates, can go a long way in maximising online presence potential.
Why Can't I Find My Website on Google?
If your website isn’t showing up when you search for it, there could be a few common reasons. Sometimes, pages are accidentally blocked from search engines by settings like robots.txt files or meta tags. Other times, technical issues like broken pages, slow load times, or missing metadata can make it harder for search engines to properly read and rank your site. And if your site is new, it might not be indexed yet. The good news? Most of these issues are fixable — and understanding what’s going on behind the scenes is the first step to getting your site seen.
The robots.txt file and meta tags are tools that tell search engines which parts of your website they can or can’t access. While they’re useful for managing visibility, they can also unintentionally block important pages from showing up in search results.
This often happens without the website owner realizing — especially if you’re using a third-party website builder, a pre-made template, or a plugin that applies these settings by default. That means some of your content could be hidden from Google even if it’s live on your site.
How to Rank High on Google & Build a Website Maintenance Routine
Ranking high on Google starts with making sure your website is fast, user-friendly, and easy for search engines to understand. This means optimizing things like page speed, fixing broken links, making sure your site works well on mobile, and avoiding anything that might block Google from accessing your pages.
To stay on top of it, build a simple maintenance routine: check your site every few months or after big updates, scan for issues like slow-loading pages or media files that need compressing, and make sure your key pages are still being indexed properly. A little upkeep can make a big difference over time — both for your visibility and for your visitors.
Don’t stress if you don’t see results right away. Search engines take time to register changes, and improvements don’t happen overnight. It’s all about making consistent updates and keeping your site in good shape over time.
Why Does Media Quality Matter So Much?
Media optimization is all about making sure the images and videos on your website load quickly and display well across devices. Ideally, images should be in modern, web-friendly formats like WebP or compressed JPEGs, and kept under 100–200 KB when possible. Videos should be properly compressed and streamed rather than embedded as large files.
Alt text—short for “alternative text”—is a brief description added to image tags in your HTML (you can laso add it without touching the code, while uploading it to your thir-party website or template provider. Look for 'Add alt text' sections or contact your provider for help). It helps with accessibility and gives search engines and even AI chat bots more context about your content, which supports them to then match your content to user query and serve your website as a valid answer
Proper media optimization not only improves page speed but also creates a better user experience and stronger search visibility.
Why Alt Text Matters More Than Ever
Alt text isn’t just for accessibility anymore—it’s becoming a key part of how your website is found and understood. With more people using voice search tools like Alexa or Google Assistant, and the rise of AI chatbots answering user queries, having descriptive alt text helps your content get picked up and served as a relevant answer.
It gives search engines and AI a clearer idea of what’s on your page, especially your visuals, making it more likely your content will be surfaced in results. In short, alt text can boost your visibility, reach, and marketing impact.
For Businesses & Creators: Owning a Website in the Modern Web
Having a website as a business or creator today is both essential and challenging. It’s your digital storefront, your first impression — and often, your most powerful tool. But keeping it running and visible takes more than just setting it live. That’s why regular checkups and the right tools matter.
Here are a few SEO tools that can support you along the way:
Google Search Console – A free tool from Google that shows how your site appears in search results,
flags errors, and gives insight into performance.
Screaming Frog – A desktop crawler that scans your website like a search engine and helps you spot broken links, duplicate pages, and SEO issues.
Ahrefs / SEMrush – More advanced tools for keyword research, backlink tracking, and competitive analysis — helpful if you're looking to scale.
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Ilumi SEO – (Hey, that’s us!) We’re a simple website inspection tool that helps SMBs and creators get clear, actionable insights into how their site is performing. We believe in the power of advanced tools like SEMrush and others, but we understand they can be overwhelming or costly for many.
That's why we’re here — to provide you with a easy-to-use solution that helps you get started on the right foot.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll be in a better position to take full advantage of those fantastic tools when you're ready to go even further!
At the end of the day, staying visible and competitive online doesn’t mean chasing every trend — it means keeping your foundation strong, readable, and fast. Keep showing up, keep improving, and let your website do the talking.
