SEO Basics

SEO Basics introduces the main principles of search engine optimisation for online shops. In 12 hours of self-paced learning, you will learn how search engines discover and assess pages, how to match keywords with search intent, and which content and technical conditions help a shop page become visible.

SEO Basics at a glance

• Format: Self-paced, 4 modules
• Level: Basics
• Participants: unlimited
• Language: English
• Certificate: AEI certificate of attendance
• Investment: free of charge

What you take away

You gain a working understanding of how search engines crawl pages, store information in an index, and decide which results to show for a search. The course connects these processes with typical shop situations: a product page that cannot be crawled, a category page targeting the wrong phrase, a description that does not answer the customer’s question, or a mobile page that loads too slowly. You will be able to distinguish between changes that improve a page for users and changes that only alter its appearance without addressing the underlying problem.

You also learn a practical sequence for reviewing a shop. Start with the words and questions potential customers use, identify the intent behind them, and then check whether the relevant page serves that intent. From there, you examine titles, descriptions, headings, content, internal links, page structure, indexing, loading time, and mobile presentation. The course does not promise a fixed ranking position. Instead, it gives you a sound basis for making decisions, recording changes, and measuring whether the pages are becoming more useful and accessible.

Your learning objectives

• You can explain the difference between crawling, indexing, and ranking and describe how these stages affect a shop page.
• You can recognise the likely search intent behind a query and distinguish informational, comparison, and purchase-oriented searches.
• You can find, compare, and evaluate keywords by considering relevance, wording, competition, and the page that should answer the query.
• You can review the important on-page elements of a product or category page, including the title, description, headings, content, and internal links.
• You can identify technical conditions that influence whether pages can be accessed, understood, indexed, and used on mobile devices.
• You can select useful measurements for checking visibility, page access, user behaviour, and the effect of SEO work over time.

The levers at a glance

Crawlability: Search engines need to reach a page before they can consider it. In a shop, this can be affected by links between pages, blocked resources, unsuitable redirects, broken URLs, or navigation that exposes important products only after several difficult steps. A crawlable page has a clear route into the site and does not depend on an interaction that a crawler cannot perform. Checking access is therefore a basic step before changing copy or adding keywords.

Indexability: Reaching a URL does not automatically mean that the URL will be stored in a search engine’s index. Duplicate product addresses, pages with no useful content, incorrect canonical signals, or an accidental noindex instruction can prevent the intended page from being treated as the main version. For example, a category with filters may create many similar addresses while the shop owner wants one primary category page to be found. Technical settings and page structure should make that intention clear.

Search intent: A keyword is useful only when the page matches what the searcher is trying to do. Someone searching for “how to choose a hiking backpack” needs guidance, while someone searching for “40 litre hiking backpack” may be comparing products, and someone searching for a specific model may be ready to inspect or buy it. Sending all three searches to the same generic landing page creates a weak match. The suitable page type, information, and next step depend on the intent.

On-page relevance: Titles, descriptions, headings, copy, images, and links help users and search engines understand what a page is about. A product page should state what the item is, who it is for, and which details support a decision. A category page should introduce the product group and guide visitors to relevant subcategories or products. Repeating a phrase without adding useful information does not replace clear, specific content.

Technical usability: A shop must work on the devices and connections used by its customers. Large images, slow scripts, unstable layouts, difficult mobile navigation, and unclear page structure can make a page harder to use even when its text is relevant. Technical SEO is not separate from the shop experience: a customer who cannot see the purchase information or reach the product on a phone is not being served by a page that merely contains the right keyword.

Who is this course for?

This course is for people who work with an online shop or support its content and want a reliable foundation in SEO. It suits shop owners, e-commerce coordinators, content editors, product managers, marketers, and junior web or digital professionals who need to understand why a page is or is not eligible to appear for a search. It is also suitable for someone reviewing an existing shop before planning content changes, a new category structure, or a discussion with a development team. No advanced SEO software or technical programming knowledge is required.

This course is not for people looking for a complete advanced strategy, automated ranking guarantees, or a detailed specialist treatment of topics such as large-scale international SEO, complex JavaScript rendering, link acquisition, or SEO for a highly competitive market. It is also not a replacement for a technical audit of a large shop or for implementation by a developer where code, server, or platform changes are needed. The course helps you understand the questions and priorities; it does not remove the need for specialist work in complex cases.

Cost and access

The course is free of charge. Sign up through the shop to enrol, and access is available immediately after registration. There is no fixed start date, classroom appointment, or deadline for completing the material.

You decide when and where to study and can work through the four modules at your own pace. The planned scope is 12 hours, but you can pause between lessons, revisit a topic while reviewing a shop page, and return to the material when a practical question comes up. The course is designed for gradual learning rather than a single scheduled session.

After the course

A sensible next step is to apply the framework to a small, clearly defined part of a shop rather than changing the whole site at once. Choose one category and a few related product pages, record the current titles, headings, links, indexability signals, mobile experience, and available measurements, then compare them with the likely search intent. This makes it easier to see whether the pages answer the same need and whether technical restrictions are affecting their visibility.

After that review, prioritise changes that remove a clear obstacle or improve an obvious mismatch. Keep a simple record of what was changed and when, and allow enough time for the pages and measurements to reflect the work. Questions that involve the shop platform, templates, redirects, structured page rules, or server performance may then be passed to the appropriate technical specialist with a more precise description of the issue.

Programme: 4 modules

• Module 1: How search engines work Crawling, indexing, ranking; What Google rewards; The limits of optimisation
• Module 2: Keywords and search intent Recognising search intent; Finding and evaluating keywords; Serving the intent
• Module 3: On-page SEO Title, description, headings; Content that can rank; Internal linking
• Module 4: Technical basics and measurement Load time and mobile view; Structure and indexing; What can be measured

Our approach

AEI presents SEO as a combination of user needs, understandable content, accessible page structures, and evidence from measurement. The lessons move from the way search engines process a page to the decisions made on an individual shop URL, using concrete product and category examples rather than isolated terminology. Each topic separates what can be checked in the shop from what may require a developer, platform administrator, or further investigation. This approach supports careful prioritisation: first establish whether a page can be found and understood, then assess whether it answers the searcher’s need, and finally use suitable measurements to review the result.