SEO stands for search engine optimisation though it has become more nuanced as search engines have evolved. It is a process of continual improvement as defined by the key metrics of leads or sales depending on the nature of the site. Certain proxy metrics are used to measure performance such as increased traffic from organic search results or key phrase ranking but they are always in aid of the ultimate business goals of the website.

Language is critical as meaning has context. We read sentences or rather scan words that frame the meaning of the sentence we are reading. Algorithms essentially mimic a person that would make sense of the mass of documents as to which one is “the best” for the specific question asked. So imagine Google is an assistant, a person fetching you results. How you handle these documents feeds directly into the assistants performance. Understanding what is a “good” result for Google is based on user metrics, or your behaviour that infers a good result. The inference is a heuristic device to simplify, or a way of “parsing” results, which simply means to narrow, to narrow is based on relevance, and this relevance is context. Language is indispensable in establishing context, hence why its proper use is important for SEO

This depends on a lot of factors, your current ranking performance, age of website, penalty handicap etc. As SEO is an iterative process results are cumulative. How this usually works (there are always exceptions) is that  lower competitive searches considered lower hanging fruit tend to front run the more competitive searches, whereby over time search breadth is improved. Initial results occur around the 3 month period, as impressions tend to front run clicks, as user behaviour determines the potential for promotion of your specific page in reference to your competitors. This takes time as the recursive feedback loop needs to become established.

Design is critical as the framing of information is just as important as the content. Design aids the consumption of content through its presenting. The use of negative space to define the locus, or draw attention to what is important is such an example where design aids the performance of attributing traffic. Design aids orientation of the context we seek to unearth to improve affinity. People are trying to make sense, and this sense is determined by their intentionality or the questions that determine their orientation, so design that supports this orientation improves the over all performance of the website.