Hi! I’m Omid Bodagh, a professional SEO specialist with years of experience optimizing online stores, corporate sites, news portals and personal websites. If you landed on this page, you either want to learn SEO and grow your own site, or you’re looking for a real practitioner for a project. You’re not here to read one more article; we’re going to walk into the actual world of search together, and I’ll give you the techniques and the hard-won lessons that came from years of work on all kinds of sites and from the certifications I earned, including one from Google and other international institutes.
SEO training: from on-page to technical SEO
You’ve probably heard that every site needs traffic before it can grow and earn anything. SEO, or search engine optimization, is exactly what gets your site seen on Google and other search engines and brings visitors in. Global statistics put more than 70 percent of user clicks on Google’s organic results, and most people never go to page two. So if your site isn’t in the first results, you’ve already handed a big share of the market to someone else.
Now imagine you run an online store in Tabriz, or you’ve just launched a corporate site in Isfahan. Without search optimization your site disappears among thousands of others. With a strong strategy you don’t only pull in traffic and customers; your credibility rises too, and your advertising costs come down.
I’m Omid Bodagh, an SEO specialist and consultant with more than ten years of experience optimizing all kinds of sites. So far I’ve worked on many projects across Iran, from Urmia and Tabriz to Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad and Shiraz, and I’ve taken them to measurable results. If you’d like to see real case studies, you can head to the homepage of my site at omidbodagh.ir and check the certifications, the projects and the outcomes.
I hold seven recognized SEO certifications, the most important being the digital marketing certificate from Google. Those papers never left me resting on theory. In live projects and practical challenges I learned how to take a site from zero to Google’s first page and keep it growing from there.
Who is this guide for?
It’s written for everyone: someone who knows nothing about the field yet, someone about to open a shop in Mashhad, a construction company in Shiraz, or anyone who wants their WordPress or hand-coded site higher in the results. Every example and every fix is written so it works in any city and any line of business.
The route through this article: from first concepts to working like a pro
We’ll move through this step by step, together. First the basic concepts, then hands-on on-page SEO, then off-page and technical SEO. After that I’ll introduce the tools that matter and cover local search and the competition in cities such as Tehran, Urmia and Tabriz. Every tip here is meant to be put to work, not filed away.
At the end you’ll also find the frequently asked questions, a comparison table of the key points and my contact details, so if a question comes up or you want a consultation you can reach me fast.
First step: getting your head right for SEO
SEO isn’t only a technique or a piece of software; it’s a way of thinking. You have to learn to hold two views at once: how the user behaves and how Google’s algorithms work. The best sites are the ones that create value for people and stay legible to search engines. We’ll carry that point of view through every stage of this guide.
Ready? Then let’s open with the first section, on-page SEO, and learn how to make the foundations of your site solid.
On-page SEO, step by step
On-page SEO is everything you do inside your own site so Google and your users see and understand each page better. If you want to rank for the phrases that matter to you, something like “SEO training in Urmia”, “SEO specialist in Tehran” or “e-commerce SEO”, then every page has to be built properly and to standard.
This on-page work is the base of every win you’ll have later. Without it, even the best backlinks in the world won’t lift your site onto Google’s first page!
1. Keyword research: the first and most important step
Everything starts with choosing the right keywords. You need to know what your audience is hunting for and the exact words they type into Google, for instance “SEO training”, “SEO specialist Urmia”, “the price of SEO in Tabriz” or “best WordPress SEO plugin”. For this you can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs and Ubersuggest, or Google’s own suggestions.
- Primary keywords: the exact thing the user searches for (for example, SEO training)
- Secondary keywords: the related questions and topics (SEO tools, internal linking, an on-page checklist, and so on)
- Local keywords: the ones that win you a city (SEO specialist Shiraz, SEO lessons in Mashhad)
Once you’ve picked the keyword, place it naturally in the title, the body text, the meta description and the other parts of the page, without repeating it to death.
2. Optimizing the page title (Title Tag)
The title tag is one of Google’s heaviest ranking factors. It should be compelling, short (somewhere between 50 and 60 characters), include the main keyword, and actually describe what’s on the page. For example:
- On-Page SEO with Practical Examples | Omid Bodagh
- E-Commerce SEO in Urmia: the Complete Guide from Start to Finish
3. The meta description
The meta description is the text shown under your title in the Google results. Written well, it lifts your click-through rate (CTR). It should contain the keyword and give the reader a reason to click.
Example: “The most complete on-page guide for every kind of site, in plain and practical language. Step by step with Omid Bodagh, professional SEO specialist. Learn it today and push your site onto Google’s first page!”
4. Content structure: headings and short paragraphs
Every page needs one main heading (H1) and several subheadings (H2 and H3). This helps users and Google alike follow what each section is about. Keep your paragraphs short so the reader doesn’t tire and can move down the page comfortably.
Tip: a page should have exactly one H1, and it should be the real title of that page.
5. Using keywords naturally
Work your primary and secondary keywords naturally and in balance through the text, the headings and even the images. But never stuff the copy with keywords. The goal is simple: the reader and Google both understand what the page is about.
6. Image optimization
Images have to be optimized twice over: light enough to load fast, and described well enough for search. Give each file a sensible name (seo-training-urmia.jpg) and a descriptive alt text that contains the keyword. This helps you rank in Google Images and keeps the page usable for blind visitors.
Example alt: “On-page SEO training with Omid Bodagh for e-commerce sites in Urmia”
7. Internal linking
Linking to your own other pages is one of the most important open secrets of on-page work. It lets Google and your visitors move between pages easily and pushes value toward the pages that matter. If you have a page on off-page SEO, say, link to it from here.
- Links to related pages (the guide to SEO tools, technical SEO, and the like)
- Links to the pages that matter (contact, SEO services, about me, and so on)
8. Cleaning up your page URLs
Every URL should be short, readable and include the keyword. Keep unnecessary characters and meaningless numbers out of your addresses.
Good example: www.example.com/seo-training-urmia
Bad example: www.example.com/page?id=1234
9. Structured data (Schema Markup)
Structured data, or Schema, helps Google understand the topic of a page and display it in rich results. Tutorials, how-to content, Q&A pages and even a page describing your SEO services can all carry it. The payoff is a higher click-through rate and more trust from users.
10. Clean writing and user experience
Smooth text, short sentences, few typos and tidy paragraphs make people enjoy reading your site. When visitors stay longer and interact more, Google answers by ranking the site better.
11. Mobile friendliness and site speed
Most people arrive on a phone these days, so pages have to open fast and feel easy on a small screen. Check your speed with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix, then optimize the images and the code.
On-page SEO recap
On-page work is the foundation of success for any site, whether you’re in Urmia or Tehran, running a store or a blog. Follow these principles and your odds of ranking and winning customers go up several times over. Now that the inside of the site is settled, are you ready for the outside, and to learn how link building and outside relationships can multiply its strength?
Off-page SEO, step by step
Off-page SEO is everything you do outside your own site to raise its authority and its standing with Google. If you’ve ever wondered why a site with ordinary content ranks well, a large part of that answer usually sits here.
The focus is domain authority, the trust of search engines, and attention earned from other sites and sources. In plain terms: getting Google to treat your site as a credible reference, so its pages reach the higher results with less effort.
1. Backlink building: the backbone of off-page SEO
A backlink is simply another site linking to yours. The more links you have, and the better their quality, the more credible Google considers you. That said, it has to be done properly and look natural, because buying links or running spammy exchanges is genuinely risky.
- Links from relevant, reputable sites (if you’re in the SEO education space, links from digital marketing and technology training sites are ideal)
- Variety in link types (follow and nofollow, from articles, profiles, forums and the like)
- Local links to support rankings in cities such as Urmia, Tabriz and Tehran
Tools like Ahrefs and Moz are excellent for checking how many backlinks you have and how good they really are.
2. Advertorials: targeted promotion that keeps working
An advertorial is an article or news piece you publish on established websites, with a link back to your own. It brings visitors and it gives you a permanent, strong backlink. Publish these on reputable sites with genuinely valuable content, and place your city and your specific service in the copy deliberately rather than by accident.
Example: running an advertorial around “SEO training in Mashhad” or “professional SEO specialist in Shiraz”, with a link to your page.
3. Branding and social signals
Activity on social networks such as Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and even Telegram affects off-page SEO indirectly. When your brand appears in feeds and people talk about you, Google receives a positive signal that your site is credible.
- Publish content and links to your site steadily across social channels
- Stay active in specialist groups and forums (business groups in cities like Tehran or Urmia, for example)
- Encourage people to share and to comment
4. Comment marketing and forum participation
Another off-page method is being genuinely present on specialist sites and forums. Useful comments (not spam!) and real answers to questions strengthen your brand name and can earn you good links. Quora, Stack Overflow and Iranian niche forums in your field are all worth your time.
5. Local SEO and directories
If you want to show up in local search results (“SEO specialist Urmia”, “SEO training in Tabriz”), register your site in local directories and map services. Google My Business, the Neshan map platform and other Iranian and international directory sites all do this job.
Example: list your SEO training site on Google Maps and fill in complete business details for local search.
6. Guest posting
Writing an article for another site and earning a link back to yours is a professional way to build authority. Choose sites whose audience actually matches yours, and make the piece genuinely useful on its own.
7. Working with influencers and other businesses
If you can collaborate with credible people or businesses in your field, through mentions, joint advertising or a co-written article, your brand becomes stronger and more trustworthy, and the signals reaching Google get stronger with it.
8. Earning natural, permanent backlinks
The best backlinks are the ones that appear without a request or a payment. Publish excellent content, answer real questions, and other people will link to you on their own. Those links carry the most value of all.
9. Auditing your backlink profile
Review your backlinks regularly so that if a harmful link shows up you can have it removed or disavow it. Ahrefs and Google Search Console are superb for this work.
10. Common off-page mistakes
- Buying spammy, low-quality backlinks
- Overusing the same anchor text
- Taking links from irrelevant or disreputable sites
- No variety in where your links come from or what kind they are
- Neglecting on-page work and focusing only on external link building
Off-page SEO recap
Off-page work raises the power and the authority of your site and shows Google that you are not just another website. With good backlinks and positive signals from outside, your chances of ranking in any city and any niche grow several times over. Combining the inside work and the outside work is the real secret behind every strong practitioner.
Technical SEO, step by step
Technical SEO means optimizing the infrastructure and the technical structure of a site for search engines and users alike. You can do the on-page and off-page work perfectly and still struggle to rank if the site has technical faults or loads slowly. It’s the most foundational part of the discipline, mostly invisible, with a direct effect on rankings and growth.
1. Site speed: the first technical priority
If your site is slow, neither the visitor stays nor does Google bother indexing it properly. Check speed with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix. Heavy images, unnecessary plugins, a weak server or sloppy code are the usual causes.
- Upload images in modern formats at a low file size
- Compress your CSS and JavaScript
- Use quality, fast hosting, especially for cities with large audiences such as Tehran or Mashhad
- Remove heavy or unnecessary plugins
2. Being mobile friendly
Most visitors come in on a mobile device. If your site renders badly there, or is awkward to use, Google drops your rankings to match. Test it with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and build on a responsive theme.
3. URL structure and site navigation
Your URL structure should be short, readable and based on real logic and categorization. Don’t use long paths or meaningless letters and numbers.
The menu and the links should stay simple, so users and Google can reach every section without hunting.
4. robots.txt and the XML sitemap
The robots.txt file tells Google’s crawlers which pages to read and which to leave alone. A correct file blocks only what genuinely shouldn’t be indexed, such as admin pages or test pages.
The XML sitemap is a list of every important page on the site, and it should be submitted in Google Search Console so the crawlers find new pages faster and more reliably.
- The robots file usually lives at site.com/robots.txt
- Generate the XML sitemap with a suitable plugin or tool, then submit it in Google Search Console
5. Checking page indexing
Sometimes important pages never appear in Google. Search Console shows you the index status of each page, so if one isn’t indexed or is throwing an error you can trace the cause and fix it.
Important pages, such as your SEO services page for Urmia or your training page for Tabriz, absolutely have to be indexed.
6. Fixing crawl and index errors
Faults such as 404 (page not found), 500 (server error) or pages that redirect badly all drag your rankings down. Find and clear them with Google Search Console and tools like Ahrefs.
- Delete your 404 pages or redirect them to something relevant
- Repair broken internal links
- Apply a 301 redirect for important pages you removed
7. Heading structure and structured data
Using H1 through H6 correctly and adding structured data helps Google understand what each of your pages is about.
For example, on the SEO service page for each city you can mark up Service or Article Schema so the site appears in rich results.
8. HTTPS and site security
SSL, an address that starts with https, is mandatory for every site now. It protects your users’ data and it’s necessary for better rankings.
If your site is still on http, enable SSL today!
9. Removing or consolidating duplicate content
Duplicate content across pages, or across domains, can trigger a penalty and a loss of rankings. Identify the duplicates with tools like Siteliner or Ahrefs, then clear the problem with a redirect, a canonical tag or a rewrite.
10. Optimizing code and site resources
Compress your CSS and JS files and load them asynchronously with async or defer to lift speed. If the site runs on WordPress, performance plugins such as WP Rocket or LiteSpeed Cache help a great deal.
11. Tuning pages for Core Web Vitals
Google has introduced Core Web Vitals as an important ranking factor. The metrics cover loading speed (LCP), responsiveness (FID) and layout stability (CLS). PageSpeed Insights and Search Console show you the numbers and suggest how to improve them.
12. Getting site architecture right
Architecture should put every important page within a few clicks. Category pages, tag pages and fresh posts need to be easy to reach so Google’s crawlers can read the whole site without trouble.
Technical SEO recap
Technical work is the hidden engine of your site. Without clean, optimized infrastructure, no amount of great content or professional link building will get you ranked. Keep checking speed, security, index coverage and the absence of technical errors, and fix anything you find fast.
A guide to SEO tools
No practitioner succeeds without professional tools. They let you analyze your data properly, find the weak and the strong points, and make sound decisions about growth. Store, corporate site or blog, the right toolkit shortens the road.
1. Getting to know Ahrefs: the king of link and keyword analysis
Ahrefs is one of the strongest tools in this field and the one I use constantly. With it you can examine your backlinks, your competitors, valuable keywords and even your next content ideas.
- Backlink review: Ahrefs shows which sites link to you and how much those links are worth.
- Keyword research: the Keywords Explorer tool tells you what people search in cities like Tehran or Tabriz and how competitive those terms are.
- Competitor analysis: enter a rival’s domain and see where their links came from and which keywords they rank for.
- Site health audit: technical faults and SEO issues surface quickly.
2. Google Search Console
This free tool from Google is essential for every site. In Search Console you can see index status, errors, the queries that brought visitors in, and a great deal else that matters.
- Verify the site and submit your sitemap
- Review index errors, mobile problems and removed pages, among other things
- See the search queries and your position for each keyword
- Receive alerts and important messages from Google
If you’ve just launched a site or you’re serious about growth, set Search Console up today!
3. Google Analytics
Google Analytics tells you where your visitors came from, which pages hold their attention, what your exit rate looks like and how people behave once they’re in. That evidence is essential for deciding what to improve next.
- Track visitor counts daily, weekly and monthly
- Identify your most visited pages and the weak ones
- Compare the behavior of mobile, desktop and other users
4. Moz and similar platforms
Moz is another popular suite, especially useful for checking domain authority and page authority. It also works well for keyword research, link analysis and spotting link building opportunities.
5. Screaming Frog: a serious site crawler
Screaming Frog crawls your site and reports its structure, the 404 pages, redirect errors, tag problems, duplicate content and more. For technical SEO it’s genuinely valuable, especially on a large or e-commerce site.
6. Ubersuggest: a simple way to research keywords
Ubersuggest covers keyword research, search volume, new content ideas and even competitor analysis, free or at low cost. It suits small sites and people who are new to this work.
7. SEO plugins for the browser and for WordPress
- Yoast SEO: one of the best-known WordPress plugins, helping with titles, meta descriptions, sitemaps and more.
- Rank Math: a more advanced plugin with extras such as automatic analysis and improvement suggestions.
- SEOquake: a browser extension that shows SEO metrics for any site the moment you search.
- Keywords Everywhere: displays search volume for keywords in Google’s results and on other sites.
8. Iranian SEO tools
Local platforms such as Webdatis and Jet SEO, along with other Iranian analytics tools, are useful for checking a site’s condition, suggesting Persian keywords and analyzing sites aimed at Iranian readers, especially when your audience is in cities like Urmia or Isfahan.
9. Speed testing tools
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- GTmetrix
- Pingdom Tools
These tools tell you how fast your site actually is and which factors are slowing it down.
10. Backlink and competitor monitoring
For backlink analysis, finding rivals and spotting link opportunities, Ahrefs, Moz, SEMrush and Majestic are among the most professional options available. Keep checking which sites your successful competitors earn links from, then go after the same placements with better content or a partnership.
Local SEO, step by step
Local SEO is the work that makes your site or business visible in local search results for cities such as Tehran, Urmia, Tabriz, Isfahan, Mashhad and Shiraz. If your shop or company serves a single city, or you only want customers from that area, local work should be your first priority. The data supports it: more than 46% of Google searches have a local intent.
1. Listing your business on Google and on Iranian map services
For sites in Iran, registering your location on local map apps such as Neshan, Balad and Viz, and listing the business on Iranian directory sites like a city job directory, matters just as much.
2. Optimizing pages for each city
If you want to rank in several cities, build a separate page for each one. For example:
- SEO training in Urmia
- SEO specialist in Tabriz
- SEO services in Tehran
- SEO consulting in Mashhad
- E-commerce SEO in Isfahan
Each page needs its own details, its own case studies and copy written for that city, with the city-based keywords placed naturally in the title, the description and the body text.
3. Collecting reviews and positive ratings from customers
Positive reviews from real users are one of the biggest drivers of local success. Ask customers to leave you a review, on Google and on local sites. It raises trust with Google and with future visitors, and gets you seen more often in the results.
- Encourage loyal customers to leave a review on Google
- Reply to reviews politely and quickly, criticism included
- Show selected reviews on your own site to build trust
4. Registering your site on directories and local platforms
List your site on reputable directories connected to your city and your field. Those sites usually rank well in local searches themselves and pass you a valuable local backlink.
Example: listing an SEO training site on local directories such as “Urmia Job Bank”, “Ketab Aval Tehran” and “118 Mashhad”, an Iranian directory-assistance service.
5. On-page optimization for local search
The on-page work on a local page has to be complete and professional:
- Put the city name in the title tag and the meta description
- State the address, phone number, opening hours and exact location on every page
- Use combined keywords such as “WordPress SEO specialist in Shiraz” or “professional SEO training in Tabriz”
6. Local content and blogging
Write posts that answer the concerns and questions of people in that city. For example: “best SEO companies in Tehran”, “e-commerce SEO training in Mashhad”, “SEO tricks for businesses in Isfahan”.
Also publish reports of local events and of the projects you completed in each city, such as the work delivered in Tabriz or Urmia.
7. Local link building and partnerships with city-focused sites
Reach out to reputable sites and businesses in each city, exchange links and produce content together. It strengthens the local authority of your site.
8. Speed and display for users in different cities
Choose fast hosting with a server close to your audience in the big cities, so the site loads quickly wherever the visitor is. Take the mobile and desktop experience seriously in every region.
9. Local Schema markup
Use the structured data made for local businesses (LocalBusiness Schema) so your details appear more accurately in search results and on Google Maps. It lifts your click-through rate and your traffic.
Local SEO recap
Local SEO is a golden chance to win customers in your own city. Even without a large site, following these points can rank you for searches in your city or your target cities and build real trust. If you have a question about search in a particular place, whether Tehran, Tabriz, Urmia or anywhere else, I’d be glad to share what I’ve learned!
Omid Bodagh
I am an SEO specialist who likes helping businesses get seen on Google. From WordPress to SEO, whatever an online business needs to grow, I can help with it.
