Usman Ali
Usman writes every guide on Search Engine Basics, from how crawling works through to what appears on a results page.
About
About Usman
I’m Usman Ali, and I have spent the last 7 years working in SEO and organic growth. Most of that time has gone into one question: why does one page show up in search while another, often just as good, stays invisible? The answer is almost always a single broken step somewhere between discovery and ranking.
I started Search Engine Basics to explain that journey in plain words. Every guide here begins with how a real search engine behaves, then I check the claims against the public documentation from Google and Bing before anything goes live. When I update a page, the date at the top changes, so you always know how fresh the information is.
I also test ideas on live websites before recommending them here, which keeps the advice practical rather than theoretical. If you spot a mistake or have a question, write to me through the contact page or connect with me on LinkedIn.
Method
How I Research and Check Each Guide
Every guide goes through the same short routine before it is published, then again whenever it is updated.
Real engine behaviour comes first
Each guide begins with what search engines actually do on live websites, so the explanation matches what you will see in your own results.
Claims are matched to documentation
Every claim is compared with the public documentation from Google and Bing before a guide goes live. Where the two engines differ, the guide says so.
The date changes with the content
The date at the top of every guide is updated whenever its content is revised, which tells you how fresh the information is.
Corrections are always welcome
If you spot an error, a short email through the contact page is enough. Confirmed mistakes are fixed promptly, with the update date changed to match.
Writing
Guides by Usman
All eleven guides published on the site so far, from the basics of how search works through to rankings and results pages.