STEP 1... it all starts with proper niche + keyword research. You've got good keywords in easy niche, you've hit the Jackpot as everything else will fall into place with minimal effort.
I see that you've already chosen your niche (although I've got no clue what FMCG is), so here are some tutorials on keyword research, pick whichever one you like:
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/guide-how-to-find-easy-to-rank-low-competition-keywords.1407283/https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/method-keyword-research-for-free-in-2022.1412508/https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/newbie-guide-keyword-research-analysis.1509524/https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/how-to-do-keyword-research-for-free.1380646/https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/method-find-super-low-competition-keywords.1388137/
I don't remember all of these methods in detail, but what I can tell you from experience (and by knowing google's latest changes), is that you should not get stuck on the keywords' search volumes and difficulties that any of the SEO tools that you use for keyword research shows you.
As you become more experienced you will learn how to sniff out good keywords instinctively, from miles away, but - since you're a newbie - here are a few personal tips that I can give you to find easy keywords (and, of course, also consider the tips in these guides too, I've not linked them to you for nothing
)...
First of all, if you do keyword research manually, make sure you're logged out of your google accounts (gmail, youtube, etc) because if you're not logged out google will show you results based on your preferences and history, and you don't want this. When doing keyword research you need to see the REAL, actual SERPs for that keyword, not personalized results, which is why you absolutely must be logged out of your google accounts. If you're using SEO software for keyword research you don't need to do this, but otherwise keep this tip in mind. And it would also help if you used VPN and incognito / private browser too, just for extra safety...
Now, the tips I was talking about...
- if google's 1st page is filled with stuff like: youtube clips, ads, PAAs, images, generative AI text, etc (basically, everything that's not a website) you might want to skip that keyword. Easy or not, that keyword will barely bring you any traffic because your site will almost never be seen because the entire 1st page of google is taken up by google's garbage so it's not worth wasting your time trying to rank #1 for this keyword when your site is at the bottom of page 1 (even worse, under the fold), or on page 2 where less than 5% people check...
- if the top 5 spots for your chosen keyword are taken up by big players in your niche, forget about that keyword! Even if you manage to beat your competition with great content, you can't beat them with authority and - even more importantly nowadays - with topical authority. It's not impossible, but it's way harder than it's worth the effort if you're a newbie. What you'll preferably like to see ranking in top 5 spots for your keyword are sites like quora, reddit, forums (social media and UGC sites, in general), or affiliate websites but which don't have a lot of authority and / or good, strong backlinks. Affiliate sites / blogs that have high authority and / or strong backlinks are pretty hard to beat, but they're beatable, so you want to see such sites ranking in top 5 for your keyword, and that keyword will be easy-medium to rank no matter what the SEO tools tell you...)
STEP 2... with the keyword research done (and - hopefully - with a nice set of dozens / hundreds of keywords in your arsenal) is now time to handle the very important phase of site planning and structuring. Skip / misdo this step and you'll be fighting an uphill battle trying to rank your site in today's SEO landscape as google is head over heels in love with well structured sites. This step might take you the most time when setting up a new website, but it's really worth every minute of your effort, so take the time to do it properly if you wish to stand any chance of ranking!
Here's a guide on how to plan and silo your site:
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/seo-siloing-2023-the-last-siloing-guide-youll-ever-need.1502244/
STEP 3... after keyword research and site planning + structuring is done, it's time for the content (although you could have created the content after doing keyword research)...
When it comes to creating content, you can use AI but do not publish it as is. Fact-check that content, fix its grammar (this is important nowadays), and still add your personal touch to it.
Google have said that they're OK with AI content, but there have been sites being penalized for having 100% AI, unedited content, so what google says is not always true (it's actually rarely true...)
Just take 20-30 minutes to fix the content before publishing it, especially if it's a new site, and once that content starts ranking you can publish 100% AI content (although I'd still not risk it...)
And don't forget to optimize the content before publishing it, or else you might not get the best ranking for it if google can't figure out what your content is about. Here's a guide on how to optimize your content, although tools like Surfer SEO, Frase.io, Neuron Writer or even SEO plugins like RankMath or Yoast can help you with this, too:
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/guide-full-example-of-how-to-do-on-page-seo.1251425/
STEP 4... once steps 1-3 are done you need to do one more thing before making your site live, and that is: technical SEO.
If you don't know what technical SEO is, check these links out, they explain the topic pretty well, but basically it's making sure that your site loads and navigates fast, it's mobile friendly, has no broken / dead links, etc... a whole lot of checks that you need to pay attention to but these are the times we live in, so you have to comply with google's demands if you wish to rank. so don't skip this step as it's very important...
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/technical-seo-guide-my-checklist-and-useful-tips.1389710/https://learningseo.io/
STEP 5... backlinks. After you get out of the eventual sandbox (which might, or might not happen, but be ready for it regardless) and you see that your amazing site with amazing content is nowhere to be seen while big authority sites in your industry rank with barely any content at all you'll know that something's fishy. And the fishy thing is the backlinks, I've not seen a single site in the last decade ranking at the top for 2+ years straight without a single backlink. It just does not happen anymore (I did see it about 14-15 years ago, but the days when google was a search engine instead of a censoring and monopolizing company are long gone), so you're going to need links at some point...
If you'll hire someone to do this for you, great! As long as (s)he knows what (s)he's doing you're safe. But if you're going to do this yourself check this guide out, it will help you understand how to build links, when, with what anchors, etc...
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/guide-how-many-links-per-day-week-or-month-should-i-build.1502403/
Even if you're not going to build the links yourself, going through this guide is still worthwhile as you'll be able to learn the best practices of link building, which can help you figure out whether the link builder you've hired is doing things right. So, give it a read!
And that's about it, that's what you need to do to rank a new site....
Of course, exceptions can (and usually do) happen, and sometimes your site might simply not rank despite of you following these guides to a T. That's because google are scumbags (even if it's your own fault, in my undying passion of hating on google I'll still blame them
) and they'll do whatever they can to knock you out of the SERPs, no matter if your site is white hat or black hat. A member of the forum had once said (last year I believe) that google have introduced randomness and luck into their algorithm (aren't google great?) so you can expect at any time (if you're the little guy, of course, big dogs don't get the same treatment) to get knocked out of the SERPs for whatever - legit or not - reason that google's algos have come up with.
And if that wasn't enough, google updates keep happening several times a year, and when they do happen, the SERPs are shuffled again, just for the fun of it. So, buckle up and be ready for the ride if you're doing SEO in 2023 and beyond
