can someone enlighten me on SEO optimization? read tons of article, and all saying the same thing. i really don't know else to do to improve it.

for example, i'm writing a blog on sharing my experience in raising cats. isn't those keyword (cat, guide to raise cat, cat food, litter box) keep repeating, when you have abundance of article? but then, there's still no traffic organically, unless i go promote in forum or fb