SEO
Rankings follow relevance and authority. Most "SEO advice" is busywork that moves neither.
Spend your time on the three things that actually move rankings: matching search intent,
being technically crawlable, and earning links/citations. Everything else is hygiene.
What moves the needle vs cargo cult
| Actually moves rankings |
Cargo cult (skip or stop) |
| Matching the intent behind the query |
Keyword density / "use the keyword 7 times" |
| Genuinely useful, current content |
Spinning thin pages for every keyword variant |
| Internal links from relevant pages |
Meta keywords tag (dead since ~2009) |
| Editorial backlinks from real sites |
Buying links, PBNs, comment-spam |
| Fast, crawlable, indexable pages |
Exact-match domains, hidden text, "LSI keywords" |
| Topical depth (cluster of pages) |
Submitting your URL to 500 search engines |
If a tactic doesn't make the page more useful, faster, or more linkable, it's probably a waste.
1. Keyword & intent research
Volume is a vanity number. Intent is the unit of work. Every query maps to one of four:
| Intent |
Query shape |
What ranks |
Your move |
| Informational |
"how to", "what is", "best" |
Guides, tutorials, listicles |
Educational content |
| Commercial |
"X vs Y", "best X for Z" |
Comparisons, reviews, roundups |
Comparison/eval content |
| Transactional |
"buy", "pricing", "X tool" |
Product/pricing/category pages |
Money pages |
| Navigational |
a brand or product name |
The official site |
Own your brand SERP |
Process:
- Pull seed terms (the words customers actually use — mine support tickets, reviews, sales calls, not your internal jargon).
- Expand with a keyword tool, "People Also Ask," and autocomplete.
- Open the SERP for the target query. Whatever Google currently ranks IS the intent. If page 1 is all listicles and you wrote a product page, you'll lose — change the format, not the keyword.
- Score each keyword:
priority = relevance × (achievable difficulty) × business value. Chase winnable terms, not the biggest volume.
- Target long-tail (3+ words) early — lower competition, higher intent, faster wins. Earn authority, then climb to head terms.
2. On-page optimization
| Element |
Rule |
| Title tag |
~50–60 chars, primary keyword near the front, written for the click not the bot |
| Meta description |
~150–160 chars; doesn't affect rank but drives CTR — write it like ad copy |
| H1 |
One per page, states the topic, close to the title |
| H2/H3 |
Structure for scanning; mirror the questions in "People Also Ask" |
| URL slug |
Short, lowercase, hyphenated, keyword-bearing — /blue-widgets not /p?id=8347 |
| First 100 words |
State what the page is and answer the query early — don't bury the lede |
| Internal links |
Link to/from related pages with descriptive anchor text (not "click here") |
| Images |
Descriptive alt text; compressed; lazy-load below the fold |
Internal linking is the most underused on-page lever: it passes authority to money pages and tells crawlers your site structure. Link new posts from existing high-authority pages.
3. Technical SEO
If Google can't crawl, render, and index it, nothing else matters.
- Crawlability: logical site structure, every important page reachable within ~3 clicks of the homepage. Check Search Console → Pages for "Crawled, not indexed" / "Discovered, not indexed."
- robots.txt: block crawlers only from genuinely useless paths (cart, internal search, faceted dupes). Never accidentally
Disallow: /.
- XML sitemap: list canonical, indexable URLs only; submit in Search Console; keep it auto-generated and fresh.
- Canonicals:
<link rel="canonical"> on every page to its preferred URL. Pick one host (www vs non-www, http vs https) and 301 the rest. Kills duplicate-content dilution.
- Status codes: 301 (not 302) for permanent moves; fix 404s on linked pages; avoid redirect chains.
- Indexability: watch for stray
noindex tags and Disallow rules shipped by accident — the classic way to nuke traffic in a deploy.
- Mobile: Google indexes the mobile version. If it's broken on mobile, it's broken.
- JS rendering: client-only content may not get indexed reliably. Server-render or pre-render anything that must rank.
Structured data (schema.org)
JSON-LD in the <head>. Doesn't directly boost rank but earns rich results (stars, FAQ, prices) that lift CTR. Match type to content: Article, Product + Offer, FAQPage, HowTo, BreadcrumbList, Organization, LocalBusiness. Validate with Google's Rich Results Test. Only mark up content actually visible on the page — fake markup gets manual penalties.
Core Web Vitals (target the "good" threshold)
| Metric |
Measures |
Good |
Common fix |
| LCP |
Largest paint |
≤ 2.5 s |
Optimize hero image, preload, faster server/CDN |
| INP |
Interaction latency |
≤ 200 ms |
Break up long JS tasks, defer non-critical JS |
| CLS |
Visual stability |
≤ 0.1 |
Set width/height on images, reserve ad/space |
CWV is a tiebreaker, not a magic ranking lever — fix it because it helps conversions and because it's a ranking signal at the margin, not because it'll vault you from #20 to #1.
4. Content & E-E-A-T
- Topic clusters: one pillar page (broad term) linked to many cluster pages (specific subtopics), all interlinked. Beats scattered one-off posts — builds topical authority and a clean internal-link graph.
- Match the format the SERP rewards. If page 1 is step-by-step guides, ship a better step-by-step guide.
- E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust): show real authorship, cite sources, keep content current (refresh dates + actual updates), and earn mentions. Matters most for YMYL topics (health, finance, legal).
- Refresh beats republish: updating a decaying post that already ranks is usually higher-ROI than writing a new one.
5. Off-page / links
Backlinks remain a top-tier ranking factor. Quality over quantity — one editorial link from a relevant authoritative site beats 100 directory links.
- Earn them: genuinely linkable assets (original data, tools, definitive guides), digital PR, guest posts on relevant sites, getting cited as a source.
- Avoid: paid links, link exchanges at scale, PBNs — these risk manual penalties.
- Track referring domains, not raw link count.
Audit checklist
Indexing
[ ] Site indexed? (site:domain.com in Google; Search Console coverage)
[ ] No accidental noindex / robots Disallow on important pages
[ ] One canonical host; http→https and non-www→www (or vice versa) 301'd
[ ] XML sitemap submitted, lists only canonical indexable URLs
On-page
[ ] Unique title + meta description per page, correct length
[ ] One H1; logical heading hierarchy
[ ] Internal links to/from money pages with descriptive anchors
[ ] Image alt text + compression
Technical
[ ] Core Web Vitals in "good" on mobile (Search Console / PageSpeed)
[ ] No broken internal links / redirect chains
[ ] Valid structured data for page type (Rich Results Test)
[ ] Mobile rendering correct; key content server-rendered
Content
[ ] Format matches current SERP intent
[ ] Clear authorship, sources, recency for YMYL
[ ] Pillar + cluster structure for priority topics
Off-page
[ ] Referring-domain trend flat or growing
[ ] No spammy/toxic link spikes
Measuring (Search Console first)
Search Console is ground truth for organic — analytics tools estimate, Google reports.
- Impressions: how often you appeared. Rising = you're ranking for more/bigger queries.
- Clicks: actual visits. Clicks ÷ impressions = CTR.
- Average position: where you rank. Watch per-query, not site-wide (the average hides everything).
- Diagnose with the Queries + Pages tabs: high impressions + low CTR → fix title/meta or you're ranking too low for the query. High position + low clicks → SERP feature is eating the click (answer box, ads).
- Give changes 4–8 weeks before judging. SEO is slow; don't A/B-panic over a 2-day dip.
Vanity to ignore: "keyword rankings" dashboards detached from clicks/conversions, Domain Authority as a goal (it's a third-party estimate, not a Google metric).
1---2name: seo3description: Improving organic search rankings through technical and content SEO — keyword/intent research, on-page optimization, crawlability, structured data, Core Web Vitals, topic clusters, and measuring results in Search Console. Use when the user wants to rank a page, fix a technical SEO issue, plan content for search, audit a site, recover lost traffic, or asks "why isn't this ranking." Keywords SEO, search engine optimization, keywords, SERP, ranking, meta tags, schema, structured data, Core Web Vitals, Search Console, backlinks, canonical, sitemap.4license: MIT5---67# SEO89Rankings follow relevance and authority. Most "SEO advice" is busywork that moves neither.10Spend your time on the three things that actually move rankings: matching search intent,11being technically crawlable, and earning links/citations. Everything else is hygiene.1213## What moves the needle vs cargo cult1415| Actually moves rankings | Cargo cult (skip or stop) |16| ------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------- |17| Matching the intent behind the query | Keyword density / "use the keyword 7 times" |18| Genuinely useful, current content | Spinning thin pages for every keyword variant |19| Internal links from relevant pages | Meta keywords tag (dead since ~2009) |20| Editorial backlinks from real sites | Buying links, PBNs, comment-spam |21| Fast, crawlable, indexable pages | Exact-match domains, hidden text, "LSI keywords" |22| Topical depth (cluster of pages) | Submitting your URL to 500 search engines |2324If a tactic doesn't make the page more useful, faster, or more linkable, it's probably a waste.2526## 1. Keyword & intent research2728Volume is a vanity number. **Intent** is the unit of work. Every query maps to one of four:2930| Intent | Query shape | What ranks | Your move |31| ------------- | ---------------------------- | --------------------------------- | ------------------------ |32| Informational | "how to", "what is", "best" | Guides, tutorials, listicles | Educational content |33| Commercial | "X vs Y", "best X for Z" | Comparisons, reviews, roundups | Comparison/eval content |34| Transactional | "buy", "pricing", "X tool" | Product/pricing/category pages | Money pages |35| Navigational | a brand or product name | The official site | Own your brand SERP |3637**Process:**381. Pull seed terms (the words customers actually use — mine support tickets, reviews, sales calls, not your internal jargon).392. Expand with a keyword tool, "People Also Ask," and autocomplete.403. **Open the SERP for the target query.** Whatever Google currently ranks IS the intent. If page 1 is all listicles and you wrote a product page, you'll lose — change the format, not the keyword.414. Score each keyword: `priority = relevance × (achievable difficulty) × business value`. Chase winnable terms, not the biggest volume.425. Target long-tail (3+ words) early — lower competition, higher intent, faster wins. Earn authority, then climb to head terms.4344## 2. On-page optimization4546| Element | Rule |47| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |48| Title tag | ~50–60 chars, primary keyword near the front, written for the click not the bot |49| Meta description | ~150–160 chars; doesn't affect rank but drives CTR — write it like ad copy |50| H1 | One per page, states the topic, close to the title |51| H2/H3 | Structure for scanning; mirror the questions in "People Also Ask" |52| URL slug | Short, lowercase, hyphenated, keyword-bearing — `/blue-widgets` not `/p?id=8347` |53| First 100 words| State what the page is and answer the query early — don't bury the lede |54| Internal links | Link to/from related pages with descriptive anchor text (not "click here") |55| Images | Descriptive `alt` text; compressed; lazy-load below the fold |5657Internal linking is the most underused on-page lever: it passes authority to money pages and tells crawlers your site structure. Link new posts from existing high-authority pages.5859## 3. Technical SEO6061If Google can't crawl, render, and index it, nothing else matters.6263- **Crawlability:** logical site structure, every important page reachable within ~3 clicks of the homepage. Check Search Console → Pages for "Crawled, not indexed" / "Discovered, not indexed."64- **robots.txt:** block crawlers only from genuinely useless paths (cart, internal search, faceted dupes). Never accidentally `Disallow: /`.65- **XML sitemap:** list canonical, indexable URLs only; submit in Search Console; keep it auto-generated and fresh.66- **Canonicals:** `<link rel="canonical">` on every page to its preferred URL. Pick one host (www vs non-www, http vs https) and 301 the rest. Kills duplicate-content dilution.67- **Status codes:** 301 (not 302) for permanent moves; fix 404s on linked pages; avoid redirect chains.68- **Indexability:** watch for stray `noindex` tags and `Disallow` rules shipped by accident — the classic way to nuke traffic in a deploy.69- **Mobile:** Google indexes the mobile version. If it's broken on mobile, it's broken.70- **JS rendering:** client-only content may not get indexed reliably. Server-render or pre-render anything that must rank.7172### Structured data (schema.org)7374JSON-LD in the `<head>`. Doesn't directly boost rank but earns **rich results** (stars, FAQ, prices) that lift CTR. Match type to content: `Article`, `Product` + `Offer`, `FAQPage`, `HowTo`, `BreadcrumbList`, `Organization`, `LocalBusiness`. Validate with Google's Rich Results Test. Only mark up content actually visible on the page — fake markup gets manual penalties.7576### Core Web Vitals (target the "good" threshold)7778| Metric | Measures | Good | Common fix |79| ------ | --------------------- | --------- | ----------------------------------------------- |80| LCP | Largest paint | ≤ 2.5 s | Optimize hero image, preload, faster server/CDN |81| INP | Interaction latency | ≤ 200 ms | Break up long JS tasks, defer non-critical JS |82| CLS | Visual stability | ≤ 0.1 | Set width/height on images, reserve ad/space |8384CWV is a tiebreaker, not a magic ranking lever — fix it because it helps conversions and because it's a ranking signal at the margin, not because it'll vault you from #20 to #1.8586## 4. Content & E-E-A-T8788- **Topic clusters:** one pillar page (broad term) linked to many cluster pages (specific subtopics), all interlinked. Beats scattered one-off posts — builds topical authority and a clean internal-link graph.89- **Match the format the SERP rewards.** If page 1 is step-by-step guides, ship a better step-by-step guide.90- **E-E-A-T** (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust): show real authorship, cite sources, keep content current (refresh dates + actual updates), and earn mentions. Matters most for YMYL topics (health, finance, legal).91- **Refresh beats republish:** updating a decaying post that already ranks is usually higher-ROI than writing a new one.9293## 5. Off-page / links9495Backlinks remain a top-tier ranking factor. Quality over quantity — one editorial link from a relevant authoritative site beats 100 directory links.9697- Earn them: genuinely linkable assets (original data, tools, definitive guides), digital PR, guest posts on relevant sites, getting cited as a source.98- Avoid: paid links, link exchanges at scale, PBNs — these risk manual penalties.99- Track referring domains, not raw link count.100101## Audit checklist102103```104Indexing105[ ] Site indexed? (site:domain.com in Google; Search Console coverage)106[ ] No accidental noindex / robots Disallow on important pages107[ ] One canonical host; http→https and non-www→www (or vice versa) 301'd108[ ] XML sitemap submitted, lists only canonical indexable URLs109On-page110[ ] Unique title + meta description per page, correct length111[ ] One H1; logical heading hierarchy112[ ] Internal links to/from money pages with descriptive anchors113[ ] Image alt text + compression114Technical115[ ] Core Web Vitals in "good" on mobile (Search Console / PageSpeed)116[ ] No broken internal links / redirect chains117[ ] Valid structured data for page type (Rich Results Test)118[ ] Mobile rendering correct; key content server-rendered119Content120[ ] Format matches current SERP intent121[ ] Clear authorship, sources, recency for YMYL122[ ] Pillar + cluster structure for priority topics123Off-page124[ ] Referring-domain trend flat or growing125[ ] No spammy/toxic link spikes126```127128## Measuring (Search Console first)129130Search Console is ground truth for organic — analytics tools estimate, Google reports.131132- **Impressions:** how often you appeared. Rising = you're ranking for more/bigger queries.133- **Clicks:** actual visits. Clicks ÷ impressions = **CTR**.134- **Average position:** where you rank. Watch per-query, not site-wide (the average hides everything).135- **Diagnose with the Queries + Pages tabs:** high impressions + low CTR → fix title/meta or you're ranking too low for the query. High position + low clicks → SERP feature is eating the click (answer box, ads).136- Give changes **4–8 weeks** before judging. SEO is slow; don't A/B-panic over a 2-day dip.137138Vanity to ignore: "keyword rankings" dashboards detached from clicks/conversions, Domain Authority as a goal (it's a third-party estimate, not a Google metric).
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