Introduction
If I were to sit down with you to give you a checklist and explain a strategy for SEO, here’s what I’d say. Pace yourself. Take notes. It’s over 2,700 words.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a collection of lots of small things that add up. There’s no one thing, and if there is, it’s content: publish content somebody wants to find. More on that later.
You should work on two areas to build the foundation of good SEO:
- Checklist SEO
“How” to talk to search engines. This is the rote, mechanical, generic stuff. It applies to virtually all sites.
- Content SEO
“What” to say to people and search engines. This is custom content and messaging. It’s specific to each site.
Follow this sequence:
- Familiarize yourself with the checklist. You can’t and shouldn’t do much with it until you have content.
- Create your content.
- Go back to the list to fill in content where it’s needed.
- Repeat.
The checklist and initial content take some effort, but it’s not necessarily time-intense forever, especially for static sites. Even so, simple sites benefit from small, periodic updates, but your effort depends on business priorities. If you plan to implement advanced, long-term SEO, it starts with this foundation.
Skip the Latest Tricks and Buzzwords
At any moment, something is touted as the new top thing in SEO. Maybe it’s real, and maybe it’s not. Regardless, it usually involves the many small things that add up; it’s not a new top priority.
Search engines change regularly. They learn the tricks, and they work to avoid spammy content. Google announced a core update in August 2024 and said this:
This update is designed to continue our work to improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search… we aim to connect people with a range of high quality sites, including small or independent sites that are creating useful, original content, when relevant to users’ searches.
Source: Google Search Central Blog
Generally, they want good content for searchers. Prioritize people-first content over the latest buzzwords. After the fundamentals are done (Checklist SEO and Content SEO), maybe then you can play with the latest tricks.
Checklist SEO: How to Publish Content
This is the step-by-step stuff, somewhat rote, mechanical, and generic; it applies to all sites. Many items are complicated, so it’s not simple, and it takes time. A good checklist guides you to the fundamentals. I start with this list.
My SEO Checklist
I think this is mostly “technical SEO”, but some definitions of “technical SEO” exclude a lot. Technical or not, here’s my starter list.
I only generally prioritized it because I can come up with situations where any item could be a high priority for some sites. Generally, priority items are near the top, lower priority items are near the bottom. Some on-site items might not be available with some website publishing services.
- Keyword list (more on this in the content SEO section below)
- A topic and relevant content on all pages
- If there’s one top thing, it’s content. See the content SEO section below.
- HTML title tags for all pages
- HTML meta descriptions for all pages
- HTML headings (Blog: Website SEO Checkup: Headlines)
- Use headings to help people and search engines understand what the page content.
- Use priority keywords in headlines as much as possible, but don’t force them.
- For accessibility and general organization, use proper hierarchy, but this is not an SEO priority.
- ALT attribute for every content image
- Use keywords if appropriate, but don’t force them.
- Profiles at Google My Business and Bing Local
- Do everything relevant in these profiles.
- Google Search Console and visitor analytics
- Do everything relevant in these accounts.
- These are good for monitoring search results.
- XML sitemaps per sitemaps.org
- robots.txt file with sitemap entries
- Structured data for important information per schema.org
- IndexNow per indexnow.org
- 90+ on Speed on PageSpeed Insights, 100 on Accessibility, Best Practices, SEO
- Lower numbers can be okay. It depends on the details.
- Use a site/page cache as much as possible.
- Secure protocol HTTPS
- URLs that are short and descriptive with keywords if possible
- Use a single dash between words like this: ~/tampa-web-design/
- Links to your site from other good websites: chambers of commerce, industry websites, vendors, and anywhere relevant to your site
- 301 redirects when a URL is changed
- HTML semantic markup as much as possible
- Social media profiles with links to your website
- Create a business profile on any social media sites that are appropriate, and include a link to your site.
- Low-activity is okay, or active posting is okay. Review and edit the profiles at least once or twice a year.
- Monthly site updates, even minor edits
- Periodic updates seem to help SEO.
- Almost every site can be improved a few changes at a time. Periodically review and update some content so it’s better for visitors or your sales process.
- HTML landmark tags when appropriate
- Human readable names for media files (pictures, video, audio, graphics) with keywords if possible
- Not a top priority. Don’t change existing file names just because it’s on this list unless it’s easy to do. Do it from now on.
- Use a single dash between words like this: healthcare-web-design-screencap.jpg
- Valid HTML, no major errors at W3C Markup Validation Service
- Site icon
- Not a priority. Do it if it’s part of your website system or it’s easy.
This is not an exhaustive list; nor does it explain how to do each item. Use it as a guide to your planning, learning, web design specifications, or SEO services. Find other good lists, and use those, too.
Google Tells Us What To Do
Google publishes what they want. Use the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide at this URL:
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide
Bing Tells Us What To Do
Bing publishes what they want. Use the Bing Webmaster Guidelines at this URL:
https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a
Checklists Cover How to Publish, Not What to Say
These checklist items help you communicate with search engines, but they don’t tell you WHAT to say. I suggest you become familiar with the list, but don’t try to finish until you make content decisions.
Content SEO: What to Say
For many items in checklist SEO, you have to decide which words to use. This is content SEO. It’s custom to your site, your situation. It’s hard in its own way.
If there’s one SEO tip that’s consistent over time, it’s this: publish content somebody wants to find.
Here’s a simple example. A local plumber in Seffner, Florida would NOT publish content about a Rolls Royce dealer in London. Everybody understands the content should be about plumbing services in Seffner. It can be this simple, so don’t be intimidated by it. Write facts and information about your business, products, services, or site. That’s good content.
Here’s another level of decisions. The local plumber has to decide which phrases to use:
- “plumbing service”
- “plumbing services”
- “plumber”
- “drain clogs”
- “clogged drains”
- “drain cleaning”
- plus lots of other related phrases
And what geographic areas to prioritize:
- Seffner (the location of the business)
- Brandon (the next larger census-designated place where Seffner is located)
- Tampa (the nearby large city)
- Any other nearby town: Riverview, Plant City, Fish Hawk, Mango, Dover
The magic question: Which words and phrases are best for SEO?
Content SEO Takes More Time
You have to write text for visitors and decide which words to start with. In the beginning, content might not be “optimized”. That takes time to review results and make updates over months and even years.
Content SEO is very specific to your site, your business, and your location. Search engines regularly update how they create search results, so it can be an ongoing process. Here are the steps:
- Identify keywords and phrases for your content.
- Write and publish your first version of people-first content. While you’re at it, use keywords in the SEO checklist items.
- Loosely or precisely monitor traffic for a month. Then check search results for the keywords.
- Review your keyword list. Identify new keywords and maybe remove some keywords.
- Review your content. In small or big ways, add or edit content on site and off site.
- Repeat steps 3-5 over 12 months.
Expect Uncertainty
You won’t start with the perfect words, but you can make an educated guess. Regardless of your certainty, publish your best first draft.
There’s almost no way around it without a significant budget. Even with a budget, the process is something like this: publish content, wait, review results, and update content in SEO checklist items. Then wait and review again.
Write People-First Content
You want to communicate with people, so write for people. Don’t write for search engines. Consider these questions:
- What information do people want or need when they need your site, service, or business? Write that.
- What do you want to say to them? Write that.
It’s worth repeating: publish content people want to find.
You can edit it for SEO later. Start with people.
Create a Keyword List
Use a keyword list as a guide to help you prioritize your content and make sure you include priority words, some related words, and important information.
Don’t expect magic with a keyword list. Years ago, search results depended on specific keywords for any given search. Not anymore. They’re still relevant, but not like they used to be.
A Keyword is a Word or Phrase Somebody Might Search For
Think about what people search for when they need your product or service. Think about the search words you want to be found with. Make a list of those possible search phrases; it could be very long. Prioritize that list. That’s your keyword list.
Keyword tools are available online. Search for “keyword tools” to find websites that can help.
For the local plumber, “emergency plumber Seffner” might be a good keyword. Plus “clogged drain”, “plumber”, “seffner”, “plumber in seffner”, etc.
Include Place Names but Don’t Force Them In
Town names are important keywords for local businesses. If you want to target particular geographic areas, create an “Areas Served” section on your home page, in the footer, or anywhere it’s appropriate. Include a list of place names there and in the structured data. (See the Checklist SEO section above. Structured data is one of the items. Include “areaserved” data.)
Add the most important place names to headlines and page titles. Don’t force all of them into your headlines. Add them where they naturally fit.
If you have locations in different areas, consider adding pages optimized for those place names, but this can seem spammy to Google. Make sure you have unique, people-first content for each location page.
For the plumber in Seffner, the headline “Plumbing Service in Brandon, Florida” is a good headline or page title because Brandon is a big area that is in lots of searches.
Generally, publishing place names like this helps search engines associate your site with geographic areas.
Mundane Content, Info, Facts
Content doesn’t have to be amazing or loaded with education. Sometimes the content people want is mundane like:
- address, phone, contact info
- service areas
- hours of operation
- product or service lists
- product and service descriptions and technical specifications
- prices
- menus
- how to order
- pictures of past work
- terms or requirements for using a service or product
- whatever is particular to your site, business, or organization
Think about the information people want when they need your business or site. Include that info.
When somebody is searching for a plumber in Seffner, they might want information about and search for “emergency plumber Seffner”. So a plumber could include a section or page about emergency services including prices, areas served, and services available with rush service. That’s good content for that particular search.
Promotional, Positive, Appropriate
Mundane content can be worded to sell or promote. It doesn’t have to be “just the facts”. Add flowery language or boastful claims if they fit your brand; be technical, or promotional, or poetic, or whatever is appropriate for your site.
Helpful Content, Created to Benefit People
Helpful content can be good for SEO. It’s often what people imagine when they hear that content is important. Things like:
- arts and crafts tutorials
- technical or how-to lessons
- expert reviews and opinions
- news and updates
- educational material
- recipes
The idea is this: the content draws extra traffic, and the extra traffic leads to more business, promotion, or outreach. And the helpful content builds credibility for the site.
You don’t necessarily need helpful content for SEO. It’s an option. Good checklist SEO of relevant mundane content can do well on many sites, and it takes less time than helpful content. A few pages of helpful content can benefit any site, but it’s often published regularly over many months or years. Mundane “just the facts” content doesn’t need as much updating.
What is “helpful”? It’s not a simple answer.
“…primarily created to benefit people, not to gain search engine rankings…”
This defines “helpful” a little: Google says that their “automated ranking systems are designed to present helpful, reliable information that’s primarily created to benefit people, not to gain search engine rankings, in the top Search results.” (Source) And they have over 30 questions to evaluate helpful content. Examples include:
- Does the content provide a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia, or book?
- Does the main heading or page title avoid exaggerating or being shocking in nature?
- Does the content present information in a way that makes you want to trust it, such as clear sourcing, evidence of the expertise involved, background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site’s About page?
See the full list at Google’s Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content:
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content
If your goal of helpful content is SEO, use the Google guide to evaluate your content.
Do as Much as You Can Do Well: Start Small or Go Big
Set up Google My Business, Bing Local, Google Search Console, visitor analytics, and relevant social media profiles. You should do these and other off-site checklist items no matter how much on-site content you publish.
Whether you’re starting a new site or you have lots of pages on an existing site, start with a few pages done very well, especially if you have limited resources. Create or update around five pages to be as thoroughly optimized as you can. If you have an adequate budget of money or time, take on as much as you can do well. Publish these pages.
This starts the process of getting these pages in search results, and it can take weeks or months. Plus this first round of pages is also a good way to learn the mechanics and decisions of SEO.
Then write or update another page or section of your site, and then another. These ongoing updates help SEO a little. As the weeks and months go by, your newly optimized pages could show up in search results. And it will take time, so plan for it.
Advanced SEO
Everything above is the start of SEO and is perfect for many, probably most businesses, but it’s not advanced SEO.
Advanced SEO is everything above plus lots more effort.
It’s ongoing, detailed research of keywords, competition, search results, search trends, visitor profiles, and statistical analysis of all metrics. It’s adjusting for the many updates to search engine algorithms. It’s keeping up with the latest tricks and new tactics. It’s creation of targeted content for specific search terms of target audiences. It’s testing one thing and another. It’s analysis, then updates, followed by more analysis, more site tweaks. It’s ongoing and time consuming.
That said, the checklist above and good content are the foundation of SEO for most businesses as well as for advanced SEO. Of course, your effort depends on your business goals and priorities.
Conclusion
Use a good checklist to guide you, and plan adequate time for content SEO. Many items in an SEO checklist need text, and the words you use are important. Take the time to publish people-first content for your site and for checklist items. Wait, review the results, and update your content in small or big ways. Repeat.