1. Get Your Site Noticed by Google

What to do:

Google needs to see and understand your website to rank it.

Start with technical SEO, which involves optimizing your site’s structure and code.

Pro Tip:

To speed up Google’s recognition of your new pages or changes, use the Google Indexing API to request indexing directly.

1. Keep Your Site Structure Simple

What to do: Your site’s structure should be simple and shallow, meaning essential pages should be at most three clicks away from the homepage. This hierarchy helps Google see the importance of your pages and ensures they get indexed promptly.

Why it matters:

Google considers deep pages less critical and may only crawl them sometimes.

1. Handle Redirects Carefully

What to do:

1. Set up your redirects correctly.
2. Avoid redirecting unrelated pages, as Google may treat them as soft 404 errors.
3. Use 301 redirects to inform Google when a page has moved.

Why it matters: Incorrect redirects can harm your site’s rankings and user experience.

1. Properly Link Your Pages

What to do:

Ensure all pages on your website are well-linked, making it easier for Google to discover them.

Use a straightforward navigation menu, and pay attention to anchor text to establish logical connections between pages.

Pro Tip:

Footer links can be helpful for navigation but are not mandatory.

1. Improve PageSpeed

What to do:

Slow-loading pages can lead to lower rankings and higher bounce rates.

Use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Search Console to check your pages and follow their suggestions for improvement.

Why it matters:

Google values fast-loading pages and penalizes slow ones.

1. Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly

What to do:

Optimize your website for mobile devices. Google now prioritizes mobile-first indexing.

Ensure responsive design, avoid intrusive pop-ups, and maintain readable font sizes.

Pro Tip: Use Google Search Console’s Mobile Usability report to identify and fix mobile-related issues.

1. Set Up and Connect International Versions

What to do:

If you have international site versions, handle localization carefully. Use the hreflang tags to let the search engine know the language and regional targeting.

Consider creating directories if you want to pass link authority.

Why it matters:

Proper international SEO ensures your site ranks well in different regions.

1. Build High-Quality Backlinks

What to do: Backlinks remain essential for SEO. Identify prospects who link to your competitors, pitch guest posts, and seek inclusion in relevant listicles. Also, leverage broken link-building opportunities.

Pro Tip:

Backlinks from authoritative sites boost your own site’s authority.

1. Optimize On-Page SEO

What to do:

1. Create descriptive yet concise meta titles and descriptions for your pages.
2. Use structured data (schema markup) to provide Google with clear information about your content.
3. Ensure all images have descriptive alt texts.

Why it matters:

Well-optimized on-page elements improve click-through rates and visibility in search results.

1. Create Valuable Content

What to do:

1. Focus on writing valuable content for your audience, not just for search engines.
2. Choose keywords wisely based on search intent.
3. Share real-life experiences and examples to prove expertise.

Why it matters:

Valuable content attracts and engages users, which can lead to higher rankings.