How to Improve SEO: A Holistic Guide to Dominating Search Rankings

1. Introduction

Did you know that 89% of people use search engines to make purchasing decisions? However, 96.550% of websites (content) get zero organic traffic due to the lack of a defined SEO strategy. A recent report from Fleishman-Hillard stated that if businesses want to improve their search visibility, they must have a successful SEO strategy. 

Currently, Google owns almost 94% of the total search engine market, meaning that pages ranking in Google’s top results receive 27.6% of all clicks on the platform. That’s organic traffic your competitors might be paying for (through paid ad strategies). But you can get this for free just by improving your SEO. 

In this blog, we will discuss how to improve your SEO and reach the top by following Google’s guidelines and some cheat sheets. 

What does SEO mean?

SEO, aka search engine optimization, is a strategy that helps search engines understand your website content and assists users in finding what they are looking for. SEO boosts your website’s visibility and determines your Google ranking by creating relevance between your content and user intent.  

For example, if a user types “Best barber shops near me,” then based on your Google My Business profile and the content you have published, Google can understand that you have a barber shop in this location, allowing it to show your shop in the relevant results to the user. This is a general depiction of SEO. However, when we go deeper, it is an umbrella term with multiple relying factors that contribute to its proper functioning. 

What does SEO consist of?

SEO makes it easy for Google to understand your website by building relevance with search queries. But what does SEO actually mean? SEO isn’t just one single term; it consists of various components:

Type	Key Components
Technical SEO	Crawlability • Site speed • Mobile-friendly • HTTPS
On-Page SEO	Keywords • Meta tags • Internal links • Content quality
Off-Page SEO	Backlinks • Social shares • Brand mentions
Content Strategy	User-focused • Long-form • Fresh updates
User Experience	Easy navigation • Low bounce rate • Accessibility
Local SEO	Google My Business • Local keywords • Consistent listings
Analytics	Traffic tracking • Rank monitoring • Algorithm updates

Now, let’s explore how these components contribute to improving the overall SEO of your website and help your dominate search rankings. 

1- Keyword Research & Intent Optimization 

SEO keywords or keyphrases are the specific terms that we insert in content hoping to rank in SERPs (search engine results) when a user puts that keyword in the search bar. 

If we go back a few years, SEO was all about keywords. You would find a few keyword opportunities with good search volume and relatively low keyword difficulty, and boom, you’d get ranked and start receiving traffic. But now, the situation is entirely different. Semantic SEO has dominated the SERPs. 

Semantic SEO gives more meaning and depth to your website content by building a narrative and giving Google crawlers the breadcrumbs to understand the intent behind the content, thus making it more high-quality and attracting good traffic. 

Now, the keyword research has changed. We don’t optimize content pages solely based on keywords; rather, we go deep into intent and optimize based on search intent. We generate content backed by other content, thus making a tree of content, each optimized for a unique keyword, but together, they build a strong topical authority.

Intent Mapping: 

We use four types of keyword search intent to categorize our content, and Google does the same. By carefully dividing your content according to these intents, you will create an intent map, making it easier for Google to understand the reasoning behind your content piece.

 Below are the four types of keywords.

• Informational – What is SEO
• Commercial – Best SEO agencies
• Transactional – Hire SEO agency
• Navigational – Mainframe logic seo agency

Reports also suggested that you can rank your website by targeting keywords based on search intent. 

40% of searches are now phrased as questions (Ahrefs, 2023).

Pages targeting 3+ related keywords rank 2x higher (Semrush)

For example, Airbnb uses “best vacation spots near [city]” to capture long-tail intent.

Tip: Use AnswerThePublic to identify question-based keywords.

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)

LSI, or Latent Semantic Indexing, refers to identifying the relationships between words and the intentions behind them. Including LSI terms in your content alongside the main keywords will semantically strengthen your content.

Tip: You can use tools like LSIGraph to find contextually related terms.

 

2- On-Page SEO: 

The second most important SEO type for improving your website’s SEO is on-page SEO. On-page SEO optimizes your website content to improve its search rankings and gives your website a structure that Google crawlers can easily understand. 

Backlinko stated that sites with structured content silos see 80% higher organic traffic.

Elements of On-page SEO:

There are several on-page SEO components that help websites improve their rankings.

Elements	Definition	Checklist
Meta Tags	Page title and description that help search engines understand page content.	A. Title TagsKeep under 60 characters.Include primary keywords.Unique and descriptive.B. Meta DescriptionsContent summary (150–160 characters).Include keywords naturally.C. Headers (H1, H2, H3)Use H1 for page titles.Structure content with hierarchical headers.Include keywords sparingly.
URL Structure	The URL structure with the key keyword included to help both users and search engines understand.	Clean, descriptive URLs.Hyphen-separated words.Avoid dynamic parameters.
Content	Information present on website, landing pages, blogs	High-quality, original content.Keyword placement (natural density).Answer user intent (E-A-T: Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
Internal Linking	Links from 1 page directed to another on your website	Link to relevant pages.Use keyword-rich anchor text.
Keyword Placements	Strategically using relevant words throughout the content to improve search engine ranking.	Add keywords in Meta tags, Header tags, URL, Alt text, and in the body of text (1-2% KD)
Schema Markup	Provide search engine with the sequence to comprehend site content	Tag data on pages correctly
Page Speed	The time it takes for a webpage to load. It can directly impact SEO and UX.	Should take less than 3 sec to load

Now, let’s understand how to insert keywords in the content page to optimize it:

With the right keyword placement on your content page, you can optimize it for search engines. 

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Topic Clusters: 

Topic clusters refer to interlinking all the relevant pages about a single subject to create a content hub. This term might seem new to many people, but it’s just a new name for the same thing as hub, pillar, spoke, and clusters. 

For example, if you are offering SEO services, create whole topic clusters around SEO. Talk about its types, how to improve it, what’s new in SEO, or budget-friendly SEO tactics, and then link them all together to create a content flow.

Why are topic clusters important in on-page seo?

On-page SEO is all about optimizing content to give Google a good understanding of your website. As we can see, Google has been updating its SEO and content guidelines lately and is on a mission to provide its users with the best results possible based on their intent. 

Previously, our focus was solely on keyword intent, but now topical authority and topical intent are also key elements in ranking specific content or websites. 

By building topic clusters, you are not only establishing topical authority but also providing Google with a roadmap and users with additional value through attached resources in a single piece of content.

Example: HubSpot’s marketing library

To understand this, we can take HubSpot as an example. HubSpot and SEMrush have extensive content libraries. They have built content hubs around pillar pages (e.g., HubSpot’s marketing library) and strong on-page SEO through internal linking over the years. This helps them in two ways. First, users can find topics and subtopics under a single header tab. Secondly, it signals to Google about the value of content based on user feedback, such as scroll depth or session duration, demonstrating HubSpot’s strong topical authority. 

Tip: Audit orphaned pages with Screaming Frog and integrate them into silos.

3- Off-page SEO:

Off-page or off-site SEO is a practice that includes all the efforts you make outside your website to improve its ranking in SERPs, such as link building, content marketing, social media marketing, podcasting, or guest posting. 

If you write a blog for another website and link it back to your website, you have done off-page SEO. If you make a social media blog post and link it back to your website, you have also done off-page SEO.

Example: Leila Hormozi Podcast

One of the great examples here is the podcast by Leila Hormozi. She is a co-founder of Acquisition.com, and in her podcast, she gives life-changing advice and shares her roadmap, failures, and wins. This is how she is building a strong off-page SEO for her website. People who discover her video and want to work with her jump straight to her website to book a meeting or form a partnership. This is how off-page SEO brings opportunities for your business without directly attracting traffic to your website. 

Main factor that differentiates on-page seo to off-page seo

Control is the only factor that differentiates on-page SEO from off-page SEO. You have complete control over on-page SEO as it is relevant only to your website, but you have less control over off-page SEO. You can optimize your website content from every angle possible, but getting backlinks from other websites to build your authority is tricky. 

You never know which website will give you a backlink in exchange for a guest post or collaboration. Alternatively, you may find websites willing to provide backlinks, but their domain authority might not meet your expectations. It’s half luck, half effort, and a complete strategy. 

4. Technical SEO: 

As its name suggests, technical SEO is a process of ensuring that your website fulfills all the technical requirements of the search engine, which is required to boost your organic rankings. 

But most websites fail core web vitals, which means they fail to provide a good user experience that directly impacts their potential to attract and retain organic traffic. Stats suggest that pages that take 2 seconds to load have a 9% bounce rate vs. 38% for the pages that take 5 seconds to load (Google).  Alarming right? To ensure your users get the best experience, keep your website’s technical functionality in check. 

Major components of technical SEO

Technical SEO Factor	Best Practices
1. Crawlability	– Ensure robots.txt does not block important pages.- Submit an XML sitemap via Google Search Console.- Fix crawl errors in Google Search Console.- Use log file analysis to identify crawl inefficiencies.
2. Website Structure	– Use a clear site hierarchy (e.g., Home > Category > Subcategory > Page).- Keep URLs short, clean, and keyword-rich.- Implement breadcrumb navigation for better UX and SEO.- Optimize internal linking for better indexing.
3. Page Speed	– Compress images using next-gen formats (e.g., WebP, AVIF).- Minify CSS/JavaScript and enable browser caching.- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for faster global access.- Optimize Core Web Vitals for better performance.
4. Mobile Optimization	– Implement responsive design for all screen sizes.- Ensure fast mobile load times using AMP where applicable.- Conduct mobile-friendliness tests via Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.- Optimize tap targets for better usability.
5. Secure Website (HTTPS)	– Install and maintain an SSL certificate.- Redirect HTTP to HTTPS using 301 redirects.- Regularly check for mixed content errors.- Implement HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) for added security.
6. Meta Tags	– Use unique and optimized title tags and meta descriptions.- Implement structured data for rich snippets.- Optimize Open Graph and Twitter Card tags for social sharing.- Avoid keyword stuffing in meta tags.
7. Structured Data	– Use schema markup for articles, products, FAQs, and reviews.- Validate structured data using Google’s Rich Results Test.- Implement JSON-LD format for structured data.- Use schema to enhance local SEO (e.g., LocalBusiness schema).
8. Image Optimization	– Use descriptive, keyword-rich file names.- Include alt text for accessibility and SEO.- Implement lazy loading to improve page speed.- Serve images in next-gen formats (WebP, AVIF) to reduce file size.
9. Internal Linking	– Use descriptive anchor text for internal links.- Ensure high-priority pages are linked contextually.- Avoid orphan pages by ensuring all pages are internally linked.- Regularly audit internal links for broken links or redirects.

Source

Below is the website performance before and after improving its technical side of SEO. 

Source: Pinterest

JavaScript SEO: 

When using JavaScript to build your website, search engines may struggle to read your content. To help them, pre-render single-page applications (SPAs) so that crawlers can easily access and understand your site’s information.

Mobile-First Indexing: 

Google primarily evaluates websites based on their mobile versions instead of desktop versions. To ensure your site performs well under this system, check its mobile responsiveness using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool, which helps you identify and fix any issues that could hinder mobile user experience.

Tip: 

To optimize your website’s performance, you can use Lighthouse, a tool developed by Google. It audits various aspects of web performance. One specific area to focus on is the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which measures how quickly the largest visible elements of your page load, impacting user perception and experience.

5. Content Quality & E-E-A-T 

Content is another major factor that contributes to improving overall website SEO. After the Google Panda update, we have seen hundreds of websites going down. What was the reason? Content produced by large language models? Not exactly the case. 

Google has no particular issue with AI-generated content unless it provides enough value to its users. 

The purpose of the Google Panda update was to punish websites with thin content. Every day, Google strives to improve its user experience by providing users with exactly what they are searching for. Content with higher bounce rates or zero traffic indicates two things: either bad SEO or thin content. That’s why content and SEO go hand in hand. 

If you are producing great content without implementing any SEO practices, your content is lost in the sea of Google’s SERPs. But if you are doing great SEO on your thin content, then in the long run, you will get punished by Google. So, the only way to improve your SEO is to follow Google’s content guidelines, produce high-quality content (E.E.A.T. content), and implement SEO practices to push it higher in the search engines. There is no shortcut to gaining organic ranking, only quality content. 

What is E.E.A.T. content?

E.E.A.T. stands on four pillars: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Content with E.A.T. attributes signals Google about its quality. If you want Google to trust your content and improve your ranking, make sure to fulfill all four pillars. 

Elements to build a good content strategy

A. Keyword Research

Keywords are entities that help Google identify and understand the core of your content. By inserting relevant keywords (that your users are searching for), you are signaling to Google where and on which search terms to rank your content for.  

How to find your niche keywords:

Several free and paid tools can help you find your niche keywords, keywords your competitors are ranking for, LHF keywords, and content gaps. 

Source: Topdevelopers.co

Step-by-step Keyword Research guide (Using Semrush)

1. Brainstorm Seed Keywords

Seed keywords or head terms are broad terms or phrases related to your brand, product, service, or niche.
Start by thinking about the problems you solve and the search terms people might use to find your business.
Example for an online tech magazine:

• “tech news”
• “technology magazine”
• “gadget review”
• “tech review site”
• “buying guides”

2. Discover Relevant Search Terms

• Enter a seed keyword into the Keyword Magic Tool.
• Explore related keyword ideas and valuable metrics.
• Use suggested groups and subgroups to focus on the most relevant search terms for your niche.

3. Find LHF or Long-Tail Keywords

• Low hanging fruit or long tail keywords are less competitive but highly targeted, making them great for SEO.
• Use the KD % filter in the Keyword Magic Tool to find low-difficulty keywords.
• Click the filter and select “Easy” to find keywords with low competition.
• Check Personal Keyword Difficulty to see how hard it is to rank in the Top 10 SERP results for a keyword.

Build topical authority with long-tail keywords before targeting high-competition keywords.

4. Get Keyword Ideas from Competitors

• Find gaps where competitors rank but you don’t.
  Use the Keyword Gap Tool to compare your URL against up to four competitor URLs.
  Scroll down and click the “Missing” filter to view keywords competitors rank for, but you don’t.
  Use these insights to create SEO content that can capture more traffic.

5. Analyze Keyword Metrics

Review the Keyword Overview Tool for important keyword data.
Key metrics to analyze:

• Search volume (how often a keyword is searched)
• Keyword difficulty (how hard it is to rank)
• CPC (cost-per-click for paid ads)
• SERP features (e.g., featured snippets, knowledge panels)
• Personal keyword difficulty (how hard it is to rank based on your domain authority)

High-volume keywords may bring more traffic but can be hard to rank for. Balance between search volume and keyword difficulty.

6. Determine Search Intent

Identify the four main types of search intent:

• Informational – User finding answers.
• Navigational – Users specifically searching for some website or brand.
• Commercial – Users trying to make a purchase 
• Transactional – Users ready to buy/take action.

Use the Keyword Overview Tool to check the intent of your target keywords.
Plan content that matches the intent of the keyword (e.g., a “how-to” guide for informational searches).

7. Structure Your Keywords

Organize keyword lists with the Keyword Strategy Builder.
Enter up to five seed keywords, and the tool will generate structured lists for:

• Topics
• Pillar pages
• Subpages

This structured approach ensures better content organization and internal linking.

8. Prioritize Your Keywords

Segment keyword lists based on the content marketing funnel:

• ToFu (Top of Funnel) Keywords – High search volume, awareness-stage queries.
• MoFu (Middle of Funnel) Keywords – Moderate search volume, users considering options.
• BoFu (Bottom of Funnel) Keywords – Lower search volume, high buyer intent.

Start with BoFu keywords for quicker conversions, then move to MoFu and ToFu for broader reach.

A strong keyword strategy covers all funnel stages to attract, nurture, and convert leads.

9. Do Audience Research to Plan Your Content

Research competitor audiences to define your ideal customer profile (ICP).
Use One2Target to analyze up to five competitor domains.
Get detailed insights into:

• Demographics
• Socioeconomic factors
• Online behavior

Understanding your audience helps align your content strategy with what users actually want.

B. Content Types

After your keyword research, identify which content types will best suit your niche. Write blog posts, build topic clusters (pillar content), or create infographics.

C. Content Updates

Keep content fresh: Keep your content aligned with updates to ensure it remains fresh and relevant. Update old posts quarterly; 60% of pages ranking in top 10 are updated annually.

If you have documented a blog on top 2024 SEO trends, then update it in 2025. Transparency is another important factor. Research suggests that 45% of top-ranking pages include author bios with credentials (Authority Hacker). Instead of just adding author bios, also update the date when the content piece was last revised. 

Repurpose existing content: Rather than continuously brainstorming new ideas. Repurpose your previous high-ranked or most liked content. For instance, you can break down your blog post into multiple social media posts or convert your blog post into a podcast or detailed video. 

D. Distribution

Then comes the distribution of your content. Depending on your niche, you can distribute your content via blogs, social media, email/newsletter, or videos. 

6. Backlink or link building

Backlinks are the links you have on other websites that link back to your own. These links serve as trust signals that help Google understand that your website has content worth linking to. Backlinks or link building directly impact your domain authority (DA) and your overall organic ranking. The more backlinks you have from trusted and higher-authority websites, the more trust Google will place in your website, thereby ranking it higher in SERPs for relevant search terms. According to Ahrefs, pages with 100+ backlinks generate five times more traffic. It’s a win-win situation. But the major question is how you get these backlinks. 

Here is a complete guide on how to do link building for your website.

White Hat Link Building – Protect Your Website From Being Penalized

7. Local SEO

According to BrightLocal, 46% of Google searches seek local information. If you own a local business and are not visible on Google, then you are missing out on many potential customers. Local SEO is a strategy that helps local businesses with a physical presence gain visibility in local search results (SERPs). 

Google Business Profile (GBP): 

Start by creating a Google My Business profile. Next, include all relevant information necessary for Google to understand your business and its proper location. Then, develop a solid strategy. Utilize posts and the Q&A features to enhance engagement. Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) is consistent across directories.

Example: 

The bakery ranked #1 on Google with the keyword “gluten-free cupcakes,” which is popular in their town and a specialty.

Tip: Embed Google Maps on contact pages for local crawlability.

Yelp:

Yelp is great for creating advocacy (Customer reviews) as a local business. Similar to Google My Business, you need to create a profile by adding all your relevant information. To date, Yelp has over 287.36 million reviews. Customers trust Yelp to form an idea about the business.

Source: Yelp

By establishing your profile and generating a strong online presence with relevant keywords, you can attract many potential customers from Yelp. People trust businesses that are already trusted by others and are more likely to contact you directly after reading few positive reviews.

Source: Yelp 

8. Voice Search & Structured Data

Voice search is on the rise. The world is getting fast, and typing takes a lot of time and attention. That makes people use voice searches more than ever because it’s convenient and gets them accurate results. We can largely see this shift. Even large language models (Like Open AI) have introduced voice search features to make it easier for users to interact.

The concern is how it impacts SEO. Well, we have to adapt. There was a time when SEO was all about blogs, but now every social media platform ranks content based on SEO. So why not voice search? 

• To make your content suitable for voice search results, use a human-like tone in your writing 
• Insert keywords and keyphrases that people are using in their everyday conversations.
• Write short paragraphs that address people’s queries to rank in featured snippets 
• Implement FAQPage schema for voice-ready answers. (Use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to validate markup).
• Target Conversational Keywords like “how to” and “best way to” phrases.

9. Analytics & Monitoring

Now that you have implemented SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on your website, the next important step is to monitor how well it is performing. Monitoring allows you to see if your SEO efforts are effective and where improvements can be made.

There are many tools available that provide detailed analytics and reports on your SEO performance. One of the most widely used tools is Google Analytics. It is a free service offered by Google that lets you track your website’s SEO performance effectively and make necessary adjustments based on the data.

Here are some specific areas of SEO monitoring you should consider:

1. Rank Tracking: To keep track of your keyword positions, use a tool like AccuRanker. This tool helps you see where your website ranks for specific keywords in search results.

2. Behavioral Metrics: It’s important to understand how visitors interact with your website. Tools like Hotjar help you analyze how far down the page users scroll and where they click the most. This information can guide you in optimizing your content layout.

To ensure you identify any potential issues with your website, set up alerts in Google Search Console. This tool will notify you of crawl errors, which are problems that hinder search engines from accurately indexing your site. 

10. Future Trends – AI & MUM 

HubSpot reports that 35% of marketers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their search engine optimization (SEO). This indicates that many marketing professionals are looking for ways to use AI technology to automate and improve their website visibility.

Google’s MUM:

Google has launched a technology named MUM (Multitask Unified Model). This model helps marketers and content creators improve their content for different formats, such as text, videos, and images. The goal is to make sure that any type of content can be easily discovered by users in search results, leading to a better overall experience.

AI Tools for Content Creation:

There are AI tools available that are helping marketers with their tasks. 

For instance, Surfer SEO grades content, making it easier to see how well it is optimized for SEO. 

Jasper is another amazing tool for creating content briefs, which are outlines or summaries that help guide the writing process. These tools save time and increase content quality and performance, too.

Backlinko and SEO AI

Backlinko uses SEO AI to speed up content creation and improve organic traffic.

Additional Resources

Toolkit: 

• SEMrush, Ahref, Moz (keyword research)
• Keywordsheeter, Keywordtool (Free keyword research tool)
• Screaming Frog (audits) 
• Clearscope (content optimization)
• Yoast (SEO content analysis tool)
• SEO AI (AI writer for SEO)
• Coschedule (Headline optimization tool)

Here is a free resource on all major SEO terminologies 

12. End Note

SEO is a broad concept that involves balancing technical, on-page, and user experience (UX) factors. Building a great website is useless if you forget to optimize it for Google search results, and the only way to do that is through SEO. Many businesses neglect SEO, thinking it’s costly, but it is actually the most cost-effective marketing approach.

Following these steps will help you improve your website’s SEO and rank it for relevant search terms. Once your website appears at the top of search results, you will start attracting organic traffic that will ultimately lead to more conversions and sales. 

This is your sign to start building your SEO strategy if you haven’t already, as it will certainly pay off in the long run. While paid marketing strategies can make your website visible for a short time, organic ranking ensures visibility every time a user searches on Google. Understand the difference and make sure you build a long-term success plan.

Bookmark this guide and audit your site today using our free SEO checklist and improvement Template.