Most SEO advice is either too abstract to act on or too outdated to trust. This is the short version I actually use before hitting publish — technical basics first, then on-page, then content quality.
Technical basics
- One canonical URL per post. Duplicate or parameterized URLs split ranking signals instead of combining them.
- A real sitemap, kept current. Search engines shouldn't have to guess what exists on the site.
- Fast first paint. Static generation and minimal client-side JavaScript solve most of this before you've written a line of "optimization" code.
- Structured data on article pages. A
BlogPostingschema block gives search engines an unambiguous read on the title, author, and publish date.
On-page basics
- Title tag under 60 characters, with the primary keyword near the front.
- Meta description under 155 characters that reads like a reason to click, not a keyword list.
- One H1 per page. Everything below it steps down in a logical order — H2s for sections, H3s for subsections.
- Internal links to related posts, using descriptive anchor text instead of "click here."
Content quality
Search engines increasingly reward what they can't fake: specificity, direct experience, and a clear point of view. A checklist can get the technical and on-page work right, but it can't write the sentence that makes someone stay on the page. That part is still on you.
The goal of all of the above isn't to trick a ranking algorithm — it's to remove every reason a good piece of content might get overlooked.