Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn’t just about showing up in search results — it’s about being understood. Modern SEO is built into the code itself, starting with how content is structured, how pages are marked up, and how a site performs across devices. One of the most important aspects is making your content not only easy for humans to read, but also optimized for search engine crawlers.
Start with Solid Meta Data
The fundamentals matter. Every page should have clean, well-structured meta data to help search engines understand its content. I make sure to:
- Set canonical tags to avoid duplicate content issues and ensure search engines index the right version of a page.
- Add alternate hreflang tags for multilingual sites to help direct users to the correct language or regional version.
- Write concise and clear title and meta description tags that reflect the page’s value to the user and improve click-through rates from search results.
And no, I don’t focus on stuffing keyword meta tags — search engines haven’t used them in years. Instead, I focus on writing useful, well-structured content that aligns with real user intent.
Enhance Discoverability with Structured Data
To help search engines go beyond just reading — to actually understanding — I add structured data using JSON-LD. This semantic markup allows content to appear in rich results like:
- Product listings with pricing and availability
- Product ratings so Google will show ratings in search results
- Articles with publish dates and authors
- FAQs, breadcrumbs, and even local business info
Structured data improves visibility in Google’s search features and helps expose content to the right audiences. It’s one of the best ways to speak directly to search engine robots and clarify what your content is about.
Optimize the Share Experience with Open Graph Tags
Sharing isn’t just about social reach — it’s also a signal of relevance and trust. I implement Open Graph meta tags for platforms like Facebook and Twitter to ensure that shared links look great and provide value at a glance. This includes:
- Customizing preview images
- Writing optimized share titles and descriptions
- Ensuring Twitter cards render correctly
When users share your page, it should look polished, professional, and enticing — because a shared link that drives traffic is still a win.
Analyze Web Core Vitals & Lighthouse Scores
Search engines reward good user experience, and that means your site needs to perform. I use Lighthouse to regularly audit pages for:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
- First Input Delay (FID)
From there, I dig into the code to make improvements — whether that’s optimizing images, reducing JavaScript, deferring unused assets, or cleaning up render-blocking resources.
A fast, smooth site isn’t just better for SEO. It’s better for users, and that’s what search engines want to see.
Fine-Tune Based on Google Search Insights
Google Search Console is one of the most underrated tools in an SEO toolkit. I regularly review performance reports to:
- Identify search terms where pages are ranking on the second or third page
- Fine-tune content, headings, or internal links to push those terms toward page one
- Spot content gaps or underperforming pages that could be reworked or expanded
This data-driven iteration ensures ongoing optimization beyond the initial launch.
TLDR
Good SEO is about more than just keywords and links. It’s about creating a site that is valuable, discoverable, fast, and shareable — all built on a solid technical foundation. My approach combines technical SEO best practices, thoughtful UX, and real user data to help sites perform better today and stay competitive tomorrow.