21 SEO Essentials for Every Piece of Content

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a frequently-used term that not everyone understands. The fundamental goal of SEO is to generate web traffic to your website via search engines and other free promotional methods rather than through paid advertising. If you want to improve your website’s SEO results, this checklist of 21 essential content components is a simple tool to help you optimize every post you create.

1. High-Quality Content

Consistently publish well-written, high-quality content relevant to your business.

2. Long-Form Content

Long-form content, generally referring to content over 2,000 words, offers valuable information to readers and can improve a site’s search engine ranking.

3. Evergreen Content

Create valuable content that stays relevant over time, such as tips, how-to processes, FAQs, and checklists.

4. User Experience

Incorporate simple navigation and the ability to search on your website to provide the best possible user experience.

5. Internal Links

Link to related internal topics on your site to help search engine bots find and rank your content.

6. Optimized URLs

Optimize URLs by creating short, clear page names that include the primary keyword.

7. Title and Subheadings

Your title and first sentence must capture your readers’ attention and inspire them to continue reading. Use H2 and H3 subheadings to break up your content and engage a reader’s interest.

8. Images

Create eye-catching graphics that supplement the information and add descriptive alt text to images to boost SEO.

9. Keyword Research

Don’t assume you know the best keywords for your topic. Take time to conduct keyword research.

10. Primary Keyword

Use your primary keyword within the first two paragraphs and once in a subheading. Only use the primary keyword three to five times in the body to avoid keyword stuffing.

11. Secondary Keywords

While researching keywords, find two or three relevant low-competition keywords as secondary keywords. Use three or four secondary keywords in your content and once in a subheading.

12. Long-Tail Keyword

Use one long-tail keyword that contains over three words and has less search volume and competition than the primary keyword.

13. Outbound Links

Add a few outbound links in your content to reputable noncompetitor websites. These outbound links add value and depth to text for your readers and help them develop trust in you by providing a source of more information that readers can explore.

14. Backlinks

Get backlinks to your content from industry leaders and other related businesses.

15. Authority

Build your site’s authority by sharing accurate, well-written content with reputable sources.

16. Conclusion

Close articles with a powerful conclusion and a call to action.

17. Mobile Friendly

Design your site for cross-platform functionality and mobile access.

18. Site Speed

Analyze your site speed and boost site performance as much as possible, even if it requires a simplified design.

19. Social Sharing

Make it easy for visitors to share your pages with prominent social sharing buttons.

20. Meta Description

Create a 150- to 160-character-optimized meta description using your primary keyword.

21. Schema Markup

Add schema markup with Google’s free Structured Data Markup Helper tool.

Whether your business focuses on home services, legal, or automotive, the experts at LMH can improve your organic SEO results and optimize your paid advertising tactics, including pay-per-click (PPC) and social media ads. Schedule a free consultation to identify how we can help improve your website’s performance.