SEO Techniques

SEO plan 2025 A – Audit Your Website: Begin with a comprehensive SEO audit. Use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to identify broken links, duplicate content, and technical errors. B – Build Backlinks: Quality backlinks remain crucial. Focus on guest posting, digital PR, and creating link-worthy content. C – Core Web Vitals: Optimize for Google’s Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) to enhance user experience and improve rankings. D – Data-Driven Decisions: Use Google Analytics and Search Console to track performance and guide your SEO strategies. E – E-A-T Compliance: Establish Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness in your niche, especially for YMYL (Your Money Your Life) websites. F – Fresh Content: Regularly update or add new content. Google rewards websites that stay current and relevant. G – Google Business Profile: For local SEO, optimize and maintain an accurate Google Business Profile listing. H – Headings Optimization: Use H1, H2, H3 tags properly to structure content for both users and search engines. I – Internal Linking: Build a logical internal link structure to guide users and distribute link equity. J – JavaScript SEO: Ensure content rendered via JavaScript is crawlable and indexable by search engines. K – Keyword Research: Use modern tools like Semrush or Ubersuggest to identify long-tail and intent-driven keywords. L – Link Structure: Maintain clean and SEO-friendly URLs with proper slugs and no unnecessary parameters. M – Mobile Optimization: Ensure your website is mobile-responsive, as mobile-first indexing is now the standard. N – Niche Authority: Focus on creating depth in your content to become an authority in your niche. O – On-Page SEO: Optimize titles, meta descriptions, images (alt tags), and content around target keywords. P – Page Speed: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify and fix slow-loading pages. Q – Quality Content: Always prioritize content that provides real value to users over keyword-stuffed articles. R – Responsive Design: Adapt your site design for all screen sizes and devices. S – Schema Markup: Implement structured data to enhance search listings with rich snippets. T – Technical SEO: Fix crawl errors, sitemaps, robots.txt, canonical tags, and other backend elements. U – User Experience (UX): A seamless UX improves dwell time, reduces bounce rate, and supports SEO. V – Voice Search Optimization: Target conversational queries and FAQs for better visibility in voice results. W – Web Security (HTTPS): Secure your site with SSL – it's a ranking factor and builds trust. X – XML Sitemap: Keep your XML sitemap updated and submit it to Google Search Console. Y – YouTube SEO: If you use videos, optimize titles, descriptions, and tags for better visibility on YouTube and Google. Z – Zero-Click Searches: Optimize for featured snippets, People Also Ask, and knowledge panels. #seoexpert #seo #topratedseoexpert #seotips #expartagency

Here is a great framework to help you account for unintended consequences. What are unintended consequences? Sometimes also referred to as backfires - Are the outcomes that happen as a result of developing an intervention that was not anticipated or desired. What types of unintended consequences are there? - Goals: Desirable and anticipated outcomes of a policy. -Trade-offs: Anticipated negative outcomes, which are expected but not intended. -Serendipities: Unanticipated but desirable consequences. -Classic negative unintended consequences: Unanticipated and undesirable outcomes. What is the framework that can help you? INCASE - development by Laura de Molière and colleagues over at the cabinet office a few years back. It stand for: I: Intended behaviors – Outcomes that align with the campaign goals but may have side effects if the system cannot handle demand. N: Non-target audiences – Effects on audiences outside the intended target, who may inadvertently be influenced. C: Compensatory behaviors – Unintended behaviors where people “compensate” in ways that counteract the desired outcome. A: Additional behaviors – Extra behaviors that arise, sometimes supporting or undermining the goal. S: Signaling – The unintended messages a campaign might send, impacting public perceptions. E: Emotional impact – Emotional reactions, including negative responses like fear or defiance, that may hinder engagement. Have a look and adapt as needed

I've spent more time than I'd like to admit analyzing websites hit by the Helpful Content Update over the last few days. Here are some more patterns among the negatively impacted sites: - The homepage often dives into the latest articles or simply links to affiliate sites without providing the user with any context about who your brand is or what it does - Spray and pray content strategy, e.g. trying to rank for every possible topic in the niche (something tells me an SEO guru or two may have been behind this one, hehe) without providing much depth or value - Creating product reviews based exclusively on what others have said online. Not saying your content is bad, but it's not original. This is abundantly clear in Google's guidance for various ranking systems. - Lack of branding in general. You should be able to find information about the site on external sources. When I Google the names of half of these blogs, I don't find anything relevant. This says to me that you are simply investing in a domain to make money, not to build a brand. If you can't simply answer "why does this website exist?" without saying "just to make the owner money," then you could be at risk with the Helpful Content system and other ranking systems like it. - Lack of transparency around who wrote the content and why the reader should trust them. And I don't mean just adding the author's name and a short author bio. You need to provide real evidence that these authors actually have proven experience in the things they write about. This often takes the form of truly helpful content written by them in the first person, or a way to validate their existence and the claims they make if you actually search for them elsewhere. - Dated website templates and design. Poor UX in general. If the website *looks* like it has been neglected or the design is outdated, you can get into "false positive" territory when algorithms are trying to figure out if your website is legit. Even if the content is great, a dated website template can cause the user to trust the website less. - Broken, unoptimized website navigation: I've seen broken burger buttons, uncrawlable pagination (no, it doesn't matter that you have sitemaps, this is still critical), website headers missing links to key categories, noindex tags on vital category pages, no breadcrumbs, or all important links crammed in the footer without any other intuitive way of browsing the site. - Always pushing affiliate links in the content. Yes, we get it, your website needs to make money. But when it feels like the writing is based around pushing the affiliate links, you instantly lose the user's trust. Google is very clearly demoting these types of sites... you have to be really careful. In many of these cases, getting back to SEO basics (and branding basics) can go a long way to providing more helpful content and a better user experience. #seo #helpfulcontentupdate #google #hcu

"Old SEO vs. New SEO: Evolving Strategies for Better Results" 📢 Understanding the Shift: Staying updated with SEO practices is essential for effective digital marketing. Let’s break down what’s outdated and what’s considered best practice, along with concise reasons for each. ❌ Old SEO Practices: 1. **Keywords:**     ❌ *Overusing exact keywords ignores context and can harm readability.* 2. **Keyword Stuffing:**     ❌ *Filling content with keywords leads to poor user experience and penalization by search engines.* 3. **Focus on Search Engines:**     ❌ *Prioritizing search engines over users results in less engaging and less valuable content.* 4. **High Word Count:**     ❌ *Long content without substance wastes readers' time and doesn’t guarantee better rankings.* 5. **More Backlinks:**     ❌ *Quantity over quality can lead to spammy links that damage credibility.* 6. **Slow Websites:**     ❌ *Slow loading times frustrate users and negatively impact search rankings.* 7. **Bugs/Errors:**     ❌ *Technical issues hinder user experience and search engine crawling.* 8. **Manual Actions:**     ❌ *Relying on manipulative tactics can result in penalties from search engines.* ✔️ New SEO Practices: 1. **Topic Optimization:**     ✔️ *Creating comprehensive and relevant content addresses user intent effectively.* 2. **LSI Keywords:**     ✔️ *Using related keywords improves content depth and search visibility.* 3. **User-Centric Focus:**     ✔️ *Prioritizing user needs enhances engagement and satisfaction.* 4. **Topical Coverage:**     ✔️ *Thoroughly covering topics establishes authority and trustworthiness.* 5. **Quality Backlinks:**     ✔️ *Earning reputable links boosts credibility and search rankings.* 6. **Fast Loading Sites:**     ✔️ *Quick websites provide better user experience and higher retention rates.* 7. **Error-Free Experience:**     ✔️ *Smooth functionality ensures users and search engines navigate content effortlessly.* 8. **Adapting to Algorithm Changes:**     ✔️ *Staying agile with updates maintains and improves search performance.* 🔗 Let’s Embrace Modern SEO for Sustainable Growth! #SEO #DigitalMarketing #ContentStrategy #UserExperience #SEOBestPractices #MarketingTips #OnlineGrowth #SEO2024 #AneesAhmad

Javascript tech stacks CAN BE A NIGHTMARE for SEO, especially if not configured properly. Javascript powered websites using headless CMS solutions - things such as Contentful, Strapi, Sanity or using SSGs (static site generators) based on things such as Next.js, Nuxt.js, Gatsby etc are GREAT and have exploded in popularity. BUT, so have the mounds of issues that come with the fact that Googlebot STILL ISN'T GREAT with JS tech. Some of the main things to consider: 1. Are you using SSR or CSR? Server side rendering is better for SEO in that the server is delivering rendered output to the user agent rather than CSR where the client has to perform the rendering. 2. What does Googlebot see at a completed DOM state? Some sites / tech configurations can introduce delays in JS execution - if those delays involve dynamically loading content it can mean that Googlebot doesn't see the full DOM output - which can be a disaster if say core parts of page content do not show. 3. Dynamically loading JS content via interaction If your website uses classes to execute JS within a page to dynamically load content, Googlebot won't see it as Googlebot does not interact with elements in the dom. So - tabbed content for example if injected in by a tab click wouldn't be seen by google if the output isn't already pre-loaded into the HTML. 4. Resource availability Googlebot CAN render JS output, but, some businesses have inadvertently blocked resources from Googlebot - those resources may contain JS libraries used in the rendering of the page. If these resources are not accessible the output may appear malformed, or the dom may be incomplete. 5. Using Javascript to handle HTTP Headers/requests Just an absolute NO NO here. Lots of audited sites using JS tech stacks had JS based HTTP header handling i.e. JS redirects which would be triggered after an initial output had been served - this causes major issues for Google. For example - in my snapshot, a trailing slash URL uses JS to redirect to non trailing slash. However, Googlebot makes the request, gets the initial DOM output (for the trailing slash URL) but, it does not see the redirect. This leads to: > Google not seeing URLS with redirects > Google mistakenly classing the page as blocked due to other 4xx issue or duplicate google chose another canonical than user etc. > External link equity lost to URLS that Google doesn't see as redirected A NIFTY trick - use DevTools > Network with PRESERVE LOG with DOC filtering. Load your page & look at the RESPONSE tab to see what is delivered to the user agent initially. #seo #seotips #seotip

I used to think ranking #1 was the win. Because that’s what SEO taught us:  Own the top spot.  Earn the traffic.  Win the customer. But then I saw the data from Semrush’s AI Search study. Turns out, 90% of ChatGPT citations come from pages ranked 21 or lower.  Yes, you read that right. The content you thought was buried?  It might be front and center in AI-driven answers. So I started rethinking everything: - What if visibility isn’t tied to rankings anymore?  - What if AIs value clarity and context over backlinks and metadata?  - What if we’re optimizing for the wrong kind of search? Here’s what makes content AI-visible today: - It’s quotable, not keyword-stuffed  - It’s structured in clear, chunked insights  - It’s aligned to specific user intents If you’re still optimizing for traditional search only, you’re missing the new frontier of visibility. AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity aren’t scanning the SERPs for #1s.  They’re scanning the entire web for the best answers—regardless of where they rank. Semrush studied 500+ SEO and marketing prompts.  The patterns are loud and clear. Here’s my takeaway: > It’s not about where you rank.  > It’s about how you speak. Because in 2025, content that gets quoted  is more powerful than content that just gets ranked. https://lnkd.in/g4rPWNfN #AISearchImpact

AI shopping is about to skip the website. And most SEO teams don’t see it yet. Today, Google quietly introduced something called the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). On the surface, it looks like a developer thing. In reality, it’s a new discovery layer for commerce inside AI interfaces. UCP is a standardized way for AI agents (Google AI Mode, Gemini, and others) to: • discover products • check inventory & prices • understand variants, shipping, and availability • and even complete checkout all without scraping webpages. This means product discovery is shifting from pages to protocols. Instead of ranking pages, brands will increasingly compete on: • how well their product data is structured • how clearly their inventory & capabilities are exposed • how easy it is for an AI agent to transact with them Think of it like this: Schema.org was SEO for Google. UCP is SEO for AI shopping agents. What this changes for product discovery When someone asks an AI: “Find me the best noise-canceling headphones under $300 with fast shipping” The AI won’t need to open 10 tabs. It can query brands directly via UCP: • Who has it in stock? • What’s the price? • What are the variants? • Can I buy it right now? The brands whose systems answer cleanly and confidently will win that sale. Not because they had the best landing page. But because they had the best machine-readable commerce layer. What Enterprise SEOs should be doing right now? This is where SEO becomes strategic again. Enterprise SEOs should start owning: 1. Product & inventory data quality 2. Structured, machine-readable commerce feeds 3. How their brand exposes “buy-ability” to AI systems In practice, that means: • Auditing product schema, feeds, GTINs, variants, and availability • Working with engineering on UCP-style APIs and manifests • Making sure your brand is not just crawlable — but queryable by AI If you think log files changed SEO… Wait until you see agent logs. Why early adopters will win In a world where AI chooses who to show and who to buy from: • Brands with clean commerce protocols become default suppliers • Everyone else becomes invisible This is the next frontier of AI Search Optimization: Not pages. Not keywords. But capabilities exposed to machines. If you run enterprise SEO, this is your chance to move upstream into: • product • data • and revenue impact Not just rankings. The websites aren’t disappearing. But they’re no longer the only door. UCP just gave AI a back entrance.

Technical SEO Tip: The Web Developer extension allows you to easily see what content on a page requires JavaScript in order to load: This is one of my favorite extensions when auditing sites for JavaScript dependencies. The Web Developer extension has a setting that allows you to "Disable JavaScript". If selected, it will load the page without executing JavaScript, allowing you to see what the page looks like. You can then analyze what elements of a given page require JavaScript in order to load properly. In this screenshot, we can see that Steve Madden's entire category page requires JavaScript in order to render the content. Since this is a high priority page, we'd definitely want to check to ensure that search engines are able to properly crawl and index the content. If you're doing a lot of technical SEO, I'd highly recommend downloading the Web Developer extension. This one feature alone is extremely powerful in being able diagnose potential JavaScript indexing issues.

Everyone's freaking out about GEO, LLMO, and AEO. After 7 months of running tests across tons of sites… I can tell you this: It's all built on SEO fundamentals. The same principles that rank you on Google also get you cited in ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. So before you buy into shiny new tactics that promise “AI visibility”…here's what actually moves the needle: 1. Trust Signals AI tools pull from review platforms to assess business credibility and expertise. Build trust signals in the right places: - Local businesses: prioritize Google Business Profile reviews and responses - SaaS companies: maintain strong G2 and Capterra profiles  - Ecommerce: focus on Trustpilot or industry-specific review platforms - Respond to reviews professionally and keep profiles updated 2. Document Structure LLMs love well-structured documents. Instead of optimizing just for human readers, structure content for AI platforms too: - Add company context throughout documents. Instead of "our latest update," write "Acme Corp's Q4 2024 update" - Use clear headings and comprehensive sections that can stand alone - Include key facts in multiple formats (inline text, bulleted lists, data tables) 3. Link Building for Relevance Quality and topical relevance matter more than quantity for AI visibility. Focus your link building efforts: - Target industry-relevant sites where your brand mention makes logical sense - Pursue guest posts and collaborations within your industry - Don't ignore nofollow links from high-authority sites in your niche - Seek brand mentions even without direct links. (the mention itself carries weight) Avoid completely unrelated sites. 4. Topical Authority Still Rules LLMs are trained on the same web content that Google indexes. The more deep, high-quality content you publish around your niche, the more AI systems recognize you as the go-to source, the more you get mentioned. Take out the trash. Delete random blog posts about topics unrelated to your business. They're actually hurting your AI visibility. 5. Be everywhere LLMs crawl Repurpose your content across Reddit, Medium, LinkedIn, and YouTube. These platforms get crawled heavily by AI, and showing up on them regularly builds brand visibility. LLMs love patterns. The more places they see you, the more they assume you’re an authority. 6. Technical setup - Use HTML-driven pages - Add schema markup - Clean site architecture (no page more than 3 clicks from homepage) - Ensure your critical content loads server-side (most AI crawlers don't render JavaScript) 7. Traditional Search Feeds AI Most AI tools use Bing or Google's index for real-time data. Better search rankings directly improve AI visibility.

4 out of 5 CRO agencies I've worked with usually relied on 'best practices' to increase conversion rate. These practices include: - Adding badges like 'few left', 'bestseller' - Making reviews more prominent - Creating urgency with timers - Adding key product USPs - Leveraging offers While these strategies do give results, many tend to overlook a critical aspect. Which is UX/UI design. That’s likely the least spoken topic at a CRO agency. Despite its significant potential to increase conversion rates. In this example, using Nourish You India's PDP, I've implemented UX/UI and other changes that can increase conversion rates. Below are the 8 changes I recommend a/b testing - 1. Move the product name above the product image along with reviews+price. That way, the space between the images and the add-to-cart CTA is reduced, increasing the chances of adding to cart. 2. The primary product image should highlight key USPs. This would help the user to quickly understand why to buy this product and why from you. 3. Consider adding product image thumbnails. If your product requires education then use the image slider to provide that. Most important in consumables, personal care industry, and tech. 4. Consider adding 3 quick bullet points or USPs about the product before the user goes to add to cart. This way, they are educated about the product before they consciously think about purchasing from you. 5. Motivate users to add more quantity, increasing the AOV. Do this by highlighting savings when they buy in bulk or highlighting the cost per item if they buy a bundle. 6. Optimize the area around the add-to-cart CTA. Highlight the estimated delivery time, free shipping threshold and return policy. 7. Highlight key USPs to differentiate your product and brand from the others. 8. Add accordions that the user can click on to read more. This way they can find the answers to their questions quickly. Other 2 CRO changes I did: 1. Added 'Few left' once the user selected the pack they want to buy. This creates urgency. 2. Re-iterated price near the pack selection so the user doesn't have to scroll back up to see the price. Success lies in attention to detail. Found this useful? Let me know in the comments! P.S. The learning curve for UX/UI design is quite different from that of CRO. Some great resources to explore are Baymard Institute and Nielsen Norman Group to get started. #conversionrateoptimization #uxdesign