On this page
- Start with a quick SEO health check
- Technical SEO improvements
- Content improvements
- Internal linking improvements
- Authority improvements
- Local SEO improvements
- Which improvements to do first
- Quick SEO improvements you can make this week
- SEO improvements for AI search
- Keyword improvements: target what people really search
- On-page fixes, element by element
- Improve the experience on every page
- Improve image and video SEO
- Step by step: refresh an old page so it ranks again
- What to improve first for your type of business
- Mistakes that quietly hold SEO back
- Tools that help you improve SEO
- A 90 day plan to improve SEO
- Signs your SEO improvements are working
- Improve SEO with stronger trust signals
- How to measure SEO improvements
- FAQs
Improving SEO does not have to mean starting over. Most sites have pages that already get impressions in Google but sit on page two, technical issues that quietly block indexing, and internal links that could pass far more value. Fixing those usually brings faster results than publishing lots of new content.
The steps below are grouped into technical fixes, content improvements, authority building and local SEO. Work through them in order, measure the results, and repeat. If you would rather have experts handle it, see our SEO Services.
A full technical and content review with the priorities to fix first.
Request my SEO audit Chat on WhatsApp- Fix crawling, indexing and speed problems first.
- Improve pages ranking in positions 5 to 20 before creating new ones.
- Match every page to one clear search intent.
- Strengthen internal links and earn relevant backlinks.
- Track clicks, leads and revenue, not just rankings.
Start with a quick SEO health check
Before you change anything, find out where you stand. A short health check stops you spending weeks on fixes that do not matter and shows you the few problems that hold back the whole site. You can do the basic version yourself in an afternoon with free tools, or book a full SEO audit if the site is large.
- 1Search site:yourdomain.com in Google to see roughly how many pages are indexed, and compare it with how many pages you think you have.
- 2Open Search Console, then Performance, and note total clicks, impressions and average position for the last three months.
- 3Open the Page indexing report and list the reasons pages are not indexed.
- 4Run your home page and top service page through PageSpeed Insights on mobile.
- 5Crawl the site with a free crawler such as Screaming Frog (up to 500 URLs) to find broken links, missing titles and redirect chains.
- 6Write down your top 10 pages by organic clicks. These are the pages where improvements will pay off fastest.
Technical SEO improvements
1. Fix indexing problems
Open the Page indexing report in Search Console and fix important pages marked as excluded, such as accidental noindex tags or blocked URLs.
2. Speed up key pages
Compress images, remove heavy scripts and improve server response so your main templates pass Core Web Vitals.
3. Make every page mobile friendly
Test pages on a real phone. Fix small text, tiny buttons and pop ups that cover content.
4. Clean up duplicate content
Redirect or canonicalise duplicate URLs so each topic has one clear page. See duplicate content.
5. Fix broken links and redirect chains
Crawl your site, fix 404 links and point redirects straight to final URLs.
6. Add structured data
Add schema for your business, products, articles or FAQs so search engines understand your pages.
Content improvements
7. Refresh pages close to page one
In Search Console, find pages with many impressions at positions 5 to 20. Improve their depth, answers and titles.
8. Match search intent
Check what ranks for each target keyword and make sure your page type matches, such as a guide, service page or comparison.
9. Answer questions directly
Put a clear answer near the top, then go deeper. This helps featured snippets and AI Overviews.
10. Show real experience
Add examples, photos, results and expert tips. This supports E-E-A-T.
11. Merge thin and overlapping pages
Combine weak pages on the same topic into one strong page and redirect the rest.
12. Improve titles and descriptions
Write clearer titles with the main keyword near the start and descriptions that give a reason to click.
Internal linking improvements
13. Link from strong pages to important pages
Pages with many backlinks can pass value to service and product pages through internal links.
14. Use descriptive anchor text
Replace "click here" with anchors that describe the target page.
15. Fix orphan pages
Make sure every important page is linked from at least one relevant page.
Authority improvements
16. Earn relevant backlinks
Use digital PR, original data, guest contributions on real industry sites and partner links. See link building.
17. Reclaim lost links
Find backlinks pointing to broken pages and redirect them to the closest live page.
18. Build brand mentions
Get quoted in industry publications and podcasts. Mentions build trust even without links.
Local SEO improvements
19. Optimise your Google Business Profile
Choose the best category, complete every section, add photos and post updates.
20. Grow reviews and keep NAP consistent
Ask every happy customer for a review and make sure your name, address and phone match everywhere.
Our guide to local SEO for small business covers these steps in detail.
Which improvements to do first
| Priority | Improvements | Why |
|---|---|---|
| This week | Indexing fixes, broken links, titles on top pages | Quick to do, direct impact |
| This month | Refresh page two content, internal links, speed fixes | Pages close to ranking move fastest |
| This quarter | New content for gaps, schema, local SEO, link building | Builds lasting growth |
Quick SEO improvements you can make this week
- 1Rewrite title tags on your five most visited pages to include the main keyword and a clear benefit.
- 2Fix any broken internal links found in a crawl.
- 3Add internal links from your strongest pages to pages ranking in positions 8 to 20.
- 4Compress the largest images on your homepage and key service pages.
- 5Update your Google Business Profile with new photos and accurate hours.
- 6Request indexing for recently improved pages in Search Console.
SEO improvements for AI search
Answer first
Put a clear, two or three sentence answer at the top of key pages so AI tools can quote it accurately.
Use question headings
Match H2s and H3s to the questions people ask, which helps snippets and AI answers.
Add structured data
Organization, LocalBusiness, Product and FAQ markup help machines understand your content.
Build brand mentions
Mentions on trusted sites help AI systems recognise and recommend your brand.
Read more in AEO vs GEO vs SEO.
Keyword improvements: target what people really search
Many sites rank poorly not because the content is bad, but because it targets the wrong words. People search in plain language, and your pages should use that language too. These keyword fixes often move rankings faster than writing new content.
Find keywords stuck on page two
In Search Console, filter Performance by average position between 8 and 20. These queries already have Google's attention. Adding a clear section, a better heading or a few internal links can push them onto page one.
Add secondary keywords naturally
A page about "roof repair" should also answer "roof leak repair", "cost of roof repair" and "emergency roof repair". Work these into headings and paragraphs where they fit the reader, not as a list.
Go after long tail questions
Longer, specific searches have less competition and clearer intent. A guide that answers "how to fix a leaking flat roof" can rank well before a broad page ever does.
Stop pages competing with each other
If two of your pages target the same keyword, Google may rank neither well. Pick the stronger page, merge the useful parts of the weaker one into it, and redirect the old URL. Our keyword research work starts with a keyword to page map for this reason.
On-page fixes, element by element
On-page SEO is the part you control fully. Go through your most important pages one at a time and check each element against this table.
| Element | What good looks like | Common problem |
|---|---|---|
| Title tag | Main keyword near the start, under about 60 characters, unique per page | Same title on many pages |
| Meta description | Clear benefit and next step, about 150 characters | Missing, so Google pulls random text |
| H1 | One per page, matches the search intent | Logo or tagline used as H1 |
| Subheadings | H2s and H3s that mirror real questions | Vague headings like "Overview" |
| Opening paragraph | Answers the main question in the first two or three sentences | Long company intro before any answer |
| Images | Compressed, descriptive file names and alt text | Huge files named IMG_0042.jpg |
| Internal links | Two to five links to related pages with descriptive anchors | No links, or "click here" anchors |
| URL | Short, readable, includes the topic | Long strings of numbers and parameters |
For a deeper page by page list, use our on-page SEO checklist.
Improve the experience on every page
Google wants to send people to pages that satisfy them. If visitors land, get confused and go back to the results, your page is unlikely to hold its rankings. Small layout fixes can make a big difference.
Answer above the fold
Show the main answer, price range or next step before the reader has to scroll. Long hero images and sliders push the useful part out of view.
Make text easy to scan
Use short paragraphs, clear subheadings, bullet lists for steps and tables for comparisons. Most visitors scan first and read second.
Remove intrusive pop ups
Full screen pop ups on mobile, especially right after landing, frustrate users and can count against you. Delay them or use a small banner instead.
Make contact easy
On service pages, put a phone number, a short form and opening hours where people can find them. A page that ranks but never converts is not an SEO win.
Improve image and video SEO
Images and videos can bring their own traffic through Google Images, video results and AI answers, and they keep readers on the page longer. Most sites leave this traffic on the table.
Compress and size images
Serve images in WebP or AVIF, sized to the space they fill. A 4,000 pixel photo in a 600 pixel slot slows the page for no benefit.
Write useful alt text
Describe what is in the image in plain words, and include the topic where it fits naturally. Alt text helps screen reader users first and search engines second.
Host video with a summary
If you embed a video, add a short written summary or transcript on the page, a clear title and a thumbnail. Google needs text to understand what the video covers.
See image SEO best practices for a full checklist.
Step by step: refresh an old page so it ranks again
Refreshing content is often the highest return SEO task, because the page already has age, links and some trust. Here is the process we use on client sites.
- 1Pick a page that used to get more clicks, or one sitting in positions 5 to 20.
- 2Search its main keyword and read the top five results. List the subtopics they cover that you do not.
- 3Update facts, prices, screenshots and dates so nothing is out of date.
- 4Add the missing subtopics as new sections with clear headings.
- 5Rewrite the opening so it answers the main question straight away.
- 6Add or update an FAQ block with real questions from People Also Ask.
- 7Add internal links to the page from two or three related pages.
- 8Update the title and meta description if click through rate is low.
- 9Request indexing in Search Console and note the date, so you can compare results after four to eight weeks.
What to improve first for your type of business
Every site needs the basics, but the biggest wins differ by business model. Use this table to set your priorities.
| Business type | Biggest SEO lever | First task |
|---|---|---|
| Local service business | Google Business Profile and reviews | Complete the profile and ask recent customers for reviews |
| Online store | Category pages and product data | Write unique category copy and add product schema |
| SaaS or software | Problem and comparison content | Build pages for use cases and alternatives |
| Professional services | Expertise and trust signals | Add author bios, case results and clear service pages |
| Publisher or blog | Topical depth and freshness | Refresh top articles and fill topic gaps |
Mistakes that quietly hold SEO back
Chasing only high volume keywords
Big keywords are slow and expensive to win. Mixing in specific, lower competition terms brings traffic sooner and usually converts better.
Keyword stuffing
Repeating a phrase unnaturally makes the page harder to read and can hurt rankings. Use the keyword where it fits and cover the topic well.
Buying cheap links
Packages of hundreds of links from unrelated sites can lead to ignored links at best and a manual action at worst. A few relevant links beat many poor ones.
Deleting pages without redirects
Removing old pages wastes the links and trust they built. Redirect them to the closest relevant page with a 301.
Changing everything at once
If you rewrite titles, move URLs and redesign in the same week, you cannot tell what helped or hurt. Change in batches and track each one.
Tools that help you improve SEO
| Tool | What it helps with | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Clicks, queries, indexing and Core Web Vitals | Free |
| Google Analytics 4 | What visitors do after they arrive | Free |
| PageSpeed Insights | Speed and Core Web Vitals per page | Free |
| Screaming Frog | Crawling for broken links, titles and redirects | Free up to 500 URLs |
| Semrush or Ahrefs | Keyword research, competitor gaps and backlinks | Paid |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Bing data and extra site checks | Free |
Compare more options in our guide to the best SEO tools.
A 90 day plan to improve SEO
Improving SEO works best as a steady routine. This plan spreads the work so a small team can keep up.
| Weeks | Focus | Tasks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Health check | Search Console review, crawl, speed test, list top pages |
| 3 to 4 | Technical fixes | Indexing errors, broken links, redirects, mobile issues |
| 5 to 6 | On-page | Titles, descriptions, headings and internal links on top 20 pages |
| 7 to 9 | Content | Refresh three to five pages close to page one, add one new page per gap |
| 10 to 12 | Authority and local | Outreach for relevant links, review requests, profile updates |
| 13 | Review | Compare clicks, rankings and leads with the start, plan the next 90 days |
If you would rather hand this plan to a team, our SEO services follow the same order, with monthly reports so you can see what each step changed.
Signs your SEO improvements are working
SEO changes take time to show, so it helps to know the early signals. Rankings and traffic are lagging measures; these leading signs often appear first, usually two to eight weeks after a change is crawled.
Impressions rise before clicks
In Search Console, impressions often climb first as Google tests your page for more queries. Clicks follow once positions settle higher.
More queries per page
Open a page in the Performance report and look at the Queries tab. A growing list of queries means Google now sees the page as relevant to more of the topic.
Better click through rate
A rewritten title that earns more clicks at the same position is a win on its own, and it often supports better rankings over time.
More leads from organic visits
The signal that matters most. Track calls, forms and sales from organic traffic in GA4, not just visits.
Improve SEO with stronger trust signals
Google's quality guidelines put weight on experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust. You do not need awards to show these. You need to make it easy for a visitor to see who is behind the page and why they should believe it.
Add real author details
Name the author, add a short bio with relevant experience and link to an about page. Anonymous content is harder to trust.
Show proof of work
Photos of real jobs, named case results you are allowed to share and genuine reviews all help readers and search engines judge your claims.
Keep business details consistent
Your name, address and phone number should match across your site, Google Business Profile and directories.
How to measure SEO improvements
- 1Note your baseline: clicks, impressions, positions and leads from organic search.
- 2Log every change with the date and page.
- 3Compare results 4 to 8 weeks later for the same pages and queries.
- 4Watch for Google updates that could explain changes.
- 5Keep what works and repeat it on similar pages.
Use our guide on how to check website traffic to set up the right reports.