Search engine optimization (SEO) can seem overwhelming when you’re first getting started. Where do you even begin optimizing your website or blog to rank higher in Google?
As an SEO expert with over 5 years of experience, I’m sharing my ultimate SEO cheat sheet to help beginners boost their search visibility.
I remember when I first started my blog back in 2019. I would publish great content only to find it languishing on page 5 of Google without any visitors! Frustrated, I dug into everything I could find about SEO.
I tested strategies, analyzed data, and refined my approach over time.
Now, my sites consistently rank #1 for profitable keywords in competitive niches. The traffic and income from SEO changed my blogging business. I want to help you shortcut years of effort with my accumulated knowledge.
This SEO guide covers both on-page and off-page optimization best practices, as well as key technical SEO factors. Follow this checklist to start climbing up the rankings!
On-Page SEO Quick Wins
On-page SEO refers to optimizing individual web pages to improve their ability to rank. The main elements to focus on are:
Strong SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions
- Keep titles under 60 characters, and meta descriptions under 160
- Include the primary keyword near the beginning
- Create compelling titles and descriptions to drive clicks
Optimize Header Tags
- Proper hierarchy using H1, H2, H3 tags
- Include keywords in headings when possible
Quality Content
- Useful, informative content of over 2000 words
- Related keyword density of 1-2%
- Include related terms, questions, media
Media Elements
- Relevant images with alt text using keywords
- Videos improve time on page
Easy to Read
- Short paragraphs and bullet points
- Bold key terminology
- Break up text with visuals
These quick wins only require optimizing content and HTML. Do them first before tackling harder technical SEO or off-page optimization.
Off-Page SEO Tactics
Once your on-page SEO is solid, focus on these off-page ranking signals:
Quality Backlinks
- Relevant editorial links from trusted sites
- Focus on a few contextual backlinks vs. many irrelevant
- Link anchor text with target keyword
I’ll never forget the first big site that linked to my blog – it sent thousands of visitors! But not all links are equal in Google’s eyes. Prioritize backlinks from authority domains in your niche.
Social Signals
- Gets content indexed and ranked faster
- Helps determine the relevance and importance
After publishing a new post, I share it on Twitter, Facebook groups, Reddit, and relevant forums. Consider paid social promotion options too.
Local SEO
- Google My Business listing with location
- Customer reviews build trust
- Links from directories, associations, local sites
Technical SEO Checklist
Technical site optimization creates the SEO infrastructure for search visibility:
Fast Load Speeds
- Images and media compressed
- Minify HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- Browser caching enabled
| Page Speed Grade | Maximum Load Time |
| A | Under 1 second |
| B | 1-3 seconds |
| C | Over 3 seconds |
I test site speed and usability on mobile and desktop. Google rewards sites with excellent page speed grades under real-world conditions.
Responsive Design
- Mobile friendly HTML
- Adjusts layout for any device
- Tap targets spaced properly
The first site I built wasn’t responsive or mobile-friendly at all. I quickly realized those technical issues were crashing my mobile SEO! Now all my sites work beautifully on phones right out of the gate.
Structured Data
- Product schema for e-commerce
- FAQ and HowTo schema for help content
- Review schema to showcase UGC
After adding more structured data to my site, I noticed an uptick in featured snippets in Google search results. Markup your content to stand out.
This technical SEO checklist forms the foundation upon which great content and links can drive top rankings and organic search traffic. How does your site stack up?
I’ve covered my complete SEO cheat sheet system to take sites from nowhere to page #1 of Google. Optimizing these on-page, off-page, and technical factors takes consistency over time, but the lasting traffic rewards are worth it.
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments below! Do you have any questions on search engine optimization? What’s your #1 SEO challenge right now?
