Most SEO advice falls into two groups: technical fixes that make a page easier to crawl and read, and content changes that make it more useful. The seven techniques below cover both. Start with the first two, because they usually pay off fastest for a site that Google already crawls.
1. Build pillar pages around your core topics
A pillar page covers one broad topic in depth and links out to the more specific articles beneath it. For a tech blog, that might be one page on home Wi-Fi that links to articles on routers, mesh systems and speed tests. The pillar gives readers a sensible next step, and it gives Google a clear map of how your pages relate.
Keep the pillar evergreen. Update it when the topic changes, rather than publishing a new one each year. A useful guide to evergreen content is this beginner's guide from Digital Marketing Institute.
2. Check your Core Web Vitals
Google measures how a page feels to use through Core Web Vitals. The three measures are loading speed (Largest Contentful Paint), responsiveness (Interaction to Next Paint, which replaced First Input Delay in March 2024) and visual stability (Cumulative Layout Shift). You can check the numbers for your pages in web.dev's guide to INP and in Search Console.
Fix the worst-performing templates first. Large unsized images, heavy scripts and ads that push content down cause most of the problems. One slow template can drag down many pages at once.
3. Write for passages
Google can rank a specific section of a page for a question, not only the whole page. Its passage ranking system has been described in detail by Search Engine Journal. Give each subheading a clear question or task, and answer it in the first two or three sentences under it.
For more on writing copy that reads well in search, these SEO writing tips are a useful place to start. This also helps readers who only need one part of your article. Short, direct answers under clear headings make the page easier to scan.
4. Use breadcrumbs properly
Breadcrumbs show where a page sits in your site, such as Home > Wi-Fi > Mesh routers. They help readers move up a level, and they can appear in search results when marked up correctly. Google's breadcrumb structured data guide explains the markup.
Use the main keyword of each category in the path, and keep the labels short. A breadcrumb trail full of generic words like "Page 2" adds nothing.
5. Use numbers in titles where they fit
Numbers help a title stand out, because readers can see how much the page covers. "7 Steps" or "5 Tips" is clearer than a vague promise. Do not force a number into a title where it does not describe the content, and do not stack several numbers in one headline.
Keep the title within the length search results display. Put the main keyword near the start.
6. Relaunch your best older content
Old articles that once ranked often still have value. Update the facts, replace broken links and add a short section on what has changed. Keep the URL the same, so the existing links and history still count.
Pick pages that had traffic before and have slipped. They are usually faster to recover than starting a new article from scratch. For a broader view of how to plan such updates, read our guide to fresh content.
7. Tighten your internal and external links
Internal links connect your pages and spread authority to the ones that matter. Link from related articles to your pillar pages, and use descriptive anchor text such as "mesh Wi-Fi systems" rather than "click here".
External links help readers check facts and see where information came from. Link to primary sources, such as a vendor's documentation or a standards body, and check every link regularly, because dead links make a page look neglected. Practical examples of linking to strong pages appear in this SEO writing and pillar-page roundup.
Where to start
If you have a limited week, do three things. Check Core Web Vitals on your top ten pages, rewrite the headings on your best article so each one answers a question, and relaunch one older post that used to bring traffic. Measure the results in Search Console over the next month, then repeat with the next group of pages.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need all seven techniques?
No. Start with the ones that match your problem. A site with slow pages should fix Core Web Vitals first. A site with good speed but weak rankings usually gains more from pillar pages and passage-ready headings.
How long do SEO changes take to show results?
It varies. Technical fixes can show changes in weeks, while content updates and relaunches often take a few months to be recrawled and reassessed. Track changes by page group, not by a single keyword, so you can see the trend.
Is keyword stuffing still a problem?
Yes, in the sense that it makes pages harder to read and can look spammy. Use the main keyword in the title, the first paragraph and a few headings. Write the rest for the reader.
