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SEO Optimization

Search engine optimization based on Lighthouse SEO audits and Google Search guidelines. Focus on technical SEO, on-page optimization, and structured data.

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SEO Fundamentals

Search ranking factors (approximate influence):
FactorInfluenceThis Skill
Content quality & relevance~40%Partial (structure)
Backlinks & authority~25%✗
Technical SEO~15%✓
Page experience (Core Web Vitals)~10%See Core Web Vitals
On-page SEO~10%✓

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Technical SEO

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Crawlability

# /robots.txt
User-agent: *
Allow: /

# Block admin/private areas
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /private/

# Don't block resources needed for rendering
# ❌ Disallow: /static/

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

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XML Sitemap

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/</loc>
    <lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
    <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
    <priority>1.0</priority>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/products</loc>
    <lastmod>2024-01-14</lastmod>
    <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>
</urlset>
Sitemap best practices:
  • Maximum 50,000 URLs or 50MB per sitemap
  • Use sitemap index for larger sites
  • Include only canonical, indexable URLs
  • Update lastmod when content changes
  • Submit to Google Search Console

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URL Structure

https://example.com/products/blue-widget
https://example.com/blog/how-to-use-widgets
URL guidelines:
  • Use hyphens, not underscores
  • Lowercase only
  • Keep short (< 75 characters)
  • Include target keywords naturally
  • Avoid parameters when possible
  • Use HTTPS always

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HTTPS & Security

<!-- Ensure all resources use HTTPS -->
<img src="https://example.com/image.jpg">

<!-- Not: -->
<img src="http://example.com/image.jpg">
Security headers for SEO trust signals: 
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
X-Frame-Options: DENY

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On-Page SEO

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Title Tags

<title>Page</title>
<title>Home</title>
Title tag guidelines:
  • 50-60 characters (Google truncates ~60)
  • Primary keyword near the beginning
  • Unique for every page
  • Brand name at end (unless homepage)
  • Action-oriented when appropriate

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Meta Descriptions

<meta name="description" content="">
Meta description guidelines:
  • 150-160 characters
  • Include primary keyword naturally
  • Compelling call-to-action
  • Unique for every page
  • Matches page content

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Heading Structure

<h2>Welcome to Our Store</h2>
<h4>Products</h4>
<h1>Contact Us</h1>
Heading guidelines:
  • Single <h1> per page (the main topic)
  • Logical hierarchy (don’t skip levels)
  • Include keywords naturally
  • Descriptive, not generic

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Image SEO

<img src="IMG_12345.jpg">
Image guidelines:
  • Descriptive filenames with keywords
  • Alt text describes the image content
  • Compressed and properly sized
  • WebP/AVIF with fallbacks
  • Lazy load below-fold images

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Internal Linking

<a href="/products">Click here</a>
<a href="/widgets">Read more</a>
Linking guidelines:
  • Descriptive anchor text with keywords
  • Link to relevant internal pages
  • Reasonable number of links per page
  • Fix broken links promptly
  • Use breadcrumbs for hierarchy

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Structured Data (JSON-LD)

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Organization

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Company",
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "logo": "https://example.com/logo.png",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://twitter.com/example",
    "https://linkedin.com/company/example"
  ],
  "contactPoint": {
    "@type": "ContactPoint",
    "telephone": "+1-555-123-4567",
    "contactType": "customer service"
  }
}
</script>

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Article

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "How to Choose the Right Widget",
  "description": "Complete guide to selecting widgets for your needs.",
  "image": "https://example.com/article-image.jpg",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "url": "https://example.com/authors/jane-smith"
  },
  "publisher": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Example Blog",
    "logo": {
      "@type": "ImageObject",
      "url": "https://example.com/logo.png"
    }
  },
  "datePublished": "2024-01-15",
  "dateModified": "2024-01-20"
}
</script>

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Product

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Blue Widget Pro",
  "image": "https://example.com/blue-widget.jpg",
  "description": "Premium blue widget with advanced features.",
  "brand": {
    "@type": "Brand",
    "name": "WidgetCo"
  },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "49.99",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
    "url": "https://example.com/products/blue-widget"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.8",
    "reviewCount": "1250"
  }
}
</script>

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FAQ

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What colors are available?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Our widgets come in blue, red, and green."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is the warranty?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "All widgets include a 2-year warranty."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement": [
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 1,
      "name": "Home",
      "item": "https://example.com"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 2,
      "name": "Products",
      "item": "https://example.com/products"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ListItem",
      "position": 3,
      "name": "Blue Widgets",
      "item": "https://example.com/products/blue-widgets"
    }
  ]
}
</script>

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Validation

Test structured data at:

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Mobile SEO

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Responsive Design

<meta name="viewport" content="width=1024">

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Tap Targets

.small-link {
  padding: 4px;
  font-size: 12px;
}

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Font Sizes

body {
  font-size: 10px;
}

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International SEO

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Hreflang Tags

<!-- For multi-language sites -->
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/page">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="https://example.com/es/page">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://example.com/fr/page">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/page">

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Language Declaration

<html lang="en">
<!-- or -->
<html lang="es-MX">

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SEO Audit Checklist

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Critical

  • HTTPS enabled
  • robots.txt allows crawling
  • No noindex on important pages
  • Title tags present and unique
  • Single <h1> per page

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High Priority

  • Meta descriptions present
  • Sitemap submitted
  • Canonical URLs set
  • Mobile-responsive
  • Core Web Vitals passing

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Medium Priority

  • Structured data implemented
  • Internal linking strategy
  • Image alt text
  • Descriptive URLs
  • Breadcrumb navigation

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Ongoing

  • Fix crawl errors in Search Console
  • Update sitemap when content changes
  • Monitor ranking changes
  • Check for broken links
  • Review Search Console insights

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Tools

ToolUse
Google Search ConsoleMonitor indexing, fix issues
Google PageSpeed InsightsPerformance + Core Web Vitals
Rich Results TestValidate structured data
LighthouseFull SEO audit
Screaming FrogCrawl analysis

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External Resources

Core Web Vitals

Page experience metrics that affect ranking

Web Quality Audit

Comprehensive SEO audit as part of overall quality

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