Meet Phil.

Phil is a dedicated small business owner who spent all of Q2 with one singular goal: dominating the first page of Google for his customers’ most important searches.

He did everything “by the book.” He researched long-tail keywords, followed on-page SEO best practices, maintained a rigorous posting schedule, and poured hours into creating genuinely valuable content. He even doubled down on promotion, sharing his work across every social channel.

The result? Silence.

Despite his sweat, Phil’s rankings didn’t budge. He watched his traffic flatline while competitors—some with half the effort—claimed the top spots. Frustrated and exhausted, he started doing what many of us do: he blamed the algorithm. But the algorithm wasn’t the problem. Phil was hitting an invisible wall because his website was missing the one ingredient that turns “good content” into “ranking content”: High Authority Backlinks.

If your website is properly indexed and your content is top-tier, you’ve won half the battle. But in today’s landscape, search engines and AI models (LLMs) need more than just words on a page—they need proof of authority. They need to see that other reputable voices in your industry trust you.

Without high-authority backlinks, you are shouting into a vacuum.

In this guide, we’re going to make sure you don’t end up like Phil. We are breaking down six proven strategies to earn high-quality backlinks that move the needle, save your time, and finally get your business the visibility it deserves.

What is a high authority backlinks

A high authority backlink is a link from an authoritative website that is targeting the same topic that you are writing about. The website has to have high authority; this is essential because a vote of confidence from reputable website like CNN is more powerful than old, rusty website. They signal to Google and LLM’s that your content is high quality and deserve ranking and citations. The process of getting high authority backlinks is link building. As i said, it is a PROCESS, it means that it isn’t a one-time thing and needs execution. Link building is about building relationship with relevant website, so we need to think WIN / WIN.

Why high authority backlinks are important in SEO

A Primary Ranking Factor: Google’s search algorithms have evolved, but backlinks remain one of the top three ranking signals. According to a study by Backlinko as they analyzed 11.8 million Google search resdults, the #1 result in Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than positions #2 – #10.

The “Digital Vote of Confidence”: Think of a backlink as a testimonial. When a high-authority site (like Forbes or a top industry leader) links to you, search engines view it as a massive vote of trust, which directly boosts your E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).

Faster Indexing: Search engine “spiders” (crawlers) find new content by following links from established pages. A link from a high-authority site acts as a fast-track, helping Google find and index your new posts much quicker than organic discovery.

Quality > Quantity (The Reddit Consensus): A common sentiment on subreddits like r/SEO is that one link from a DR 70+ site is worth more than 1,000 links from “link farms” or low-quality directories. Users emphasize that “chasing numbers” often leads to manual penalties, whereas quality links provide long-term stability.

Referral Traffic “Gold”: Beyond SEO, high-authority links live on sites that already have massive audiences. A single link can drive qualified, high-intent referral traffic directly to your site, leading to leads and sales without the need for a search engine middleman.

Correlation with Organic Traffic: Data from Ahrefs shows a near-linear correlation between the number of unique referring domains (high-quality websites linking to you) and the amount of organic search traffic a page receives. No links usually equals no traffic.

Are paid backlinks a good idea?

Google penalize buying backlinks, this can lead to your webpage deindexed. This strategy can work, although here’s why I don’t recommend it:

• It can lead to your website penalized and the loss of your ranking.
• It costs a lot! According to BuzzStream blog about Link Building Pricing in 2025, the average price for only one backlink is $141.

if you conisder buying you should buy backlinks from reputable sources, their website also should be relevant to yours, and the website should have high authority. You can use MOZ domain authority checker to find out if the website is worth it or not. below 50 is considered low.
As I said, I don’t encourage you to do this as it’s considered as unethical practice and will cost you a lot of money to get where you want. That’s why the best way is to follow proven ethical tactics that helped others get high authority backlinks.

What makes a good link?

not all backlinks are the same. backlinks from large website are more valuable than smaller one. There are two conditions for a link to be powerful:

Relevance: the website needs to be relevant to your business. For instance, If you have a travel agency than your goal is to attract links from travel blogs.

Authoritativeness: Authority is how much Google trust your website (in the context of SEO). To build authority you need to attract high authority backlinks. Here’s two tools that I personally use to measure authority:

• Website authority checker by Ahrefs
• Domain authority checker by Moz

Common Backlinking Mistakes to Avoid

Spamming Comments and Forums: Leaving links in irrelevant comment sections or forums is easily detected by search engines and damages your brand’s reputation.

Sending Generic Outreach Emails: Avoid “copy-paste” templates. High-authority sites ignore generic requests. Instead, personalize your pitch and focus on a win-win value proposition.

Ignoring Relevancy and Authority: Not all links are equal. Only target sites that are relevant to your niche and maintain a Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR) of 30 or higher.

Neglecting “Link-Worthy” Content: You can’t earn links with thin content. Focus on creating linkable assets like original case studies, data-driven stats, or comprehensive “how-to” guides.

Using Black-Hat Tactics: Stay away from Private Blog Networks (PBNs) and link farms. These “shortcuts” often lead to severe Google penalties that can tank your rankings.

Prioritizing Quantity Over Quality: Don’t chase numbers. One link from a reputable, high-DR website is significantly more valuable than 100 links from low-quality or spammy sites.

How to get high-quality backlinks for free?

Now that you understand what are high authority backlinks and why they are important backlinks. It is time to learn the how. I compiled the strategies that Ahrefs and backlinko uses to get high authority hyperlinks (backlinks). These strategies are proven by their own data, and I made sure other people like you and me used them successfully(researched in Reddit). Without further ado, Let’s rank!

Strategy #1: Guest blogging

What is Guest Blogging?

Guest Blogging (or Guest Posting) is a method where you write an original article for another website in your industry. In exchange for your free, high-quality content, the site owner allows you to include a link back to your own blog (usually in the “About the Author” section or within the body of the post).

Why This Strategy Works

• For the Site Owner: They get professional, well-researched content for free, which saves them time and keeps their audience engaged.
• For the Reader: They get a fresh perspective and new insights from a different expert (you).
• For Your SEO: You get a “Contextual Backlink” (links surrounded by relevant text), which Google values much higher than sidebar or footer links. It also drives referral traffic directly to your site.

How to Guest Blog Like a Pro

1. Finding the Right Targets

Don’t just look for “Write for us” pages. Look for sites where your target audience actually hangs out.

Use these Advanced Search Operators:

• "Your Topic" + "write for us"
• "Your Topic" + "guest post"
• "Your Topic" + "contributing writer"
• "Your Topic" + "submit an article"
• "Your Topic" + "this is a guest post by"

2. The “Pre-Pitch” Audit (Vetting)

Before emailing, make sure the site is worth your time:

• Check Engagement: Do their posts have comments or social shares?
• Check Post Frequency: Are they posting regularly (at least once a week)?
• Identify Content Gaps: Look for a topic they haven’t covered well yet. This is your “in.”

3. The Pitch (Personalization is Key)

Avoid generic templates. Show them you actually read their blog. Mention a specific post of theirs that you enjoyed.

The Guest Posting Outreach Template

Subject: Guest Post Idea: [Your Catchy Title]

Hi [Name],

I’ve been following [Blog Name] for a while now, and your recent post about [Mention a recent post topic] really resonated with me—especially the part about [Specific detail].

I’m reaching out because I’d love to contribute a high-quality guest post to your blog. Based on what your readers enjoy, I’ve brainstormed three potential topics that I think would perform really well:

1. [Topic Idea #1] – (A brief 1-sentence explanation of why it’s valuable).
2. [Topic Idea #2] – (A brief 1-sentence explanation).
3. [Topic Idea #3] – (A brief 1-sentence explanation).

To give you an idea of my writing style, here are a few of my recent pieces:

• [Link to your best blog post]
• [Link to another guest post or article]

I promise the content will be 100% original, deeply researched, and tailored specifically for your audience.

Would any of these topics be a good fit for your calendar?

Best regards, [Your Name]

A Practical Example

Let’s say your blog is in the Sustainable Living niche.

Step 1: Search
You type into Google: "Zero Waste" + "write for us"

Step 2: Find a Target
You find https://www.google.com/searchq=EcoFriendlyHome.com.
You notice they have lots of articles on “Plastic-free kitchens” but nothing on “Eco-friendly bathroom transitions.”

Step 3: Send the Pitch
You use the template above, suggesting the title: “5 Surprising Ways to Remove Plastic from Your Bathroom (Without Breaking the Bank).”

The Result: the webmaster agrees. You write a 1,500-word masterpiece. Within the article, you link back to your WordPress post about “The Best Bamboo Toothbrushes of 2026.” You now have a high-authority, relevant backlink that will pass SEO “juice” to your site for years!

Strategy #2: Broken links building

What is Broken Link Building?

Broken Link Building is the process of finding a dead link (a 404 error) on someone else’s website, recreating that “dead” content on your own site, and then asking the website owner to replace the broken link with a link to your fresh, working page.

Why This Strategy Works

This is arguably the most effective outreach strategy because you aren’t just asking for a favor—you are providing a technical service.

• For the Site Owner: Broken links hurt SEO and provide a bad user experience. You are helping them clean up their “technical debt” for free.
• For the Reader: Instead of hitting a “Page Not Found” error, they get sent to your high-quality resource.
• For Your SEO: this is how Backlinko famously landed .edu and .gov links. These domains are incredibly picky, but they prioritize the accuracy of their information above all else.

The Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Find a “Target” Page

You want to find pages that naturally have many outgoing links (like Resource Pages or “Best of” lists), as these are most likely to have dead links.

Search Operators to use:

• "Your Topic" + "links"
• "Your Topic" + "resources"
• "Your Topic" + "recommended sites"
• site:.edu "Your Topic" + "resources" (to target educational sites)

2. Spot the Dead Links

Once you find a promising page, don’t click every link manually. Use a free tool like the “Check My Links” or “LinkMiner” Chrome extensions. They will highlight broken links in red.

3. Check the “Dead” Content

Use the Wayback Machine to see what used to be on that broken page. This allows you to recreate a similar (but better and more modern) version of that content.

4. The Outreach

Reach out to the site owner. Don’t lead with your link; lead with the error you found.

High-Converting Outreach Template

Subject: Problem with your [Page Name] page

Hi [Name],

I was doing some research on [Topic] today and spent some time on your excellent resources page here: [Link to their page].

I noticed that a few of the links seem to be dead and leading to 404 error pages. Specifically, this one:

• [Broken URL Description/Link]

I actually recently published a comprehensive guide on [The Topic of the broken link] that covers everything the old resource did, but with updated info for 2026.

If you’re planning on updating the page, perhaps it would make a good replacement? You can find my guide here: [Your URL]

Hope this helps you keep the page fresh for your readers!

Best, [Your Name]

A Practical Example

Let’s say you have a blog about Career Coaching.

Step 1: Search

You search Google for: site:.edu "career resources" + "resume tips"

Step 2: Find the Error

You find a Career Services page at a university. You run your “Check My Links” extension and find a red link titled “The 2018 Guide to Resume Keywords.” It’s a 404 error because the original site went out of business.

Step 3: Create the Solution

You write a new, updated post on your site: “The Ultimate Guide to Resume Keywords for 2026.”

Step 4: The Pitch

You email the University Webmaster using the template above. Since they are an educational institution, they hate having broken links. They swap the dead link for yours.

The Result: You just landed a high-authority .edu backlink, which is pure gold for your Google rankings.

Strategy #3: Resource page link building

What is a Resource Page?

A Resource Page is a webpage on a website that lists helpful links, tools, and content related to a specific topic. Instead of being a standard blog post, its primary purpose is to act as a “curated directory” for its audience.

Think of it as a digital library shelf. For example, a fitness blog might have a page titled “Our Favorite Weight Loss Tools & Guides,” where they link to external calorie counters, workout plans, and high-quality articles from other experts.

Why This Strategy Works

This strategy is a “win-win-win” for everyone involved:

1. For the Site Owner: You are helping them keep their resource list up-to-date and valuable for their readers.
2. For the Reader: They find a new, high-quality resource (your content) that helps them solve a problem.
3. For Your SEO: You get a contextually relevant, high-authority backlink from a page that Google already views as an “authority hub.”

How to Get Resource Page Links

1. Finding the Prospects (Google Dorking)

To find these pages, you use specific Search Operators in Google. These allow you to filter out regular blog posts and find only “Resources” or “Links” pages.

Try these search strings (replace “topic” with your niche):

• intitle:resources "weight loss"
• inurl:resources.html "weight loss"
• "weight loss" + inurl:links
• "weight loss" + "useful resources"
• "weight loss" + "helpful links"

2. Vetting the Pages

Not every resource page is a good fit. Before reaching out, check:

• Relevance: Does your content actually fit the list?
• Authority: Use a tool (like Ahrefs or Moz) to check the Domain Authority (DA).
• Maintenance: If the page hasn’t been updated since 2018, the owner likely won’t respond.

3. The Outreach

Once you have a list of targets, you need to reach out to the webmaster or editor. The key is to be brief and helpful.

A Practical Example

Let’s say you’ve written a comprehensive, 5,000-word guide on “Intermittent Fasting for Beginners”.

Step 1: Search

You go to Google and type: intitle:resources "intermittent fasting"

Step 2: Find a Target

You find a site called https://www.google.com/search?q=HealthyLiving.com that has a page: healthyliving.com/best-diet-resources. It lists several keto and paleo guides, but no beginner guide for intermittent fasting.

Step 3: Outreach Email

Best, [Your Name]

Subject: Question about your health resources page

Hi [Name],

I was browsing your site today and came across your Best Diet Resources page. It’s a great list; I actually shared your keto guide with my newsletter subscribers!

I noticed you don’t have a section on Intermittent Fasting yet. I recently published a very detailed, free guide for beginners that covers the science and schedules behind it.

If you think it would add value to your readers, would you consider adding it to your list?

You can check it out here: [Your Link]

Either way, keep up the great work with the blog!

Strategy #4: Reverse Engineer Competitors

What is Reverse Engineering Competitors?

Reverse Engineering Competitors is the process of identifying a competitor’s backlink profile to understand where their authority comes from and how they earned it. Instead of guessing which sites might link to you, you look at who is already linking to similar content in your niche and target those exact sources.

Why This Strategy Works?

• Proven Interest: If a website links to your competitor, they have already demonstrated an interest in your topic. They are much more likely to link to you than a “cold” prospect.
• The Shortcut Factor: Your competitors have already done the hard work of vetting sites, finding editors, and building relationships. You are simply stepping into a “pre-validated” circle.
• Identify the “Formula”: You can see if they are winning through guest posts, original research, or tools. This tells you exactly what type of content you need to create to compete.

The Process: How to do it using Ahrefs

Ahrefs is the industry standard for this. Here is the professional workflow:

1. Identify Your “Real” SEO Competitors

Don’t just look at who you think your competitors are. Look at who Google says they are.

• Ahrefs Step: Go to Site Explorer > Enter your domain > Click Organic Competitors.
• What to look for: Sites with a high “Keywords Overlap.” These are the ones stealing your traffic.

2. The Link Intersect (The “Low-Hanging Fruit”)

This tool finds websites that link to multiple competitors but not to you. If a site links to three of your rivals, they are highly likely to link to a fourth (you).

• Ahrefs Step: Go to Link Intersect.
• Action: Put 3–5 competitors in the “Show me who links to…” section and put your domain in the “But doesn’t link to…” section.
• The Result: A list of sites that are “receptive” to your niche.

3. “Best by Links” (The Content Strategy)

To know what to write, you need to see what content earned your competitors the most links.

• Ahrefs Step: Enter a competitor’s domain in Site Explorer > Click Best by Links (under the Pages section).
• The Result: You’ll see their most linked-to pages. If their “Ultimate Guide to Keto” has 500 backlinks, you know that creating a better Keto guide is a winning move.

A Practical Example

Let’s say you run a blog about Remote Work Tools.

Step 1: Identify Competitors You find that RemoteOK.com and WeWorkRemotely.com are your top rivals.

Step 2: Link Intersect You run a Link Intersect and find that 15 different tech blogs have linked to both rivals in their “Best Remote Job Boards” articles, but they haven’t mentioned your new blog yet.

Step 3: Analyze the “How” You look at the backlinks for RemoteOK and notice most of them come from “Expert Roundups” where the founder gives quotes about the future of work.

Step 4: Execute Now you know your “hit list” (those 15 tech blogs) and your “strategy” (offering expert quotes). You reach out to those editors:

“I saw you featured RemoteOK and WWR in your list of job boards. I actually just launched a tool that aggregates the data from both with a unique ‘salary filter’—would you be open to adding it as a third resource for your readers?”

Strategy #5: Journalist Outreach

This strategy is often called Digital PR or Expert Sourcing. In the world of SEO, getting a link from a major news outlet (like The New York Times, Forbes, or TechCrunch) is like winning an Olympic gold medal. One link from a high-authority news site can be more powerful than 50 links from small blogs.

What is Journalist Outreach (Digital PR)?

Journalist Outreach is the process of providing expert quotes, data, or insights to reporters who are currently writing a story. Instead of pitching a finished article, you are acting as a “source.” When a journalist uses your quote, they almost always credit you with a link back to your website as a “bio” or “source” link.

Why This Strategy Works

• Elite Authority: News sites usually have a Domain Rating (DR) of 80–90+. Google views these sites as the ultimate sources of truth.
• Trust & Credibility: Being quoted as an expert in a major publication builds instant trust with your audience. It’s “social proof” that you can feature on your homepage.
• Mutually Beneficial: Journalists are on tight deadlines. They don’t have time to be experts in everything. By providing a clear, concise answer, you are making their job easier.

The Process: How to Become a Trusted Source

1. Sign Up for Monitoring Tools

Journalists post “queries” (requests for information) on specific platforms.

• Connectively (formerly HARO): The most famous platform.
• Featured.com: Great for specific, high-quality business queries.
• Qwoted: A newer platform that helps you build a profile that journalists can find.
• #PRRequest on X (Twitter): Search this hashtag to find real-time requests from reporters.

2. Filter for Relevance

You will receive emails 2–3 times a day with hundreds of requests. Don’t respond to everything. Only pick topics where you have genuine expertise. If you’re a fitness blogger, don’t answer queries about real estate.

3. The “Speed to Lead” Rule

Journalists often receive 100+ responses. The first 10–15 people to respond have the highest chance of being featured. Try to reply within 2 hours of the query being posted.

The “Perfect Pitch” Email Template

Journalists don’t want “fluff.” They want the answer immediately.

Subject: Contribution for: [Name of their Query/Topic]

Hi [Journalist Name],

I saw your request on [Platform Name] regarding [Topic]. As a [Your Title, e.g., Professional SEO Specialist] at [Your Blog Name], I’ve spent the last [X] years helping people navigate [Topic].

Here is a quick insight/tip that might work for your story:

“[Your 2-3 sentence expert quote or answer here. Make it punchy and ready to copy-paste.]”

If you’d like to dive deeper into this or need more details, I’m happy to help.

My Credentials:

• [Link to your “About” page or LinkedIn]
• [Link to a relevant post you’ve written on the topic]

Best regards, [Your Name]

A Practical Example

Let’s say you run a blog about Personal Finance.

Step 1: The Query You see a query on Connectively from a reporter at Business Insider asking: “What is one common mistake first-time home buyers make in 2026?”

Step 2: The Response You send a pitch within 30 minutes.

“The biggest mistake in 2026 is failing to account for ‘Green Taxes’ on older homes. Many buyers look at the mortgage but forget the new carbon-efficiency levies being introduced in several states…”

The Result: The journalist loves the “Green Taxes” angle because it’s unique. They include your quote in their article and link to your blog post: “10 Hidden Costs of Buying a Home.”

Strategy #6: Create content that people want to link to

To round out your SEO guide, we are looking at Linkable Assets. These aren’t just blog posts; they are high-value resources that attract links naturally because they provide utility, proof, or superior depth.

Here is the breakdown of these three “content-first” strategies.

1. Free Tools and Calculators

What is it? A tool or calculator is an interactive feature on your site that solves a specific problem for the user instantly. It shifts your site from being a place people read to a place people use.

Why This Strategy Works

• Utility: People link to tools because they are helpful. A blogger would much rather link to a calculator than try to explain a complex math formula themselves.
• High Retention: Tools often get bookmarked, leading to repeat traffic, which signals “authority” to Google.
• Replacement Value: If you provide for free what others charge for, you become the “go-to” resource in your niche.

The Process

1. Identify a Pain Point: Ask yourself: What is a calculation or task my audience does repeatedly? Is there a paid tool that I can provide for free?
2. Build/Embed: You don’t need to be a coder. For WordPress, you can use plugins like Formidable Forms or WP-Calculators, or hire a freelancer on Upwork for a simple JavaScript tool.
3. Optimize: Ensure the tool is mobile-friendly and fast.

2. Statistics and Original Data

What is it? This involves either conducting original research (surveys) or curating a massive, easy-to-read list of current industry statistics.

Why This Strategy Works

• Source Citation: Bloggers and journalists need “proof” for their claims. When they use your stat, they must cite you as the source.
• The “Bullet Point” Effect: Putting stats in a bulleted list at the top makes them “snackable” for writers looking for a quick quote.

The Process

1. Find a Trend: What is everyone talking about but no one has “hard numbers” for?
2. Gather Data: Use Google Forms for surveys, or aggregate data from public reports (giving them credit, but organizing it better).
3. Visualize: Use a tool like Canva to create a simple chart. Bloggers love “stealing” charts and linking back to the source.

Practical Example On a Remote Work blog, create a post: “25 Surprising Remote Work Stats for 2026.” Include a stat like: “82% of Gen Z employees prefer hybrid models over full-office.”

3. The Skyscraper Technique

What is it? Created by Brian Dean, this strategy involves finding a “tall” piece of content (one that is already popular), and building a “taller” version—one that is more up-to-date, better designed, and more thorough.

Why This Strategy Works

• Proven Demand: You already know people want to link to this topic because the original post has hundreds of backlinks.
• Superiority: Most content on the web is “thin.” By writing a 5,000-word “Ultimate Guide” with better images and 2026 data, you make the older version obsolete.

The Process

1. Research: Use Ahrefs to find a post in your niche with a high number of backlinks.
2. Improve: Make it longer (more depth), fresher (2026 updates), and prettier (better UI/UX).
3. Reach Out: Contact the exact same people who linked to the original, inferior piece.

Applying these strategies are essential for you to get high authority backlinks that you deserve. Backlinking is about building relationship and providing value to others, this mindset is crucial for you to successfully nail it.

FAQ

Ressources

Link Building for Beginners: Complete Guide to Get Backlinks – YouTube

Complete Advanced Link Building Course by Ahrefs

Watch This If Your Website Gets Under 10k Visits/Month – YouTube

Search Engine Optimization and Content Marketing

Official Ahrefs Tutorial: How to use Ahrefs to Improve SEO

SEO is constantly changing, which means we need to adapt fast.

But the basics are still the same!

Keyword research needs to be done thoughtfully, Off-page SEO will make your website more authoritative through backlinks, AND on-page will make sure your website content is optimized for readers, search engines, and generative Ai!

That’s why in this article; we will cover Google Free on-page SEO best practices.

Let’s dive in!

SEO Techniques to rank higher:

1. Heading hierarchy
2. Site hierarchy
3. Keyword optimization
4. Title tag
5. meta description
6. internal and external linking
7. Valuable and unique content
8. Visual and Multimedia Optimization
9. ِِCreate topic clusters and pillars pages
10. ِِMake website responsive
11. Optimize for page speed

1. Heading hierarchy

The heading in all your pages must follow an organized hierarchy.

Start from H1 (page Title) the most important heading, then subsequent headers H2, H3, H4 in logical order.
This is important as it improve user experience.

The image below shows a real example from SEMrush on how to structure headers.

2. Site hierarchy

Organizing a site hierarchy makes it easier for Google search engines to crawl and index the pages on your site.

Crawling is the process of finding new or updated pages.

An organized site hierarchy also ensures that:

• URLs are simple and readable
• Makes it easier for customers to find what they want on your site
• Enhances SEO

Let’s go through the best practices for site hierarchy

Planning your site hierarchy

Your website should follow a structure that goes from General (Home page) to specific (like a product page).

First the home page, it is the first page and most general one in your website. Your home page should link to categories or services, then your categories link to sub-categories.

For example, if you are selling books, your website should follow this structure:

1. Home page: Offer banner, what you provide, testimonials, popular categories.
2. categories: fiction, mystery, action …
3. sub-categories: fiction books, mystery books, action books …

The more user clicks, the more specific information appears.

Nevertheless, don’t embed important pages like product page too deep,
as it signals to search engine that the page is not important.

It is recommended to keep your website between 3 to 5 layers deep.

Using breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are the links you use to navigate to previous pages.

Adding breadcrumbs inside your website improve user experience and increase their session duration.

As a result, this will help your website rank better and also help the user in navigation.

Using descriptive URLs

The URL must be simple and describe the content of the page. It should help users understand what they’ll find when visiting your webpage. In addition, simple and descriptive URLs improve your Google on-page SEO: helping search engine understand what your page is about.

Here’s the best practices for writing URLs:

Keep URLs as short as possible

• Make it easier for users to share a link to your page

• URLs that are too long can confuse visitors

Make it easy to understand

Visitors should be able to tell where the link will take them when they click on the URL. For example, if you create a URL for a sub-category page for mystery books you might use and URL like this: www.booksgalore.com/fiction/mystery. The user will know they are visiting a website about books. They will also know that link will take them to a website about books.

URLs should include words instead of cryptic numbers that don’t mean anything to the visitor.

You’ll also want to avoid using generic words like “page1” or excessive keywords like “books-fiction-books-fictionbooks” in your URL.

Keep in mind that URLs are visible in search engine results, which is why it’s important to make sure your URLs are user-friendly.

Keep URLs updated

A broken link may occur if a webpage is deleted, or if the content is moved to a different location. Always check if your URLs are working fine.

Broken links are links that lead to webpages that no longer exist. 

Keyword optimization

Keywords are still important. they signal to Google if the page is relevant to user query or not. Conducting keyword research and place those keyowrds strategically is considered as SEO Fundamentals.

Keywords should be placed in:

• Title tag
• Meta description ( not direct ranking factor but it the user)
• URL
• H1: the title of the page should have the keyword
• in the first 100 words

Those are essential for Google to know your page relevant to whom. And avoid keyword stuffing, place your keyword naturally in your page.
furthermore, HubSpot recommends using one keyword for a page or post

4. How to create a great Title tag

Title tags are the links that you click on the search results.
It helps Search engines like Google Understand what the page is about

Best practices for writing title tag:

• Keep it short (no more than 60 characters): if you don’t compy with this condition, then part of your title will not be displayed
• Accurately describe each page’s content in your title elements. 
• Write descriptive but concise titles.
• Make sure your titles read naturally. 
• Create unique titles for each page.
• Give each page’s main headline greater visual weight and prominence.

Don’t

• Use text in your title elements that has no relation to the content on the page
• Use default or vague text in your titles, like “Home,” “Untitled,” or “New Page 1.”
• Use a single title in all title elements across your site’s pages
• Make your titles too lengthy or wordy
• Stuff unneeded or excessive keywords into your titles

5. How to create an effective Meta description

Meta description is the short summary under the title tag in search results.
Be aware, meta description is not a direct ranking factor!
But it helps users understand your page which can reduce bounce rate and attract the right traffic.

Best practices for writing meta descriptions:

• Include your keyword: if you are targeting the keyword “Large spoon” make sure you write it in your meta description.
  in the example above, Search Engine Land is targeting the keyword “on-page SEO”, that why you will see it inside both title tag and meta description.
• Keep it between 150 and 160 characters.
• Set expectation right: provide a summary in what the page about.
• Create a unique description for each page.
• Make sure it is truly descriptive. see below an example from Google Search Central

6. internal and external linking

How internal linking works

Internal links are hyperlinks that points to pages in the same domain. Internal links has many benefits like:

• Help search engine crawl website
• Create topic clusters (linking pages together means that they are related and it increases topic authority)
• They send link juice (authority) to linked page.

here’s a screenshot from BACKLINKO that shows the importance of internal linking.

Let’s dive into best practices for internal linking:

Write good anchor text

Anchor text are the words that place a link over.

Google recommends being descriptive with your anchor text.

Link to AND From Your Important Pages

avoid using the same words for two different pages; this can confuse search engines.

Don’t Use The Same Anchor Text For Two Different Pages

Avoid using the same words for two different pages; this can confuse Google search engine.

Audit Your Internal Links Regularly

Google search console has a feature that shows all internal links inside your website. Just go to your:

1. Google search console dashboard

2. Click the link in the bottom left

AND that’s it. You will find your link rapport.

Use “Dofollow” Links

This a great way to pass authority to other pages. Dofollow links means that the crawler will use the link and your page will send link juice to the linked page. You want all your internal links to be Dofollow to pass page authority (specially to your pillar page).

How external links linking works

External links are links to other pages outside your website. This practice shows Google search engine that you based your information on credible and trustworthy sources. on this article, I linked back to Google documentation and tools mentioned to say to search engine that I provide credible information and this instead will help me rank better.

7. Create valuable and unique content

Content is king when it comes to SEO. If you mess this step up, then you will not get the rank that you hope to achieve.
So, We will cover how to create unique content that is valuable and satisfy user intent

• Unique: Dont duplicate the same stuff that’s already out there. Instead, create fresh content that brings something new to the table. That something new can be:
  • A new strategy
  • Downloadable resources (checklist, e-book)
  • An easy to follow step-by-step process
• Super valuable: To make your content valuable consider those:
  • Be specific: Images, screenshots, and clear steps dive into the details and be practical
  • Copywriting: Strong copy will increase your audience dwell time and engagement
  • Use up-to-date material: Brand new strategies, steps that work today, and fresh examples go a long way
  • Consult expert authors: An article written by an expert in a subject is more valuable than any writer.
    A great way to make this happen is to invite an expert to edit or take a look on the article than offer to mention them in your article.
• Optimized for search intent: User intent is identifying why the user conduct the search. To know the intent of user, just type your keyword in search and observe what people are looking for.
  For example, if you are targeting the keyword “off-page SEO for e-commerce” , go type it into Google

and you will see why people are searching for that keyword. In our example, people are looking for off-page strategies and tactics for e-commerce and that’s the SEARCH INTENT!

Hey, be careful, sometimes you want to match the intent of your target audience, and the keyword can lead to grab the wrong traffic. Let’s say you want to target small business owners who are looking for budget friendly tools and you want to drive traffic to your website audit tool.
If you target the keyword “website audit tool” you will bring all kinds of people: bloggers, marketers, SEO specialist. But if you target “budget friendly website audit tool “ than you will likely bring the right traffic. The essence is to make sure to target the search intent of your target audience

8. Visual and Multimedia Optimization

the images, videos, or files you upload to your website must be also optimized for SEO. Let’s find out how to optimize your images.

Image ALT text

Use ALT text: image ALT text help people with visual impairment to understand what the image about through screen-readers. Google values accessibility that’s why this on-page SEO practice is considered important to increase ranking. Make sure your ALT text is descriptive (describe the image as it is).

Image compression

Compression is making an image lower in size. Google doesn’t mention strict limit. Although, experts suggest that your image should be under 70KB and maintain, at the same time, high quality.

A wonderful free tool that I personally use is Image Resizer as it can resize many images at the time (as long as their size doesn’t pass 10MB).

just upload your images inside the tool and that’s it. The magic will happen.

Descriptive File Names:

when you upload any file to your website whether it is an image, video or pdf, give it a title. if you upload an image with a “IMG_001” name, turn it into for example “on-page-seo-checklist”.

Rename IMG_001.jpg to on-page-seo-checklist.jpg.

9. Create pillar pages and topic clusters

These terms introduced by HubSpot initially and turned into SEO best practices. A pillar page is a page that covers a topic in depth. if your chosen topic is content marketing then you should create an article that covers in-depth content marketing.

As for topic clusters, they are sub-topic related to your main topic. So, your topic is content marketing and you wrote a pillar page covering it, after that you should create articles about video marketing, content strategy, content promotion …. Those sub-topics must be linked to your pillar pages in order for the technique to work. Those links are called hyperlinks. They are designed to link from page to page in the same website.

Now you understand what a pillar page and topic clusters are. Let’s talk about their importance, they:

• Increase your authority in the chosen topic which increase Your website EEAT.
• Build trust with users: covering every angle in a topic for a long period of time conveys to your audience that you are an expert
• Help search engines crawl and index your content: all the pages are linked which make it easy for crawlers to navigate the website.

Step by step on how to create this model:

1. Choose topic that you want to be known for (choose between 2 and 3)
2. Create pillar pages for those topics
3. Create topic clusters (subtopics) for each pillar pages and link them through hyperlinks.

If you follow those steps than you are good to go to start being more topic-focused rather than keyword-focused.

10. Make your website responisve

Responsive website is a website that works on all devices no matter what screen you put the website in. Although, the main 3 types of devices we usually use are: desktop, tablet, phone. This step is important because Google does prioritize mobile-first indexing. In other words, if Google doesn’t index your website than there is no goal for writing that content, it will be a waste of time.

How to check if your website responsive:

1. open your website (if your use WordPress, open your website in Ingenito mode)
2. Press CTRL + SHIFT + I: this will open the dev tools
3. Press CTRL + SHIFT + M to toggle device emulation
4. Now go to dimensions at the bar in the top left and begin testing your website on different devices

If you are using CMS tool like WordPress than don’t worry. the majority of themes are responsive.

11. Optimize for Page Speed

Google values quick loading pages and considered as important signals. If you and your competitor perform the same on other signals but you have a better loading speed your website will rank higher. Those are the words of Google in their key search signals.

You can use PageSpeed Insights Tool free tool to check your performance on core web vitals (signals of page experience) both on mobile and desktop. After you type your URL, you will find a score from 0 to 100. if you have a score less than 90 then you need to follow instructions or use this WordPress plugin “Seraphinite accelerator” it helped me go from 70 (score that needs improvement) to 100 on mobile instantly. if you comfortable with web development, just follow rapport instruction and you will be good on your way.

Other practices to increase page speed are:

• Remove cache: there is plugin called site cacher check it out
• Upload images that doesn’t pass 70 Kb (100KB MAX!)
• Use themes that provide elegant look and speed
• make sure your pages doesn’t pass 3 mb (optional)

Finally, we covered literally the whole free on-page SEO techniques. Your next step is to try to apply what you’re learning inside your own website. Remember, the basics of SEO are still the same, although you need to adapt to LLMs (GEO) in order to get a citation from Generative Ai tools like ChatGPT.

If you have any question or you want my help to optimize your website, just contact me here and i will be happy to help.