Title tag
Under 60 characters, primary keyword near the front, brand at the end. This single element usually swings CTR more than any other change.
Meta description
Under 160 characters. Not a direct ranking factor but drives CTR, which is. Write it like ad copy - not like a summary.
Headings (H1, H2, H3)
One H1 that matches search intent. H2s that mirror how people ask sub-questions. H3s for detail. AI engines lean heavily on this structure.
URL structure
Short, descriptive, hyphens between words. /blog/seo-checklist beats /blog/2024/01/15/post-284.
Internal links
Every new page should link out to 3-5 existing pages and receive 3-5 links from existing pages. Use descriptive anchor text.
Schema markup
Article, FAQ, HowTo, Product, Review - whichever fits the page. Rich results in Google, better citations in AI engines.
Images and media
Descriptive filenames, alt text, compressed file sizes, width/height attributes to prevent CLS.