Seo patterns

SEO Patterns

Keyword Research Framework

Keyword Tiers

1. Pillar keywords — high volume, high competition, broad intent (1-2 words)
2. Cluster keywords — medium volume, medium competition, specific intent (2-4 words)
3. Long-tail keywords — low volume, low competition, high intent (4+ words)

Research Process

1. Seed with product/service terms
2. Expand via Google Autocomplete, "People Also Ask", Related Searches
3. Pull competitors' ranking keywords (Ahrefs/Semrush)
4. Filter by: search volume ≥ 100/mo, KD ≤ 40 for new sites
5. Group by intent: Informational / Navigational / Commercial / Transactional
6. Map one primary keyword + 3-5 semantic variants per page

Intent Classification

Intent	Query pattern	Content type
Informational	"how to", "what is", "why"	Blog posts, guides
Commercial	"best", "vs", "review"	Comparison pages
Transactional	"buy", "price", "discount"	Product/landing pages
Navigational	Brand + feature	Homepage, feature pages

On-Page Optimization Checklist

Title Tag

• Primary keyword in first 60 characters
• Unique per page
• Includes power word or number where natural
• Format: Primary KW — Secondary KW | Brand

Meta Description

• 150-160 characters
• Includes primary keyword naturally
• Has clear CTA ("Learn how", "Get started", "See pricing")
• Unique per page

Headers

• H1: contains primary keyword, one per page
• H2s: contain semantic variants and subtopics
• H3s: support H2s with specifics
• Logical hierarchy — never skip levels

Content

• Primary keyword in first 100 words
• Keyword density 1-2% (avoid stuffing)
• Semantic keywords (LSI) distributed naturally
• Internal links to cluster pages (3-5 per post)
• External links to authoritative sources
• Images: descriptive filenames, alt text with keywords where natural
• Content length matches top 3 SERP results ± 20%

URL Structure

• Short, descriptive slug (/guide/keyword-research not /blog/post?id=123)
• Lowercase, hyphens (not underscores)
• No stop words unless needed for clarity
• Consistent folder structure

Technical SEO Checklist

Crawlability

• robots.txt allows Googlebot on key pages
• XML sitemap at /sitemap.xml, submitted to GSC
• No orphan pages (every page linked from somewhere)
• Canonical tags on duplicate/similar content
• 301 redirects for changed URLs — never 302 for permanent moves

Indexability

• No noindex on pages you want ranked
• Check for accidental noindex in CMS settings
• Pagination handled with rel="next"/"prev" or canonical
• Thin content pages consolidated or noindexed

Site Speed (Core Web Vitals targets)

Metric	Target	Tool
LCP	< 2.5s	PageSpeed Insights
INP	< 200ms	CrUX / PageSpeed
CLS	< 0.1	PageSpeed Insights
TTFB	< 800ms	WebPageTest

Speed Fixes Priority

1. Serve images in WebP/AVIF, explicit dimensions
2. Lazy-load below-fold images
3. Eliminate render-blocking JS (defer/async)
4. Minify CSS/JS, enable compression (gzip/brotli)
5. Use CDN for static assets
6. Implement caching headers

Mobile

• Responsive design (Google mobile-first indexing)
• Touch targets ≥ 48px
• No horizontal scroll
• Readable font size (≥ 16px body)

HTTPS & Security

• HTTPS on all pages
• No mixed content warnings
• HSTS header enabled

Content Clustering (Topic Authority Model)

Cluster Architecture

Pillar Page: "Email Marketing Guide" (broad, 3000+ words)
  └── Cluster: "Email Subject Line Best Practices"
  └── Cluster: "Email Segmentation Strategies"
  └── Cluster: "Email Automation Workflows"
  └── Cluster: "Email Deliverability Guide"
  └── Cluster: "Email A/B Testing"

Internal Linking Rules

• Pillar links to all clusters
• Each cluster links back to pillar
• Clusters cross-link when topically relevant
• Use descriptive anchor text (not "click here")
• Anchor text = target page's primary keyword variant

Schema Markup

High-Value Schema Types

// Article
{
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Title",
  "datePublished": "2024-01-01",
  "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "..." },
  "image": "https://..."
}

// FAQ (boosts SERP space)
{
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [{
    "@type": "Question",
    "name": "Question text?",
    "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Answer text." }
  }]
}

// Product
{
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Product Name",
  "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.8", "reviewCount": "127" }
}

SERP Feature Targeting

Featured Snippet Optimization

• Answer the question directly in first paragraph (40-60 words)
• Use the question as an H2
• Follow with list or table for list snippets
• Format: Question → Direct answer → Supporting detail

People Also Ask

• Include PAA questions as H2/H3 subheadings
• Answer each in 40-60 words immediately below the header
• Use NLP-friendly phrasing that mirrors the question

Link Building Strategies

Tier 1 (Highest ROI)

1. Digital PR — create data studies, original research, newsworthy content
2. Broken link building — find dead links on authority sites, offer your content
3. Resource page outreach — find "useful links" pages in your niche
4. Unlinked brand mentions — convert mentions to links via outreach

Outreach Email Template

Subject: Quick question about [their page title]

Hi [Name],

Found your [page URL] while researching [topic]. 
You link to [broken/outdated resource] — that page no longer exists.

I wrote an updated guide on [topic]: [your URL]

Might be a good replacement if you're open to it.

[Your name]

SEO Reporting KPIs

KPI	Frequency	Target
Organic sessions	Weekly	+10% MoM
Keyword rankings (tracked set)	Weekly	Position delta
Click-through rate	Monthly	≥ 3% avg
Organic conversions	Monthly	Tie to revenue
Domain Rating / Authority	Monthly	Trend up
Core Web Vitals pass rate	Monthly	100%
Indexed pages	Monthly	No unexpected drops