Updated July 2026
This post was first written in 2013. It’s been updated a few times since. Each time, some things have changed and some fundamentals have stayed exactly the same.
The basics of what makes a well-optimised page – clear URLs, strong titles, structured content, fast loading, good links – have been consistent for over a decade. What’s changed is how sophisticated Google has become at evaluating whether those elements are actually serving the person who searched. Doing the technical elements right is necessary but not sufficient. The page also has to genuinely answer what they were looking for.
Here’s what a properly optimised page looks like in 2026.
Start with search intent
Before you write a word or choose a keyword, understand what type of search you’re trying to rank for. Google evaluates this carefully, and getting it wrong means the optimised page will struggle regardless of how well everything else is done.
The four types of search intent:
Informational – the person wants to learn something. “What is schema markup?” or “how does page speed affect rankings?”
Navigational – the person wants to reach a specific website. “Google Search Console login” or “fecking creative Carlisle.”
Transactional – the person wants to buy or hire. “Hire a web designer Carlisle” or “buy noise-cancelling headphones.”
Commercial – the person is researching before buying. “Best SEO agency Cumbria” or “Wix vs WordPress for small business.”
Match your page to the intent. A blog post trying to rank for a transactional query, or a product page competing for an informational one, will struggle no matter how technically polished it is.
URL
The URL is the address of the page, what appears in the browser bar and in search results. Put the main keyword in it. Keep it short. Use hyphens between words.
Good: mollysbakery.co.uk/chocolate-brownies
Bad: mollysbakery.co.uk/thread.php?threadid=12345&sort=date
Dynamic URLs full of parameters are harder for both users and search engines to parse. Shorter, descriptive URLs consistently outperform long, complex ones.
What's actually in a URL?
A URL isn’t just a web address — it’s a set of distinct parts, and each one does a job. Here’s what you’re actually looking at:
- Scheme – the https:// at the start. The S stands for secure (SSL). If yours still says http:// without the S, fix that before anything else.
- Subdomain – the bit before the main domain. Usually www, but could be blog or shop. Most sites don’t need more than one.
- Domain – your actual brand name. This is the part you own and pay for.
- TLD – the .co.uk, .com, .org etc. at the end. For most UK businesses, .co.uk or .co.uk + .com is the right call.
- Path – everything after the first /. This is where your slug lives. /blog/seo-tips is a path.
- Query string – the ?utm_source=newsletter type stuff you see after a ?. Not part of your page structure; mostly used for tracking. Google ignores it for indexing purposes.
The ones you actually control for SEO are the path and the domain. Keep paths short, descriptive, and keyword-led. Avoid auto-generated strings of numbers and characters — they mean nothing to a search engine or a human.
Title tag
The title tag is the clickable headline in search results and one of the strongest on-page ranking signals. Put the main keyword as early in the title as possible. Keep it under 60 characters – Google truncates anything longer. Make it specific enough that someone scanning results knows exactly what they’ll get.
Every page needs a unique title tag. Duplicate titles suggest to Google that the pages are interchangeable, which creates unnecessary competition between your own content.
H1 and heading structure
The H1 is the main visible heading on the page. Use one per page. Most content management systems set it automatically from the page title.
Use H2 subheadings to break up longer content – and include the target keyword in at least one. H3s sit under H2s for subsections. A clear heading hierarchy doesn’t just help readers navigate; it tells Google how the content is structured and what each section covers.
Body content
Write for people, not search engines. Google is increasingly good at detecting content that exists to tick boxes rather than genuinely answer a question.
Include the target keyword within the first 100 words. Longer content generally outperforms shorter content for competitive queries, because depth usually indicates thoroughness – but word count isn’t a goal in itself. A focused 1,000-word post that fully answers the question beats a padded 3,000-word one every time.
Use the keyword naturally. Don’t force it into every sentence. Google understands synonyms, context, and related terms. Content that covers a topic properly will naturally include the relevant language without needing to be stuffed with repetitions.
Meta description
The meta description doesn’t directly affect rankings, but it directly affects click-through rate – which does. It’s the pitch that convinces someone to click your result over the ones above and below it.
Keep it between 150–160 characters. Include the keyword where natural – it gets bolded in results when it matches the search query. Make it specific: not a vague description of what the page is about, but a reason to click.
Note: Google sometimes rewrites meta descriptions when it decides yours doesn’t closely match the page content. If this is happening consistently on a page, the description probably needs revisiting.
Images
Every image should have a descriptive filename (chocolate-brownies-recipe.jpg, not IMG_084721.jpg) and a descriptive alt tag that includes the keyword where it fits naturally.
Alt text has two jobs: helping Google understand the image, and providing a text alternative for screen readers. Write it to describe the image accurately – don’t force keywords into alt text that isn’t relevant to what the image shows.
Compress images before uploading. Oversized files are one of the most common causes of slow-loading pages. If an image displays at 400×300 pixels on screen, don’t upload an 1800×1200 version. Tools like BulkResizePhotos handle compression well if you’re not using Photoshop. Use JPG for photographs, PNG only when you need a transparent background.
Page speed
Loading speed is a direct ranking factor. Compressed images make a significant difference. Other common culprits include unoptimised code, excessive third-party scripts, and poor hosting. Google’s PageSpeed Insights will identify exactly what’s slowing a page down and what to prioritise.
Mobile
Over 65% of web searches happen on mobile. Google uses mobile-first indexing – its assessment of your site is based on the mobile version. If the site isn’t responsive, properly sized for smaller screens, and fast on mobile networks, it will rank poorly for all users, not just mobile ones. This isn’t optional.
Structured data
Schema markup is code that helps search engines understand what the content on a page is. It can enable rich results – FAQ dropdowns, star ratings, event details, product pricing – that make your listing more prominent and increase click-through rates even at the same ranking position.
If a page contains content that maps to a schema type (Article, FAQPage, Product, LocalBusiness, Service, Review) it’s worth implementing. Not a direct ranking signal, but the enhanced appearances it enables can meaningfully increase how much traffic a well-ranked page actually receives.
Internal and external links
Internal links connect your pages to each other, distribute authority across the site, and help Google understand the relationships between your content. Link within the body of pages – not just in the main navigation – to other relevant content. Use descriptive anchor text that reflects what the linked page covers.
External links to authoritative, relevant sources signal context – they show Google what topic the page belongs to and that it engages with the broader subject. Linking out is worth doing.
Backlinks – links from other sites pointing to yours – remain one of Google’s strongest ranking signals. Think of them as votes of confidence: the more authoritative the site linking to you, the more the vote counts. A single backlink from a respected industry publication carries more weight than hundreds from low-quality directories. You earn good backlinks by creating content worth referencing. Looking at where competitors who outrank you are earning their links is a practical starting point.
What to avoid
Keyword stuffing – forcing keywords into content unnaturally. Google detects it, penalises it, and it reads badly to real visitors anyway.
Hidden text – making text the same colour as the background to stuff invisible keywords. Search engines spot this immediately.
Doorway pages – near-identical pages targeting location variants (“plumber London,” “plumber Manchester”). Google treats these as duplicate content.
Cloaking – showing different content to search engines than to users. Against Google’s guidelines, results in manual penalties.
Copied content – duplicating content from other sites or across your own pages. Every page needs original content.
Bad redirects – sending users from a deleted or moved URL to an unrelated page. If you redirect, the destination needs to be relevant to what the original URL was.
Over-optimised anchor text – using the same exact-match keyword phrase as link text for every internal link. Natural variation looks legitimate; mechanical repetition of the same phrase raises flags.
Chasing exact-match domains – having a domain like plumbercarlisle.co.uk used to boost rankings. It doesn’t anymore. Build a brand name instead.
What SEO actually requires
A few things worth being honest about before you start or review your approach.
SEO is not a one-time task. Algorithm updates, competitor activity, content decay, and technical drift mean that a site properly optimised 18 months ago needs fresh attention now. At fecking creative, we run structured weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual SEO task lists for client campaigns. There’s no way to do it well without ongoing commitment.
Results take time. For less competitive terms, early movement is possible in 1–3 months. Noticeable traffic increases and ranking improvements typically take 3–6 months. Meaningful gains for competitive keywords take 6–12 months or more. Anyone promising overnight results is not being straight with you.
Social media doesn’t directly affect rankings. Shares and likes aren’t ranking signals. Social helps indirectly – it increases content visibility, which leads to more potential backlinks, which does affect rankings. Worth doing; not a substitute for the fundamentals.
Design is an SEO factor. Page speed, mobile experience, bounce rate, and time-on-page are all influenced by how a site is built. A technically well-optimised page on a poorly designed, slow site will underperform the same content on a well-built one. These things aren’t separate concerns.
If your site needs an SEO review, or you want to understand where to focus your effort, get in touch. SEO is a core part of what we do at fecking creative, and we’ll help you figure out exactly where to start.
