If your site looks good but performs poorly, you don't need another redesign — you need disciplined optimisation. These five focus areas will make 90% of the difference.
1. Nail the Fundamentals
- Meta titles & descriptions: Keep concise and click-worthy. Each page must have a unique title under 60 characters.
- Structured content: Use one H1 per page; use H2s and H3s for clarity. Break long text into readable sections.
- Canonical links: Prevent duplicates and signal your preferred URL.
Tip: Meta keywords are dead. Focus on clarity and relevance, not density.
2. Speed and Experience Win
Core Web Vitals are now ranking factors. Fast, responsive pages that feel effortless will outrank slow or clunky ones.
- Compress and resize all images (WebP/AVIF where supported).
- Enable caching and lazy-loading for media.
- Host on a reliable CDN and monitor speed regularly.
3. Build for Humans First
- Readable URLs: Short, lowercase, keyword-descriptive.
- Internal links: Guide visitors deeper into your site.
- Trust pages: Clear Contact, Privacy, and About pages build credibility and improve E-E-A-T signals.
- 404 page: Offer helpful links, not dead ends.
4. Show Search Engines What You Mean
Use structured data (Schema.org) to label key information. It helps Google understand your pages and enables rich results.
- Articles → headline, author, datePublished, description
- Local businesses → address, openingHours, telephone
- Products → brand, price, availability
5. Keep Optimising, Always
SEO isn't set-and-forget. Regularly check for broken links, outdated content, and missing tags. Track traffic and rankings monthly using Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and GA4.
Rule of thumb: SEO is less about hacks and more about habits. Small improvements made consistently outperform big bursts of activity.
Want the complete technical checklist? Read the full Website Optimisation Guide 2025 for detailed steps and examples.