How to improve your rankings with actionable SEO suggestions

Trying to get your website to the top of Google can feel like you're aiming at a moving target. Just when you think you've got the hang of it, the rules seem to shift. But here’s some good news: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn't about secret tricks or trying to outsmart the system anymore. It's about creating a genuinely valuable and user-friendly experience that search engines can easily understand and reward.

This guide is here to cut through the noise. We'll give you a clear, practical look at the effective SEO suggestions that are actually working in 2026. We’ll break it all down into three core areas: creating great on-page content, getting your technical optimization right, and building off-page authority.

What is search engine optimization (SEO)?

So, what is SEO, really? It’s the process of improving your website to increase its visibility when people search for products, services, or information related to your business on Google, Bing, or any other search engine.

The goal is to help search engines understand what your content is about so they can show it to the right people at the right time. When you do this well, you get more relevant traffic to your site, which means more potential customers. The main thing to remember is that modern SEO is all about serving the user first, not just feeding an algorithm. A great user experience is the foundation of any lasting SEO success.

On-page SEO

Let's start with the things you have the most direct control over. On-page SEO covers all the optimizations you do on your actual website to improve its ranking. This is where your content, site structure, and user experience come into play.

Prioritize helpful, people-first content

Google has been very clear about this: they want to reward content that is helpful, reliable, and made for people, not just for search engine bots. This means the days of stuffing keywords into thin articles are long gone.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Write for your audience: Picture the person on the other side of the screen. What are their problems? What questions are they asking? Your content should answer those needs directly and clearly.
• Show your expertise: Don't just repeat what everyone else is saying. Share unique insights, personal experiences, or original data. This shows you know your stuff and builds trust with your readers.
• Keep it fresh: Information goes out of date. Make it a habit to regularly review and update your older content. This keeps it accurate, relevant, and valuable to your audience over time.

A well-maintained knowledge base or help center is an absolute goldmine for SEO. When you create helpful articles to answer user questions, you're also creating perfect training material for an AI assistant. For instance, eesel AI can learn from all your help docs to power an AI Chat Bubble on your website. This gives visitors instant, accurate answers and improves their experience, which is a big factor in modern SEO.

I was surprised that the customers actually liked it. Even though they were interacting with UI and inputting the same values (their order) the fact that they (keep in mind they're 50+) didn't have to navigate a website and go through multiple pages and could 'just message', to them it still felt like they were just offloading the task to someone else (the bot) rather than completing the task themselves.

Reddit

Understand user search intent

Search intent is just a fancy way of saying "the why behind a search." Understanding it is vital because if your content doesn't match what the user is looking for, it's not going to rank.

There are a few main types of intent:

• Informational: The user is looking for information, like "how to brew cold brew coffee" or "what are core web vitals."
• Navigational: The user wants to go to a specific website, like "YouTube" or "eesel AI login."
• Transactional: The user is ready to buy something, like "buy running shoes online" or "eesel AI pricing."

Matching your content to the user's intent is everything. You wouldn't try to rank a product page for a "how-to" search, and you wouldn't write a blog post for someone who just wants to log in.

Optimize your titles, descriptions, and headings

Your on-page elements like titles and headings are signposts for both users and search engines. They help everyone quickly figure out what your page is about.

• Title Tags: This is the clickable headline in the search results. It needs to be compelling, unique for every page, and naturally include your main keyword. Think of it as the title of a book chapter.
• Meta Descriptions: This is the short summary under your title tag in the search results. While it's not a direct ranking factor, a good meta description acts like a mini-advertisement, encouraging users to click your link instead of someone else's.
• Headings (H1, H2, H3): Headings create a logical structure for your content, making it easier for people to read and scan. Your H1 is your main page title (and you should only have one). Use H2s and H3s to break down subtopics and organize your thoughts.

Essential technical SEO

If on-page SEO is the quality of your house, technical SEO is its foundation. If search engines can't efficiently crawl, understand, and index your site, even the best content in the world won't get seen.

Focus on site speed and core web vitals

Nobody likes a slow website. A sluggish site creates a poor user experience, which can hurt your rankings. To help website owners measure this, Google introduced Core Web Vitals, a set of metrics that measure real-world user experience.

They focus on three key areas: loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability. Here are the metrics and the "Good" thresholds you should aim for:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This measures how long it takes for the main content of a page to load. You want this to be 2.5 seconds or less.
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): This measures how responsive your page is to user interactions, like clicks or taps. Aim for 200 milliseconds or less.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This measures visual stability, or how much your page layout unexpectedly shifts around while loading. You want a score of 0.1 or less.

To pass the Core Web Vitals assessment, your site needs to meet the "Good" threshold for all three metrics at the 75th percentile of page loads.

You can use free tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights to check your site's performance and get tips for improvement.

Ensure your website is mobile-friendly

More people browse the web on their phones than on desktops, and Google knows it. That's why they use mobile-first indexing, meaning they primarily look at the mobile version of your website for ranking and indexing.

This makes having a mobile-friendly site non-negotiable. The best way to do this is with a responsive design, where your site's layout automatically adjusts to fit any screen size. This ensures a consistent experience for everyone, no matter what device they're using.

Optimize your images

Images can be a great source of traffic from Google Images, and they also make your pages more relevant and engaging. But you need to optimize them correctly.

Here are two simple practices to follow:

• Use descriptive filenames: Instead of uploading an image with a generic name like IMG_1234.jpg, rename it to something descriptive like blue-suede-running-shoes.jpg. This gives search engines context about what the image is.
• Write helpful alt text: Alt text (alternative text) is a short sentence describing what's in the image. It's essential for accessibility, as it's what screen readers announce to visually impaired users. It also helps search engines understand the image's content.

A well-organized site with properly labeled assets doesn't just help Google; it also makes it easier for other systems to learn from your content. For example, when an AI internal chat bot is trained on your website, a clear structure ensures the AI can find and surface the right information quickly for your team.

Off-page SEO: Building authority

Off-page SEO refers to all the actions you take outside your own website to impact your rankings. Mostly, this is about building credibility, authority, and trust with both users and search engines.

Earn high-quality backlinks

Think of backlinks as votes of confidence from other websites. When another site links to yours, they're essentially telling their audience (and Google) that your content is valuable and trustworthy.

However, not all links are created equal. Quality matters far more than quantity. A single link from a respected, relevant site in your industry is worth more than hundreds of links from low-quality, spammy sites. The goal is to earn high-quality backlinks naturally.

Here are a couple of ethical strategies for doing that:

• Create link-worthy content: This is the foundation of any good link-building effort. If you create amazing content that people find useful, they will naturally want to share it and link to it. Think original research, comprehensive guides, free tools, or insightful case studies.
• Do some digital PR: This involves reaching out to journalists, bloggers, and publications in your niche with valuable content, data, or stories that would benefit their audience. It's about building relationships and providing real value, not just asking for a link.

Promote your content effectively

Hitting "publish" on a great piece of content is only half the battle. If you don't actively promote it, there's a good chance no one will see it. You need to get your content in front of the right people.

Here are a few channels you can use for promotion:

• Social media: Share your content on the social media platforms where your audience spends their time.
• Email newsletter: Your email list is one of your most valuable assets. Share new content with your subscribers to drive initial traffic and engagement.
• Online communities: Find relevant online communities, forums, or groups where your target audience is active. Share your content when it adds value to the conversation, but be careful not to come across as spammy.

Putting all these pieces together can seem like a lot, but seeing them in action can make the process much clearer. For a comprehensive walkthrough of how these strategies work together, check out this step-by-step guide to ranking on Google.

This step-by-step video guide by Brian Dean explains the core principles of how to improve rankings with SEO suggestions for beginners.

Your next steps

There you have it. A solid SEO strategy really comes down to three things: creating excellent on-page content for your users, building a strong technical foundation so search engines can find it, and earning off-page authority to build trust.

Remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. It's a long-term game that requires consistency and patience. You might not see results overnight, but if you focus on providing genuine value to your audience, you'll be on your way to achieving and holding onto those top rankings.

Improving your SEO will bring more visitors to your site. The next step is giving them the best possible experience when they arrive. Creating great content is key, but making that content instantly accessible is how you win. eesel AI uses your existing help articles and documentation to power an AI assistant that provides immediate answers, improves user engagement, and frees up your support team. Start a 7-day free trial to see how it works.