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Back in 2012, SEO was simple. Stuff keywords into your content, build a few backlinks, and watch your rankings climb. Then Google got smart. The algorithms evolved, user experience became the priority, and everything I thought I knew about SEO became obsolete.
Today, SEO is unrecognizable from what it was a decade ago. The good news is that these changes favor competent developers who build quality sites.
The Technical Foundation
Before you can rank in search results, search engines need to discover your content, understand what it's about, and determine whether it's valuable enough to rank.
The Robots Protocol and Crawl Budget
The robots.txt file tells search engine bots which parts of your site they can crawl. The crawl budget is the number of pages search engines will crawl on your site within a given time period.
XML Sitemaps and Canonical URLs
The XML sitemap lists all the pages you want search engines to index. Canonical URLs tell search engines which version is the "real" one to prevent duplicate content issues.
On-Page Optimization
Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Title tags should be under 60 characters to avoid truncation. Meta descriptions should be under 160 characters and summarize the page content accurately.
Heading Structure and Structured Data
Search engines use heading tags to understand content hierarchy. Structured data helps search engines understand your content beyond plain text using Schema.org vocabulary.
Core Web Vitals
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
LCP measures how quickly the main content of a page loads. Server response time should be under 200 milliseconds for ideal LCP.
First Input Delay (FID)
FID measures how responsive a page is to user interactions. Reduce main thread work by minimizing JavaScript execution.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
CLS measures visual stability. Always specify dimensions for images and embedded content to prevent layout shifts.
Conclusion
SEO isn't a one-time optimization—it's an ongoing practice. When you create genuinely useful content, build quality sites, and provide excellent user experiences, the SEO benefits follow naturally.