Search Engine Optimization Guide for Professionals (2026)
Kirjoittanut Tapio Kauranen
Kirjoitettu: 21.7.2026 - Muokattu: 22.7.2026 Kirjoittanut Tapio Kauranen
Kirjoitettu: 21.7.2026 - Muokattu: 22.7.2026Sisällysluettelo
Search Engine Optimization Guide for Professionals. Updated 2026. When beginner guides are no longer enough and you want to take your skills to the next level
The one who best answers the search engine’s question appears first. The purpose of search engines, such as Google, is to provide the best possible search result for every query.
For this reason, Google only shows search results in the top positions that have been search engine optimized.
Search engine optimization techniques can be divided into three different areas:
In March 2016 Google revealed that search results are determined by three different criteria.
This is why RankBrain was developed, and its existence was confirmed in 2015.
RankBrain is an artificial intelligence that utilizes machine learning.
Machine learning = the machine is given data and a framework. The machine tries to draw conclusions based on the data.
For example, the framework for an artificial intelligence playing chess is the rules of the chess game. The chess AI simulates billions of moves and selects the most effective ones from them.
Previously, Google read the text content of your blog article and tried to infer what topic it was about by counting how many times a specific word was repeated.
Once the topic was determined, the page was directed to the relevant search.
This is history.
The problem with the old method was that, for example, in a search for “verkkokauppa” the user might have meant
…or something else.
RankBrain solved the problem by looking at previous searches and which links visitors clicked after performing the search. If a visitor went all the way to the second page of search results and clicked a link there, that website was ranked higher the next time the search was made.
Nowadays, Google can also guess in Finnish very accurately what you meant with your search even if the page text does not fully match the query you made.
FOR EXAMPLE
The technical part is the cornerstone of search engine optimization. It involves optimizing the site’s loading speed and usability.
Websites need to be technically sound to appear in search engines. In other words, websites must:
In 2020 Google announced that it would start using a more effective way to measure site loading speed and user experience.
Going forward, instead of just loading speed, more advanced metrics will be used:
All of these points and how they can be optimized are detailed below:
Test your site’s loading speed hereIn 2019 Google announced that Google’s indexing bot would no longer use the desktop version of websites at all.
Most likely, the majority of users on your site also come via mobile devices. Around the world, mobile device loading speeds are ridiculously slow.
So when using Google’s PageSpeed Test, use only the mobile tab
Test mobile loading speed here
Log in to Search Console and add your own site there.
Go to the “Page Experience” section to see how Google has rated your site.
If the site has any loading issues, you will see them here.
Google often also tells you how the possible problems can be fixed.
Google Search Console
The recommended LCP load time is under 2.5 seconds.
If the loading speed takes more than 4 seconds, it is very possible that Google will not agree to show the page in the search engine at all. The site is simply too low-quality to be displayed.
This is how LCP is optimized
Points detailed below:
Google’s guidance on LCPImages are huge. A photo taken with a smartphone camera can be several megabytes. An image displayed on a website should only be a few kilobytes.
Fortunately, reducing and compressing images is easy with external tools.
Whether you use WordPress or some other platform, I recommend using Imagify. An automatic image compression tool.
With Imagify you can compress the images on your WordPress site automatically with one click.
In addition to compressing images, you need to consider the image format.
In modern websites, images are displayed in .avif or .webp format. Image format encoding is superior compared to the old and familiar JPG, GIF, and PNG formats.
If you start using Imagify in WordPress, the tool will automatically convert the images to .webp format.
Embedding videos from video services like YouTube is very heavy because the service has to load its own player along with the video.
Most of the time, the video comes with a huge pile of JavaScript files and a few images.
The easiest way to fix this is to load the videos “lazily” using Lazyload.
Lazyload means that the browser only loads the video when the user scrolls to it. The video does not load along with the rest of the site.
If you use WordPress, the easiest way to enable Lazyload is by installing the WP Rocket plugin on your site.
Especially in poorly coded WordPress themes, these files are a huge problem. The theme author has wanted to add thousands of features to the theme. Each feature slows down the page loading because it makes the files larger.
In WordPress sites, file optimization has been made easy thanks to the WP Rocket plugin.
FID should be under 100ms.
If FID is over 300ms, the site receives a failing score and will not appear in Google (source).
It is very rare for FID to be slow as it is usually caused by heavy Javascript tasks, which are quite uncommon on normal websites.
Fixing FID often requires deep programming expertise, which is why I am not going to go through it here.
Instead, I recommend reading Google’s official documentation on the topic.
Read Google’s instructions for fixing FID
CLS measures the time until the site stops moving and is usable.
CLS should be under 100ms.
If CLS is over 250ms, the site receives a failing score and will not appear in Google (source).
There is no comprehensive guide for fixing CLS; the issues must be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
Hire me or another programmer to help if you need assistance with CLS speed optimization.
Read Google’s instructions for CLSOnce the foundation of the site, i.e. the technical part, is in order, we can focus on the most important phase of search engine optimization, which is the textual content.
According to several sources, the “three-click rule” does not hold true, but in my opinion it is an extremely good rule.
The idea is that all content should be at most three clicks away from each other.
On the other hand, if you have thousands and thousands of pages, it’s not worth forcing everything within three clicks.
Many large companies have analyzed millions of Google searches and observed that longer texts perform better in search results.
People like long texts as long as the content is high quality. After all, people do read books.
300 words is the minimum, but studies have shown that a page that typically ranks well in Google is usually 2,100 – 2,400 words long.
According to a HubSpot study from 2021, the ideal blog post length for SEO should be 2,100-2,400 words.
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ideal-blog-post-length-for-seo/255633/
People read text on the internet differently than they read books.
Google also understands the topic of the page better when you add the search term directly to the page headings.
With headings, you can keep people’s interest for longer. Longer dwell time can bring better visibility in search engines.
URL address rules:
Example: www.example.com/avainsana-tuote
Heading rules:
Remember that the quality of the content and user experience are of primary importance. Search engine optimization is important, but do not let it weaken the site’s usability or the value of the content for users.
Good alt text helps improve the site’s search engine visibility and makes it more accessible to different users.
Effective use of internal links requires a considered strategy and a good site structure.
Make sure you link to relevant content and that the link anchor texts are descriptive and natural.
However, don’t overdo internal linking so that you don’t weaken the user experience.
It’s good to add links to other websites on your pages, as long as they are relevant and useful to users.
Linking to high-quality, high-authority websites can help with search engine optimization (SEO), as it increases your site’s credibility and value in the eyes of search engines.
When adding links, it’s important to consider the following:
The “dofollow” and “nofollow” link attributes are also important for search engine optimization.
“Dofollow” links tell search engines that you trust the linked site, and they can pass value to the linked page.
“Nofollow” links, on the other hand, do not pass value, but they can be used when linking to ads or other sites to which you do not want to pass value.
Ultimately, it’s important to remember that the main goal of search engine optimization is to improve the user experience.
Links should not be added solely to improve search engine visibility, but also to provide users with added value and useful information.
Writing a meta description is important because it can affect how attractive your page appears to users in search results, which can improve your ranking in search engines and increase visitors to your site.
When writing a meta description, it’s worth paying attention to the following aspects:
Writing a meta description in an HTML document is done by adding a <meta> element to the head section as follows:
<head>
…
<meta name=“description” content=“This is an example meta description that tells about the page’s content and purpose.”>
…
</head>
Replace the value of the content attribute with your own meta description.
Links from other websites, i.e. backlinks and the site’s reputation.
It’s the year 2026 and external links still affect the site’s search visibility.
Once all the site’s internal measures have been completed, you can focus on acquiring links from outside.
Google, however, does not recommend creating links yourself but encourages creating such great content that people link to it organically.
That is the entire purpose of external links.
Here are five ways I personally acquire backlinks
A good backlink consists of the following things
Image links are worthless
You already appear in Google with your own name
A nofollow link is worthless. All social media links, as well as comment fields, contain the nofollow tag.
The following measures are available for an additional fee
Read more about WordPress websites.