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Website Redesign: 11-Step Process From Audit to Launch

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Think a website redesign is just about fixing your homepage or refreshing the layout? Think again.

Too often, these projects focus on changing the look or chasing the latest trends. But if your redesign doesn’t fix what’s actually broken, your site won’t perform any better or win you more business.

In this guide, I’ll show you what a website redesign really involves and walk you through my agency’s 11-step process — including mistakes to avoid.

Key Takeaways:

  • A true website redesign is more than just cosmetic, involving rebuilding your website to create a strong foundation for visual design, UX, SEO, and technical infrastructure.
  • Mobile devices have generated over 50% of all website traffic since 2017, so use a mobile-first approach during your redesign process to appeal to the largest percentage of users.
  • If you take a “set it and forget it” approach to website redesign, you’ll end up back where you started. Make a plan to monitor and optimize your site post-launch to keep hitting your goals.

What Is a Website Redesign?

A website redesign is a process that involves changing a site’s appearance, content, and functionality.

The goal? Developing a website that better meets both user needs and business goals.

A website refresh involves making small-scale changes (like making a few tweaks to the homepage layout). But a full redesign basically rebuilds your existing website from scratch.

A site redesign checklist typically includes these elements:

  • Visual Design: How the site looks, including the layout, color schemes, typography, and branding
  • User Experience (UX): How the site functions for users, including the navigation and interactive elements
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): How the site appears in search, including keywords and metadata 
  • Site Architecture: How the site is organized, including page hierarchies, URL structures, and internal links
  • Technical Infrastructure: How the site functions on the backend, including site speed and security
  • Accessibility: How well all users can understand and interact with your website

When to Consider a Website Redesign Project

Not sure if a web design is really necessary? Here are a few signals that it’s time for an overhaul.

Outdated Design

Does your site look like it was designed in 2010? Potential customers might question if your business is still operating — or if it can meet their current needs.

New Branding or Positioning

Has your company refreshed its branding or updated its competitive positioning? Your site is one of the first places you’ll want to roll out these changes.

Subpar User Experience

Do site visitors frequently tell you they can’t find anything on your site? 

Bad Mobile Experience

Is your site the opposite of mobile-friendly? Since 2017, mobile devices have generated over half of website traffic. Which means mobile responsiveness is essential for every site.

Content Management System Limitations

Does your content management system (CMS) limit your site’s functionality or the plugins you can add? Switching from WordPress, Webflow, or any other CMS is a great reason to rebuild your site from the ground up.

Poor Site Performance

Does your site take ages to load — even though you’ve tried everything to speed it up? A complete redesign gives you an opportunity to address technical issues.

How to Redesign Your Website in 11 Steps

Now that you know when it’s time for a redesign, here’s how to do it step by step. I’ll break down my process into phases, from discovery and planning to launch and performance monitoring.

Discovery and Planning

Start by doing research and getting clear on your strategy.

A graphic detailing discovery and planning portions of the website redesign process.

Step 1: Audit Your Current Website

The first step is understanding what’s happening on your website and benchmarking its current performance.

The idea is to assess what’s working on your website and what isn’t. This way, you can preserve the elements that serve your site well (like top-ranking content) and update those that don’t (like a design that loads slowly on mobile devices).

Step 2: Conduct User and Competitive Research

Validate your research by talking with your actual prospects and customers. Add surveys to your site so you can automatically poll site visitors. Or reach out to customers manually.

Ask them what they like about your site, from the design to the functionality. Learn what they dislike about your site. Prompt them to highlight points of friction that prevent them from finding information or accomplishing tasks.

Then, make a list of competitors and analyze their websites. Identify areas where your competitors’ sites outperform yours and opportunities where your new site can do a superior job.

Step 3: Define Goals and Align Stakeholders

After auditing your website and understanding your current situation, you’re ready to set redesign goals. What does success look like for your new site?

Get crystal clear on what you want to achieve. For example, you might want to:

  • Create a better UX so website visitors can easily find the information they need. Which should make your site easy to navigate, decrease bounce rates, and build trust.
  • Implement a new CMS that integrates with the marketing automation tools your team uses. And that allows your team to publish new content more consistently.
  • Improve conversion rates by reducing friction for website users and guiding customers to next steps like signing up for a list, booking a call, or making a purchase.

Create a timeline and establish clear deadlines for each phase of the process.

Then, assemble a website design team with all essential stakeholders. For example, you’ll need someone to sign off on branding and design, website copy, SEO, and legal compliance.

Site Structure and Content Strategy

Map out the site architecture and content before developing mockups.

A graphic detailing site structure and content strategy parts of the website redesign process.

Step 4: Confirm the Navigation and the Content Strategy

Put your research to work. Design navigation that prioritizes user goals so your target audience can easily use the site. Add user-friendly navigation menus to simplify how they access important content.

Don’t forget about SEO best practices. Use a logical hierarchy that organizes content into categories. Make sure most content is no more than three clicks from the homepage.

While you’re at it, clarify your content strategy. Audit your existing content and determine if and how it fits into the new site structure.

Make a plan to combine redundant pages, unpublish outdated content, and identify content gaps that you’ll need to fill with new landing pages.

Step 5: Draft Website Copy

Now you’re ready to create or update the content for the most important pages on your website. Start with your homepage and then systematically work through product or service pages, use case pages, and industry pages. Include existing offer pages and conversion pages in this part of your website redesign plan.

Here are a few copywriting best practices to keep in mind as you write:

  • Write for your audience, speaking to their goals and pain points
  • Incorporate your brand voice, including your style and tone of voice
  • Make website copy easy to skim with clear page structure and subheadings
  • Add calls to action (CTAs) that prompt prospects to take the next step

Design and Prototyping

This is where the redesign process gets visual — and when stakeholders weigh in.

A graphic on design and prototyping parts of the website redesign process.

Step 6: Create Wireframes and a Design System

Design wireframes that show the website navigation, user flow, and content placement. Then, create a design system that shows the color palette, typography, and visual style.

By now, you should start to get a sense of how the new site will look and feel.

I recommend incorporating accessibility into this stage of your website redesign strategy. Choose accessible colors with sufficient contrast and fonts that are easy for site visitors to read.

Step 7: Build Mockups or Prototypes

Next, turn your wireframes and visual guidelines into website mockups or prototypes. Again, start with the most important pages on your website — like your homepage and product or service pages.

Apply the design to actual content drafts so stakeholders can see how the web copy will fit on the site, complete with the text hierarchy, white space, navigation, and design elements.

Develop prototypes for various screen sizes. While mobile devices will likely make up a large percentage of your site traffic, they won’t account for all of it. Make sure your site is just as easy for desktop users to navigate.

Step 8: Get Stakeholder Sign Off

The key to a successful redesign is getting everyone on board with your decisions. So once you’ve confirmed major design and copy decisions, present the prototypes to your stakeholders.

Walk them through how users will navigate the site based on typical journeys. Explain why you’ve made certain design decisions or built specific pages.

Gather feedback and make necessary revisions. Document every comment and change throughout the process. Then, get your team to sign off on the design, UX, and copy.

Development and Technical Setup

Set up your new website for success with a strong technical foundation.

A graphic on development and technical setup portions of the website redesign process.

Step 9: Develop the Website

Now you’re ready to hand off the design to your development team. Work with the website developers to choose a CMS that supports your design, marketing automation, and compliance needs.

Use clean, descriptive URLs with relevant keywords and a logical hierarchy. If necessary, create 301 redirects to update the location of content from your old website.

Optimize for Google’s Core Web Vitals by focusing on:

  • Largest Contentful Paint, which reflects content loading performance
  • Interaction to Next Paint, which reflects the responsiveness of your site
  • Cumulative Layout Shift, which reflects the visual stability of your site

Build SEO foundations into your site so you can easily optimize your content for search engine rankings. Incorporate schema markup and metadata into the backend to help each page rank for relevant keywords.

Step 10: Test and Optimize the Site

Before launching your new site, take time to test it thoroughly. Recruit team members and beta users to check how your site performs on various devices, browsers, and screen sizes. Check for consistent appearance and functionality.

Work with your dev team to create a testing checklist. This way, nothing will fall through the cracks. Here are a few elements to add to your list:

  • Broken links
  • Missing images
  • Formatting issues
  • Faulty integrations
  • Slow loading speeds
  • Form submission issues

Launch and Performance Monitoring

Go live with the new design and monitor performance closely.

A graphic that shows launch and performance marketing portions of the website redesign process.

Step 11: Launch and Monitor the Site

Now you’re ready to launch the redesigned website. With your dev team, go through a complete checklist to set the stage for a successful website launch.

  • Update DNS settings
  • Set up SSL certificates
  • Confirm any 301 redirects
  • Check analytics tracking

Monitor the site closely for the first day or two. Make sure your dev team is available to quickly address any bugs.

Then, regularly review technical aspects like page load speeds, performance aspects like conversion rates, and SEO aspects like keyword rankings. Use your insights to create a plan to continue optimizing your site.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in a Website Redesign

Don’t make the same missteps many web designers do. Watch for these mistakes to make the website redesign process as smooth as possible.

Mistake Phase How to Fix It
Missing Performance Benchmarks Planning Document baseline metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, and page load times before the redesign. Set specific goals for each.
Misaligned Goals Planning Set clear goals at the beginning of your redesign process. Communicate them to stakeholders and provide regular updates.
Navigation Issues Strategy Test the proposed navigation with a group of real users. Monitor how they use the site and where they get stuck.
Poor Mobile UX Design Use a mobile-first design, then scale up to a desktop design. Test for usability issues before launching the website.
Inconsistent Branding Design Create a style guide with branding guidelines, including hex codes, typography, font size, and spacing rules.
Ignoring SEO Essentials Development Establish your new URL structure and create 301 redirects as necessary. Implement structured markup and metadata.
No QA Process Development Assign a QA lead and recruit real users. Follow a clear checklist to test the site and make it easy for users to report bugs.
Post-Launch Neglect Post-Launch Use analytics and SEO tools to monitor site performance. Schedule 30-, 60-, and 90-day reviews and plan for continuous optimization.

FAQs

What is a website redesign?

It’s a full rebuild of your site, going beyond just a visual update. You’re reworking the design, structure, content, and functionality so your site works better for your users and supports your business goals.

How do you redesign a website?

Start by figuring out what’s working and what’s not. Talk to users. Check your analytics. Map out a new site structure and write better copy. Then design, develop, test, and launch. Keep it focused on solving real problems instead of chasing trends.

How often should you redesign your website?

Whenever your site stops pulling its weight. That might be every few years or sooner if your tech, brand, or audience changes. If it’s slow, confusing, or outdated, it’s time.

Why redesign a website?

Because the old one isn’t doing its job. Maybe it’s hard to use. Maybe it’s off-brand. Maybe it just doesn’t convert. A redesign lets you fix what’s broken and build a better experience for the people you want to reach.

Final Thoughts on Website Redesign

Many businesses make design decisions on a whim — no plan, no discussion, and no website redesign goals. This can lead to underwhelming results. Or worse, ongoing updates that leave customers confused.

But with a clear workflow to follow, your website redesign doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Use my 11-step approach to set clear goals, get everyone on board, and design a new website that gets the results you want.

Read more at Read More

20 Landing Page Examples to Learn From

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Would you rather have a beautiful website or a website your customers love?

From a business perspective, you shouldn’t choose either. You should want a high-converting website, instead. And this is where landing pages are so important.

A landing page is a key component in any marketing campaign. Whether you’re running a digital ad, sending an email letter, or posting on social media, you need a webpage that you can send interested visitors to that can help generate leads and conversions.

Many people get caught in the trap of creating designs they like without thinking about what their prospective buyers want and need. Unfortunately, this creates a leaky funnel that’s hard to fix.

But if you want to buck that trend and create landing pages that convert, I’m here to help. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of 20 landing page examples you can gather inspiration from.

We’ll go over each one’s strengths and weaknesses, so you’ll be able to walk away knowing what it takes to create a high-converting landing page for your business.

Key Takeaways

  • A landing page is a webpage created with a singular purpose—to generate a conversion, whether that’s a lead, sale, subscription, etc.
  • There are five main elements that every successful landing page should have—a bold headline, consistent copy, social proof, one singular offer, and a call to action.
  • Looking at landing page examples can be a great way to gather inspiration before you start building out your own landing pages.

What Is a Landing Page?

A landing page is a single webpage designed with a single goal in mind. That goal could be:

  • Selling a product
  • Signing customers up for a service
  • Promoting a product feature
  • Sharing an e-book, report, or white paper
  • Increasing newsletter subscribers

Potential leads or customers “land on” the webpage, giving it the name “landing page.” It’s a simple page that dives fully into a single offering with the intent of selling the visitor whatever it’s promoting.

5 Elements of an Effective Landing Page

As you scroll through the landing page examples we share below, you might notice that they all appear to follow a similar formula. That’s because you don’t fix what isn’t broken, and the key landing page elements are not broken.

There are five main elements that any high-converting landing page needs to include:

  • Bold value proposition at the top of the page. The top of the landing page should clearly state what it’s promoting and why the webpage visitor needs it.
  • Messaging consistent from the ad or post that led to the landing page. Upon clicking to your landing page, viewers should see a consistency in messaging from the ad or social media post that initially led them there. That messaging should clearly communicate what the page is promoting, giving further information than the bold heading at the top.
  • Social proof, case studies, reviews, testimonials. Social proof is where people tend to lean towards choices that they’ve seen others make, which is why reviews and testimonials can make such a big impact. Include this type of social proof on your landing page to convince people to take action.
  • One single, hyper-focused offer. You should be focusing your landing page on one single topic or offer, whether you’re promoting a single software feature, a single service, or a single lead magnet.
  • A clear call to action. What do you want people who visit your landing page to do? Use that as your call to action. Make it clear, bold, bright, and easy to click.

20 Amazing Landing Page Examples

Need some inspiration for your next landing page? Check out these 20 examples that you can get inspiration from.

1. GetResponse

A GetResponse landing page.

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GetResponse is an email marketing platform. This landing page is highlighting a key feature—email signup forms meant to help businesses build their email lists. Powerful headline, check. Eye-catching image, check. List of current clients, check. List of features, check, You get the idea.

It’s quite long, but that just gives the Get Response team more to convince you to create a free account. And there are plenty of CTAs along the way in case you missed the one at the very top of the page.

Three takeaways from GetResponse’s landing page:

  • Highlight your copy to make it even more impactful. GetResponse highlights important words and phrases throughout the landing page, drawing your attention to them and making their copy pop.
  • Use social proof. The landing page includes a slideable widget filled with customer testimonials that mention this specific feature and how well it works.
  • Use multiple CTAs. Because GetResponse’s landing page is so long, they scatter it with CTAs at the end of every section.

2. Slack

Slack landing page example.

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Slack is always on top of its game when it comes to creating some of the best landing pages. They are constantly optimizing for conversions, and that’s the best way to find your winning landing page. This landing page showcases one of its features—voice or video huddles that happen in real time, letting team members essentially call each other to hash something out quickly.

Three takeaways from Slack’s landing page:

  • Keep your navigation bar bare. Slack only includes the most important elements in the navigation bar on this landing page: letting current user login and prospective users talk to sales.
  • Show the difference between free and premium. If you have a popular free version, use your landing page as a chance to show what users are missing out on by not upgrading.
  • Take advantage of multimedia. The page includes looping animated videos that showcase each of the main features, letting interested users see them in action before signing up.

3. CrazyEgg

Intercom landing page example.

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This landing page for heatmapping software CrazyEgg showcases a specific feature that the software offers. In this case, it’s the ability to create website pop-ups to increase conversions.

The page leads with a demo link and breakdown of the feature, before you see more detailed information on how it works further down on the page.

Three takeaways from CrazyEgg’s landing page:

  • Provide basic instructions. The landing page includes a basic step-by-step for how users can set up pop-ups using the CrazyEgg tool, showing just how quick and easy it is and further selling them on the software.
  • Show versatility in applications. The use cases section shows how a variety of different industries can benefit from using this tool.
  • Use trust badges. CrazyEgg’s landing page is dotted with trust badges from the likes of G2 and Capterra, adding instant credibility to their offering.

4. Lyft

Lyft landing page example.

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Lyft has been growing in the past years, and its website, landing page, and overall online funnel is a driving force, too. They focus on attracting new drivers that want to control their own life.

Once again, we see a giant, attention-grabbing headline that entices users. Now check out the button “Apply to drive.” It implies that it’s not 100 percent sure you’ll be able to get the position — which makes it even more enticing while also stopping candidates from getting carried away.

Three takeaways from Lyft’s landing page:

  • Make a point with your images. I’d bet Lyft wants to attract female drivers, which is exactly why they’ve chosen the feature image on the landing page.
  • Customize data requests. Most landing pages ask for an email. But because Lyft is an app, it asks for your phone number instead.
  • Link off to learn more. You don’t want to overwhelm users with information on a landing page, that’s why linking to other pages (as Lyft has done) can be a useful strategy.

5. Zoho

Zoho landing page example.

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Zoho’s landing page is a great example of a more full-on, but still extremely powerful messaging. They use more text than the average landing page in the industry, but that’s not necessarily bad. It just means users have more information to make a decision. And in a crowded industry like the CRM space, that can be a highly effective thing.

Three takeaways from Zoho’s landing page:

  • Give your users a why. Don’t let users guess how your software stands out. Show them exactly why they should use your software.
  • Show how you compare. Comparison tables are a highly effective way to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
  • Talk price. If price is a USP for your brand, then mention it. Zoho shows how much users can save by using them instead of a competitor like Salesforce.

6. Squarespace

Squarespace landing page example.

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Squarespace is a contender for the shortest landing page ever. Seriously, there’s not much more to it than the screenshot I’ve taken above. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t effective.

Rather than trying to get you to create an account, all Squarespace wants you to do here is look at the templates. I reckon they know that once you see how good the templates are and how easy the platform is to use, you’ll be hooked.

Three takeaways from Squarespace’s landing page:

  • Short can be sweet. You don’t have to have a massive landing page to convince users to take action. A couple of enticing benefits may be all you need.
  • You don’t need much color. Everyone knows color can be used to convey emotion to users. But it’s not essential. And because it’s not on-brand for Squarespace, it’s not used.
  • The rule of three. Three is a magic number in marketing and Squarespace uses it to get across their core USPs.

7. ActiveCampaign

Active campaign landing page example.

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If there’s one thing you can’t fault ActiveCampaign’s landing page for, it’s brevity. They get straight to the point with the key benefit of their platform and encourage you to start a trial by entering your email address. Scroll down further and the rest of the page is similarly pared back, only including key information users need to know.

Three takeaways from ActiveCampaign’s landing page:

  • You don’t need fancy graphics. There are no eye-catching images above the fold and only two in total.
  • Lean on an authority. Are you highly rated by a trusted authority like G2? If so you can do what Active Campaign has done by showcasing all of your badges.
  • Show how your platform works. Images are great, but showing how to use your platform can make a huge difference in your conversion rate.

8. HubSpot

Hubspot landing page example.

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Cost is a big hurdle for any small business looking to purchase a CRM. That’s why HubSpot makes such a big deal of its free offering in this landing page. But just because you get the software for free doesn’t mean it’s limited. That might be your first thought, but HubSpot assuages those fears by showing all of the features you get below.

Three takeaways from HubSpot’s landing page:

  • Get your point across fast. The first three words users read on this landing page will be exactly what they are looking for: free CRM software. They don’t need to know much more to get started.
  • Reiterate your USP in your CTA. You can use your CTA to back up your headline by tacking on a short message or reason to take action as HubSpot has done here.
  • Use white space. HubSpot’s landing page isn’t too busy or crowded. There’s loads of white space, which makes it super easy to read.

9. Shopify Plus

Shopify plus landing page example.

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Shopify Plus isn’t designed for bootstrapped e-commerce stores or side hustlers. It’s an enterprise product and that shows in this landing page. It talks directly to big businesses, addresses their specific concerns, and shows them the kind of results they can achieve. Best of all, it’s topped off with a piece of ultra-professional video marketing that’s also designed to appeal to the brand’s target audience.

Three takeaways from Shopify Plus’s landing page:

  • Tailor your CTA. Enterprise customers aren’t going to make a purchase straight away. That’s why Shpoify encourages them to contact their sales team rather than book a demo.
  • Use statistics. The landing page gives hard data about how much better stores can perform by using Shopify Plus. This is much more powerful than a throwaway comment.
  • Speak to your customer’s values. Shopify devotes a large chunk to talking about the performance of their platform — something enterprise companies care about deeply.

10. Webflow

Webflow landing page example.

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There’s a reason designers aren’t web developers — most don’t know how to code. That doesn’t stop them from designing great-looking websites, but it does mean they need help. Not if they use Webflow, however. Webflow lets designers design and code powerful websites without having to write any themselves. And because the company knows its target audience, everything on the landing page is designed to appeal to designers — from the images to the testimonials to the copy.

Three takeaways from Webflow’s landing page:

  • Tailor your landing page to your target audience. This landing page won’t appeal to anyone who can’t design. But that’s the point. Those people won’t use Webflow, designers will.
  • Double down on social proof. Webflow understands the power of social proof, which is why they highlight their existing customers multiple times on the page.
  • Show, don’t tell. Webflow ends the landing page by showing designers exactly the kind of sites they can create with the platform.

11. ClickFunnels

Click funnels landing page example.

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The goal of the ClickFunnels landing page is to get you to start using its software. They know that once they’ve got you on their platform, you are way more likely to start paying. With that in mind, everything on the page is geared at showing how easy it is to get started and what you can accomplish with the software. There are dozens of testimonials of high-profile salespeople who have made serious bank with the software and copy that challenges any preconceived ideas you have. It’s a masterclass in persuasive landing page design.

Three takeaways from ClickFunnels’s landing page:

  • Let your customers sell for you. Testimonials are so powerful. If you have them from the right people (the kind your prospective customers want to emulate) then they’ll do most of the hard work for you.
  • Attack objections early. ClickFunnels does a great job of overcoming common objections (like you need to have good computer skills or your business isn’t a good fit) above the fold.
  • Use CTAs liberally. There is a CTA banner after every section on this page, giving users every opportunity to convert.

12. Conversionlab

Conversionlab landing page example.

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Conversionlab has been using this landing page design for years now. I’ve noticed they split test different button CTAs, like book a call, get a free consult, and many more. Keeping their Founder on the main page of the website builds a long-term relationship many businesses nowadays miss out on. They clearly state their services through their persuasive headline and, even if you’re not ready to book a consultation, a pop-up will appear collecting your email.

Three takeaways from Conversionlab’s landing page:

  • Put your team front and center. You can build instant relatability with users by putting your team members on your landing page.
  • Don’t be afraid to give it all away. Conversion Lab’s landing page explains in detail what it’s like to work with them, so every prospect knows exactly what to expect.
  • Try twice to convert. Following up with an email (collected via pop-up) is a great way to ensure that a high percentage of prospects that land on your website will end up booking a call with you.

13. Semrush (404)

SEMrush landing page example.

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Semrush is an SEO platform. Here’s a landing page example for their tool that showed up as an ad in organic search. The button is bright (and on-brand) and makes it clear what your next step would be. The main headline focuses on the benefit — grow your online visibility — and the third line focuses on another key benefit — you only need one platform. That’s appealing to marketers who are juggling a ton of tools.

Three takeaways from Semrush’s landing page:

  • Know your audience. The landing page’s CTA focuses on a known pain point of digital marketers: that they have to juggle dozens of different tools.
  • Roll out the big guns for testimonials. Semrush lists some of their biggest customers prominently on the homepage. If these massive companies use the platform, surely you should, too?
  • Use variety with your CTA buttons. Each of the CTA buttons lead to the signup form, but the copy is different in each one, ensuring they hit the pain point that will get someone to click, no matter where they’re at on the page.

14. HelloFresh

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HelloFresh is a meal-kit delivery service, and this landing page is another ad-based page that’s focused entirely on its offering, with no additional navigation.

Like other landing pages, the content is limited. They use a heading, CTA, and images to show how the platform works and some of the user options. However, I suspect that’s on purpose — after all, the premise is relatively simple, it’s more about showing how the service fits into people’s lifestyles.

Three takeaways from HelloFresh’ landing page:

  • Strategic discounts make a difference. The page is offering a discount, but it’s automatically applied the second someone clicks on the page, creating an enticing offering that requires no additional effort on the customer’s side—they just have to click “Redeem” or “Get Started.”
  • Use high-quality visuals. HelloFresh prides itself on high-quality, fresh ingredients, and the images here present these front-and-center.
  • Strategic link placement. The carousel at the bottom is neatly aligned with different dietary needs and preferences, helping move users down the sales funnel.

15. Doordash

Door Dash landing page example.

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Doordash probably doesn’t have to worry as much about getting customers as it does about recruiting new drivers to meet demand. That’s the goal of this landing page that shows users what they stand to gain from becoming a Dasher. It’s on-brand, carefully lays out the benefits of becoming your own boss, and shows you how much you could earn. The only thing it’s missing is social proof.

Three takeaways from Doordash’s landing page:

  • Put the user front and center. Everything on this landing page, from the copy to the images revolves around the user. It’s about what they can achieve and speak directly to them.
  • Pre-qualify users on your landing page. Doordash clearly lists the requirements drivers have to meet, meaning they’ll need to spend less time vetting candidates in the future.
  • Don’t rule out the impact of social proof. The lack of testimonials from current Dashers really lets this page down. The experience of current drivers is probably high on a prospective driver’s checklist.

16. Airbnb

AirBNB landing page example.

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Want to know how much you could rent your property for on Airbnb? That’s exactly what the company’s landing page helps you to understand. This fun and interactive landing page gives users a taste of what they can earn by renting out their property on Airbnb and then shows them how easy the process is.

Three takeaways from Airbnb’s landing page:

  • Dynamic pages can work a dream. As soon as you land on Airbnb’s landing page it automatically changes the content depending on your location. That creates a highly personalized and interactive experience that’s more likely to convert users.
  • CTAs don’t have to take center stage. The CTA to create an Airbnb account is tucked away in the right-hand corner of the page. But that doesn’t make it any less prominent or visible.
  • Make it interactive. Users can play with the slider bar to see how much they could earn by renting out their property for longer. The more you slide, the bigger the number gets, and the more tempting it is to create an account.

17. Zillow

Zillow landing page example.

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Every homeowner wants to know how much their property is worth. It’s that simple desire that Zillow capitalizes on with this landing page, which aims to generate leads for the company’s mortgage business. It’s short, simple and incredibly alluring for both curious homeowners and buyers looking to understand the potential value of a new home.

Three takeaways from Zillow’s landing page:

  • Eye-catching imagery can play a big role. The biggest element on Zillow’s landing page isn’t the CTA, but the image behind it. It’s doing a lot of legwork creating an aspirational feel to the page.
  • Clearly contrast copy and images. There’s a danger that the overlay copy on the background image could get lost. But Zillow does a great job of ensuring the contrast is clear and the copy is readable.
  • Give users more information, but only if they want it. There’s a tendency for the best landing pages to overwhelm users with information. Zillow avoids this by providing FAQs that only appear if users click on them.

18. Visme

Visme landing page example.

Source

Visme is a graphic design tool that offers a number of templates for different types of business-centric designs, like presentations, infographics, e-books, and the like. This landing page is all about the fact that you can create e-books with the tool, highlighting only e-book templates and other features related to e-book creation.

What I like:

Three takeaways from NP Digital’s landing page:

  • Brand consistency matters. All of the copy and images are related to this singular type of design. This page is perfect for ebook-related ads but also a great SEO play as well.
  • Showcasing different product. The examples section does a great job showing off the variety of different e-books that this product can make.
  • CTAs after key features. The page design here places the CTA button after all the different breakdowns of major features, meaning that the user can buy as soon as they see the feature that matters most to them..

19. Wix

Source

Wix is a website builder, and this landing page goes all in on its website design capabilities. It showcases all features related to getting a new website up and off the ground.

Three takeaways from Wix’s landing page:

  • Don’t neglect the visual factor. As you scroll, you’re met with colorful blocks that each highlight its own feature, making this a visually appealing landing page that keeps users engaged the entire time.
    Show your work. The examples section here does a great job of showing the full breadth of sites that Wix can help build.
  • Use FAQs (when it makes sense). FAQs can be very useful for helping go into greater detail about a product without clogging up the page experience. They are great for SEO, too!

20. NP Digital

NP Digital landing page example.

Source

Let’s end with one of the best landing page examples from my digital marketing agency, NP Digital. Unlike some of the other examples in this list, the goal of this landing page isn’t to get people to buy a product or sign up to a service. I want users to download a market research report my team and I created.

As you can see, it’s quite a bit shorter than a normal landing page. That’s because it doesn’t need elements like social proof or loads of images. All I want to get across is a snapshot of what you can read in the report and how you can download it.

Three takeaways from NP Digital’s landing page:

  • Don’t let users enter fake information. I email the document to the address you provide in the form. That means you have to enter your correct email address to get the document and I don’t have to waste time scrubbing fake emails from my database.
  • Sometimes you can ask for more information. Your opt-in form doesn’t have to be tiny in order to convert. Because I’m giving away a lot of information for free, I can ask for more information in return.
  • Long landing pages don’t necessarily make the best landing pages. If you don’t want users to waste time scrolling, don’t make them. Only give them the information they need to convert.

7 Tips for Creating Killer Landing Pages

You’ve seen the best of the best. Now you’re ready to create a landing page that drives business growth. These seven tips will help you create the high-converting landing pages you’ve been dreaming of:

  1. Include clear calls to action. Your call to action should be specifically tied to your goal and should be supported by everything else on your page, from the headline and body copy to the images and overall layout. Avoid bland CTAs like “Submit” that don’t explain the next steps.
  2. Keep your landing page forms simple. Only require users to provide the minimum amount of information they need, usually just their name and email. Asking for too much information early on decreases the chances a user will complete the action you want them to take.
  3. Ensure your copy is clear and concise. The best landing page copy should be clear, easy to read, and make a specific point. Use bullet points, headings, and bold font to make content easier to read. Every single sentence and word on your landing page should serve a purpose, and that purpose should be to support your call to action. If it doesn’t do that, cut it.
  4. Include vital information above the fold. That includes a benefit-focused headline and a CTA. Hopefully, at least a small percentage of your visitors will be ready to buy as soon as they arrive on your landing page.
  5. Ensure your landing pages look the same as your campaign ads. If your page is tied to an email or PPC campaign, make sure the landing page echoes the look and feel of the ad or email. The easiest way to do this is to carry over fonts, images, and colors from your campaign to your landing page. This is especially important for paid ads, as it can increase your quality score.
  6. A/B test your landing page. A/B testing means running two different landing pages and changing just one element to see which performs best. For example, you might use two different images and see which one drives the most conversions.
  7. Use fewer images and a large font. Visual clutter detracts from the message and CTAs. Larger font sizes are also a good idea to keep visitors’ eyes focused on what matters and reduce eye strain. Just don’t go overboard and put everything in a headline-size font — no one wants to be yelled at.

In general, a great landing page includes:

  • A strong heading that includes your main keyword
  • A subheading that clarifies the heading
  • Copy that explains the offer
  • An image, video, or illustration that supports the offer
  • A form or CTA button where the user can convert

You might also include social proof or trust symbols, such as reviews, testimonials, and logos of previous customers.

Building Out Your Next Landing Page

While there are some consistent elements between all strong landing pages, the exact design will depend on your goals, your business, and your industry.

Let me ask you a couple of questions that will guide you in the right direction.

What do you want to accomplish with your landing page?

The most common landing page goals are:

  • Getting people to opt-in in exchange for free value on a subject.
  • Selling a low-ticket product like a book or a mini-course.
  • Promoting a free trial offer for a monthly service or software.

You’ve got to know exactly what offer you want to present on your landing page before creating it.

Are you committed to this project or are you just trying out an offer?

Building a high-converting landing page is not an overnight effort.

You might find yourself optimizing a non-profitable landing page for months before it starts generating real returns. If you’re not ready for that, then I recommend you quit before you even start.

Yes, you can get lucky and hit a home run on your first try, but don’t count on it.

Be ready for the long game so you catch the long-term gains that are so much sweeter than a short-term spike in traffic.

What’s your budget?

Before you begin designing your landing page, you need to prepare a solid budget.

You can’t expect everything to go smoothly throughout the process. Problems are going to occur and most times the easiest and fastest way to solve them is to pay someone who is an expert in the field.

That can be a developer, a funnel designer/builder, an ad specialist, or a CRO consultant. Either way, you should be ready to pay someone to do it right so you don’t face the same problems over and over.

In marketing and life, one of the best ways to test the quality of your work is to put it in front of an audience. For landing pages, you can do that by running ads to see if the traffic converts.

If it does, you raise your ad budget and try to scale. If it doesn’t convert at first, then you should let a professional take a look at it.

Even if you already hired someone to build it for you, don’t expect them to help you here. Yes, they could optimize your page, but you’ve got to keep in mind that people have an emotional attachment to their work.

That’s why you need a third party to help you out.

When it comes to optimizing a landing page for conversions, think about hiring an agency.

Big marketing agencies nowadays have had hundreds if not thousands of clients who have been in your exact situation. That’s why hiring a marketing agency to help you increase your conversion is the best bet.

Talking about CRO (conversion rate optimization) there’s no better choice than NP Digital.

I might be biased, but I think it’s the best marketing agency for both SEO and CRO.

If you’re at the stage where you want to optimize your existing landing page but you don’t know exactly how to do it, then book a quick call with a member of my team who can unravel the secret conversion optimization methods your business needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a landing page?

A landing page is a specially designed page intended to encourage users to complete a specific task (i.e., convert.) They work by highlighting key points, using social proof or case studies to build trust, and providing a CTA to encourage conversion.

Who needs a landing page?

Any business with a website should have a landing page of some sort to encourage users to take an action like booking a demo, calling for a quote, or signing up for an email list, etc.

What makes a good landing page?

There are several elements that make a landing page effective. First, a clear and compelling headline that instantly communicates the value proposition is essential. Second, concise and persuasive copy that highlights the benefits of your product or service. Third, it needs a visually appealing design that is easy to navigate and optimized for mobile devices. Fourth, a strong call-to-action that is prominent and directs users to take action. Finally, I recommend trust-building elements such as testimonials or social proof to instill confidence.

Conclusion

I hope these best landing page examples can serve as an inspiration to create a high-converting landing page. To get the most out of your landing page, be sure to:

  • Find what your best customers struggle the most with and then solve this problem with a short and punchy headline.
  • Use credibility and videos if possible.
  • Know your goals — Is it to get their email or phone number? Have them call? Start a free/paid trial or something else?
  • Use clear and easy-to-follow calls to action.

Finally: always, always optimize your landing pages.

You can NOT be perfect from day one. Every business on this list tests its pages dozens if not hundreds of times before finding the best landing page.

Even then, they still optimize.

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What is off-page SEO?

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Off-page SEO is everything you do outside of your website to help it rank better in the SERPs. On-page SEO focuses on content, site structure, and technical improvements, but off-page SEO looks at building credibility from outside. There are many ways to get there, from link building to social media to earning those coveted brand mentions.

Table of contents

What does off-page SEO mean to you? 

With off-page SEO, you try to gain trust and credibility for yourself or your business. A big part of this strategy concerns link building, which involves getting other websites to link back to yours. Doing this shows search engines that your content is helpful and worth looking at. 

Remember that it’s about the quality of links, instead of the quantity. A few high-quality links from trusted websites will help more than lots of links from low-authority ones. But links aren’t the only signals that matter. 

Mentions of your brand name or domain from other websites also help build authority. Even without direct links, consistent references in articles and forums show that people are engaging with your brand.  

Social media builds on that exposure. Sharing content where your audience spends time can boost visibility, which in turn can lead to more mentions, traffic, and backlinks. 

Local SEO is another area of off-page SEO. Using tools like Google Business Profile and getting reviews helps your business appear in location-based searches. It’s especially useful for service businesses or companies with physical locations. 

You can also experiment with creating content for different audiences to naturally attract attention. Reusing content in different formats, like videos, blog posts, or infographics, keeps your reach wide. You can also work with experts or influencers, as these can introduce your brand to new audiences and help build visibility. 

Why off-page SEO matters for your site 

Search engines want searchers to see trustworthy content. With off-page SEO, you can prove your site is dependable, and the quickest way to do this is when others refer to or recommend it. Good links from strong websites act like references, building confidence in your content’s value. 

Even unlinked brand mentions help. When your name keeps coming up across the web, algorithms pick up on it. A strong digital presence makes a difference, whether that’s engaging with others online, through media coverage, partnerships, or content sharing.  

While not directly tied to rankings, increasing your online visibility can lead to more searches, shares, and links, which can lead to increased traffic. 

All these efforts support the broader goal of demonstrating that your website is run by real people with knowledge and experience. They help search engines judge how much they can rely on your content. 

Link building is a big part of off-page SEO 

Links from other websites tell search engines that your content is worth showing. That’s why link building is one of the key parts of off-page SEO, but not every link is equal. 

Search engines find links from high-authority, topic-relevant sites more important. Getting those kinds of links usually means creating content that people want to reference, such as guides, studies, or tools. 

Outreach plays a role, too. You can connect with other websites, offer guest posts, or share original insights. Over time, this builds relationships and can lead to higher-quality backlinks. 

PR and content marketing also help, whether you contribute expert opinions to news outlets or create something worth citing. It’s more effective than mass emailing or buying links, the latter of which you shouldn’t do anyway. 

Part of your job should be managing your existing links. SEO tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush can monitor broken or lost links and help fix or replace them. 

If you are successful, link building can be more than just a tactic. It can show that others recognize your site as trustworthy, and that recognition, measured through linking, can improve rankings and drive traffic. 

Social media’s impact 

Social media doesn’t directly affect ranking, but it helps people discover and share your content. That kind of exposure can lead to links, searches, and increased brand familiarity. 

Platforms like LinkedIn, X, Reddit, and Instagram let you speak to your audience and encourage interaction. When people find value in what you publish, they tend to share it or come back to it. 

In time, these interactions build brand recognition. While this might not have a clear SEO metric attached, it does support and improve your visibility. Collaborating with influencers expands your audience even more. If they share something you’ve created, it can get picked up and linked to by others. 

Video is playing an increasingly important role in this. Research from BrightLocal shows that many U.S. consumers are drawn to video content directly from businesses discussing their products or services. Over a third of consumers prefer this type of video, even more than those shared by friends, influencers, or typical social media reviewers. Additionally, 31% of individuals find value in watching videos from regular social media users. 

Use insights from these platforms to spot what your audience cares about. That helps shape better content, which can trigger organic shares and mentions. 

Local SEO as an off-page SEO strategy 

For locally oriented businesses, off-page SEO means being easy to find and well-reviewed locally. Start with accurate business info across online directories, so make sure that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent. Search engines use this to match your business to search results. 

Your Google Business Profile needs regular attention, so photos, updates, and timely responses to reviews all help. In that same BrightLocal research, 89% of respondents say they expect merchants and business owners to reply to all types of reviews. 

Encourage satisfied customers to leave public reviews. New reviews show search engines and potential visitors that your business stays active and involved. A complete, active listing stands out to local customers and improves your chances of appearing in map results. 

Try building links from other local businesses or organizations. These carry weight in local SEO. Sponsoring events or working with local publications can lead to mentions and coverage. 

Being visible in your area is not just about what local content you have on your site, but also about how your local audience views your business online. 

Carefully replying to your reviews manages your online reputation

Expertise and trust 

With off-page SEO, you have many opportunities to show your expertise. Sharing your knowledge can build trust, which in itself can create useful input for search engines. 

Guest posting on reputable websites reaches people already interested in what you have to say. If those sites link back, it’s a plus for SEO, except when shady things happen, of course. 

You can also take part in forums and Q&A sites. Offering useful, relevant insights gets your name out and sometimes leads to mentions from others who find your content helpful. 

Podcasts, webinars, and speaking events work the same way. Participating in discussions in your space helps establish expertise and can result in new traffic or backlinks from media coverage or event promotions. 

Collaborating with other professionals through research or shared content introduces your work to their audience and can lead to more recognition and links over time. 

You shouldn’t just focus on creating more content, but try to actively lead in your field. If your business is perceived as the go-to place, this builds trust with both your audience and search engines. 

How off-page SEO impacts AI-driven search 

Search is changing quicker than ever. Beyond the classic search results, people are now using AI tools like Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, and chat assistants like ChatGPT to find answers. These tools use large language models (LLMs) to pull information from across the web, and off-page SEO plays a role in how your content shows up. 

When your brand or website appears on high-quality, trusted sites, it increases the chances that AI tools recognize your content as reliable. Structured citations, strong backlinks, and consistent brand mentions all help LLMs “see” your site as a good source. This can lead to your content influencing or being featured in AI-generated summaries and answers. 

Authority, trust, and topic alignment are all important. The more your content is referenced or quoted by reputable sources, the more likely it is to appear in conversational search results or be used to answer common questions. Find out how to optimize content for AI LLM comprehension using Yoast’s tools.

Off-page SEO now supports not just link-driven visibility, but also discoverability in AI search and chat tools. It helps improve your overall presence, so it doesn’t matter whether someone uses Google, social media, or an AI chatbot to find information about you. 

Off-page SEO helps widen the scope 

Off-page SEO works together with on-page work to strengthen your website’s reputation across the web. First, it helps your users, but it also helps search engines and AI tools recognize your content as trustworthy and relevant. 

Whether you’re earning backlinks, encouraging brand mentions, engaging on social platforms, or building local visibility, each off-page signal adds to your authority. Collaborations, reviews, and expert participation show real experience behind your site. 

These strategies now also influence how content surfaces in AI-generated results. That means off-page SEO doesn’t just support traditional rankings, but it also helps your brand stay discoverable in new, AI-powered ways. 

The more consistent, trusted, and present your brand is across the web, the more likely it is to show up wherever people are searching, even if they’re not using a classic search engine. Build trust, stay visible, and let your off-page efforts work across search formats, now and into the future. 

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How the YouTube Algorithm Works (Data-Backed Answer)

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Some YouTube videos gain millions of views, while others struggle to find an audience. The reason often comes down to the algorithm. YouTube’s algorithm isn’t guesswork—it’s a sophisticated system predicting what viewers will most likely watch and enjoy.

Whether you’re a marketer, content creator, or business owner, understanding how the YouTube algorithm works can help you grow your channel and reach more viewers. In this article, we’ll break down how the YouTube algorithm works in 2025 and share strategies to help you succeed.

Key Takeaways

  • The YouTube algorithm in focuses on understanding individual viewers through their behavior, preferences, and watch history.
  • YouTube serves videos in three main ways. The homepage shows videos based on viewer history, suggested videos appear alongside a video being watched, and search results combine relevance and viewer preferences.
  • Metrics like watch time, click-through rates (CTR), likes, comments, and shares are key factors in determining a video’s visibility.
  • Including YouTube Shorts, live streams, and playlists in your strategy can help you connect with wider audiences.
  • Regular uploads and active audience engagement signal to the algorithm that your channel offers value.
  • Features like polls, Q&A sessions, and multilingual subtitles increase engagement and appeal to diverse audiences.
  • Algorithm optimization has seven components: create a click-worthy title, add detail to your description, design an attractive thumbnail, increase watch duration, encourage action after the video, maintain engagement with video series and playlists, and improve content using analytics over the long term.

What Is the YouTube Algorithm?

The YouTube algorithm is a recommendation system that serves videos to users based on their histories and (if they’re actively searching) search queries. The algorithm evaluates over 80 billion signals, according to the official YouTube blog. 

The algorithm matters because YouTube is a powerful organic channel. Understanding how to increase the reach of your videos can increase revenue significantly.  

In fact, research conducted by my team at NP Digital found it’s the top organic social channel, outperforming sales from all other platforms by a large margin. 

A graphic that shows how many conversions organic social really drives.

YouTube provides recommendations in four main areas:

  • Homepage: Features videos based on viewer history and content performance.
  • Suggested videos: Highlights related content next to the video being watched.
  • Search results: Combines relevance and viewer preferences to rank results.
  • Shorts: Shows short-form videos in the shorts feed based on user history. 

Let’s look at each of these in detail. 

Recommended Videos: A Whopping 70% of All Views

Recommended videos appear on the homepage and alongside videos on “watch pages,” on-screen at the end of videos, and in the suggested videos sidebar.

Recommended videos on YouTube.

YouTube’s recommendation algorithm drives 70% of views, according to a study by the Institute of Strategic Dialogue. 

A mixture of personalization factors—based on the user’s history—and individual video performance signals are used to make recommendations. 

Search Results: The Web’s Sixth Biggest Search Engine

Results page videos are served in response to YouTube search bar queries. The algorithm uses a mix of relevance (in relation to the search phrase) and personalization to rank videos. 

Search results for Digital Marketing Tips.

Despite accounting for only 30% of views, the number of searches on YouTube is still high enough to make it the sixth largest search engine on the web. My research found that YouTube has 3.3 billion searches every day. 

Daily searches per platform.

Shorts: Casual Scrolling

The “shorts algorithm” serves videos based on user history, in a similar way to the homepage and watch page suggestions. However, videos are viewed in a scrolling format, typically on mobile. 

A YouTube short.

My team and I looked at the engagement levels of different types of content and found that shorts account for 31.3% of all social media content engagement, beating every other category. Shorts are excellent for building your audience, and I publish them regularly on my channel. 

Content that generates the most engagement.

Trending: What’s Hot In Your Country

The “Trending” tab in YouTube displays videos that are going viral and generating high viewing figures. According to the YouTube Help Center, “Trending isn’t personalized and displays the same list of trending videos to all viewers in the same country.”

The Trending YouTube tab.

The YouTube Algorithm’s Evolution

The YouTube algorithm has evolved significantly over the years. Early versions rewarded videos based on view counts alone, encouraging clickbait tactics. In 2012, the focus shifted to watch time, prioritizing videos that kept viewers engaged for more extended periods.

In 2025, AI-driven personalization will play a central role. The algorithm analyzes viewer behavior to recommend videos that align with individual preferences. Metrics like watch time, click-through rates (CTR), and satisfaction surveys have a major impact on video ranking.

Short-form videos, like YouTube Shorts, are now a major factor in discoverability. They grab attention quickly, making them effective for engaging new viewers. Creators who include Shorts in their strategy often see significant growth in views and subscribers.

The evolution of the algorithm shows that success on YouTube depends on adaptability. Content that engages viewers across formats and metrics is more likely to gain visibility.

How the Algorithm Works: A Complete Overview

So, how does the algorithm work? 

Let’s look at official and reputable third-party sources to piece together an understanding of what YouTube looks at to recommend and rank videos.

Official YouTube Documentation: Personalization and Performance

YouTube has stated that it uses a comparison system on its official blog: 

“…we start with the knowledge that everyone has unique viewing habits. Our system then compares your viewing habits with those that are similar to you and uses that information to suggest other content you may want to watch.” 

YouTube has also explicitly said that it measures user activity: 

“Our algorithm doesn’t pay attention to videos, it pays attention to viewers. So, rather than trying to make videos that’ll make an algorithm happy, focus on making videos that make your viewers happy.”

In addition, a paper published in 2016 titled Deep Neural Networks for YouTube Recommendations explained that the YouTube recommendation model works in two stages. Although it has evolved since the paper was published, there’s a strong likelihood that the underlying ideas have remained the same. 

First, the algorithm goes through a “corpus” of millions of videos to retrieve a subset of videos that match the user’s preferences based on their history. Second, it evaluates multiple video and user factors to rank these candidates, returning what it determines to be the best-fit recommendations. 

A Discussion Between YouTube Insiders: No One “Number”

In early 2025, YouTube Creator Liaison Rene Ritchie and Todd Beaupré, who leads the Growth and Discovery team, discussed the YouTube algorithm in depth. 

Rene Ritchie asked, “We often hear from creators, ‘What’s the one number? Is it click-through rates? Is it watch time?” How do creators optimize for all of these factors?”

Beaupré answered by saying, “One thing to understand is there’s no single answer to that question, as much as creators would love to have one. But the reality is that we’ve enabled the system to learn that different factors have different importance in different contexts.” 

He also added, “While we do look at how long people watch videos, it’s only one of the factors we consider…we introduced this concept of satisfaction…where we’re trying to understand not just viewers’ behavior but also how they feel.” 

The key point is that YouTube considers a wide range of context-dependent factors. But the emphasis is on user “satisfaction.” Factors like relevance, watch time, and engagement all fit neatly into this category. 

7 Key YouTube Algorithm Signals

A mix of official documentation and third-party testing highlights seven key areas that YouTube looks at in order to evaluate what Todd Beaupré calls “satisfaction.”

Here’s a working roundup of YouTube algorithm signals:

  • Content characteristics: The algorithm uses metadata, such as titles, descriptions, and transcripts, to determine a video’s relevance to a viewer’s query. Optimized metadata increases a video’s chances of being recommended.
  • Watch time: Longer viewing sessions suggest valuable content. While there is significant variance across topics, my team and I found that 3.06 minutes is the average watch time on YouTube, and this is a good benchmark to keep in mind for longer videos. 
A graphic showing average watch time for long-form videos by platform.
  • Click-through rate (CTR): This is the percentage of impressions that turn into clicks.  Attractive titles and thumbnails draw more clicks and indicate relevance. 
  • Likes, comments, and shares: Viewer interactions show the content’s relevance and appeal. Videos with strong engagement are more likely to be promoted.
  • Viewer behavior: Content is prioritized based on individual viewing history, likes, and repeated interactions. It also considers patterns among viewers with similar interests to recommend content.
  • Relevance: Research by the Pew Research Center found that 32% of adults in the US use YouTube to stay up to date with current events, making it one of the web’s most popular news platforms. Because of this, the relevance of news-related content is likely a strong ranking factor. 
  • Handling misinformation: Channels with authority and consistent, trustworthy content are favored. The algorithm also flags and limits the reach of misleading videos, so aligning with YouTube’s policies is critical. According to YouTube, consumption of “borderline content” recommended by the algorithm is lower than 1%. This is content that doesn’t violate YouTube’s terms of service but comes close.  

How to Improve Your Organic Reach: 7-Step Framework

Improving organic reach on YouTube is about focusing on three factors: engagement, relevance, and viewer satisfaction. 

A graphic showing how to improve organic reach on YouTube.

Creating useful, attention-grabbing content should be your priority. However, there are also powerful tweaks that can give your rankings an extra lift.

1. Pick a Catchy Title

YouTube looks at your video’s title to understand what it’s about. A well-crafted title makes it more likely that you’ll be recommended to users and appear in search results for relevant queries. 

Here’s how to nail your video titles:

  1. Pick a primary high-volume keyword: Enter the core topic of your video into the YouTube search bar to generate specific keyword variations and pick one of these for your title. You can also run potential keywords through a tool like Ubersuggest, as there is significant overlap between Google and YouTube search term volumes. 
Results for Social Media Marketing.
  1. Describe a clear benefit: A catchy title isn’t just for telling the algorithm what your video is about. It’s also for building interest and driving clicks. Articulate a clear, precise outcome or benefit, as I have done with “social media mastery” in my video below. “How to” titles also work very well on YouTube. 
Results for Social Media Marketing 2025.
  1. Don’t get too hung up on tags: There’s no harm in adding tags in the Show more section of the Details page of the upload window. However, don’t worry too much about these as their value is limited. Three or four keywords that describe your video will do the job.

2. Optimize Your Description

Descriptions do more than summarize your video—they help the algorithm understand and categorize your content.

Here’s how to create a killer description:

  • Focus on the first two lines: These appear in search results. Start with an engaging preview that highlights what viewers will learn.
  • Provide details: Outline key takeaways and include timestamps for longer videos. Use bullets in your description to make it easy for readers to skim. 
  • Add calls to action (CTAs) where appropriate: Direct viewers to related videos or encourage them to subscribe when it’s appropriate to do so. 

Here’s an example of a helpful description from one of my videos. It’s comprehensive—giving plenty of info to YouTube—and pulls readers in with a clear description of what they’ll learn. 

An example YT video description.

3. Create a Captivating Thumbnail

Your thumbnail is an invaluable opportunity to stop scrollers, restate the benefits of watching your video, and encourage clicks. And if you’re not a natural designer, AI tools can fill the gap.

Here’s how to create thumbnails that get noticed: 

  • Reiterate the benefit in a different way: Use the thumbnail as an opportunity to reiterate the main promise or learning of your video in a slightly different way to attract viewers that may not have found your title compelling. 
  • Include a picture of your face: Research shows that we’re drawn to content that includes human faces.
  • Keep your design professional (without breaking the bank): Platforms like Canva and Adobe Express, which now have AI features, create professional-looking thumbnails that grab attention.
  • Split Testing: Test different thumbnails across your videos to see which combinations perform best.

You can see a selection of thumbnails for my videos below. In all cases I include my ugly mug—ahem, beautiful visage—and reiterate the main promise of the video in a slightly different way to the title. 

Neil Patel thumbnails.

4. Aim for Longer Watch Durations

The algorithm rewards content that keeps viewers watching from start to finish. Strong video storytelling holds those eyeballs and boosts watch time.

Here are my four top tips for improving average watch duration:

  • Start strong: Hook your audience in the first 10 seconds with a clear and engaging statement.
  • Match expectations: Align your video content with what the title and thumbnail promise. 
  • Add chapters: Divide longer videos into sections with timestamps so viewers can skip to the parts they’re most interested in. 
  • Modify your strategy based on feedback: Analyze audience retention graphs in YouTube Studio to see where viewers drop off and refine your content strategy accordingly, removing sections that might be seen as boring or not useful. 

I hit all these criteria in my video “I’ve Closed $100M+ in Sales, Here’s How to Sell Anything to Anyone.” It opens strong, provides exactly what it promises (with practical examples), includes chapters, and cuts all nonessential fluff. 

Oh, and don’t be afraid of creating lo-fi (or low-fidelity) videos if your audience is already engaging with content that’s more casual. This content isn’t overly polished and is designed to communicate authenticity. My research found that it tends to outperform high-fidelity content. 

Lo-fi vs Hi-fi content.

5. Don’t Skip the Conclusion

How you end your videos matters. A good conclusion keeps viewers engaged and encourages them to either subscribe, watch another video, or visit a landing page. 

Add all of the following to your conclusions:

  • End screens: Add an end screen with a CTA and a link to your landing page or subscribe button. 
  • Verbal calls to action (CTAs): Suggest specific videos or playlists that viewers can watch next.
  • Add cards: Reference related content from your channel and use clickable cards to drive traffic to it.

Here’s an example of a video from Russell Brunson with an end screen that includes a CTA, a card of a related video, and links to his channel page (the picture of his face) and his commercial website. 

A Clickfunnels YouTube endscreen.

6. Create Series and Playlists

Serial content keeps viewers engaged for longer and increases session time as they watch the whole series, which the algorithm values. Creating binge-worthy videos also encourages viewers to subscribe to your channel.

There are two ways to offer serial content:

  • Playlists: Group related videos into playlists that autoplay. This keeps viewers watching without needing to search for the next video.
  • Episodic, well-labeled series: Structure your content in a way that builds anticipation, such as a step-by-step tutorial or a multi-part series that is clearly labeled—“Part One,” “Video One,” etc. 

When signing off from videos in a series, don’t underestimate cliffhanger endings. A teaser for what’s coming next can make all the difference in keeping viewers watching. 

Here’s an example from my SEO Unlocked course on SEO fundamentals, with a link at the end of the video to part two. 

A video from Neil Patel's SEO Unlocked course.

7. Monitor Analytics to Find Opportunities

YouTube Studio offers tools to analyze your performance, refine your strategy, and align content with audience preferences.

Here are the key metrics to track in YouTube analytics:

  • Audience retention: Identify drop-off points and adjust your content to keep viewers engaged.
  • Click-through rate (CTR): Measure how well your titles and thumbnails attract clicks.
  • Engagement metrics: Look at likes, comments, and shares to understand what resonates.
  • Demographics and traffic sources: Learn about your audience and adjust to appeal to core groups. 
YouTube video analytics.

Bonus Tip: Make the Most of YouTube Shorts

As we’ve mentioned before, YouTube Shorts are a powerful way to reach new audiences and promote your main content. Their quick, engaging format is perfect for grabbing attention. But they work slightly differently from long-form videos. 

Follow these best practices for maximizing the reach of your shorts:

  • Focus on one idea: Keep it simple and clear. Shorts are most effective when they focus on a single concept.
  • Use captions: Many viewers watch without sound, so captions help convey your message.
  • Repurpose content: Highlight key moments from your long-form videos to attract new viewers.

Here’s an example from my YouTube channel. In under a minute, it delivers a quick lesson on social media engagement.

Adapting to Trends in 2025

Staying competitive on YouTube in 2025 requires keeping up with audience expectations and platform trends. Interactive content and a focus on sustainability and inclusivity shape how creators connect with viewers.

Interactive Content

Interactive features like polls, Q&A sessions, and community posts help you connect with your audience on a deeper level. These tools encourage participation, making viewers feel more connected to your content. This engagement also signals to the algorithm that your videos resonate with your audience.

Here’s an example of how Marvel used a poll:

Source: Clipchamp

A poll from Marvel's YouTube channel.

This simple and easy addition makes the video more engaging and can even spark future conversations and video ideas.

Live streams are another way to build engagement. Use live chats to answer questions or collect feedback directly from viewers. These real-time interactions create a sense of community and keep your audience coming back for more.

Sustainability and Inclusivity

Audiences are increasingly drawn to creators who reflect their values. Content incorporating sustainable practices, like reducing waste during production, can appeal to eco-conscious viewers. Inclusivity is equally important. Multilingual subtitles, diverse representation, and accessible formats help you reach a broader audience while improving viewer satisfaction.

Focusing on these areas can strengthen your brand and improve your chances of gaining visibility on the platform.

Is AI Changing the Way the Algorithm Works?

I believe that the future looks bright for YouTube creators in the age of AI. 

The algorithm has evolved significantly over the years. Early versions rewarded videos based on view counts alone, encouraging clickbait tactics. In 2012, the focus shifted to watch time, prioritizing videos that kept viewers engaged for more extended periods.

In 2025 and beyond, AI algorithms will continue to focus on relevance, watch time, click-through rates (CTR), and satisfaction. My view is that it will get better and better at measuring these signals, which means that high-quality content is the best path to success. 

In addition, my team and I have found that AI engines often cite YouTube videos, with a 414% uptick in citations in AI overviews since launch. This points towards continued growth in the consumption of YouTube videos as AI search becomes more pervasive. 

A graphic on YouTube Citations Growth in AI overviews since launch.

FAQs

How does the YouTube algorithm work?

The YouTube algorithm matches videos to viewers based on relevance, engagement, and personal preferences. It analyzes metadata, watch time, and viewer behavior to recommend content that keeps audiences engaged.

What is the YouTube algorithm?

The YouTube algorithm is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to determine which videos to recommend to users. It evaluates individual preferences, engagement metrics, and channel authority to prioritize content.

What 4 things does the algorithm prioritize on YouTube?

Watch Time: Videos with longer viewing durations and those contributing to session watch time perform better.

Engagement: Likes, comments, and shares improve visibility.

Relevance: Titles, tags, and descriptions matched to user queries.Viewer History: Recommendations based on past watch and search behavior.

Conclusion

Mastering the YouTube algorithm is about creating engaging content that connects with your audience. The algorithm prioritizes watch time, relevance, and engagement, so aligning your videos with these factors is critical.

Focus on building quality content that addresses viewer needs, optimizing it with strong YouTube SEO practices. Use features like interactive tools, live streams, and Shorts to connect with your audience and expand your reach. Embracing sustainable and inclusive practices can also strengthen your brand and attract diverse viewers. Whether you’re improving your video marketing strategy or experimenting with new formats, staying focused on your audience will keep your channel growing.

Read more at Read More

LLM Seeding: A New Strategy to Get Mentioned and Cited by LLMs

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I asked ChatGPT: “What are the best resources to learn SEO in 2025?”

The response mentioned Backlinko twice.

ChatGPT – Best resources to learn SEO

Here’s the thing: We don’t rank #1 in Google for “best SEO resources.” (Ads, Reddit, and AI Overviews take up that real estate).

We haven’t even optimized for “best SEO resources,” but we got mentioned anyway.

That’s LLM seeding in action.

Organic traffic is dropping across the board. Large language models (LLMs) are now answering your audience’s questions directly, quietly hijacking the clicks you used to count on.

Maybe you’ve already seen the dip. Maybe you see the writing on the wall.

Either way, it’s time to fight back — with a new kind of visibility strategy.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

  • What to publish so LLMs actually cite you
  • Where to seed your content for maximum pickup
  • And how to track whether your brand is showing up

Get your brand into the conversation now — so you don’t get left behind.

What the Heck Is LLM Seeding?

LLM seeding is the practice of publishing content in the formats and places LLMs are most likely to scrape, summarize, and cite.

Here’s an example of a Backlinko article that encourages scraping with an LLM-friendly format:

Backlinko – LLM friendly format

In other words: You’re not just optimizing for Google.

You’re optimizing for ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and any other LLMs or AI search engines your audience uses.

Here’s how it works:

You create AI-friendly content, such as comparison posts with tables and FAQ sections.

And publish it in places LLMs look for information. (More on this later.)

When people ask LLMs for information related to your industry, they mention your brand in the answer.

Often, they don’t include a link to your site.

Still, that mention sticks.

Users notice it, remember it, and later search for your brand directly.

Over time, these citations drive more branded searches, direct traffic, and trust in your name.

How does LLM Seeding Work

While LLM seeding is a new strategy, you’re not starting from scratch.

It builds on everything you already know about SEO, content marketing, and PR.

The difference? It requires a fundamental mindset shift.

You’re no longer optimizing for clicks. You’re optimizing for citations.

You’re building brand awareness, not backlinks.

And instead of trying to rank #1, you’re influencing what AI tools say about your brand.

LLM Seeding vs. Traditional SEO

Adopting this new approach means rethinking how you show up online.

But it’s how you’ll stay visible and influential as search continues to evolve.

3 Big Benefits of LLM Seeding

Still chasing backlinks and rankings?

According to a Semrush study, AI search traffic will surpass traditional search by the end of 2027.

Projected Annual Visitors by Source

Shift your focus to LLM seeding now to stay competitive.

And prepare for a zero-click, LLM-driven world.

1. Brand Exposure Without Traffic Dependence

Here’s the problem:

Searchers no longer have to click search results to get the information they need.

Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode provide detailed answers to questions and step-by-step instructions.

Google Search – AI Mode – How do I start a niche blog

LLMs allow searchers to bypass Google and other search engines entirely.

They provide product recommendations, summaries, answers … you name it.

Perplexity – Recommendations, Summaries, Answers

For many site owners, this is resulting in a noticeable decline in traffic.

So, what’s the answer?

Becoming the answer.

When LLMs cite your brand, you become part of the conversation.

Which helps your brand stay top of mind, even without the click.

2. Authority by Association

One of the biggest wins of LLM seeding? Instant credibility.

When large language models mention your brand alongside industry leaders, it boosts your authority.

Case in point: I asked ChatGPT to recommend products for dogs with leaky gut.

It suggested Purina and Zesty Paws, two huge brands.

ChatGPT – Recommends products for dogs

But it also recommended Adored Beast, a much lesser-known pet brand.

ChatGPT – Lesser known recommended product

That’s the beauty of LLM seeding.

You don’t need a massive budget or a #1 ranking.

You just need to publish content that LLMs want to cite.

3. Leveled Playing Field

In traditional search, the highest-ranking content wins.

But LLMs work differently.

They prioritize the best answers, no matter what page they’re on.

In fact, almost 90% of ChatGPT citations come from positions 21+, according to Semrush’s study.

Ranking Positions of LLM-Cited Search Results

So, your comparison post on page 4 could get cited more than a competitor ranking in Google’s top 5 — if your content provides better answers.

Sounds good? Now, I’ll cover how to create LLM-friendly content.

What to Publish (So You Get Cited by LLMs)

LLMs are citation machines. But they need content from credible sources.

Here are the formats that consistently get picked up:

Structured “Best Of” Lists

Both readers and LLMs appreciate a “best of” list — especially ones with clear structure and useful comparisons.

For example, I asked Perplexity what the best mattresses are for back pain.

And review site Sleep Advisor was one of its sources.

Perplexity – Sleep Advisor as Source

This site publishes “best of” articles often and has a rigorous testing process, two important components of LLM citations.

But to get cited, your list needs to go beyond the basics.

Start by explaining how you selected the items on your list.

LLMs prioritize content that shows transparent, well-reasoned decision-making. (Just like your readers do.)

This added context also helps LLMs match your content to the questions people are asking.

Sleep Advisor includes details about its testing process upfront in articles so readers (and LLMs) can’t miss it.

Sleep Advisor – Testing process

Another AI-friendly component of a “best of” list?

Giving each item a “best” rating that matches search behavior:

  • Best for freelancers on a budget
  • Best for advanced analytics
  • Best all-in-one solution for remote teams

If you’ve used LLMs, you know they quote these phrases in responses.

But it also helps users self-identify, which can increase leads and conversions.

For instance, Sleep Advisor awards mattresses with targeted “best” ratings.

Like “best mattress for upper back pain” and “best mattress for stomach sleepers with back pain.”

Sleep Advisor – Targeted best ratings

Now, consider your content’s structure.

This is where semantic chunking comes in.

Semantic chunking means organizing your content into short, clearly labeled sections that focus on a single idea or answer.

Why does it matter?

Chunked content with natural language headers makes it easier for AI to parse, understand, and pull relevant snippets into responses.

Use the same layout for every entry. A repeatable structure signals credibility and makes your content easier to extract and cite.

For example:

  • Item name + best rating
  • Quick summary
  • Key features or standout capabilities
  • Pros and cons
  • Pricing

Sleep Advisor – Natural language headers

Take it even further by adding scoring systems or ratings.

Sleep Advisor awards a 1-to-5-star rating based on hands-on testing across categories like pressure relief, motion isolation, cooling, and responsiveness.

That kind of structured, criteria-based scoring makes your content more credible … and easier for LLMs to cite.

Sleep Advisor – Rating system

Overall, anything that makes your content easier to skim and read will also help make it LLM-friendly.

This includes bullet lists, tables, and summary boxes.

Sleep Advisor – Pros & Cons

First-Person Product Reviews

Authentic, hands-on reviews are another format LLMs tend to favor.

Why?

Because real testing equals real credibility.

LLMs surface these types of reviews because they:

  • Include measurable outcomes
  • Follow repeatable testing processes
  • Use specific, quotable phrasing

Let’s look at Wirecutter’s electric standing desk review, for example.

They have a “Why you should trust us section” that states they’ve tested 40+ adjustable desks since 2013.

This is a clear, measurable signal of expertise.

NY Times – Wirecutter – Desk review

So, get granular and provide all your testing details:

  • Explain how many items you tested
  • Describe who did the testing, what their credentials are, and when it was conducted
  • Outline your methodology or criteria

This shows LLMs and your audience that your review is authentic.

Short, declarative lines are also important to include because they’re extract-friendly.

Here’s an example from the Wirecutter article:

The Branch Duo Standing Desk is a good option if you have limited space or are over 5-foot-8. But it doesn’t offer nearly as many customizable features as the Uplift, and there’s no option to upgrade to an advanced keypad.

Did you notice it includes both positives and negatives?

Balanced statements show you’re giving a fair, experience-based evaluation, not a sales pitch.

That kind of transparency helps establish trust with users and LLMs.

Comparison Tables (Especially Brand vs. Brand)

Mid-funnel users use AI platforms to help make purchasing decisions.

This is why it’s crucial to create content that compares your product to alternatives.

The key?

Present it in a clean, structured format, such as a table or chart.

Like this Backlinko article that includes a table to help readers choose the best PPC tool for their needs.

Backlinko – Best PPC Tools – Table

To make your comparison tables citation-worthy, focus on three things:

  • Use-case verdicts: Don’t just compare features. Tell readers which option is better for freelancers, agencies, enterprise teams, and more.
  • Highlight tradeoffs: Include both strengths and weaknesses for each option to add credibility
  • Citation-ready phrasing: Make each recommendation easy to cite. Instead of “Tool A is more feature-packed,” write “Tool A is the best choice for teams on a budget that need features like multi-user logins and grammar checking.”

This kind of clarity makes it easy for LLMs to quote your content when users ask: “Which one is better for [my specific use case]?”

FAQ-Style Content

LLMs are trained on Q&A content from platforms like Quora, Reddit, and other public forums.

So, it’s no surprise that FAQ formats perform well. They match the structure LLMs were built to understand.

For this reason, you’ll want to add FAQ-style posts to your content rotation.

You can identify customer questions in the following ways:

AnswerThePublic – SEO – Wheels – Questions

Once you’ve chosen your questions, structure them as subheadings in your article.

And write concise responses that start with a direct answer.

Semrush’s SEO FAQ article is a good example of this LLM-friendly format.

It includes questions as clear subheadings, including:

  • What Is SEO?
  • How Long Does It Take to Rank on Google?
  • Why Has My Organic Traffic Dropped?

This is the type of post that probably wouldn’t rank super well in Google.

But is EXACTLY what LLMs use to train on.

Importantly, the content provides clear, direct answers to the questions.

Semrush – Example of LLM friendly format

Adding structured data is another smart way to help AI search engines and LLMs better parse and interpret your content.

WordPress plugins like RankMath and Yoast can automatically add FAQPage structured data to help increase your citations.

Opinion‑Led Pieces with Clear Takeaways

Want to increase LLM citations? Come up with a unique take on something in your industry.

This could be a contrarian industry opinion or a surprising prediction — anything works when it’s done well.

The caveat?

You’ll need industry authority, experience, and evidence to support your stance.

But remember — structure matters more than ever before.

Ensure it’s well-structured and easy to summarize.

Otherwise, it’s unlikely to stand out (or get cited).

For example, in a YouTube video (yes, LLMs can pull from video transcripts and descriptions), digital growth marketer Grace Leung challenges outdated content strategies.

She explains why they’re holding brands back and what to do instead.

YouTube – Video – Content Marketing

Her format is viewer- and AI-friendly with defined sections and actionable takeaways.

And she shares a strong opinion throughout the piece that is backed up by her expertise.

Want to do the same?

Include details that help LLMs understand and trust your content:

  • Author credentials: Briefly explain who you are and why you’re qualified to cover the topic. This adds credibility for both readers and LLMs.
  • Content overview: State what the piece covers early on (in your blog post intro or video description) so it’s easy to parse and summarize
  • Internal links: Link to related posts or supporting content to signal depth and strengthen your topical coverage

In Grace’s case, her video’s description includes all of the above (and more): a video summary, quick author bio, newsletter link, and related content.

YouTube – Grace's video description

Visuals with Clear Captions and Context

Visual content keeps readers engaged.

But it’s also another way to give LLMs more context about your content.

Make your visuals LLM-friendly with these tips:

  • Write full-sentence captions that explain what’s pictured and why it matters. Think: “Peach cobbler cookie from Good Cakes and Bakes, one of Detroit’s most beloved bakeries,” not just “Cookies on a plate.”
  • Reference visuals directly in your copy. Instead of skipping over an image, say, “As you can see in the photo, this bakery’s seasonal peach cobbler cookies are a local favorite.”
  • Add alt text that reflects both the subject and its importance. Try: “Peach cobbler cookie at Good Cakes and Bakes, a popular Detroit bakery known for seasonal desserts.”
  • Use descriptive file names, like detroit-good-cakes-peach-cookie.jpg, to reinforce meaning for AI crawlers.

Cup of Jo – Descriptive file names

Tools, Templates, and Frameworks

Offer valuable resources that solve real problems to get referenced in LLM conversations.

For instance, I asked Perplexity how I can check keyword rankings for free.

And it recommended Backlinko’s free Google Keyword Rank Checker.

Perplexity – Check keyword positions for free

Depending on your industry, you might create free templates, frameworks, calculators, or interactive tools.

To make your resource citation-worthy, give it a clear, descriptive title that matches how users search.

Like “Budget Calculator for Freelancers” and “Free Grammar Checker.”

Include an intro that explains who it’s for, what it does, and how to use it.

Then, add supporting content (like examples, FAQs, or use cases) so LLMs understand its context and value.

The more useful and well-structured your resource is, the more likely it is to earn mentions from your target audience and AI platforms.

For example, our free rank checker lets users check rankings in seconds.

Backlinko – Rank Checker

The tool’s design is clean and user-friendly.

And the description sums up the tool’s benefits well, which is important for scraping:

Discover who’s linking to you and your competitors to find the latest opportunities and enhance your backlink profile.

Since the tool is both easy to use and genuinely helpful, it’s recommended by third parties in blogs and forums.

These mentions are vital because LLMs pick up on them when deciding what to cite.

ThimPress – Best free keyword rank checker tools

Where to Seed Your Content for Maximum LLM Pickup

Publishing great content is only half the battle.

The other half? Getting it in front of the right crawlers.

Publish in places that LLMs trust, crawl frequently, and find easy to parse.

Here’s where to focus your efforts:

Third-Party Platforms

Certain third-party platforms are LLM magnets.

Why?

Their clean layout, clear headings, and consistent quality make them easy for AI to read and cite.

Medium – Third party platforms as LLM magnets

This includes:

  • Medium: Repurpose your long-form blog content here. Medium’s minimalist layout and semantic structure make it ideal for LLMs. Include section headers, summaries, and internal links for added context.
  • Substack: A great home for newsletter-style content and thought leadership commentary. Its emphasis on editorial voice and topical depth adds authority and makes your content easier for AI to recognize as expert-driven.
  • LinkedIn articles: These articles are indexed well and often tied to real profiles (which gives your content a credibility bonus in LLMs)

Trusted Industry Publications

LLMs are more likely to trust and cite content that comes from respected industry sources.

So, create a strategy to share content and quotes in high-impact publications to boost your LLM visibility.

Here’s how:

Create Guest Posts

No, guest posting isn’t dead — it’s just not all about the links anymore.

It’s about visibility.

HubSpot – Blog Request Form

Choose topics that align with popular LLM prompts (like product comparisons, trends, or how-tos).

And format your content clearly with subheads, summaries, and data points.

Offer Expert Quotes

Reach out to journalists, editors, and bloggers in your niche.

Provide non-promotional, insight-driven quotes to increase your chances of being featured in articles that LLMs frequently reference.

Tools like HARO or Featured.com can help you find opportunities to share your expertise.

Help a Reporter – Homepage

Get Featured in Roundups

As you’ve learned, LLMs love “best of,” “top tools,” and “expert tips” formats.

Pitch to writers creating these lists — whether newsletters, LinkedIn posts, videos, or blog posts.

And make it easy to include your brand by providing a concise, structured blurb with supporting context or proof points.

WIRED – Best viral TikTok gadgets

User-Generated Content Hubs

Why do LLMs and AI search engines love user-generated content hubs?

Because they’re full of real people asking real (often long-tail) questions. And subject matter experts providing highly specific, detailed answers.

Ones you often won’t find elsewhere.

That makes these platforms powerful spots to seed your expertise.

Reddit – Powerful spot to seed your expertise

Here’s where to focus:

Reddit

LLMs cite Reddit more than any other source, according to Semrush.

So, if Reddit wasn’t on your radar before, it should be now.

Participate in relevant subreddits where you can highlight your expertise and add genuine value.

Answer questions and respond to comments.

And then do it all over again.

Make Reddit a part of your regular rotation to boost your chances of LLM citations.

Reddit – Boost your chances of LLM citations

Quora

Reddit may be the darling of LLMs, but Quora isn’t far behind.

For this reason, you’ll want to add this platform into the mix as well.

Side note: Quora is the most commonly cited website in Google’s AI Overviews, according to Semrush’s AI search study.

Provide comprehensive answers to industry questions.

Include specific examples, comparisons, or step-by-step explanations to increase your chances of LLM citations.

But don’t let formatting slide just because you’re on an informal platform.

Add clear headlines, subheads, and bullet points to increase your chances of LLM scraping.

Quora – Clear headlines, subheads & bullet points

GitHub Discussions

Have a technical brand?

Get involved in community discussions beyond your product.

Share helpful bug fixes, answer questions, and offer support.

GitHub Community – Discussions

Building credibility makes it easier to reference your tool or solution when it’s genuinely relevant.

Niche Forums and Public Facebook Groups

Don’t overlook specialized communities.

LLMs scan niche forums and public Facebook groups for in-depth, experience-based insights.

Look for active, topic-specific forums like:

  • ContractorTalk: Home improvement and construction professionals
  • Chronicle Forums: Equestrian and horse care advice
  • GardenWeb forum: Gardening and plant tips and advice
  • AVS Forum: Home theater and tech product discussions

AVS Forum – Home theater & tech product discussions

Contribute regularly with meaningful, non-promotional input.

Answer niche questions, clarify common misconceptions, or share first-hand experience.

These authentic contributions increase your chances of getting cited in AI-generated responses where nuance and expertise matter most.

Editorial-Style Microsites

Want to boost your chances of getting cited by LLMs? Build an editorial-style microsite.

These standalone sites tend to carry more credibility than heavily branded company pages.

Why?

Because you can structure them like independent publications.

Like this microsite IKEA built to highlight original research:

Life at Home – IKEA – Microsite

The goal is to create a trusted, well-organized resource that covers your entire industry, not just your own product.

For example, IKEA’s microsite includes statistics on happiness and enjoyment at home, which ties into its core offering: home products.

Life at Home – IKEA – Statistics

To earn trust (from both readers and LLMs), focus on E-E-A-T signals.

Include author bios with credentials, cite reputable sources, and make your editorial policies easy to find.

Clearly state who’s behind the site and why it exists.

Comparison and Review Sites

Content from review platforms is often cited in LLMs, and for good reason.

Sites like G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius follow a formula that attracts LLMs:

Feature breakdowns + pros & cons + user reviews = LLM-friendly content

You can’t always control how your product is described on these platforms, but you can influence how well it performs there.

Start by actively encouraging customers to leave honest, detailed reviews.

Encourage them to explain why they chose your product and what results they’ve seen.

Follow up with power users, beta testers, and long-term customers.

Prompt them with questions like:

“What specific feature helped you solve a key problem?” and “How does this tool compare to others you’ve used?”

G2 – Reviews platform

The more detailed and context-rich the reviews, the more useful your listing becomes to buyers and LLMs.

Social Platforms

Just like us, LLMs have clear preferences when it comes to social media platforms.

Particularly the ones that attract valuable content that’s easy to parse and cite.

To increase your chances of LLM citations, always use clear, searchable language on the following platforms:

  • X: Educational threads tend to perform better than quick takes. Focus on multi-post insights that break down processes, strategies, or frameworks
  • YouTube: Boost your chances of being referenced by including descriptive titles, detailed titles, video descriptions, and accurate captions
  • Pinterest: Ideal for visual brands — but only if your pins include rich descriptions and link to structured content
  • Instagram: As of July 2025, Instagram posts (if opted in) can be indexed by search engines and LLMs. Add captions, alt text, and hashtags to help shape how your brand appears in AI platforms.

X status – Aleyda Solis – Valuable content

How to Track LLM Seeding Success

Here’s where things get tricky.

Understanding LLM impact isn’t as straightforward as tracking clicks or traffic.

So, how do you measure this influence?

Here are a few smart ways to assess your brand’s visibility across LLMs.

Branded and Direct Traffic Growth

Noticed something weird going on in Google Search Console lately?

Your impressions are increasing … but clicks are decreasing.

LLMs might be to blame.

For example, at Backlinko, our impressions increased by 54% over the past three months, while our clicks decreased by 15%.

GSC – Backlinko – Performance compare report

Here’s what’s happening:

Users see your brand mentioned in AI responses, make a mental note, then research you directly days or weeks later.

They’re not clicking through immediately. They’re bookmarking your name in their minds.

ChatGPT – Brands mentioned in AI response

This creates declining organic clicks paired with stable or growing branded searches. And it’s the signature pattern of LLM influence.

Here’s how to spot it in your data.

Open Google Analytics (GA) and go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition.

Compare your direct traffic trends over the past three to six months.

If your direct traffic increased, this is a positive sign that LLMs are mentioning your brand.

GA – Traffic Acquisition – Direct traffic increase

Next, compare these patterns to your organic traffic changes in Google Search Console (GSC).

Go to Performance > Search results.

Declining clicks + growing direct traffic = LLM visibility.

If your data is pointing to LLM influence, this is a good thing.

But it’s important to verify your findings with manual prompt analysis.

Pro tip: Getting branded traffic? Great. Now, ensure your branded SERP is optimized so users searching for your name land on high-converting pages. Like product quizzes, comparison guides, or testimonials.

Brand Mentions in AI Tools

The clearest way to gauge your LLM visibility is to see if (and how) your brand shows up in AI-generated answers.

Run manual prompts across different tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini.

Use a private or incognito browser to avoid skewed results from past queries or personalization.

Then, search the way your audience would … naturally and with clear search intent.

Try prompts like:

  • Best project management tools for remote teams
  • What is the best project management software for startups
  • Top budget-friendly productivity tools for small businesses

Perplexity – What is the best project management software for startups

Document the sentiment and context of each mention.

Are you positioned as a budget option? A premium choice? The innovative newcomer?

Do certain LLMs recommend your product more or less?

Perplexity – Summary table

Document these results monthly in a spreadsheet or tracking doc.

Include the tool used, the prompt, the exact language cited, and your position in the response.

This lets you identify shifts in brand positioning, message clarity, and which prompts consistently trigger mentions.

Not showing up yet?

You’ll still learn what LLMs are citing so you can reverse-engineer how to get included.

Pro tip: Make your LLM citations work harder. Add email capture opportunities to your top pages. (Especially ones on topics LLMs are likely to mention.) Use content upgrades, templates, and discounts to turn visitors into subscribers.

Unlinked Brand Mentions

Not every brand mention includes a link to your site, making this influence harder to track.

But since LLMs weigh authentic, third-party references heavily when determining what content (and brands) to trust and cite, these mentions are vital.

Use tools like Semrush Brand Monitoring, SparkToro, or Google Alerts to track brand mentions.

Set up alerts for your brand name, product names, and key team members.

Google – Alerts

As you get mentions, dig into the context.

  • Are you being cited as an expert?
  • Recommended as a tool?
  • Compared to a competitor?

If you’re not getting many mentions, look for opportunities to contribute.

Pitch newsletter authors or podcast hosts with useful, non-promotional content that fits their audience.

Join relevant discussions, offer expert insights, and speak at industry events.

LinkedIn – Michael Ofei – Post

Continue tracking mentions over time to measure whether your efforts result in increased LLM visibility.

LLM Visibility Across Platforms

We’re all used to tracking rankings and referral traffic.

But those signals no longer tell the full story.

Tracking your performance across AI platforms is now a core part of measuring your success.

But you’ll need specialized tools for this.

Semrush’s Enterprise AIO lets you track how your brand is perceived and cited in popular AI platforms.

Once you set it up with the AI models and prompts that you want to track, it’ll tell you how your LLM visibility compares to competitors.

Semrush AIO – Backlinko – Brand Changes & Rankings

That’s just scratching the surface. You can also track your brand’s overall market share, sentiment, and consumer engagement across AI platforms.

Semrush Enterprise – AIO Overview

Semrush’s AI Toolkit also lets you track how your domain and overall brand are perceived by individual models. It’s not super customizable yet, but you can still gain a lot of insights.

Semrush AI Toolkit – Dashboard – AI Strategic Insights

From there, individual reports break those metrics down by platform.

This gives you a clear view of where you’re gaining traction. And where you may be falling behind.

For example, pet company Petlibro currently holds a much smaller market share in ChatGPT than its competitors.

Semrush AI Toolkit – Petlibro – Brand Performance – Platform – ChatGPT

But in Google’s AI Mode, Petlibro significantly outperforms those same brands.

This is important data because it shows that performance can vary widely by platform.

And tells you where to focus your efforts.

Semrush AI Toolkit – Petlibro – Brand Performance – Platform – Google AI Mode

The toolkit also provides sentiment analysis reports so you know how AI platforms describe your brand.

Whether positively, neutrally, or negatively.

This gives you a clearer picture of how LLMs frame your brand in their responses.

Petlibro, for instance, has a 64% favorable overall sentiment score, indicating generally positive positioning.

But also room to strengthen how it’s perceived.

Semrush AI Toolkit – Petlibro – Brand Performance – Overall Sentiment

You can drill down further to see what’s behind your sentiment score.

Both the positives and the pain points.

For Petlibro, strengths like convenience, automation, and food freshness drive favorable mentions.

On the flip side, app connectivity issues and limited advanced features are flagged as recurring concerns.

This insight tells you what to highlight in content.

And identifies potential fixes to maintain or improve sentiment.

Semrush AI Toolkit – Key Sentiment Drivers

You’ll also learn the types of queries users ask about your brand. And the intent behind them.

For Petlibro, the majority are educational, followed by research-based queries.

Semrush AI Toolkit – Petlibro – Brand Performance – Query Intent Distribution

This tells you exactly what types of content to prioritize in your LLM seeding strategy.

For Petlibro, the toolkit suggests creating comparison charts, highlighting smart features, and showcasing testimonials that reinforce brand strengths.

Audience & Content – Al time-Critical Shifts

As you gather data, refine your seeding strategy.

Double down on what’s working, whether it’s a specific content format, platform, or message.

And use gaps in visibility or sentiment as signals for where to publish, what to say, and how to position your brand for maximum LLM impact.

Make LLMs Work for You, Not Against You

Moral of the story? Don’t fight the machine — work with it.

AI isn’t coming. It’s here.

And it’s already changing how your audience discovers, evaluates, and chooses brands.

The brands that get cited in AI answers will win mindshare — even if they never rank #1 or get a single click.

That’s what LLM seeding is about.

You’re not optimizing for traffic. You’re engineering trust.

You’re not chasing backlinks. You’re earning brand mentions.

So, if you want to stay relevant?

Get your brand into the conversation now so you don’t get left behind.

Then, use our Search Everywhere Optimization guide to expand that visibility across every surface your customers trust — from AI to Amazon and beyond.

The post LLM Seeding: A New Strategy to Get Mentioned and Cited by LLMs appeared first on Backlinko.

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How to Build a Customer-Focused Content Strategy (6 Steps)

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Random content creation is the top reason you won’t see ROI from your content marketing.

One week, you write blog posts. The next week, you film some YouTube videos. Then, you stop publishing for three months.

With a strong content strategy, you’ll make consistent content based on real customer preferences, pain points, and historical data.

Organic Research – World Wildlife – Organic Pages

Creating a content strategy has many benefits, including:

  • Focuses your efforts on content your audience actually wants
  • Saves you time by eliminating guesswork and random content creation
  • Drives consistent traffic through strategic topic selection
  • Builds authority in your industry with purposeful, high-quality content
  • Increases conversions by aligning content with your audience’s needs

Ready to learn how to create a content strategy?

Let’s start with the most important element: your customers.

Step 1: Align Your Content Strategy with Customer Awareness Levels

Every content decision you make should map back to the customer awareness levels:

  • Unaware
  • Problem Aware
  • Solution Aware
  • Product Aware
  • Most Aware

This includes the topics you cover, formats you use, and where you publish.

Why?

Because people at different awareness stages need completely different content.

Someone who has never heard of your solution needs education, while someone comparing options needs proof that your product is best.

But forget what you’ve been taught in the past.

Start with people ready to buy (most aware) and work backward.

This sets you up for faster wins, better conversion rates, and less competition.

Customer Awareness Levels

Here’s what this looks like in practice.

Most Aware

People in the “Most Aware” stage are VERY close to buying your product or service.

They’ve likely already inquired about your offering, requested pricing info, and used your free trial.

Now, they just need that final push.

Design your Most Aware content to remove hesitation and make the next step feel obvious.

Semrush Features

Content that works best for this stage includes:

  • Customer success videos
  • Live demos and Q&As
  • Pricing guides and ROI calculators
  • Email campaigns with time-sensitive offers

For example, Semrush has a dedicated “Success Stories” page.

Each story highlights how companies use the platform to improve their online visibility, rankings, and content.

Semrush – Success Stories Page

Even better? They all end with a free trial offer.

That’s textbook Most Aware content: high trust, low friction, and a clear next step.

Semrush – Free trial offer at the end

Product Aware

People in the Product Aware stage know they need a solution and are shopping around.

They’re comparing features, reading reviews, and weighing pros and cons.

They may have even started free trials with your competitors.

Your job? Make your solution the obvious choice.

Semrush – Request demo

Product Aware content includes:

  • Product walkthrough videos
  • Comparison posts and tools
  • Influencer or customer reviews
  • Webinars with customer case studies

Pro tip: Make comparison content a priority in your content strategy. This is where prospects make their final decisions.

Solution Aware

At this stage, prospects know they have a problem — and that solutions exist.

But they’re still figuring out what kind of solution they need.

They’re asking questions like “What is SEO software?” or “How do others solve my same problem?”

Semrush Blog – What is SEO software

Your job is to guide them through the decision.

This is where you earn trust and shape buying criteria.

Solution Aware content includes:

  • Case studies
  • How-to guides and educational content
  • Podcast episodes or blog interviews
  • Interactive tools or quizzes to assess needs or priorities
  • Video testimonials from customers

YouTube – Semrush – Solution Aware Content

Problem Aware

In this stage, prospects know they have a problem. They just don’t know what to do about it yet.

They’re asking questions like:

  • What’s causing this issue?
  • How serious is it?
  • Am I the only one dealing with this?
  • Is there a fix?

At this point, they’re digging into Google and large language model (LLM) results, Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and niche forums.

Reddit – Thread – Problem Aware

They’re looking for answers and insights — not product hard sells. That’s where your content comes in.

Your job here is to validate their problem and help them understand it more clearly.

Content that works best in this stage:

  • Blog posts that explore the root causes of common problems
  • Social content that highlights signs, symptoms, or overlooked issues
  • YouTube videos breaking down key pain points
  • Forum posts or comments that share useful perspectives

Use tools like Google’s Autocomplete, People Also Ask, and Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to find real questions your audience is asking.

Keyword Magic Tool – Keywords – Keywords

Then, plan content that empathizes with your audience’s problem and hints at the types of solutions that exist.

Build trust in this stage, and you’ll stay top of mind when they’re ready to buy.

Unaware

Unaware prospects don’t know they have a problem — yet.

They’re not searching for solutions. They’re not asking questions. They’re not even looking.

That makes this audience the biggest and the coldest.

Your goal here isn’t to sell. It’s to spark that light bulb moment where they realize there’s a problem worth solving.

And you’ll want to do it in a way that feels helpful, not pushy.

The best content for this stage is light, relatable, and built for discovery.

X – Semrush status – Evergreen Content

Think:

  • Short videos or animations on social platforms
  • Blog posts tied to lifestyle or work challenges
  • Paid ads that highlight common frustrations in a simple way

For example, Semrush uses TikTok to create short, relatable videos aimed at digital marketers.

TikTok – Semrush short videos

One important note: Don’t expect immediate returns from Unaware content.

This is all about brand awareness and building trust.

But when these prospects eventually realize they have a problem, guess whose brand they’ll remember?

That’s right — yours!

Step 2: Find and Prioritize High-Impact Content Ideas

Strategic topic selection is more important than ever.

Content demands have skyrocketed. Channels are crowded. And your audience is drowning in options.

AI and LLMs have also fundamentally changed how people discover content.

Using a process called query fan-out, they break one search into multiple related questions and topics to anticipate the user’s needs.

That’s why it’s important to think in content clusters, not just individual topics.

Here’s how to find (and prioritize) topics in a smart, scalable way.

Start with Customer and Client Research

Before you open a keyword tool, review your inquiries, support tickets, and sales calls to see what questions come up again and again.

This reveals high-intent problems your audience is actively trying to solve, which makes it perfect for your content strategy.

If you have existing customers, send short surveys to them by email.

Ask questions like:

  • What’s your biggest challenge with [topic]?
  • What would you search for when looking for [solution type]?

You can also run polls on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and more.

And consider offering a small incentive to encourage responses.

Instagram – Customer research

As you get responses, group them by themes to plan for content clusters.

This lets you capture the full search journey around each topic. And will help increase your visibility in traditional and AI search engines.

Audit Your Existing Content for Hidden Winners

Look at your existing content to assess what’s already working. And find content gaps worth filling.

Here’s how:

First, log in to Google Analytics to see which topics and formats drive the most valuable traffic to your site.

Then, go to “Reports” → “Engagement” → “Landing Pages”:

GA4 – Reports – Engagement – Landing page

This report shows you which pages users land on first when they visit your site.

So, you know which topics and pages attract them the most.

GA – Landing Pages – Backlinko

Look at performance metrics like sessions, average engagement time, and key events to identify top performers.

Next, identify what those pages have in common in terms of:

  • Format: Are they how-to guides, listicles, case studies, or something else?
  • Topics: What themes or subject areas dominate?
  • Length: Are they comprehensive deep-dives or quick reads?
  • Content angle: Do they focus on beginner tips, advanced strategies, or industry news?

Once you spot the patterns, you can plan to create more content that fits these winning formulas.

For example:

A while back, we noticed that definitive guides brought in a ton of traffic.

So, we decided to publish more definitive guides as content pillars.

Backlinko – Guides – Collage

And those new guides helped increase my blog’s traffic by 87.91% compared to the year before:

Backlinko organic traffic – 2019. vs 2020.

The biggest takeaway? Your existing data already shows you what your audience wants.

You just need to give them more of it.

Run a Cross-Platform Competitive Analysis

Want a goldmine of validated topics and format inspiration?

Spy on your competitors, platform by platform.

This can be anything from social media accounts and blogs to podcasts and videos.

For example, if your competitors are on YouTube, filter their content by “Popular” to see which topics get the most views and engagement.

YouTube – Channel – Moz – Videos

Over on LinkedIn, you can scan your competitors’ profiles for posts with high comment or repost counts.

Find their company page, click “Posts,” and start scrolling.

LinkedIn – Moz – Posts

Competitor blogs are also a great source of topic inspiration.

For example, a while back, we looked at what content performed best on the Moz blog:

The Moz Blog

And we noticed that content about “site audits” tended to do REALLY well:

Moz Blog – Goodbye Generic SEO Audit

So, we created a blog post called: “The 18-Step SEO Audit Checklist.”

Backlinko – SEO Site Audit

Because this post was based on a proven topic, it was a huge hit on day 1.

And quickly cracked the first page for my target keyword:

Google SERP – SEO Audit Checklist

Podcasts are another amazing (and somewhat untapped) source of topic inspiration.

Check out your competitors’ episode lists on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

SE Ranking – DoFollow Podcast

This can reveal some killer topics you’d be hard-pressed to find any other way.

SE Ranking – DoFollow Podcast – Killer topics

Once you’ve done a manual review, use competitive research tools for deeper analysis.

For this task, I’ll use Semrush.

Here’s how you can follow along:

First, sign up for a free 14-day Semrush trial.

Then, start with the Organic Research tool.

Enter one of your top competitors’ domains and click “Search.”

Organic Research – Moz – Search

You’ll see an overview of their top-ranking keywords.

And which pages attract the most traffic.

Organic Research – Moz – Overview

Switch to the “Position Changes” tab on the menu for a deeper look at the keywords your competitor has won and lost.

Organic Research – Moz – Position Changes

One strategy?

Start by reviewing your rivals’ keyword losses and add any relevant topics to your strategy.

Why?

So, you can swoop in with better content and take those rankings for yourself.

Click “+ Add filter” and “Position changes.”

Organic Research – Moz – Position Changes – Add filter

Check “Declined” and “Lost.”

Click “Apply.”

(You can also check “New” and “Improved” to see their ranking keywords instead.)

Organic Research – Moz – Position Changes – Declined & Lost filter

Next, switch to “Topics” on the menu to view your competitor’s highest-performing topics.

Including estimated traffic, keywords, volume, and average keyword difficulty.

Prioritize topics with at least decent search volume but lower difficulty scores.

These give you the best chance of ranking quickly.

Organic Research – Moz – Topics

Another helpful tool for identifying high-value topics?

Semrush’s Keyword Gap.

Enter your domain and up to four competitors’ domains. Click “Compare.”

Keyword Gap – Backlinko & competitors – Compare

Scroll to the “All keyword details for [your site] report.”

Pay attention to the following:

  • Missing: Keywords that all the other domains rank for, except you
  • Untapped: Keywords that at least one of the other domains ranks for, except you

Keyword Gap – Backlinko – All keyword details for

This reveals content gaps where your competitors are already succeeding.

Instead of guessing what topics might work, you’re targeting proven winners with a strategy to outrank them.

Mine Online Communities

Online communities are GREAT for finding your customers’ burning questions.

For example, say you have a recipe blog and want to create content for specific diets.

Head over to the Paleo subreddit, and you’ll notice lots of questions about dessert:

Reddit – Questions about topic

Why is this important?

Most people ask questions on Reddit because they couldn’t find their answer on Google.

Or because the answers on Google don’t feel authentic enough.

This means there’s a HUGE opportunity for you to swoop in and answer that question with your content.

Healy Eats Real – Answering content

Pro tip: Use AI tools to analyze thousands of Reddit threads and Quora questions in minutes. Ask AI to identify patterns in customer questions to help you spot common pain points and preferences.

These community questions should become the backbone of your content strategy in two key ways:

  • Pain point mapping: Track which questions appear repeatedly to identify the biggest challenges your audience faces. Then, prioritize these topics in your content calendar.
  • Content format planning: Pay attention to HOW people ask. A “how do I” question might work best as a tutorial, while “what’s the best” questions are perfect for comparison posts or roundups.

You can even create a dedicated FAQ hub on your site that directly answers these community questions.

This approach builds trust fast because you’re solving real problems your audience is actively searching for.

You can follow this same process using Quora:

Quora – Paleo

You can also use Answer the Public to scale this task.

AnswerThePublic – Homepage

It’s a free tool that hands you popular questions that people have around your topic:

AnswerThePublic – Paleo – Questions

Prioritize Your Content Ideas

By now, you likely have a lot of potential topics.

Here’s how to separate the winners from the noise:

Ask yourself if the topic ties back to your product or service. Content that can’t connect to your business goals is just busy work.

Next, check for proven demand using a keyword research tool.

Prioritize topics with solid search volume, clear search intent, and manageable difficulty.

Keyword Overview – How to qualify sales leaads

Then, consider if your team can realistically create quality content on this topic.

Do you have the expertise, resources, and time to do it justice?

Finally, think about your differentiation opportunity.

Can you add a fresh angle, better examples, or unique insights that competitors haven’t covered?

If a topic checks all four boxes, green light it.

Once you’ve validated your topics, assign each one to its corresponding awareness stage:

  • Most aware topics: What questions do prospects ask right before buying? What final objections need addressing? Turn these topics into pricing guides, comparison pages, and tutorials.
  • Product aware topics: Are competitors ranking for “best [solution category]” terms? Create your own version with honest comparisons and clear differentiators.
  • Solution aware topics: Are people asking “how to choose” or “what type of [X]”? Build educational content that explains the options and subtly positions your solution as the best fit.
  • Problem and unaware topics: What recurring pain points did you identify in your topic research? Turn those insights into content that validates the problem and builds awareness.

Pro tip: Want to reach more customers on more channels at all stages of their journey? Experiment with different content types. Try blog posts, videos, lead magnets, ebooks, infographics, success stories, interactive content, and more.

Step 3: Create Comprehensive Content Briefs

Coming up with high-impact topics is only half the battle.

The other half?

Turning those ideas into content that actually performs. That’s where a content brief comes in.

Content briefs eliminate guesswork and align your entire team on what you’re creating and why.

They prevent scope creep, reduce revisions, and ensure every piece of content serves a clear business purpose.

And they can be as short or detailed as you like.

My vote? Make them comprehensive.

The more direction you provide upfront, the less time you’ll spend on revisions.

And the more likely your content will resonate with your audience.

Every brief should include the basics. Like the topic, primary keyword, and article format.

Backlinko – Content Brief Template

But creating truly helpful content requires doing more than the minimum.

That’s why we include audience insights like the following in our briefs at Backlinko.

  • Target audience level: Beginner, intermediate, or advanced
  • Awareness stage: Where are they at in their journey?
  • Primary goal: Traffic, leads, conversions, brand awareness
  • Reader pain points: The challenges your audience faces

Pro tip: Ask your product, sales, and support teams to contribute to briefs. They can flag upcoming features, share common prospect questions, and identify knowledge gaps worth addressing.

This context helps writers match their tone, examples, and approach to your specific audience.

Backlinko – Content Brief Template – Audience Insights

Another essential brief component? SERP analysis.

Include the most notable competitors’ URLs in the brief for writers to use as inspiration. And leave notes on any gaps you can fill to outrank your competition.

Backlinko – Content Brief Template – SERP

Speaking of outranking your competitors…

Every brief should include your plans for information gain.

(Aka the unique value your content will provide that readers can’t find elsewhere.)

This includes:

  • Expert quotes or SME insights from industry leaders
  • Original data, research, or case studies from your own experience
  • Interactive tools like calculators, templates, or checklists
  • Fresh angles or perspectives that competitors haven’t covered

Backlinko – Content Brief Template – Information Gain

Finally, I highly recommend baking your content repurposing plans into your brief.

Getting the most from your content efforts shouldn’t be an afterthought.

Plan to turn every article or blog post into multiple formats: social content, videos, email series, podcasts, and more.

This lets you build full-funnel coverage from day one. And ensures you maximize your investment.

Backlinko – Content Brief Template – Multi-Format Strategy

Step 4: Focus on Creating Amazing Content

Here’s the reality:

It’s getting harder to make your content stand out.

The audience decides within seconds whether your content is worth their time. If you don’t grab them immediately, they’re gone.

That’s why we developed the Hook & Hold Method at Backlinko.

It helps us create content that captures (and keeps) attention.

The Hook & Hold Method

The first part of this method is the hook.

Your hook has one job: get people to start reading.

Here’s how:

  • Craft a compelling headline: Use specific numbers, strong emotions, or unique angles that make people stop scrolling and click
  • Start with their biggest pain point: Address what’s keeping your audience up at night in the first paragraph to create an instant connection
  • Promise clear value upfront: Tell readers exactly what they’ll learn or achieve to signal immediate value and relevance

Then, you hold their attention with five key elements: Authority, Research, Visuals, Examples, and Statistics.

Let’s walk through each element.

Authority

You don’t have to be the only voice in your content.

In fact, bringing in expert perspectives builds authority and improves user experience.

Or as I like to say:

If you want an article about how to unclog a toilet, don’t hire a freelance writer.

Hire a plumber.

For example, Nerd Fitness quickly grew to be one of the most popular blogs in the fitness space.

NerdFitness – Homepage

How?

Steve wrote about his personal experience of trying different diets and workout routines:

NerdFitness – Beginners Guide

And he filled in any gaps in his knowledge with research from nutrition experts:

NerdFitness – Beginners Guide – Experts

This demonstrated experience and expertise to their target audience and search engines.

Which then inspired trust.

And helped Nerd Fitness establish authority.

That’s E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) in action.

What is E-E-A-T

You can also source expert insights through:

  • Journalist outreach platforms like HARO or Featured
  • Industry interviews, podcasts, or videos
  • Social media posts from credible people in your niche
  • Direct outreach to experts

Expert quotes break up visual flow while adding credibility and fresh perspectives to your content.

Pro tip: If you use AI tools to support content creation, inject original insights, quotes, and real-world examples to maintain your authority and trust.

Research

Great content is built on great sources.

While trustworthy sources vary by industry, prioritize these sources as a general rule:

  • Academic research and peer-reviewed studies
  • Government data (.gov sites)
  • Industry surveys from recognized research firms
  • Industry-leading websites and blogs
  • Company earnings calls and official statements

Fill in knowledge gaps with expert insights and quotes.

At Backlinko, we often feature expert input from industry veterans to add unique insights and authority to our content.

Backlinko – Ecommerce Website Optimization – Authority quote

Visuals

There’s no way around this:

If you want people to read and share your content, it needs to look GREAT.

This is why we go the extra mile to use high-res screenshots.

These crisp, annotated screenshots prove you’ve actually done what you’re teaching.

And make complex processes instantly understandable.

Charts and data visualizations transform boring numbers into compelling stories that support your key points and make them stick.

We also use custom-designed guides to differentiate my content from competitors.

And boost perceived value.

Backlinko – Custom designed guides – Collage

Examples

When it comes to content, there’s one thing I’ve found to be true almost 100% of the time:

People LOVE examples.

When you hear the words “for example,” your brain breathes a sigh of relief.

It makes learning easier and more relatable.

That’s why we include TONS of examples in every post:

Collage examples

Including examples makes your content easier to understand.

But it also signals E-E-A-T to readers and Google.

Even better? AI can’t replicate it.

When you share specific examples, you demonstrate real-world experience that generic content simply can’t match.

Backlinko – Best Free SEO Tools – Example

Does adding examples take more work than simply saying, “do this”?

Sure.

Is it worth it?

Definitely.

Statistics

Nothing builds credibility faster than strong statistics.

When you back up claims with data from reputable sources, it sends trust signals to both readers and Google.

But not all statistics are created equal. The key is finding data that’s both credible and compelling.

Original data works even better than citing existing studies.

Orbit Media Studios – Blogging Statistics

Whether it’s a full-scale study or a LinkedIn post, it attracts readers and backlinks.

And gives you a serious competitive edge.

Here are the best ways to source original data:

  • Conduct surveys of your audience or industry
  • Analyze your customer data for trends and insights
  • Compile industry benchmarks from multiple sources
  • Track performance metrics over time
  • Interview experts and quantify their insights

Pro tip: Don’t focus solely on new content in your strategy — revisit and refresh older posts, too. Add new stats, update examples, and optimize for today’s search behavior to give them a second life.

Step 5: Promote Your Content

Without strategic promotion, even your best content might never reach your target audience.

The question is: How do you promote your content the right way?

Here are a few simple strategies that actually work.

Create Email Newsletters

This is HUGE.

An email list is the #1 content promotion tool on the planet. Period.

In fact, there isn’t even a close second.

Remember:

Your subscribers are made up of people who LOVE your stuff.

In other words:

They’re people who are very likely to spread the word about your content.

That’s why we share most of our posts with our email subscribers:

Brian email

As you can see, our email doesn’t look like a stuffy corporate newsletter.

In fact, the email looks like it could be from a friend.

This is EXACTLY how you want your emails to look.

So, how did it do?

That single email generated 14,067 total visitors:

Aweber Email Visitors

Nice!

Curate Content Roundups

In case you’re not familiar with them, roundups are posts that curate (or “round up”) awesome content from the week.

The best part?

There are roundups in almost every niche, shared everywhere from social media to email marketing.

For example, this is a LinkedIn roundup from the digital marketing niche:

LinkedIn – Roundup from the digital marketing niche

Here’s why promoting your content to link roundups works so well:

Your pitch actually makes their life easier (yes, really).

I’ll explain…

Roundup curators struggle to find content to include in their roundup.

And when you suggest your new post, you deliver awesome content on a silver platter.

This means there’s no arm-twisting required to get a link.

For example, here’s a LinkedIn roundup that featured one of Backlinko’s articles:

LinkedIn – Roundup featured Backlinko's article

Step 6: Track and Measure Performance

Now it’s time to see how well your content strategy is working.

The question is: How do you know if your content “worked”?

The key is organizing your metrics into two categories that actually matter: business impact and engagement.

Business Impact Metrics

These metrics directly connect to revenue and business growth.

Conversions and Revenue

ROI. Business goals. KPIs.

Whatever you want to call it.

Basically, you’re answering the question:

Is content helping us get more sales?

Measure conversions in Google Analytics.

And consider creating goals for each awareness level.

Conversion events by channel

For example:

  • Most Aware content: Demo requests, pricing page visits, free trials
  • Product Aware content: Comparison page visits, feature page engagement
  • Solution Aware content: Guide downloads, newsletter signups
  • Problem/Unaware content: Blog subscriptions, social follows

If you see conversions moving up, it’s probably a sign that your content marketing is working.

So, you want to add more of that content type to your editorial calendar.

That said:

It’s sometimes hard to track content’s indirect sales impact.

For example:

Brian Dean’s (Backlinko’s founder) conversions that come directly from YouTube were super low:

Analytics – Conversions – YouTube

And if he ONLY looked at Google Analytics, he’d probably say: “YouTube is a waste of time.”

But when he dug a little bit deeper, he could see that his YouTube channel was a HUGE driver of subscribers and sales.

Customers cite his YouTube channel as the main reason that they decide to make a purchase:

STW Survey Monkey responses

This shows that YouTube content is paying off.

Leads Generated

Not all leads are created equal.

Track qualified leads your content generates — people who fit your customer personas and have buying potential.

For example, use UTM parameters on content links to see which pieces drive the most leads.

Campaign URL Builder

If you have a CRM, tag leads by source, so you know which content influenced them.

And score leads based on engagement. Did they read one post or download three guides?

Connect this back to the awareness stages from Step 1:

  • Most Aware content should generate high-intent leads ready for sales conversations
  • Product Aware content should generate leads actively evaluating solutions
  • Solution Aware content should generate leads seeking education and guidance
  • Problem/Unaware content should focus on list building and brand awareness

If your content isn’t generating the right leads for its stage, reassess the intent and quality.

Traffic Quality

Raw traffic numbers mean nothing if visitors bounce immediately.

Focus on engaged traffic — people who actually consume your content and take the next steps.

Key metrics to track:

  • Pages per session: 2+ indicates genuine interest
  • Average session duration: Benchmark against your industry average
  • Bounce rate by content type: Identify which formats keep people engaged
  • Return visitor rate: Shows you’re building an audience, not just attracting one-time visitors

GA4 – Retention – Overview

That said:

Content marketing and SEO can take time to kick in.

For example, look at the traffic numbers from the early days of Backlinko:

Analytics – Backlinko – Early Traffic

As you can see, it took about six months for things to really take off.

And if we gave up early on because content “wasn’t working,” we wouldn’t have seen the huge traffic spike that got us going:

Analytics – Backlinko – Early Traffic – Spike

Backlinko has only continued to grow since.

Persistence pays off when you combine strategic content with consistent execution.

Engagement Metrics

These metrics show how well your content resonates with your audience and predicts future business impact.

Views and Reach

Track how many people your content reaches across different platforms and channels.

What to track:

  • Platform-specific reach: YouTube views, LinkedIn post impressions, blog sessions
  • Audience quality: Use analytics to see if viewers match your ideal customer profile
  • Cross-platform performance: Which channels drive the most engaged traffic to your site

Search Visibility and Rankings

Search visibility is more volatile than ever.

But position tracking remains crucial for monitoring your content’s performance.

Here’s what to monitor:

  • Keyword clusters: Are you ranking for related terms beyond your primary keyword?
  • Featured snippets: Track snippet wins and losses and identify opportunities using a tool like Semrush’s Position Tracking
  • SERP features: Monitor video carousels, image packs, and People Also Ask boxes
  • Click-through rates: Use Google Search Console to see if higher rankings actually drive more clicks
  • LLM appearances: Are LLMs driving people to your site? Check Google Analytics’ traffic acquisition report to see referral traffic from ChatGPT and other AI platforms.

GA – Traffic Acquisition – Session source medium

Further reading: Search Everywhere Optimization Guide + Free Checklist

Time Spent and Watch Time

Monitor how long people stay engaged with your content.

High engagement time signals that your content provides real value.

For example, check your average engagement time per blog post.

GA – Average engagement time per active user

Compare your top performers to identify patterns in the topics that resonate most with your readers.

If you’re on YouTube or another video platform, monitor watch time and audience retention. This will tell you where viewers drop off to improve future videos.

Use this data to find your stickiest topics. Pay attention to the subjects that make people read multiple pages or watch entire videos.

If engagement drops at specific points, you know where to strengthen your content.

Further reading: How to Measure SEO Performance and Results

Audience Interaction

The best content gets people talking, sharing, and coming back for more.

Start by looking at the comments on your blog, videos, and social media posts.

Comments that ask follow-up questions or share personal experiences signal real engagement, not just passive scrolling.

LinkedIn –Semrush post / comment / response

Then, check the native analytics data for any social platforms you’re on.

For example, Pinterest tells you how many times your pins are saved to boards.

Pinterest Analytics – Saves

And Facebook tells you how many times users interacted with your content.

Along with providing details on views and follows/unfollows.

Facebook Page Report

Don’t forget to monitor brand mentions across social platforms.

Tools like Semrush’s Brand Monitoring, Mention, or even Google Alerts can catch when people are talking about your content without tagging you directly.

These organic mentions often indicate the highest quality engagement.

Build Authority into Your Content Strategy

Creating a content strategy takes work, but the ROI is worth it.

When you align content with customer awareness levels, prioritize high-impact topics, and measure what matters, you stop guessing and start growing.

Your next step?

Build topical authority.

The more comprehensively you cover a topic, the more likely you are to show up everywhere that matters.

Including AI search, traditional search, social media, videos, and much more.

Read our Topic Clusters 101 guide to learn how to create clusters that boost visibility and conversions.

The post How to Build a Customer-Focused Content Strategy (6 Steps) appeared first on Backlinko.

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How Brian Dean Would Launch Backlinko in 2025

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In 2012, Brian Dean launched Backlinko with one goal: publish world-class SEO content that ranks.

And it worked.

He built one of the most trusted SEO brands in the world, powered almost entirely by blog posts and Google traffic.

But what if he started today?

We asked him. And here’s what he said.

1. Build a Multimedia Brand from Day One

“Relying 100% on Google traffic isn’t smart anymore.”

The SEO landscape has changed.

AI Overviews are taking clicks.

LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity are replacing Google for early research.

ChatGPT – Site audit template

And algorithm updates keep getting more volatile.

That’s why Brian would focus on multichannel visibility, not just rankings.

He’d still publish SEO-optimized blog posts.

But he’d also build an audience on:

  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • Podcasts

In fact, that’s exactly what he did with Exploding Topics:

Discover Exploding Topics

  • A weekly newsletter sent to 100K+ subscribers
  • Viral threads and carousel content on X and LinkedIn
  • Short-form video for discovery on Instagram

The takeaway?

SEO still matters. But to grow in 2025, you need a brand that travels — not just a blog that ranks.

2. Show Up in ChatGPT

Backlinko traffic from LLMs is up 800% year-over-year.

LLM Unique Visitor Growth

That’s not a fluke.

People are skipping Google and going straight to ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.

Which raises the question: how do you get mentioned in AI answers?

Brian’s top recommendation:

“Publish original data, real insights, and unique strategies.”

If your content says the same thing as everything else online, it gets ignored.

But if it brings something new, you have a shot at being cited.

This is where Brian’s content strategy shines:

  • He shares personal frameworks and coined terms
  • He publishes SEO case studies no one else has
  • He backs advice with real data and experiments

That’s the kind of content LLMs recognize—and cite.

3. Use AI as a Lever, Not a Crutch

Here’s the paradox of 2025:

“Consumer behavior still feels like 2022… but the tools are from the future.”

LLMs can write, research, edit, and brainstorm faster than ever.

But if you use them to pump out generic content?

You’ll disappear.

Instead, Brian recommends using AI as a multiplier:

  • Speed up research
  • Analyze top competitors
  • Rewrite for clarity and style
  • Test content angles before publishing

But the final result should be yours — your voice, your perspective, your experience.

That’s how you stand out in a world of sameness.

Final Word

Brian wrapped our chat with a question for you:

“What’s your strategy for adapting to AI?”

 

Are you experimenting with new formats?

Changing how you publish?

Tracking brand mentions in ChatGPT?

Whatever it is — lean in.

Because in 2025 and beyond, the people who adapt fast are the ones who win.

The post How Brian Dean Would Launch Backlinko in 2025 appeared first on Backlinko.

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Mid-year SEO checkup: What’s working, what’s not? 

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Midway through the year is a good time to see how your SEO is holding up. Search habits shift, rankings change, and AI is reshaping how people find information. A mid-year SEO checkup isn’t about starting over. It’s a check-in to spot what’s working, what’s not, and what to adjust going forward.

Table of contents

Traffic and rankings: What’s changed since January? 

Start your mid-year SEO review by checking how your site is performing, not just on the surface level, but deeper down. Look beyond overall traffic and into individual pages and search queries. What’s still working? What’s losing visibility? The goal is to spot slow shifts early, before they turn into bigger problems. 

Organic traffic trends 

Start with a traffic check in GA4. Compare your organic numbers from January to now, then narrow in on which landing pages have gained or lost ground. After that, use Search Console to see how impressions and clicks line up with the shifts. Look across different devices and locations, as you might notice mobile traffic dropping while desktop stays level. 

As you review, think about what’s changed. Are certain types of content sliding? Is the homepage steady while deeper articles get less visibility? Has something in the layout or search results changed how people interact with your site? These patterns will help you figure out where to adjust. 

Keyword movement and SERP features 

GA4 won’t show you how keywords are doing. For that, use Search Console or Semrush, if you want a more detailed view. It gives you a clearer view of how your top queries are performing and whether their positions are trending up or down. Focus on terms sitting somewhere between positions five and fifteen. These are close to the edge and can shift either way with the smallest change. 

Keep an eye out for new queries your site is now appearing for. Also, check if your content is showing up in features like video carousels, People Also Ask, or AI Overviews. These placements affect clicks, even if rankings stay flat. 

If CTR is dropping, it might be because the answer’s already visible in the search result. That’s common with broad questions or terms that Google can answer directly with a snippet or summary. Some of these shifts started with recent algorithm updates. If you saw a change around that time, that might explain it. 

Being on page one isn’t always enough now. What matters more is how your page shows up and whether it stands out next to everything else. 

Where’s the gap? 

Ranking alone doesn’t mean a page is performing well. Some are still showing up in search but aren’t pulling their weight anymore. Take a look at your top pages from Q1 and compare them to what’s performing now. If something dropped, check for changes. Did the URL structure shift? Was the copy updated? Did anything break during a migration or redesign? 

Segmenting traffic helps spot patterns during your mid-year SEO checkup. Blog content might be holding steady while product pages quietly slip. Or maybe a location page that once performed well is now buried. Sorting traffic this way makes it easier to see where things are improving and where they’ve gone quiet. 

And don’t ignore branded versus non-branded search. If branded terms are down, it may reflect lower awareness. If non-branded terms fell off, that usually points to stronger competition or a shift in search demand. Either way, those are signs to act on, not ignore. 

What to do next in your mid-year SEO review 

As you review performance, note content that’s lost traffic and look at how it aligns with current keyword trends. Some pages may need updates, while others might be better merged or repurposed. If certain pages are still ranking but getting few clicks, flag those, too, as there may be issues with title tags, metadata, or how the content is framed.  

Also, look for signs of new search interest or shifts in consumer behavior that are driving unexpected traffic. Those insights can help guide your Q3 and Q4 planning. A detailed mid-year SEO checkup now helps prevent bigger issues later. Small drops or mismatches in intent can add up over time, especially if you miss the early signs. Use your data to make informed decisions, not just to complete a report. 

Audit and refresh your content 

Not all content holds its value over time. Some pages stop performing due to outdated content, and others never performed well to begin with. A mid-year SEO audit helps you figure out what’s worth updating, combining, or removing altogether. 

Focus first on content that’s lost traffic or rankings. Use Google Search Console to spot declines in impressions and clicks, then compare that with GA4 engagement metrics. If a page ranks but no longer drives real value, or doesn’t match what users are looking for, it likely needs attention. 

Google wants people-first content. So if your site relies on thin tutorials, vaguely rewritten definitions, or pages written more for search engines than real users, those pages may be dragging down your overall SEO performance. 

When refreshing content, lead with clarity. Remove fluff, update stats, and make sure your answer matches the search intent. Don’t just rewrite, make the page genuinely better. In some cases, the fix might be cutting it entirely. If a page hasn’t contributed value or activity recently, rethink why it’s there. 

Diversify and focus on video 

Search results are more visual than they used to be. Video clips now show up in carousels, featured snippets, and AI responses. If your site is still relying on just blog posts, you’re missing opportunities to be seen. 

Short videos, especially how-tos, demos, and explainers, can increase visibility on Google, YouTube, and Discover. They also help with engagement, keeping visitors on your site longer. 

Start by turning high-performing articles into videos. Post them to YouTube, embed them on your site, and add basic schema markup. Just a few clear, well-structured videos can increase your presence in search results and help reach users who don’t want to read through long text. 

Video doesn’t need to be expensive or overly produced. What matters is that it’s useful, focused, and easy to watch. During your mid-year SEO checkup, you might need to improve your video strategy.

Adapting to AI and zero-click searches 

More users are getting answers directly on Google, without clicking anything. With AI Overviews becoming more common across search results, especially for question-based queries, your content needs to work even when there’s no obvious incentive to visit your page. 

That means clear structure, clean markup, and highly readable content that makes it easy for Google to understand the core answer quickly. Place key information high on the page and use a strong title, meta description, and subheadings. Organize your content with scannable sections so it’s more likely to appear in featured results. 

Don’t ignore FAQ or how-to formats, as these can still help Google identify your page’s purpose. Structured data reinforces clarity for both traditional search and AI-generated summaries. 

Zero-click doesn’t mean zero opportunity. Content that’s referenced in AI answers or shown in SERP features can strengthen brand visibility, build trust, and lead to familiar users returning via other channels later. 

What AI Mode means for search visibility 

In addition to AI Overviews, Google is adding a feature called AI Mode. This is a new search experience built for more complex, multi-part queries. It pulls information from several sources and delivers a conversational response with helpful links. 

Instead of listing links, AI Mode breaks down the query, runs multiple related searches, and returns one detailed answer. There’s less space for traditional rankings, but a chance for useful, well-structured content to be included. If your impressions are rising but clicks aren’t, your content may already appear in these summaries. 

While AI Mode is still rolling out, it shows where search is likely headed. And it’s not just Google, as tools like ChatGPT (Search) and Perplexity show that AI-powered discovery is already expanding. As this grows, you might have to rethink how you see content. Learn how to optimize for LLMs using Yoast SEO’s tools.

Refresh your keyword strategy 

Midway through the year is a good time to check if your keyword strategy still aligns with how people are searching. Start with Search Console and any SEO tools you use, and look for shifts in rankings, drops in CTR, or signs that user intent has changed. Some keywords may still rank but deliver less value, while others may be gaining traction. 

Take another look at the SERPs. Are AI Overviews, snippets, or video results pushing your links down? If your content no longer fits the query, it may need a rewrite or a new format. 

Also consider what’s surfaced since Q1. Seasonal queries, comparison searches, and longer questions might now be worth targeting. Even if they bring less volume, they often convert better. Use what you find to adjust your focus for the second half of the year.

Technical SEO clean up

Great content alone isn’t enough if your site’s technical side is holding it back. A mid-year SEO checkup is a good time to inspect the foundation. See how your site loads, how it’s crawled, and whether pages are being properly indexed. 

Start with speed. Use Google’s Core Web Vitals tools to review page load performance. Fix common issues like oversized images, unnecessary scripts, or layout shifts that hurt usability. These things don’t just impact rankings; they also affect how users experience your site, especially on mobile. 

Look at crawlability. Search Console can show you which pages aren’t being indexed, where crawl issues are popping up, or if valid content is being skipped. If strong content still isn’t performing, this could be why. 

In your mid-year SEO checkup, you should also see your internal linking. Important pages should be easy to reach. If key articles or landing pages are buried under layers of clicks or orphaned entirely, Google’s crawlers (and readers) may never find them. 

Finally, check out your structured data. Schema still gives your content a better chance of being understood by search engines. 

A light technical review every few months helps keep things healthy. You don’t need to fix everything at once, but leaving small issues unsolved can turn into long-term performance headaches. 

Monitor competitors and trends 

Search isn’t static, and neither are your competitors. Even if your strategy hasn’t changed much since Q1, theirs might have. A mid-year SEO checkup is a smart idea to see who’s gaining ground, what kind of content is outperforming yours, and what shifts are happening in your space as a whole. 

Start by checking who’s around you in the search results, especially for your highest-value keywords. Are the same domains showing up? Has a competitor overtaken you with fresher content, a better format, or a new angle? Sometimes it’s less about Google’s algorithm and more about someone else simply doing it better. 

Use ranking and backlink tools to identify newer content that’s climbing. What’s different? Is it shorter, clearer, or more visual? Has it earned links or been widely shared? These observations can shape not just what you publish next, but how you structure and present it. 

Whether you’re in an aggressive or stable position, awareness is part of strategy. Without reviewing what others are doing, you don’t have a clear view of what winning looks like right now or how quickly that picture is changing. 

Set clear goals for the rest of the year 

After reviewing performance, updating content, tightening technical issues, and refreshing keywords, the next step in your mid-year SEO checkup is setting focused goals for the rest of the year. 

Keep them specific. A goal like “get more traffic” is too vague to drive clear action. Use what you’ve learned, whether that’s from rankings, audit results, or crawl reports, to define outcomes that are tied to your time, resources, and business needs. 

Look for low-effort wins and long-term improvements. Fix pages that rank but don’t get clicks. Update content that dropped after an algorithm change. Strengthen internal links to help strong posts on the edge of page one move up. These small changes can improve results with less time than starting from scratch. 

If AI features are reducing your traffic on top queries, consider focusing more on visibility than clicks. That might mean leaning into content formats that stand out in summaries, like FAQs or short-form video. 

You can also set process goals: publish more consistently (maybe using workflow improvements from Yoast SEO’s Google Docs add-on), clean up old content, reduce crawl waste, or make reporting easier. These are just as important as traffic-focused targets, and they’re often easier to maintain over time. 

Your goals don’t need to be dramatic. Often, refining what already exists brings more gains than chasing something new. Revisit your targets regularly and track your progress without overthinking it. Most importantly, stay flexible heading into Q4, when search activity and competition both tend to spike.

Yoast SEO for Google Docs add-on SEO analysis feature
Workflow improvements also help, for instance, by integrating Google Docs and Yoast SEO

Do your mid-year SEO checkup

Search has changed a lot since January, and it’s not slowing down. A mid-year SEO strategy review gives you the chance to course-correct, refocus your efforts, and keep momentum going into the back half of the year. 

You don’t need to overhaul everything. Just fix what’s broken, improve what matters, and make better decisions with what you know now. Stay consistent, track what shifts, and keep building. 

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Run An Ecommerce SEO Audit in 4 Stages [+ Free Workbook]

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An ecommerce SEO audit is a 360-degree review of your website’s SEO performance in terms of technical setup, on-page optimization, site structure, backlink profile, and more.

Think of it like a routine check-up for your online store.

Instead of waiting for traffic to drop or sales to slow down, you can proactively find and fix problems before they spiral into revenue leaks.

Done right, an SEO audit helps you:

  • Identify ways to improve rankings and user experience
  • Detect issues affecting your organic performance
  • Protect and sustain long-term growth

More importantly, this audit creates an SEO strategy grounded in data, not guesswork.

In this guide, I’ll break down a 4-stage process for conducting an ecommerce SEO audit.

I’ve also prepared a free audit workbook to help you document findings, prioritize fixes, and drive measurable results.

Download our free ecommerce SEO audit workbook to follow along with our 4-stage approach and resolve issues effortlessly. You’ll also get a troubleshooting guide with fixes for the most common SEO issues.

Backlinko – Ecommerce SEO Audit Workbook

Core Components of an Ecommerce SEO Audit

Unlike a traditional website audit, a well-rounded SEO audit for ecommerce focuses on five key components.

Key difference: A website audit focuses on improving website performance and user experience. On the flip side, an SEO audit targets issues and opportunities to level up your site’s organic visibility and traffic.

Core Components of Ecommerce SEO Audit

1. Technical SEO

Technical SEO ensures search engines can find, crawl, and index your website.

It prevents critical issues like:

This is important for ecommerce websites since URL structures and large inventories can create crawlability concerns.

2. On-Page SEO

On-page SEO allows search engines to understand the content and purpose of each page on your site.

A strong on-page setup includes title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and more.

It also covers internal linking patterns to ensure link equity flows to your most important pages.

3. UX and Performance

This part of the audit evaluates:

It helps optimize your UX, so visitors can easily navigate your store, stay longer, and convert.

4. Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO looks at external signals that influence your site’s authority, such as:

Put simply, off-page SEO covers everything outside your website that shows search engines you’re a trustworthy brand.

5. Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis assesses how your site stacks up against other brands.

Benchmarking your performance against competitors helps you find gaps and opportunities to outrank competitors on organic search.

Now that you know what to audit, let’s walk through how to do it — step by step.

We’ll break it down into four practical stages that map back to the core components.

Download our free audit workbook to better understand every step and implement them for your business.

Backlinko – Ecommerce SEO Audit Workbook – Stages

Stage 1: Can Google Find My Store and Products?

Goal: Make sure products appear in organic search

Tools to use: Sitebulb, Screaming Frog, Semrush Site Audit, Google Search Console

A good ecommerce SEO audit starts by checking whether search engines can actually find, crawl, and index your pages.

No matter how well you optimize pages, they won’t rank or drive traffic if they’re invisible to search engines.

In short: This stage lays the groundwork for everything else that follows.

Here’s what to look for in this stage:

Check If Your Pages Are Indexed in Google

A web page becomes visible in search results and starts ranking only after it’s added to a search engine’s index.

Start your audit by heading to Google Search Console (GSC) to review the index status for your pages.

Open your GSC dashboard and go to the “Pages” report under the index section.

GSC – Indexing Pages – Overview

The report will list all non-indexed pages with specific reasons:

  • Discovered – currently not indexed
  • Crawled – currently not indexed
  • Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag
  • Page with redirect

GSC – Why pages aren't indexed

If pages aren’t added to Google’s index, it could be due to issues with page quality, crawl budget, or duplicate content.

Use the “URL Inspection” tool to learn why a page isn’t indexed yet.

In this example, the URL has been discovered but not indexed.

GSC – URL is not on Google

Press the “Request Indexing” button to manually submit a page for indexing.

Ensure Key Pages Are in Sitemap and Crawlable

A clean, accurate sitemap helps search engines discover your most important pages.

Your sitemap should include hierarchical URLs for all types of pages, like categories, products, product versions, and more.

Here’s what an ecommerce store’s sitemap looks like:

Aurabora – Ecommerce store's sitemap

Check whether your sitemap is updated automatically whenever you add new pages.

Open Google Search Console and go to the “Sitemaps” section.

This report shows when your sitemap was last submitted and read by Google. It also highlights the status and number of URLs discovered.

GSC – Click on sitemap

At the same time, check your robots.txt file.

This file tells search engines which parts of your site they shouldn’t crawl.

Go to yoursite.com/robots.txt to see if you’re unintentionally blocking any pages or folders.

You can use Google’s robots.txt Tester to validate your setup.

GSC – Settings – Robots.txt tester

Further reading: 19 Sitemap Examples for Any Type of Website (+ Best Practices)

Identify and Fix 4xx/5xx Errors That Hurt Visibility

Check your HTTPS status codes to discover pages with 4xx or 5xx errors.

These errors explain why search engines can’t access your pages.

Site Audit – Backlinko – HTTPS Status Codes

Use tools like Screaming Frog and Semrush Site Audit to check your HTTPS status codes.

Here’s how to do it with Semrush:

Go to the Site Audit tool, and add your domain.

Semrush – Site Audit – Start

Follow the steps in this guide to configure and customize your Site Audit project before running the crawl.

When you’re ready, hit “Start audit.”

Ste Audit Settings – Backlinko

Once the results are in, navigate to the “HTTPS” part of the audit overview.

Site Audit – Backlinko – Overview – HTTPS box

Here, you’ll see any issues with HTTPS status codes and how to fix them.

Site Audit – Backlinko – HTTPS status codes issues

You can also go to the “Crawled Pages” section in your report and filter data based on status codes.

For example, I applied the “Issue Status” filter to find pages with broken or blocked status codes.

Site Audit – Crawled Pages – Advanced filters

Here are the filtered results showing all the pages meeting this criteria:

Site Audit – Filtered Crawled Pages

Review all the pages showing errors and plan ways to fix each type of error.

For example, if a page showing the 404 error is outdated and no longer needed, you can remove it from your sitemap.

Next steps: Check out our detailed guide on fixing broken links to improve your site’s SEO health.

Use Canonical Tags to Avoid Duplicate Content

Ecommerce sites often struggle with duplicate content due to multiple product variants or filtering options.

This can confuse search engines and affect your rankings.

That’s why canonical tags are important to tell search engines your
preferred version of a page.

For example, the athleisure brand Alo Yoga uses canonical tags for color variants, such as:

  • Steel grey: airlift-intrigue-bra-steel-grey
  • Anthracite: airlift-intrigue-bra-anthracite

To prevent search engines from seeing these pages as duplicate content, each product variant includes a canonical tag pointing to a single, main product URL.

Alo Yoga – Each product variant includes a canonical tag

Use free canonical checker tools like Detailed to check whether all product variants are canonicalized to the main URL.

Stage 2: Do People Discover and Visit My Pages?

Goal: Attract more clicks from organic search

Tools to use: Semrush Site Audit, Google’s Rich Results Test, Google Search Console

Your next step is optimizing your pages to rank well and appeal to searchers.

Focus on improving how your listings appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) and matching them to the right search intent.

This optimization can boost impressions, traffic, and, ultimately, revenue.

Here’s what to check in this stage:

Optimize Titles and Meta Descriptions for Clicks

Title tags and meta descriptions are often the first thing searchers see.

Are yours compelling enough to earn the click?

For example, when I search for “healthy soda,” I find this page by Zevia Soda.

The title tag emphasizes its main value proposition: Zero Sugar Natural Flavored Soda.

And the meta description doubles down on this, highlighting zero calories and the variety of flavors.

Google SERP – Healthy soda

The bottom line: Write clear, convincing copy for these tags within the ideal word count. Write 60 characters for title tags and 100-120 for meta descriptions to ensure they display well on mobile.

Use Backlinko’s free SEO checker to find any critical issues here.

Add any page and hit “Check SEO” to get started.

Backlinko – Free SEO Checker – Aloyoga – Check SEO

Here’s how the tool flags issues related to your page’s title, headings, meta description, and other elements:

Backlinko – Free SEO Checker – Aloyoga – Issues Overview

Add Structured Schema for Rich Results

Schema markup with tags like Product, Review, and FAQs can enhance your listings with rich snippets.

Visual cues like pricing, ratings, discounts, and delivery details simplify the shopping experience and can boost CTR for your pages.

Here’s how they look:

Google SERP – Cookware sets – Popular products

Google’s Rich Results Test is a helpful tool to validate your schema markup with all these elements.

For example, I ran a test for a hair oil product page to see what kind of rich snippets it has.

The report indicated that this page has four snippets, but some of them are invalid.

Rich Results Test – Product snippets

On further analysis, I discovered that one of the snippets is missing the review and rating fields.

This product listing won’t qualify for full rich results unless you add such required fields to your schema.

Rich Results Test – Product missing field

That’s how you can review schema markup for individual pages.

To check the schema for all your pages, revisit your Site Audit report on Semrush.

In the Overview section, you’ll see data for the “Markup” category.

Site Audit – Backlinko – Overview – Markup box

Press “View details” to get deeper insights about your site’s schema.

For example, the report shows:

  • Number of pages with markup
  • Kind of schema markup for all pages
  • Type of structured data available for your pages.

Site Audit – Backlinko – Markup report

Map Target Keywords to the Right Pages

Another crucial task in this stage is checking whether your keywords align with the actual user behavior and intent.

Map each page to its target keywords and search intent.

Evaluate this map to find pages targeting the wrong keywords or intents. Here’s an example:

Align Keyword Research with Customer Language

You can also run a Google search for your low-ranking keywords and see the kind of pages appearing in SERPs.

Then, compare these top-ranking pages with your content to find areas of improvement.

Further reading: 6 Proven Steps to Master Ecommerce Keyword Research

Optimize Images and Add Alt Text

Your online store can drive significant traffic by optimizing images and multimedia assets.

Image optimization can:

I searched “blue ceramic dinner plates” to see this in action.

Below the usual product listings, the images section also shows product listings for people to browse more options.

Google SERP – Blue ceramic dinner plates – Images

As a part of your audit, check whether your images have relevant file names and keyword-rich alt text.

Semrush’s Site Audit report will also flag images missing alt text attributes.

Site Audit – Backlinko – Issues – Alt attributes

Further reading: 15 Image SEO Tips for Better Image Optimization

Stage 3: Are Visitors Staying and Buying?

Goal: Improve on-site user experience and increase conversions

Tools to use: Google PageSpeed Insights, Google Mobile-Friendly Test, GTmetrix, Hotjar

The next part of your audit explores how shoppers interact with your site and whether they convert or bounce.

You want to know:

  • Are people spending enough time in your store?
  • Are they dropping off after viewing one product?
  • Is something in the user journey causing friction?

If people constantly leave your store without buying, your site’s UX might need help.

Here’s what to check in this stage:

Improve Load Times and Mobile Usability

Slow pages = Poor experience = Higher bounce rate.

An ecommerce site audit reveals which pages are loading slowly and need your attention.

It also tests your website’s responsiveness across different screens, especially mobile devices.

Google PageSpeed Insights is a trusted tool for evaluating your store’s user experience based on Core Web Vitals:

  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading speed
  • First Input Delay (FID): Tracks time to interactivity
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Checks visual stability during load

Here’s an example report I generated:

PageSpeed Insights – Backlinko – Mobile

This page failed to meet the benchmark for a good user experience for mobile devices.

Remember to check the page speed specifically for mobile since Google’s mobile-first indexing approach prioritizes mobile devices.

Further reading: Mobile SEO: The Definitive Guide

Simplify Page Design and UX

Design plays a crucial role in instilling confidence among potential customers.

When you deliver a frictionless user experience with good design elements like CTAs, trust badges, and accessible navigation, users stick around for longer.

This sends powerful signals to search engines and improves SEO metrics like dwell time, page views, bounce rate, and more.

In fact, our ranking factors study reveals that pages with a higher “time on site” tend to rank higher in Google.

Get it right: Check out our best practices for SEO-friendly web design to create an intuitive user experience for your store.

Fix Pages Targeting the Same Keyword

Ecommerce sites often have multiple pages targeting the same keyword, like category filters or similar products.

As a result, many pages compete against each other for a keyword.

Since search engines can’t decide which page to rank higher, your rankings are diluted.

Refer to your Site Audit report to find errors pointing to duplicate content and identify:

  • Near-identical pages competing for the same keywords
  • Variants (color, size) are published as separate URLs

Pro tip: Use canonical tags, merge similar pages, or differentiate your content to fix cannibalization issues. Explore these solutions in our guide on keyword cannibalization.

Add Internal Links to Boost Relevance

Strategic internal links create logical paths between pages, keep users engaged longer, and distribute authority.

So, even if searchers land on one of your blog posts, they can find their way to a relevant product page and make a purchase.

Here’s how Tonal, a fitness equipment brand, does this in its articles:

Tonal – Internal links to boost relevance

Stage 4: Where Am I Behind My Competitors?

Goal: Identify and close SEO gaps to outperform competitors

Tools to use: Semrush SEO Toolkit, Moz Link Explorer, SimilarWeb

In the final stage of your ecommerce SEO site audit, broaden the scope and look at the competition.

If a competitor ranks above you for key terms or earns better backlinks, they’re claiming traffic that could be yours.

So, understand your competitive landscape to identify missed opportunities for your SEO efforts.

Audit and Strengthen Your Backlink Profile

Backlinks are another critical ranking signal.

If you operate in a competitive category, backlinks can have a decisive impact on your organic visibility and traffic.

Start with a backlink audit to see where you currently stand.

This audit will help you discover:

  • High-authority domains are already linking to your site
  • Toxic or spammy links that may hurt your rankings
  • Pages earning the most backlinks (and why)
  • Opportunities to reclaim or build new backlinks

You can also benchmark your backlink profile against competitors and plan the next steps.

I used Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool to compare Fabletics’ backlink profile with two competitors.

You can add up to four main competitors and press “Find prospects.”

Backlink Gap – Fabletics – Find prospects

The tool will analyze every site’s backlinks and show you curated prospects for your site.

You can find the best, strong, weak, shared, and unique domains that link to your competitors but not to you.

For Fabletics, the tool suggests domains like healthline.com, usnews.com, americanexpress.com, and more.

Use this data to prioritize outreach or content partnerships for your link-building efforts.

Backlink Gap – Fabletics – Prospects for

Uncover Keyword Gaps and Ranking Opportunities

Use tools like Semrush’s Keyword Gap or SimilarWeb to see which keywords your competitors rank for but you don’t.

This can help you:

  • Identify new content opportunities
  • Strengthen underperforming pages
  • Reclaim rankings for keywords you’ve lost visibility on

Focus especially on high-intent, bottom-funnel terms that drive conversions, not just traffic.

For example, let’s say a competitor ranks for “buy minimalist running shoes.”

If you sell the same type of product but don’t appear in search, that’s a clear gap — and a chance to win back visibility.

How to Prioritize SEO Issues You Identify in a Site Audit

When you’re looking at a laundry list of issues from your SEO audit, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

Everything looks important. Where do you even begin?

Our SEO audit workbook automatically calculates the priority level based on every issue’s impact, effort, and scope.

Backlinko – Ecommerce SEO Audit Workbook – Stage one

Impact

Find out how fixing an issue will move the needle for your business.

  • Will it increase traffic, rankings, or conversions?
  • Or, will it go largely unnoticed by search engines and shoppers?

The easiest way to determine impact is by looking at which pages are affected.

If high-revenue category or product pages are at stake, it’s a high-impact problem.

But if the problem is restricted to low-ranking blog posts, then the stakes are lower.

Effort

Once you’ve categorized issues on a scale of low to high impact, consider the effort required to fix each one.

Realistically calculate effort in terms of time, technical complexity, and capacity required to resolve a problem.

Scope

Scope looks at scale.

Estimate how big the problem is by checking if it’s:

  • Isolated
  • Page-level
  • Site-wide

And if it’s a page-level concern, you want to zoom into the type of pages affected.

Prioritization Framework

Here’s how you can prioritize issues based on impact, effort, and scope:

  • Priority 1 (Quick wins): Resolving these concerns can lead to significant SEO gains without draining resources
  • Priority 2 (Can be urgent): Some of these issues need attention because they can affect your key revenue drivers
  • Priority 3 (Rarely urgent): Automating or handling these issues in monthly cycles is a good bet
  • Priority 4 (Low impact): Spending resources on these time-consuming tasks can delay more meaningful work

Here are a few examples to see this prioritization framework in action:

Backlinko – Ecommerce SEO Audit Workbook – Issues

Troubleshooting Guide

We created a quick guide listing the solutions for some of the most common SEO issues for ecommerce stores.

When you’re ready with a prioritized list, refer to this guide to find potential causes and solutions quickly.

Backlinko – Ecommerce SEO Audit Workbook – Troubleshooting Guide

Build a Store That Google (and Shoppers) Love

Your online store has untapped potential.

A structured SEO audit gives you clarity to realize this potential.

It pinpoints where you’re losing traffic, which pages are underperforming, and what fixes will move the needle.

Work through our ecommerce SEO audit checklist to identify issues and implement solutions.

And when you’re ready to level up your strategy, check out our guide on the best strategies for ecommerce SEO.

It’s packed with examples, workflows, and tools to help you turn organic traffic into your best-performing channel.

The post Run An Ecommerce SEO Audit in 4 Stages [+ Free Workbook] appeared first on Backlinko.

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Redesigning onboarding for impact: A service design approach 

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First impressions stick, especially in UX. When we saw that new users of our Yoast SEO for Shopify app were skipping key steps or dropping off early, we knew our onboarding wasn’t working. Using journey mapping and service blueprints, we redesigned the experience to be faster, clearer, and more supportive from the start. Here’s how small, well-timed changes made a big difference. 

Table of contents

Launching an improved onboarding experience 

We recently launched a redesigned onboarding experience to help Shopify merchants set up for success. Behind that update is a bigger story: how thoughtful UX decisions, team-wide alignment, and service design methods reshaped the user experience. And we mean that in the broadest sense, from discovery to giving users the feeling that the app is working for them and helping them succeed. 

In this interview, we spoke with our UX designer, Tom Ottjes, who led the project to unpack that process. His answers will offer a closer look at the problems we needed to solve, the tools he used to communicate across teams, and the omnichannel changes that made the biggest difference. 

Before you start reading, here’s a quick animation showing the various parts of the service blueprint we worked on. Of course, there’s much more, but we cannot show you everything.

From patterns to priorities 

Before redesigning a single screen, the team needed a way to understand and communicate what wasn’t working. They needed to uncover what had to change to fix the experience for people in a way that also helped us achieve our company goals. That’s where service design tools, particularly customer journey maps and service blueprints, came in. 

Customer journey mapping helped visualize what users were experiencing from discovery through installation and first use. It highlights not only the steps customers take but also where they become confused, hesitant, or drop off. Based on support conversations, surveys, and analytics, the journey map revealed several issues. One of those issues was a lack of early guidance, which led to missed configuration steps, among other things. 

Before we moved on to action, we wanted to define success by determining KPIs. This is an essential step. It will help shape the direction of the service and experience you will be designing. Instead of viewing onboarding as just a UI problem, the service blueprint mapped every user action alongside the systems, processes, and people behind them. This included content, customer support, notifications, and working within Shopify’s own platform constraints. 

Because it connects what’s visible to the user with what happens behind the scenes, a service blueprint became central to the project. It gave every team, from UX to development, support, and marketing, a shared reference point. By mapping each phase as its own blueprint, the team could prioritize quick wins while keeping an eye on a longer-term onboarding vision. 

It turned a complex, cross-functional issue into something everyone could contribute to. The blueprint helped make improvements easier to design, build, and test in smaller, clearer parts. 

A real example: Turning uncertainty into reassurance for larger stores 

One of the more surprising and important insights from our service blueprinting process was about scale. We discovered that while the app felt fast and responsive for smaller Shopify stores, larger ones had a very different experience. For shops with tens of thousands of products and pages, the initial processing and indexing step could take anywhere from several minutes to a few hours. 

The problem? We weren’t telling users that. Small stores would see their data reflected almost instantly. Large stores would land on a blank dashboard, with no indication that the system was still working in the background. From the user’s perspective, it looked like nothing was happening. 

We addressed this with a series of small but intentional changes. First, we introduced a proper loading state with messaging acknowledging what was happening. Then, we added an email field to that screen, giving users the option to be notified when setup was complete. When they enter their email, they receive a confirmation message once everything is ready. 

It’s a small detail, but one that shifts how the experience feels. Instead of confusion or doubt, users now get feedback, a sense of transparency, and a way to re-engage later. And for us, it’s a concrete example of why aligning the front-end and back-end through service design actually matters. 

Meet the designer

Meet the UX designer: Tom Ottjes

This interview is with Tom Ottjes, one of Yoast’s UX designers. He led the onboarding redesign for our Shopify app and was co-responsible for designing the Yoast AI features. With several years of experience working across product and marketing, his approach centers on translating user behavior into actionable design. Much of his work focuses on simplifying complex flows, improving user guidance, and helping teams understand the customer journey. 

Tom, what problem were you seeing that made this project a priority? 

With our Yoast SEO for Shopify app, we strive to deliver real, tangible value to our users. That starts with understanding their experience from the moment they install the app. Through a combination of user surveys, interviews, support request analysis, and product analytics, we began to see clear patterns emerge. 

There were three main friction points we kept hearing and seeing: 

  1. A lack of guidance: Many users simply didn’t know how to use the app effectively. They installed it but weren’t sure what to do next to optimize their store. 
  2. Unclear value delivery: We noticed that crucial steps, like completing the ‘Site representation’ settings, which unlock immediate SEO benefits, were often skipped. That told us users weren’t seeing the connection between setup actions and real results.  
  3. Hesitation to engage with the free trial: Users were wary of testing the app, unsure of what the trial included or whether it was truly risk-free. 

All of these insights pointed to one thing: the onboarding experience wasn’t doing its job. It wasn’t guiding, reassuring, or demonstrating value early enough. We visualized all these issues in a detailed customer journey map, helping us to zoom out and see broader patterns. We found different user types, where they dropped off, and what confused them. That map became a key alignment tool and helped us frame the onboarding redesign as a top-priority project. 

What would success look like for you from the user’s perspective? 

From the user’s point of view, success meant feeling confident and supported from the very first interaction with our app. We wanted users to land in the onboarding flow and immediately understand two things: how the app can help them improve their Shopify store’s SEO, and what steps to take first to see results. 

That meant offering a smoother, more intuitive experience. An experience that clearly communicated value upfront, provided improved guidance around initial setup steps, and highlighted key features. It should also assure users that trying the app was safe and worthwhile. 

First, we wanted to help users quickly understand the full value of the app. In addition, we wanted users to complete key onboarding actions such as filling out their ‘Site representation’ settings and exploring core features relevant to their store. Emotionally, we aimed for a sense of clarity, trust, and motivation to continue. 

Ultimately, if a user could say, ‘I know exactly what this app does, what I need to do, and I can already see it working for me,’ then we knew we were on the right track. 

The new onboarding helps introduce the app and guides the user through the set up

Can you explain your service design process and how it helped the teams? 

After mapping the current onboarding journey and identifying the key pain points, we knew we didn’t just need a better UI. We needed a more holistic service experience. That’s where service blueprinting came in. 

We started by defining clear KPIs to measure the impact of our changes, such as completion rates for critical onboarding steps, time to value, and feature discovery. These metrics gave us a shared definition of success and helped shape the direction of the user experience. 

Then we used the service blueprinting method to reimagine onboarding as a complete service. A service blueprint maps the relationships between people, processes, and touchpoints tied to a customer journey. It helped us visualize both what the user sees and everything happening behind the scenes to support that experience, from content strategy to customer support workflows to engineering requirements. 

This systems-level view was essential in aligning multiple teams, like UX, development, marketing, and support. Everyone could see how their work connected to the user’s experience and where coordination was needed. It also helped us identify internal gaps, inefficiencies, or dependencies early, so we could design around them. 

To move quickly and deliver value incrementally, we broke the optimized onboarding journey into phases, prioritizing what would have the most immediate impact for users. That approach lets us ship improvements faster while staying grounded in a long-term vision for the onboarding experience. 

We approached the whole effort using a service design mindset. We zoomed out to understand the system users interact with, not just the screens they see. Service blueprinting helped us take what users were experiencing (empathy and insight), identify internal blockers, and structure releases around clear hypotheses. It wasn’t just about delivering onboarding, but about improving the service behind it. 

How are you tracking whether it’s helping users get started faster? 

From the start, we knew that redesigning onboarding wasn’t just about launching something new. We wanted to prove it made a difference. So, we defined clear KPIs to measure the impact of our changes. To make this measurable, we built the tracking infrastructure needed to monitor user behavior at each step. 

But we didn’t stop at numbers. We also incorporated qualitative customer listening tools, things like in-app feedback, support conversations, and interviews. As we wanted to understand how users feel as they move through onboarding. 

Are there still improvements to make? 

Absolutely, because onboarding is never truly ‘finished.’ It’s an evolving experience, and we see it as a continuous opportunity to better support our users. 

The next phase of our optimized onboarding journey will focus on deepening the guidance we provide, helping users go beyond setup and start making more meaningful improvements to their store. We’re looking at how we can better surface insights, suggest next steps based on context, and empower users to unlock even more value with confidence. 

While I can’t share all the details just yet, I can say this: we’re not stopping at getting users through the door. We’re focused on helping them thrive once they’re inside. 

Good things are coming. As always, we’re listening closely to our users to make sure what we build truly meets their needs. 

Pro tips for getting started with service blueprinting 

Thinking of using service blueprinting in your own work? Here are a few things that helped us: 

  • Start with a real journey: Mapping is most useful when it’s grounded in actual user behavior. Use support data, interviews, and analytics to anchor the blueprint in real problems. 
  • Define what “success” means upfront: Before mapping, align your team on what outcomes you’re working toward (e.g., faster time to value, fewer drop-offs). 
  • Map front-end + back-end: Don’t just track what users see. Include internal systems, support workflows, engineering dependencies, and anything that influences the experience. 
  • Keep roles visible: Show which team is responsible for which process. It keeps conversations focused and collaboration smoother. 
  • Don’t overcomplicate: A blueprint doesn’t need to be a polished artifact. Start simple. The value is in getting teams aligned, not in how it looks. 

Blueprinting doesn’t replace good UX research or design, but it’s a powerful way to connect them to the broader experience. If you’re working on anything cross-functional, it’s absolutely worth trying. 

A shared understanding drives real change 

This project wasn’t just about shipping a new flow. We wanted to design with a clear, shared understanding of our users and the processes that support them. 

Our service blueprint turned out to be a great tool to align teams around a single goal: helping users quickly see the value of the Yoast SEO for Shopify app. Along the way, we uncovered friction, mapped dependencies, and built toward something more consistent, supportive, and effective. 

Thoughtful onboarding is the start of everything that follows. By making those early minutes feel clear, calm, and grounded in real outcomes, we’ve not only improved setup times and reached our KPIs but also changed how we work, design, and listen together. 

The work continues, focusing on feature onboarding, improved guidance, and even future WordPress experiences. Together, we’ll apply these lessons from now on. We’ll design by putting users first, build teamwork on transparency, and create experiences that guide, not just onboard. 

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