SEO essentials

Question 1

What is SEO and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

SEO (search engine optimisation) is the practice of making your site easy for search engines to crawl, understand and rank. Done well, it brings free targeted traffic for years.

Question 2

What is the difference between on-page and technical SEO?

Accepted Answer

On-page SEO covers content, headings and internal links. Technical SEO covers crawlability, speed and structured data. Blanca's Builder ships technical SEO by default and helps you with on-page.

Question 3

What makes a good page title?

Accepted Answer

60 characters or fewer, with the primary keyword near the front and a clear value proposition. Each page should have a unique title — Blanca's Builder warns on duplicates.

Question 4

Are meta descriptions still important?

Accepted Answer

They do not affect ranking directly but they drive click-through from the search results. Aim for 140-160 characters and include a clear call to action.

Question 5

How should I use H1, H2 and H3 headings?

Accepted Answer

One H1 per page (the topic), H2s for main sections and H3s for subsections. The hierarchy helps both screen readers and search engines understand the page.

Question 6

How do I do keyword research as a beginner?

Accepted Answer

Start with the words your customers use. Validate with a tool like Google Keyword Planner or Semrush. Target one primary phrase per page plus 2-3 related terms.

Question 7

Why are internal links important?

Accepted Answer

Internal links spread authority across your site and help search engines discover new pages. Every important page should be reachable in three clicks or fewer from the homepage.

Question 8

What is a canonical tag and when do I need it?

Accepted Answer

A canonical tag tells search engines which URL is the master version when several URLs serve similar content. Blanca's Builder emits one on every page automatically.

Question 9

What is structured data and which types should I add?

Accepted Answer

Structured data (JSON-LD) describes your content to search engines. Organization, Article, FAQPage, Product and BreadcrumbList are the most common and Blanca's Builder emits them where relevant.

Question 10

Do images need alt text for SEO?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Alt text is essential for accessibility and helps images rank in Google Images. Describe what the image shows — do not stuff keywords.

Question 11

What does an SEO-friendly URL look like?

Accepted Answer

Short, lowercase, hyphen-separated and descriptive: /blog/restaurant-seo-checklist beats /post?id=4827. Blanca's Builder generates them from the page title automatically.

Question 12

Does longer content rank better?

Accepted Answer

Not by length itself, but in-depth pages tend to cover more queries. Write to fully answer the topic — usually 800-2000 words for cornerstone pages.

Question 13

Is duplicate content penalised?

Accepted Answer

Search engines do not penalise duplicates — they pick one version to show. Use canonical tags and avoid copying competitor copy so the right page ranks.

Question 14

When should I use noindex on a page?

Accepted Answer

Use noindex on thank-you pages, internal tools, faceted search URLs and low-value duplicate pages. Never noindex pages you want traffic for.

Question 15

Do breadcrumbs help SEO?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Breadcrumbs improve user navigation and Google can show them in search snippets when paired with BreadcrumbList structured data.

Question 16

How do I get other sites to link to me?

Accepted Answer

Publish useful content, write guest articles, get listed in industry directories and partner with non-competing brands. Avoid paid link networks — they trigger penalties.

Question 17

What is E-E-A-T and why does Google care?

Accepted Answer

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Show author bios, source citations and real-world experience so Google trusts the content.

Question 18

Is mobile-first SEO important?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Google indexes the mobile version of your site. Blanca's Builder is mobile-first by default and the launch checklist verifies mobile Core Web Vitals.

Question 19

Which SEO tools should I use?

Accepted Answer

Google Search Console (free, essential), Semrush or Ahrefs for keyword and backlink research, and PageSpeed Insights for performance. Built-in audits cover the basics.

Question 20

How long until SEO efforts pay off?

Accepted Answer

Indexing takes days; ranking improvements usually appear in 3-6 months and compound from there. Consistent publishing beats one-off pushes.