1. Use Relevant Keywords Strategically: Research keywords your audience is searching for and naturally incorporate them into titles, headings, URLs, and content. Avoid keyword stuffing, as it can harm your rankings.
2. Optimize for Local and Voice Search: As voice search grows, incorporate natural, conversational phrases like “What are Western’s undergraduate programs?” to align with user search behavior.
3. Optimize Meta Titles, Descriptions, and URLs: Create unique meta titles (under 60 characters) and descriptions (50–160 characters) that include keywords and encourage clicks. Keep URLs short, descriptive, and keyword-rich to improve readability and rankings.
4. Structure Content with Clear Headings: Use proper heading tags (H1, H2, H3) to organize content, improve readability, and help search engines understand your page structure. Note: In Cascade, H1 tags are automatically set to use your page title.
5. Ensure Mobile-Friendliness: Make sure your site is responsive, with images optimized and layouts that adapt smoothly to mobile devices. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites in search rankings.
6. Enhance Content with Multimedia: Add videos, images, and other media to make content more engaging and increase time on page. Optimize media by compressing files, using descriptive filenames, and adding alt text to improve accessibility and search visibility. For images, aim for load times under three seconds by compressing images, and minimize JavaScript by limiting the number of third-party embeds on your page.
7. Incorporate Internal Links: Link to relevant pages within your site to help search engines discover content and improve site structure. Internal links also guide visitors to related content, keeping them engaged longer.
8. Align Content with User Intent: Create content that matches the user’s goal and reason for visiting your site. Google prioritizes content that is informative, well-structured, and user-friendly, boosting engagement and click-through rates.
9. Keep Content Fresh: Regularly review and update content to maintain accuracy and relevance. Fresh content signals search engines that your site is active, which can improve rankings. Build credibility with a mix of timely updates (news and announcements) and evergreen pages (program overviews, faculty profiles). Improve site structure and engagement by linking related content—such as connecting department pages to relevant news articles—while ensuring accuracy and accessibility.
10. Minimize PDF Use: PDFs are harder to optimize for SEO and offer a less user-friendly experience than web pages. Whenever possible, convert key content into regular web pages to improve accessibility, engagement, and search performance.
11. Improve Site Speed: Optimize loading times by compressing images, enabling caching, and reducing unnecessary scripts. Faster sites offer a better user experience and rank higher in search results.

Additional Tools & Resources:

• SEO tools
• Search engine simulator
• Title tags
• Meta descriptions
• Google SERP Snippet Optimization
• Course - Semrush Academy