The ugly truth: Most websites still look like they were designed in 2012.
I’ve been designing websites for SEO for 10+ years.
Your website's layout WILL make or break your SEO.
Luckily, web design tools make it easy today.
Here's 5 design hacks to implement immediately:
1/ Eyebrow Style H1’s
+ Add a little extra content above headings.
+ Style your H1 as “Eyebrow Text” to directly match the page.
+ Use your H2 more boldly to introduce the page.
It follows the natural flow of a website, so it’s a modern experience
2/ Affixed Scroll Areas
+ It’s position is fixed as you scroll.
+ Have a bold title/image on the left side.
+ And more detailed text on the right side.
Improves content on a page without being overwhelming:
3/ Anchor Glossaries
+ It is a glossary list on a long page.
+ These help you double up key terms on the page.
+ Improved UX giving visitors shortcuts to sections.
+ Makes it easier to navigate.
See the left hand side on this example:
4/ Accordions
+ An expandable and collapsible widget, used for FAQs mostly.
+ Build FAQ titles as H3s and wrap answers as P tags.
+ Addresses common questions without compromising design.
See how aesthetically pleasing this looks:
5/ Post Date & Update Placement
+ Helps search engines identify the “freshness” of information.
+ Include original publish date & last edit date.
+ Include it at the bottom of the post body above the footer.
See an example here:
I teamed up with @JeffGapinski on this post.
Jeff's a web design genius. I'm pretty good at SEO.
To help you make your website sell more.
SEO isn't just content and backlinks.
It comes down to design, UX, and CRO as well.
@JeffGapinski Advice: Implement these tips today or give it to your team.
Opinion: Your SEO is only as good as your CRO. Drive the RIGHT traffic and convert them into leads and customers.
Bonus: I collab’d with @JeffGapinski on this post. Go follow him for daily web design & CRO tips!
@JeffGapinski What would you add?
♻️ REPOST and help businesses everywhere improve their SEO design.
P.S. Want in-depth SEO and marketing advice every Sunday? Join 6,500+ on my newsletter: connorgillivan.com/newsletter
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How to SEO for your Ideal Customer (9 step checklist):
"Know thy customer".
If you don't, your SEO will suffer.
Here's a proven SOP to follow:
1. Demographics
• Pinpoint age, location, income, and education level of your target audience.
• Let it tailor your content tone, formality, and relevance.
2. Search Intent
• Identify whether they’re looking for information, comparing options, or ready to buy.
• Match content type (e.g., blog post, comparison page, or product page) to their intent.
3. Pain Points
• Understand the main challenges or problems they’re facing.
• Address these directly in content to provide valuable solutions.
4. Preferred Content Types
• Know if they prefer blogs, videos, reviews, or infographics.
• Shape your content strategy around these formats for higher engagement.
5. Buying Motivation
• Determine what drives their purchase decisions (e.g., quality, price, or convenience).
• Highlight these motivators in product descriptions and CTAs.
6. Common Keywords
• Discover keywords your persona frequently searches for.
• Use these in content, headings, and meta descriptions to align with their queries.
7. Objections and Barriers
• Identify reasons why they might hesitate to buy (e.g., cost, trust, lack of knowledge).
• Create FAQ or educational content to address these concerns.
8. Preferred Channels
• Know where they spend time online, like social media or forums.
• Share and promote content where they’re most active to drive traffic.
9. Decision-Making Process
• Understand if their decisions are quick, or if they compare extensively first.
• Offer resources like comparison guides or testimonials to aid their process.
Age, location, income, and education level of your target audience.
Helps tailor content tone, formality, and relevance.
2. Search Intent
Identify whether they’re looking for information, comparing options, or ready to buy.
Match content type (e.g., blog post, comparison page, or product page) to their intent.
- Use Site Explorer
- Search top competitor’s domain
- Head to the “Backlinks” tab
- Sort by “DoFollow” & filter by URL Rating 30+
Now you’ve got a full list of the sites linking to them.
Step 2: Find Content They’re Getting Links To
- Click “Linked Page” to see what earned the backlink
- Look for blog posts, guides, data reports, or tools
- Ask: “Can I create something better?”
(Hint: 90% of the time, yes.)
"You're an SEO expert with 10+ years of experience. Build a list of 100+ relevant subtopics using the hub and spoke method for the keyword: “SEO content creation.”
2. Keyword Research
"You're an expert in SEO keyword research. List low competition long-tail keywords related to: <insert main keyword>."
My Winning SEO Funnel Strategy (BOFU, MOFU, TOFU):
To win in SEO, you need to go after the right keywords.
And you need to understand how the SEO funnel works.
So you go after keywords that actually create revenue.
Here's the breakdown:
TOFU
→ “Top of funnel”
→ To build awareness.
→ People learning a topic. Not looking to purchase.
→ Builds authority w/ educational content
→ Most impacted by Google’s AI Overviews
→ Ex: “what is link building in seo?”
MOFU
→ “Middle of funnel”
→ People researching + comparing options.
→ Best for comparisons, “how-to’s”, case studies.
→ Ex: “best link building tools in 2025”
How to Start SEO from Scratch with AI (5 simple steps):
If you're a business owner, marketer, or SEO, this is for you.
Follow these 5 steps w/ Writesonic to jumpstart your SEO.
1/ Build a Hub and Spoke Map
- Prompt: "Create a Hub and Spoke map for {insert website URL}. Break it down into 5 main Hubs and 3-5 Spokes per Hub."
- Output: You'll get areas of content to focus your keyword research and SEO efforts on.
2/ Find BOFU & MOFU Keywords
- Prompt: "Find BOFU and MOFU keywords for {insert website URL} which offers {insert main products/services}."
- Output: Important keywords with high intent to analyze and prioritize.