SEO isn’t dark magic. It’s more like dating: you need to know what the other person likes, what to say, and how to act so they notice you. With Google it’s the same. Understand what it wants and how it likes to be talked to, and you’re already halfway there. And no, you don’t need a crystal ball. You need tools, criteria, and patience.
Start by putting your site in front of a tool that tells you the truth
If you’ve never opened Google Search Console, you’re basically flying blind. That free tool shows you which pages get impressions, which keywords trigger them, your average position, and where you’re losing clicks. It’s the closest thing to having a private detective for your website.
Paid tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs go deeper: they reveal competitor keywords, backlink gaps, and technical errors Search Console doesn’t flag. But here’s the thing: you don’t need all of them at once. Start with Search Console, then add one paid tool when you actually know what to look for.
When you analyze the SEO of a website, the first thing you should check is indexability. If Google can’t crawl or index your pages, nothing else matters. Go to the Coverage report in Search Console and fix any ‘Excluded’ or ‘Error’ status before touching a single keyword.
Keywords: the little magic words that decide everything
Keywords are the phrases people type into Google to find you. If you sell running shoes, those words need to appear naturally on your site, but stuffing them in like a maniac will get you flagged as spam and sent to the shadows.
What actually works in 2026 is search intent. A keyword like ‘best running shoes for flat feet’ isn’t the same as ‘buy running shoes online’. One wants information, the other wants a transaction. If you mix them up, Google notices, and so do users.
Use long-tail keywords with high impact and decent volume. They’re less competitive, more specific, and convert better. Tools like Google Keyword Planner, AnswerThePublic, or even Google’s autocomplete give you gold if you pay attention.
Links: the bridges that make or break your SEO analysis
Think of internal links as bridges connecting your pages. If those bridges are broken or lead nowhere, that’s bad news. Google uses them to understand your site structure and distribute authority. A page nobody links to internally is practically invisible.
External links work differently. When powerful, relevant websites link to you, it’s like cool people vouching for you. Google pays close attention to that. But not all links are equal: a link from a random spam directory can hurt you more than help you.
Audit your backlinks with Ahrefs or Search Console’s Links report. Disavow the toxic ones, and focus on earning links from sites that actually matter in your niche. Quality over quantity, always.
Mobile performance: if your site crawls, you lose
Most people browse from their phone now. If your site takes longer than a snail to load or looks broken on a small screen, you’re losing points with Google and with users. Period.
Run Google PageSpeed Insights on your key pages. Look at Core Web Vitals: LCP should be under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds, and CLS under 0.1. If you’re above those numbers, you’ve got work to do.
Common fixes: compress images, use a CDN, lazy-load below-the-fold content, and cut unnecessary JavaScript. It sounds technical, but the payoff in rankings is real.
Content that answers questions, not just fills space
Throwing keywords around like crazy doesn’t work anymore. Your site needs to answer what people actually want to know. If someone lands on your page and doesn’t find the answer fast, they leave. Google interprets that as a bad result and drops you.
Structure your content with clear headings, short paragraphs, and direct answers. Cover related subtopics so Google sees your page as a complete resource. That’s how you get cited by AI overviews and LLMs too.
And here’s a non-negotiable: update your content. A page from 2022 with outdated data won’t rank in 2026. Refresh it, add current examples, and keep the dates honest.
My trick to analyze SEO without losing your mind
Do it step by step. Don’t try to fix everything at once or you’ll end up pulling your hair out. Start with the easiest wins: fast loading, mobile-friendly design, and fixing indexation errors.
Then move to keywords, then links, then content. Little by little you’ll see how you climb up in Google. There’s no shortcut, but there’s a smart order.
If you’re doing local SEO, like a business in Getafe or any city, add Google Business Profile optimization and local citations to the list. Local search has its own rules, and ignoring them is a rookie mistake.
SEO isn’t about tricking Google. It’s about making your site the obvious answer to a real question. Do that, and the rankings follow.
