SEO Tips I Wish I Knew — Expert Advice from Reddit Users

Introduction — Based on Reddit Discussions

This article summarizes and expands on a long Reddit thread where SEO practitioners shared the seo tips they wish they’d known earlier in their careers. Below you’ll find the consensus, the points people disagreed on, specific tactical tips from multiple contributors, and expert-level commentary to turn those insights into a practical 90-day plan.

What Redditors Agreed On (The Consensus)

• Fix technical issues first: Site speed, mobile usability, HTTPS, proper redirects and clean indexing rules were repeatedly flagged as high-impact, low-hanging fruit.
• Write for intent, not keywords: Analyze search intent and create content that satisfies it — ranking follows relevance and usefulness.
• Quality over quantity: Long lists of thin pages rarely work. Focus on comprehensive, well-structured content and prune or consolidate low-value pages.
• Internal linking and architecture matter: A logical site structure and strategic internal links distribute authority and improve indexing.
• Measure everything: Use Search Console, analytics, and log files to validate changes and catch regressions early.

Where Redditors Disagreed

• Backlinks vs. content-first: Some argued backlinks are still the dominant ranking factor and should be the priority; others said backlinks matter less if content and UX are exceptional.
• Content length: Many recommended long-form pillar content, while a minority insisted shorter concise answers can outrank long posts when they match intent better.
• Disavow usage: A few recommended regular use of the disavow file as a cleanup tool; most advised it be used rarely and only for clear spam or manual penalties.
• Tools and tactics: There were differing views on the best link-building strategies (outreach, guest posts, PR, HARO) and whether to invest heavily in paid tools early.

Concrete SEO Tips Shared by Reddit Users

Here are the most practical, repeatable tips that came up in the thread. Each has been paraphrased and grouped for clarity.

Technical SEO

• Run a crawl (Screaming Frog, Sitebulb) and prioritize fixes: broken links, redirect chains, duplicate titles, missing meta descriptions, and canonical issues.
• Improve site speed: compress images, enable lazy loading correctly, remove render-blocking JS/CSS, and use a CDN. Measure with Lighthouse and field data (Core Web Vitals).
• Check server logs to see how search engine bots behave and to find crawl anomalies or non-indexable resources.
• Use canonical tags and noindex directives thoughtfully — avoid letting faceted navigation create massive duplicate content.

Content Strategy

• Start with SERP analysis: identify intent, common content formats (lists, how-tos, product pages), and gaps you can fill.
• Create topic clusters: a strong pillar page supported by cluster content helps build topical authority and internal linking structure.
• Update old content — refresh data, add examples, optimize for new keywords. Content pruning (merge/delete) can lift site quality scores.
• Optimize title tags and meta descriptions for CTR; run A/B tests on titles if possible.

Link Building & Outreach

• Personalize outreach and focus on relevance. Quantity without relevance rarely produces sustainable results.
• Use a mix of tactics: contributor posts, broken-link reclamation, PR-driven content, and targeted partnerships.
• Track referral traffic and organic visibility gains from each campaign to measure ROI rather than just counting links.

Tracking & Measurement

• Verify and monitor Google Search Console and Google Analytics (GA4) — set up conversion goals and event tracking early.
• Use annotations and changelogs when making site-wide changes to correlate traffic fluctuations with technical updates.
• Set realistic KPIs: organic traffic growth, impressions, clicks, conversions and rankings for priority keywords.

Actionable Checklist — What to Do First

• Run a full site crawl and log-file analysis to find technical blockers.
• Fix critical Core Web Vitals issues and implement HTTPS + HTTP/2 if not already done.
• Perform a content audit: identify top performers, thin pages, and candidates for consolidation.
• Map content to intent and build a 90-day content calendar focusing on pillars and clusters.
• Begin a small outreach campaign focused on high-relevance link opportunities and track outcomes.

Expert Insight — Crawl Budget & Log File Strategy

Redditors mentioned server logs but few explained how to act on them. Here’s an advanced approach:

• Aggregate bot activity by URL and status code over 30–90 days. Identify pages being crawled frequently that return 4xx/5xx or blocked by robots.txt.
• Use this data to prioritize fixes that will free crawl budget: eliminate unnecessary parameterized pages, fix redirect chains, and noindex thin faceted pages.
• After fixes, monitor logs for improved crawl efficiency and correlate with indexation and ranking improvements in Search Console.

Expert Insight — Implementing Topic Clusters

Reddit advice to build clusters is common, but execution matters. Follow this process:

• Identify a high-value topic (pillar) that covers the main keyword intent comprehensively.
• Create 6–12 cluster pages targeting related subtopics and long-tail queries. Each cluster should link back to the pillar and to 2–3 related clusters.
• Use consistent URL structure and breadcrumbs to reflect the hierarchy. Track organic performance of the entire cluster, not just individual pages.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Chasing keywords without researching intent or SERP features.
• Ignoring analytics and Search Console until a crisis hits.
• Using the disavow file as a first resort rather than a last resort.
• Deploying lazy loading or JavaScript frameworks without testing how Google renders the page.
• Publishing content without an internal linking plan or promotional strategy.

90-Day SEO Plan (Practical Roadmap)

• Days 1–14: Crawl + log analysis, fix highest-severity technical issues, set up tracking and dashboards.
• Days 15–45: Run content audit, identify pillars, refresh top-performing pages, consolidate low-value content.
• Days 46–75: Launch cluster content and begin targeted outreach campaigns; optimize meta titles & descriptions for CTR.
• Days 76–90: Review metrics, iterate on underperforming pages, scale successful link-building tactics, and document wins for stakeholders.

Final Takeaway

Redditors’ collective advice reinforces a simple truth: SEO is a blend of technical hygiene, user-first content, smart internal linking, and measured outreach. Start with technical fixes and measurement, build topical authority through purposeful content, and scale link-building with relevance in mind. Above all, test, measure, and iterate — patience and consistent execution beat gimmicks and shortcuts.

Read the full Reddit discussion here.