--- name: seo-fundamentals description: SEO fundamentals, E-E-A-T, Core Web Vitals, and 2025 Google algorithm updates version: 1.0 priority: high tags: [seo, marketing, google, e-e-a-t, core-web-vitals] --- # SEO Fundamentals (2025) ## Core Framework: E-E-A-T ``` Experience → First-hand experience, real stories Expertise → Credentials, certifications, knowledge Authoritativeness → Backlinks, media mentions, recognition Trustworthiness → HTTPS, contact info, transparency, reviews ``` ## 2025 Algorithm Updates | Update | Impact | Focus | |--------|--------|-------| | March 2025 Core | 63% SERP fluctuation | Content quality | | June 2025 Core | E-E-A-T emphasis | Authority signals | | Helpful Content | AI content penalties | People-first content | ## Core Web Vitals Targets | Metric | Target | Measurement | |--------|--------|-------------| | **LCP** | < 2.5s | Largest Contentful Paint | | **INP** | < 200ms | Interaction to Next Paint | | **CLS** | < 0.1 | Cumulative Layout Shift | ## Technical SEO Checklist ``` Site Structure: ☐ XML sitemap submitted ☐ robots.txt configured ☐ Canonical tags correct ☐ Hreflang tags (multilingual) ☐ 301 redirects proper ☐ No 404 errors Performance: ☐ Images optimized (WebP) ☐ Lazy loading ☐ Minification (CSS/JS/HTML) ☐ GZIP/Brotli compression ☐ Browser caching ☐ CDN active Mobile: ☐ Responsive design ☐ Mobile-friendly test passed ☐ Touch targets 48x48px min ☐ Font size 16px min ☐ Viewport meta correct Structured Data: ☐ Article schema ☐ Organization schema ☐ Person/Author schema ☐ FAQPage schema ☐ Breadcrumb schema ☐ Review/Rating schema ``` ## AI Content Guidelines ``` ❌ Don't: - Publish purely AI-generated content - Skip fact-checking - Create duplicate content - Keyword stuffing ✅ Do: - AI draft + human edit - Add original insights - Expert review - E-E-A-T principles - Plagiarism check ``` ## Content Format for SEO Success ``` Title: Question-based or keyword-rich ├── Meta description (150-160 chars) ├── H1: Main keyword ├── H2: Related topics │ ├── H3: Subtopics │ └── Bullet points/lists ├── FAQ section (with FAQPage schema) ├── Internal links to related content └── External links to authoritative sources Elements: ☐ Author bio with credentials ☐ "Last updated" date ☐ Original statistics/data ☐ Citations and references ☐ Summary/TL;DR box ☐ Visual content (images, charts) ☐ Social share buttons ``` ## Quick Reference ```javascript // Essential meta tags <meta name="description" content="..."> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page"> // Open Graph for social <meta property="og:title" content="..."> <meta property="og:description" content="..."> <meta property="og:image" content="..."> // Schema markup example <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "...", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "..." }, "datePublished": "2025-12-30", "dateModified": "2025-12-30" } </script> ``` ## SEO Tools (2025) | Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | Google Search Console | Performance, indexing | | PageSpeed Insights | Core Web Vitals | | Lighthouse | Technical audit | | Semrush/Ahrefs | Keywords, backlinks | | Surfer SEO | Content optimization | --- **Last Updated:** 2025-12-30