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The MarsBased SEO Guidelines

As a development consultancy, we get the chance to work on very different products and projects. From all of them, we learn something new, but in all of them, we apply our previous knowledge.

With dozens of different projects in well over five years, we've compiled our SEO 101 that we apply to all our projects.

Tools

Google Search Console

URL: https://search.google.com/search-console

Description: Google Search Console is a powerful tool for managing your domains and monitoring their performance in Google search. From domain verification to keyword analysis and error tracking, this is an indispensable tool.

  • Use the domain property verification method to automatically include all variants of your domain (e.g., http/https, www/non-www).
  • Key features:
    • Core Web Vitals report to monitor performance metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
    • Index Coverage to track and resolve indexing issues.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

URL: https://analytics.google.com

Description: GA4 is the latest iteration of Google Analytics, offering event-based tracking, privacy-centric data collection, and predictive insights. It replaces Universal Analytics.

  • Obtain the GA4 tracking code from the Admin section and embed it in the <head> of your HTML.
  • GA4 supports custom event tracking and enhanced measurement for scrolls, video engagement, and more.

Sitemap

The sitemap is typically an XML file that describes the structure of your site and is placed at the root of the project.

  • Use dynamic sitemaps generated by CMSs or frameworks to ensure they stay up-to-date with site changes.
  • Submit your sitemap URL via Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

Example dynamic sitemap URL: https://marsbased.com/sitemap.xml.

Robots.txt

Robots.txt guides crawlers on how to interact with your site. It is located at <www.site.com/robots.txt>.

  • Modern best practices:
    • Allow access to important resources like JavaScript and CSS for proper rendering and indexing.
    • Example configuration:
User-agent: *
Disallow:
Sitemap: https://www.marsbased.com/sitemap.xml

Test and submit your robots.txt file using Google Search Console.

HTTPS

Ensure HTTPS is enforced site-wide, as non-HTTPS sites are flagged as insecure and perform poorly in rankings.

  • Use HTTP/2 for improved speed and performance.
  • Implement HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) for additional security.

Tags, Metatags, and Schema.org

Metatags

Modern SEO no longer uses outdated tags like author or copyright. Instead, include:

<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
<meta name="description" content="MarsBased is a web & mobile development consultancy.">
<meta property="og:title" content="MarsBased | Web Development">
<meta property="og:description" content="Development consultancy for web & mobile applications.">

Schema.org

Use JSON-LD for structured data, as it's preferred by search engines:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "MarsBased",
  "url": "https://marsbased.com",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://twitter.com/marsbased",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/marsbased"
  ]
}
</script>

Validate with Google’s Rich Results Test.

Content

Key guidelines for content creation:

  • Use E-E-A-T principles: demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness.
  • Internal linking: ensure every page is linked to another for full crawlability.
  • Avoid duplicate content. For necessary duplicates (e.g., multi-language), use canonical tags:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.site.com/original-page" />
  • Optimize headers:
    • Only one <h1> per page.
    • Maintain hierarchical structure (e.g., <h2> under <h1>, <h3> under <h2>).

Bonus Track #1: Migrations

For URL structure or domain migrations:

  • Use 301 redirects to preserve SEO value. Example:
Redirect 301 /old-page /new-page

Bonus Track #2: Multi-language Sites

Use hreflang tags to signal equivalent content in different languages:

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://www.site.com/en/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="https://www.site.com/es/" />

Validate hreflang implementations using tools like Ahrefs or Semrush.

By following these updated guidelines, you'll ensure your projects are SEO-optimized and aligned with modern best practices.