Here's what actually got me results:
- Write stuff people actually want to read - sounds obvious but Google's gotten really good at detecting fluff
- Page speed matters - compress your images, use lazy loading, etc.
- Mobile-first - most traffic comes from phones now
- Internal linking - link your posts to each other, it helps more than you'd think
- Backlinks - still king, try guest posting or creating content people naturally want to link to
My personal
- Updated my old posts with fresh info - saw a nice traffic bump
- Added FAQ sections using schema markup
- Focused on long-tail keywords (less competition, easier to rank)
- Actually used Google Search Console to see what I'm already ranking for
What niche are you in? Some strategies work better depending on your space. Would be happy to brainstorm more specific ideas!