Overview
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is no longer a niche discipline for developers and marketers — it’s a core growth lever for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and established companies alike.
The challenge today isn’t only how to rank, but how to do so in a search environment shaped by machine learning, AI answer engines, and evolving user behaviour.
SEO agencies offer free tips but often these are time consuming tasks. Sometimes it is better to leave it to experts to implement some of these SEO tips.
In this article, our data-drive experts compile a comprehensive SEO guide from our decades of experience. These SEO tips shares ten high-impact SEO practices and explains why they matter for business outcomes (traffic, leads, brand visibility).
1) Build content for people first — then for search
The oldest rule in modern SEO still holds: write for your audience, not for the algorithm. As Google’s long-time search quality lead Matt Cutts put it years ago, responsible SEO is “like polishing a résumé” — it helps the right people find you by making your strengths obvious and accessible.
What to focus:
Stop building SEO content that is filled with search or contextual keywords (i.e keyword stuffing) that you think will rank better. This is the old school SEO strategy that may not work in 2026 due to Large Language Model (LLM) used in AI search engine that are able to filter spammy content. Focus on content the matches user intent and content that serves a purpose (i.e informational, educational, or purchase)
What to avoid:
Low-quality, keyword-stuffed pages may rank temporarily, but they rarely sustain traffic or conversions. Focus on solving user problems, answering likely follow-up questions, and structuring content so it’s scannable (headings, short paragraphs, bulleted lists).
Why this matters to business:
Higher user satisfaction leads to longer sessions, more pages per visit, and more conversions — the signals search engines increasingly reward. “An average time spent before purchasing a product is around 1 to 2 minutes” said Shahid Shayaa, CEO of Berkshire Media. He added that the longer the user spend time, the higher chance of him/her buying your product of services, and that is considered a real SEO tip that work.
2) Master topical authority — cover the topic, not just keywords
Search engines now understand topics and entities; ranking for a subject means demonstrating breadth and depth. Rand Fishkin popularised the idea of audience and topic intelligence: don’t only target keyword phrases — map the whole set of questions your buyer will ask and publish a suite of pages that answer those questions comprehensively.
What to focus on:
Add a clear content hub or pillar page that links to deeper pages (how-tos, FAQs, pricing comparisons). That means, building on-page links is better than building hundreds of external backlinks (which can be considered spammy) and risking your site being penalized by Google.
What to avoid:
Don’t build hundreds of external backlinks from low quality sites and expect fast ranking. This can be risky to your website and SEO performance.
Why this matters to business:
topical coverage positions you as the obvious choice when searchers compare vendors, boosting organic conversions and downstream brand trust.
3) Prioritise E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
Google’s guidance and community commentary stress that expertise and trust matter — not just for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) sites but for any business that wants reliable clicks. Showcase author bios, cite trustworthy sources, and surface credentials, partnerships, or client testimonials prominently.
SEO expert John Mueller (Google) has repeatedly reinforced that site-level quality such as design, ad density, and credibility counts as much as individual pages.
EEAT is the core framework behind a trustworthy high ranking website that boosts SEO performance for any brand owners, SMEs and even large companies.
What to focus on:
Check if you content or website has all the trust signals that meets EEAT framework outlined in the Google Guidelines. More so if you are doing SEO for health and wellness products, medical services, or financial services/advisory.
What to avoid:
Fake or thin layers of surface product reviews, or blog post that are not reviewed, written or third party verified by credible authors.
Why this matters to business:
Trust reduces friction in the buyer journey and reduces bounce rates — both important for sustainable organic growth.
4) Treat technical SEO as hygiene — crawlability, schema, speed
Technical SEO is the plumbing that keeps your site visible. Ensure pages are crawlable (no rogue robots blocks), canonicalisation is correct, structured data (schema.org) is applied to product pages, and XML sitemaps are clean.
SEO agencies exist to help to fix core technical issues related to web performance. It is best to give your web a good health check before doing SEO content.
According to industry experts, site speed is not optional as many view that the Core Web Vitals (CWV) matter for SEO as it helps real user experience and search performance.
What to focus on:
Use Google Search Console, Lighthouse, and an uptime monitor. Fix redirect chains, correct 4xx/5xx patterns, and ensure mobile responsiveness.
What to avoid:
High res images that are slow to download, messy content and sitemaps, typos, and unnecessary use of heavy videos on the website may hamper web performance
Why this matters to business:
technical errors stop discoverability and create missed opportunities for conversion — you can’t convert traffic you never get.
Useful tools: Google Search Console, Lighthouse, Screaming Frog.
5) Optimize for “AI discovery” (Generative Engine Optimization — GEO)
AI chat and answer engines increasingly summarize information from multiple sources, and they often choose content that is authoritative, well-structured, and clearly answers common questions.
Search Engine Land calls this “Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).” Structure content as concise answers with supporting evidence, use headings that mirror likely user queries, and publish content people are likely to cite.
SEO content that demonstrates depth of knowledge on the subject gets frequently cited by ChatGPT. And this is the where the real AI magic happens.
So, if your content is the clearest and provide the most reliable short answer (backed by authority in the subject/industry), it’s more likely to be surfaced by AI summarizers (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Deepseek, Grok or Perplexity).
6) Build a pragmatic link strategy — quality over quantity
Links remain a ranking signal, but the game has evolved. Focus on earning links from relevant, authoritative sites in your industry or local ecosystem — think trade associations, news outlets, university research, or credible local blogs.
The web search is built on a series of graphs connecting nodes with links. So linking strategy matters in boosting SEO performance
“Both on-page and off-page links are equally important, but focusing on quality links from or to credible sources brings greater SEO benefits” said Shahid Shayaa, CEO and Founder of Berkshire Media.
What to focus on:
Use PR outreach tied to original research or local stories; create toolkits, surveys, or interactive content that others naturally reference.
What to avoid:
Avoid engaging SEO companies that act like “link farms”, offering backlinks from “high domain authority / DR/ DA websites”. This black-hat tactic hiding behind white-hat SEO services could get you penalized by Google.
Why this matters to business:
Relevant backlinks are endorsement signals that lift domain authority and improve rankings for competitive queries.
Practical example (Malaysia): local SEO agencies and case studies (Nuweb, WalkProduction) show measurable traffic gains from combined on-page and outreach strategies.
7) Local SEO is non-negotiable for physical businesses
Local SEO can benefit for SMEs with a location or regional customers, local search drives footfall and calls. You can treat local SEO as having a complete online directory on Google or the world wide web.
Local SEO is the first logical step (after completing your own webpage/ online store) to build your digital footprint and announce that you exist in the webspace.
Having a clear information about your company, product and service information and photos from user experience provides Google enough information over time to assess your business relevance to search queries.
What to focus on:
Claim and optimise your Google Business Profile (GBP), maintain NAP consistency (Name, Address, Phone) across directories, gather authentic reviews, and include local landing pages for service areas. Use structured data for local business and ensure opening hours and contact points are accurate.
What to avoid:
Fake reviews on Google, engaging black hat SEO tactics, and incomplete information that keeps user guessing
Why this matters to business: local pack visibility directly correlates to in-store visits and local enquiries, and is often the easiest way to win market share in your area.
8) Measure what matters — align SEO KPIs to business objectives
Traffic alone is a vanity metric. SEO agencies are moving away from promising higher traffic growth as the “zero click” phenomenon (caused by AI-overview summaries) is hurting web traffic badly.
Effective SEO metrics are the ones tied to the business outcomes. Having a linear growth of traffic visitors to your website is no longer feasible or relevant.
“No one engages SEO services purely based on how many backlinks you could provide or the percentage increase of traffic growth” said Shahid Shayaa, CEO of Berkshire Media in an exclusive interview on SEO performance. He added that many SEO KPIs are outdated and no longer relevant due to the existence of AI-driven search engines such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Gemini – that changes how users view SEO performance
What to focus on:
Always tie SEO campaigns to business outcomes: revenue, lead volume, conversion rate, and average order value. Use cohort analysis to understand the lifetime value of organic visitors; compare SEO acquisition cost versus paid channels. Rand Fishkin emphasises measuring the right traffic, not just volume: “what you measure is what you’re able to improve.”
Why this matters to business: aligning SEO metrics with commercial KPIs ensures budgets and strategies focus on long-term growth and ROI.
9) Optimize UX and conversion — SEO is the start, not the finish
SEO brings visitors; UX turns first time visitors into customers. One area that optimizes SEO web performance is how the page(s) are designed. This means you need a good copywriting, content with clarity and intent, improved load speed, and trust signals determine conversion.
What to focus on:
Run A/B tests for CTA placement, use heatmaps to understand browsing behaviour, and reduce friction in forms and checkout. Mobile UX is critical in markets like Malaysia, where many users browse and buy on phones.
Why this matters to business:
Improving conversion rate multiplies the value of every organic visitor — a 10% lift in conversion can be worth far more than a 10% lift in web traffic. Now, that’s a good SEO tip if you are an experienced user.
10) Invest in content formats that attract links and attention
Long-form guides, research reports, interactive tools (calculators, quizzes), video explainers and data visualisations attract attention and build more credible links by others.
A strong SEO campaign embeds strategy to increase dwell time, link equity and shareability across other digital and social platforms.
“Your website is your greatest asset in building a long-lasting SEO.” said a former SEO engineer from Exabytes. She added SEO content with links, references, infographics, charts and tables attract higher dwell time, and encourages other website to cross reference your case studies or experiential reviews. This is what building authority is all about – quality content in various digestible information nuggets.
What to focus on:
For Malaysian SMEs, localised content — bilingual pages, local case studies, and culturally relevant examples — increases relevance and shareability. Consider repurposing long articles into slide decks, short videos, and FAQ snippets for AI prompts.
Why this matters to business:
Any shareable assets on your website create link equity, social traction, and boost multi-platform visibility (search, social, AI answers).
Localising SEO tips: how Malaysian SMEs should prioritise
- Start small and measurable. If you’re an SME in Malaysia, begin with: GBP optimisation, a conversion-focused landing page, and a localised blog post answering the top three customer questions.
- Prioritise bilingual content. Bahasa Malaysia + English pages broaden reach and capture local search habits. Focus on depth and breadth with credible stories, reviews or case studies that demonstrate first-hand experience.
- Collect local proof. Case studies featuring Malaysian customers and local press pickups (e.g., interviews or features) are extremely effective for trust and links. See interviews with local practitioners such as Shahid Shayaa (Berkshire Media) for insights on local marketing and analytics.
Quick execution checklist for the first 90 days
Here is a SEO step-by-step guide if you are planning to execute a SEO campaign (with or without external help from SEO agencies). The first 60 to 90 days are usually the most challenging and time-consuming but it can be done effectively with the help of a reputable SEO companies that truly understand data, brand reputation, online monitoring and SEO.
Week 1–2: Technical triage (Search Console, speed, sitemap, mobile).
Week 3–4: Content audit (identify top converting pages, thin content, and quick wins).
Month 2: Publish 1 pillar page + 3 supporting posts; local landing page + GBP optimisation.
Month 3: Begin earned media outreach with a local research insight or customer case study; measure backlinks and adjust.
Measurable outcomes:
Month 1–3: fix technical issues, improve site speed and indexing — expect stability and some ranking gains for low-competition queries.
Month 4–6: content and local optimisation should lift relevant organic traffic by 20–50% depending on starting point and industry.
Month 6–12: with outreach and link-building, many SMEs see sustained improvements in competitive queries and higher conversion volumes.
Parting Thoughts:
SEO isn’t a one-time campaign; it’s a long-term investment plan in discoverability and trust. As search algorithms are going through massive changes, SEO becomes an evolving tool (or topic) that ensures your brand appears first on search engines. And when implemented correctly with the above SEO tips and SEO advice from experts, your brand or company may be frequently cited as a thought leader, turning this into an opportunity to gain first mover advantage in terms of brand visibility and trust.
Yes done right, the result compounds: better SEO content and visibility across search platforms leads to more links, which leads to better rankings, which then fuels more high-intent quality web traffic and sales conversions. Despite its on-going challenges, the combination of technical SEO, smart SEO content, local relevance and intelligent measurement in an SEO service is what turns SEO from a mystery visit into predictable growth for most brands in 2026-2027.
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About the Author
Shahid Shayaa is the founder and managing director of Berkshire Media. He specializes in data-driven communication strategies and insights using social data analytics, social media monitoring tools and machine learning text algorithms for more than 13 years. As an expert in the field of media monitoring, issue management and managing reputation risks for companies, he is involved in various research studies in this field and published various scientific papers on social data analytics, sentiment analysis and back-end algorithms on consumer sentiment, emotions and behaviour for marketers and campaign managers.
His research work and studies have been cited more than 467 times, inspiring new research in the field of social analytics in Malaysia. You may view his work here.
