Blog SEO improvement starts with keyword research that matches what people actually search. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to find topics with decent volume (100+ monthly searches in Canada) and manageable difficulty for your domain authority. Don't chase vanity keywords you can't rank for. Your title tag should include the primary keyword within the first 60 characters and make someone want to click. The H1 can be similar but doesn't need to be identical. Use H2s and H3s to structure content logically, not just to stuff keywords. Google's algorithm reads structure to understand your content hierarchy. Content depth matters more than it did five years ago. For competitive B2B topics, we typically see 1,500–2,500 words outperform shorter posts, but only if the length serves the reader. Fluff kills engagement metrics, which Google watches. Answer the query completely in the first 200 words, then expand with examples, data, and related questions. Internal linking is the most underused lever in blog SEO. Every new post should link to 3–5 related posts using descriptive anchor text, and you should go back to older posts to link forward to new content. This distributes authority and helps Google understand topic clusters. At Ottawa SEO, we maintain a spreadsheet tracking which posts link where to avoid orphaned content. Technical basics still apply: image alt text with natural keyword use, fast page speed (under 2.5 seconds for LCP), mobile-friendly layout, and schema markup for articles. Add FAQ schema if your post answers multiple related questions. Backlinks remain the differentiator between page two and page one. Guest posts on industry blogs, original survey data that others cite, and expert quotes in journalist requests (HARO, Connectively) all work. One quality backlink from a DR 60+ site outweighs twenty spam directory links. Focus on earning links by creating something worth linking to, whether that's a unique angle, proprietary data, or a definitive guide that becomes the reference in your niche.