Stuck on What to Optimize Next? We've Got You Covered!
You've ticked all the major boxes. Your metadata is optimized, your content strategy is in motion, and—most importantly—you've secured a perfect SEMrush site health score (/s). So... now what?
If you’ve ever found yourself feeling like you’ve hit an SEO plateau, you’re not alone. Even after five years of dedicated SEO experience, I still run into this situation with clients, especially on smaller sites. But in SEO, if you're not moving forward, you're falling behind.
The good news? There are always hidden opportunities waiting to be tapped. I've put together five areas I consistently find myself coming back to when I feel like I’ve already optimized optimizations on top of optimizations.
1. Double Check Your Branded Keywords for New Opportunities
Once your brand ranks #1 for your priority branded terms, it’s easy to stop paying close attention to branded keyword data and focus on your big, non-branded, lead generating keywords. But branded query data can reveal opportunities to:
✅ Build brand equity
✅ Improve UX
✅ Further optimize content
Ignoring branded search queries can mean handing traffic to Reddit or Quora, or worse, letting competitors control your brand narrative. This is also an opportunity to feed positive information to LLMs, ensuring AI-driven answers about your business reflect your messaging.
How to Fix It:
- Analyze branded keyword data in Google Search Console or Ahrefs to find content gaps.
- Expand FAQs or blog posts to address commonly searched branded queries.
- Monitor discussions on Reddit, forums, and third-party review sites—make sure your site has the best, most authoritative answers.
2. Internal Links That Need a Refresh
Internal linking isn’t a one-and-done task. As your site grows, some pages become under-linked, while others may point to redirects or broken URLs. This can disrupt the flow of page authority and impact rankings.
How to Fix It:
- Audit your internal links using a tool like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to find links pointing to low-priority, redirected, or broken pages.
- Look for orphan pages (pages without any internal links pointing to them) and connect them to relevant content.
- Update key pages with fresh internal links to keep authority flowing where it matters most.
💡 PRO TIP: Pages with higher authority pass more link equity, so prioritize links from high-value pages. Site-wide links in the main navigation and footer can also be especially impactful.
3. Pages That Rank but Don’t Get Clicks
Ranking high is great, and we love to see it. However, ranking ≠ traffic, and if your click-through rate (CTR) is low, you're leaving sessions on the table. This could be due to:
❌ Bland metadata
❌ Mismatch between search intent and content
❌ Lack of rich snippets (FAQ, star ratings, etc.)
How to Fix It:
- Use Google Search Console to find pages with high impressions but low CTR.
- Ensure your content aligns with search intent—what do users actually expect?
- Experiment with metadata: Add numbers, brackets, compelling CTAs, and structured data to improve your SERP listing.
4. Secondary Keywords You Haven’t Optimized For
Most content targets one primary keyword, but there are often secondary keywords that could drive additional traffic. These are keywords that Google already associates with your page, but your content may not be well-optimized for. You might have even skipped over some of these keywords in favor of keywords with more search volume. Well, sometimes you can squeeze in both, and I’ve had quite a bit of success in doing so 😊.
How to Fix It:
- Use Google Search Console or Ahrefs to find secondary keywords your page is ranking for.
- Add them naturally to metadata, headings, and body content.
- Expand sections to provide more value for those queries.
💡 PRO TIP: Don’t blindly stuff secondary keywords—Google values natural, user-friendly optimization, and the last thing you want to do is interfere with the rankings of your primary keyword.
5. Missed Backlink Opportunities from Unlinked Brand Mentions
If people are talking about your brand online but not linking back to your site, that’s a missed opportunity for authority and referral traffic.
I usually try to check for unlinked mentions every 6 months if I’m not tracking them directly via Google Alerts.
How to Fix It:
- Use Google Alerts or a backlink tool like Ahrefs Content Explorer to find mentions of your brand.
- Reach out to the site owner or author with a friendly request to add a link to your website.
- Focus on high-quality mentions from relevant, authoritative sites for the most impact.
💡 PRO TIP: Want a step-by-step approach? Check out Ahrefs' guide to unlinked mentions. I’ve secured countless backlinks via this exact method.
Keep SEO Momentum Going
Once you've nailed the basics, it’s easy to feel like there’s nothing left to optimize. That said, SEO isn’t just about the basics, it’s about continuous improvement and finding those extra 1% wins that add up over time.
🚀 If you could use some help getting your site to the next level, reach out to Liquid, we’ve got plenty more great ideas where these came from!