Useful SEO starts with a clear order of work. Before rewriting titles, commissioning content or looking for links, answer a simpler question: whose problem are we solving, and which page is best placed to solve it?
This guide updates Gediminas’s original Lithuanian article, “Unikali SEO metodika” (Unique SEO Methodology), dated 7 September 2019 in the source archive. Its central idea still holds: build a system and improve one page at a time. “Unique” describes the author’s organised workflow, not a secret ranking formula or a promise of first place.
“This methodology grew out of many mistakes and practical experience…”
Translation of Gediminas’s introduction to the original article.
The five original stages remain. This edition adds a baseline check and a review cycle, replaces outdated keyword and link advice, and considers AI search. The original video is preserved at the end as historical material.
0. Before keywords: define the goal and baseline
Imagine a small office furniture shop. More visits to an article about the world’s most beautiful interiors may do little to sell its chairs. A more useful objective is to help people choose an office chair and increase orders from the relevant pages.
Before changing content, record your starting point. Choose one page or a small group of related pages. Note impressions, clicks, important queries and, where you measure them, orders or qualified enquiries. Search Console data and sales data answer different questions; do not treat them as interchangeable.
- Can someone open and read the important page on a phone?
- Is access blocked, is there an accidental
noindextag, or does the canonical point to the wrong page? - Does Search Console’s URL inspection show the page as indexed? If not, what reason is given?
- Can visitors complete the intended action: buy, send a form or contact you?
Deliverable: one clear objective, baseline data and a list of blockers to fix first. Keyword research will not rescue an inaccessible page.
I. Group keywords around what people want to do
Start with customer questions, the products or services you offer and queries already appearing in Search Console. Add ideas from search suggestions and your chosen keyword tool. Tool estimates are useful for orientation; they are not precise forecasts of your future traffic.
Record the intention behind each topic. “How to choose an office chair” usually calls for an explanation; “ergonomic office chairs” may indicate a wish to compare products and buy. Check actual results in your target market. Do they show categories, individual products, guides or local businesses? Wording alone does not always reveal intent.
What changes from the original selection method?
The original put more emphasis on KEI, a keyword effectiveness index, and advertising click prices. Neither should be a decision rule. KEI is not a Google ranking metric. A high advertising price does not by itself make a page worth creating, and low estimated search volume does not automatically mean low business value.
A practical alternative: for each group, record fit with your offer, visitor intent, the content gap and the work required. Prioritise topics where you can provide a useful answer and a meaningful next step. An expensive broad keyword should not automatically outrank a specific question about a product you actually sell.
Deliverable: a short list of priority topics. A topic can cover many related phrases; each phrase does not need its own article.
II. Map the website’s structure
Collect existing URLs from your content system, a site review, the XML sitemap and Search Console. The sitemap alone is not necessarily a complete inventory: pages may be missing or outdated addresses may remain.
For the furniture shop, a simple map could be: home → office chairs category → individual chairs. Alongside it sit a buying guide, delivery information and help. The guide explains selection criteria, the category supports comparison, and the product page helps someone decide on a particular model.
An important correction: the original tied hierarchy too closely to URL folders. Addresses are only part of organisation. Menus, breadcrumbs and contextual links also communicate relationships. A /service-prices page can meaningfully belong to a services section without a /services/ folder. Do not change working URLs simply to make a diagram look tidier.
Deliverable: a simple map showing important pages, their purposes, missing topics and the links connecting them.
III. Assign a main page to each topic
This step connects research to implementation. Choose a primary URL for each topic group. If a suitable page exists, consider improving it first. Create a new page when a different purpose or substantially different answer is needed.
| Topic and intent | Primary page | What it should provide |
|---|---|---|
| Ergonomic office chairs · compare and buy | /office-chairs/ | Range, specifications, filters, prices and delivery |
| How to choose an office chair · understand | /guides/choosing-a-chair/ | Criteria, adjustment examples and a link to the category |
| A specific chair model · assess the offer | /office-chairs/model-a/ | Accurate dimensions, photos, included items and warranty |
Two pages appearing for the same word do not automatically signal a problem. Check whether they serve the same need and duplicate each other unnecessarily. A buying guide and a category may both be useful. If two older guides are substantially identical, consider merging them and planning an appropriate redirect for the retired address.
Deliverable: a table linking “topic → URL → purpose → specific task → owner”. Download the completed example worksheet (CSV) and adapt it to your site.
IV. On-page SEO: finish one page
Pick a priority page. Read it as someone encountering your offer for the first time. Which question remains unanswered? What would help a decision: pricing context, conditions, an example, a comparison or a clear way to contact you?
- Answer. Explain early who the page is for and what the reader will learn.
- Evidence. Add real photographs, test notes, a concrete example or an identified source. Label illustrative calculations as examples.
- Presentation. Organise the text around reader questions. The heading and page title should describe the content accurately; the description should explain its usefulness.
- Next step. Add relevant links to related pages. Link text should explain the destination without artificially repeating keywords.
- Checks. Test reading, links, forms and images on a phone. Check that important text is also accessible to search engines.
Google recommends assessing content for usefulness, originality and trustworthiness. Length alone does not create those qualities. Use its content quality guidance and link recommendations when reviewing your work.
Deliverable: one updated, checked page and a recorded change date. Then move to the next page, keeping a clear record of work and results.
V. Off-page SEO: give people a reason to recommend you
Ask why an author on another website would reference this particular page. The reason might be a useful tutorial, an original comparison table, a clearly described study or a solution to a specific problem. When you have such a resource, introduce it to relevant publications or communities where it would actually help readers.
The original advice to seek relevant sources remains useful. Buying links for rankings and imitating a “natural” acquisition schedule have been removed from the updated method. Such manipulation violates Google’s link spam policy. Paid advertising links should be appropriately qualified, for example with rel="sponsored".
This guide recommends no “safe” weekly link quota. Nor should you artificially edit an article just because it has received links. Update it because facts changed, you have a useful new example or readers need a better answer.
Deliverable: a resource worth recommending and genuine opportunities to reach the right audience. Partnerships can develop alongside content work; the destination page should be useful and ready when visitors arrive.
VI. Measure outcomes and choose the next task
Return to the original goal after implementation. Is the page attracting relevant searches? Do visitors reach the next step? Impressions, clicks, CTR and average position appear in the Search Console performance report. Check sales and enquiry quality in your analytics and business records.
- The page is not indexed: investigate technical or content reasons first.
- Impressions rise but clicks do not: review individual queries, position changes and the results page. A lower CTR alone does not prove that the title is poor.
- Clicks rise but enquiries do not: check audience fit, the offer, tracking and the path to conversion.
- Results seem to improve: compare similar unchanged pages, seasonality and previous periods. Timing alone does not establish causation.
You might schedule an initial review after a few weeks. That is a working rhythm, not a promise about when SEO will produce results. A low-traffic page may need longer observation. End each review with a decision: continue, fix something or select another priority.
How does the method apply to AI search?
Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode do not require special SEO markup or an additional AI file: the usual SEO foundations apply. This does not guarantee a citation. See its explanation of AI features and websites.
A practical addition to the workflow is to make important answers clear, explain the conditions behind comparisons and identify the source and date of figures. Help readers distinguish facts, the author’s judgement and examples. AI tools can assist with drafting or grouping topics, but check their claims and contribute your own material.
A single manual AI query does not measure overall visibility. Answers can vary between systems, so record the check as an observation rather than an exact share of the market.
Your first cycle: one page
Here is a suggested working week if you have time available. On a complex site, any step may take longer.
- Monday: define the goal, capture baseline data and check access.
- Tuesday: research queries and intent for one topic.
- Wednesday: select the URL, map its connections and identify missing answers.
- Thursday: improve content, illustrations and internal links.
- Friday: check the page on mobile, log changes and schedule a review.
Publishing completes the implementation cycle; evaluating the outcome requires data. Do not rewrite the page every day merely because its position fluctuates.
What changed from the original?
| Original emphasis | Updated approach |
|---|---|
| KEI, high search volume and advertising prices | Intent, fit with the offer, useful page content and required effort |
| Hierarchy mainly inferred from URLs | Addresses, navigation, internal links and page purpose together |
| Acquiring links at the “right pace” | Recommendations earned through useful content; no purchases to manipulate rankings |
| Updating pages after acquiring links | Changes driven by facts, content gaps and reader needs |
| A five-stage sequence | The original five stages, with a baseline check and review cycle added |
Frequently asked questions
Can I use this method myself?
Yes, particularly on a small website. Start with one page. Complex indexing problems or a site migration may require help; see the guide to choosing an SEO specialist.
Do I need paid tools?
Not for every step. Search Console, access to your website and a worksheet may be enough to start. Choose a paid tool when you can explain which task it will make easier.
Should I update an old article or create a new one?
If the topic and reader’s need remain the same, improving the existing page often makes sense. Create a new address for a new purpose, not simply for a new date.
What is the most important principle?
Before starting a task, know which page it belongs to, which problem it solves and how you will assess the result. That makes steady improvement possible even when you only have a few hours a week.
Sources and editorial basis
Updated on 15 October 2026 using the original article from the author’s archive and the official guidance below. The worksheet, furniture example and weekly schedule are practical suggestions, not Google ranking formulas.
- Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide
- Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
- Google Search Central: Link best practices
- Google Search Central: Link spam policies
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
- Search Console: Performance report
ARCHIVE · ORIGINAL VIDEO IN LITHUANIAN
Archive video: the earlier version of this article
This is the original Lithuanian-language video linked from the old article. It is preserved as part of the project’s history, not as a narration of this revised guide. The earlier text’s keyword selection and link advice has changed; use the updated written recommendations above for current work. This edition does not add English dubbing or subtitles.
The earlier methodology, in the author’s voice.
Playback requires an internet connection. YouTube is loaded only when you choose to watch.