Strengthen your SEO strategy with the SEO pyramid


A solid SEO strategy starts with a strong foundation. The SEO Pyramid walks you through the most important steps – from technical SEO to content and links – so your website can achieve better rankings and more organic traffic.


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SEO pyramid


When we at itpilot work with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for our clients, it is based on the SEO pyramid. If you are not familiar with the SEO pyramid, we will review some of the most important elements of the pyramid - as well as in working with SEO.

If you google “SEO pyramid”, you will be presented with a number of different looking pyramids. Although they may be presented with different content, the basic idea of ​​the SEO pyramid is the same. It is fundamentally about having a strong technical foundation, using the right keywords and optimizing both on page and off page.

This is also our starting point when we work with SEO.

Technical Foundation & Technical SEO

The bottom part of the pyramid is the technical foundation. If the technical foundation of a website is not in control, it will not be found by search engines. Technical SEO is therefore about the architecture of a website, i.e. whether the website can be crawled, whether it is secure (protected by an SSL certificate), whether it is optimized for mobile viewing (Mobile First), whether it has a fast loading speed, whether it has a logical structure, etc.

To be successful with SEO, it is essential that your website can be crawled by search engine crawlers. If these crawlers are blocked, search engines will not be able to review the content on the website (or on the individual landing page) and thus the website or landing page will not be indexed. Therefore, it is important that the website has a correctly configured robots.txt file.

Via the Robots.txt file, you tell search engine crawlers which parts of the website they should visit or ignore.

Disse servicevilkår ("Termer", "Aftale") er en aftale mellem hjemmesiden ("Hjemmeside operatøren", "os", "vi", eller "vores") og dig ("Bruger", "brugeren", "du", "dig", "dit", "din" eller "dine"). Denne Aftale fremsætter de generelle termer og forhold for dit brug af denne hjemmeside og ethvert af dets produkter eller tjenester (samlet "Hjemmeside" eller "Tjenester").

Security is an important element for websites today. It is important for both users and search engines that users' data is safe when they interact with your website. Therefore, it is also important that your website is protected with an SSL certificate.

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and is, in short, a security protocol. With an SSL certificate, an encrypted connection is created between the web server (the website) and the web browser (the user). The SSL certificate means that your website goes from the http protocol to the https protocol.

It is not only important for webshops to have an SSL certificate. It is important for all websites – especially if you are working with SEO. Google has announced that they are looking more for https websites.

It is very important that your website loads quickly. A fast loading speed contributes to a better user experience. Users do not have the patience to wait 5-10-15 seconds for a website to load. In fact, your website should load in 1-2 seconds at most, but the faster the better.

It is important that your website works on mobile devices – even if you are a B2B company whose primary website visits come from computers.

Google has been working on Mobile First indexing for a long time, which they announced in October 2023 that they had now achieved. Mobile First indexing means that Google now primarily crawls your website from a mobile browser perspective. Therefore, it can be crucial for your SEO work that your website is mobile-friendly; that is, that it has a responsive design, fast load times, intuitive navigation, etc.

The structure of your website is also important for your SEO work. This is largely about building a clear and logical structure for the website. Make sure to create a hierarchical structure so that it is easy for both users and search engines to understand the content of the website. Also make sure to have a good and logical internal link structure that helps users move on the website.

In addition, the website should have an XML sitemap. The sitemap provides an overview of all (important) pages on your website and helps search engines quickly find and index the content.

Various technical errors can occur on a website, and it is therefore important that these errors are handled correctly on an ongoing basis. These can include 404 pages, redirects that no longer work, or other http error codes (e.g. 500, 403, etc.).

Fortunately, many of these errors are easy to fix. For example, 404 pages can be redirected to other, more relevant pages, or you can create a custom 404 page that guides users further.

Therefore, make sure to monitor the website continuously to detect errors and server failures so that you can quickly respond to these and resolve the challenges.

With correctly implemented Schema Markup (structured data), you can give search engines (and LLMs/AI) additional information about the content on your website as well as about your company, etc.

When Schema Markup is implemented on your website, you can increase the chance of showing Rich Snippets in search results, such as star ratings or product prices. This can contribute to a better CTR.

Core Web Vitals is a Google report that shows how effective your pages are based on real traffic data from users visiting your website. Google uses this data to assess the user experience on your website. The Core Web Vitals report is based on three metrics: LCP, INP, and CLS.

  • LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Measures how quickly the largest visible content element on a page loads. Ideally, LCP should be under 2.5 seconds.
  • INP (Interaction to Next Paint): Measures how quickly the page responds to user interactions, such as a click or keyboard input. A good INP is under 200 milliseconds.
  • CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Detects whether unexpected layout changes occur during page load. The goal is to keep CLS below 0.1 (0 means no changes - the higher the number, the more the layout changes on the page).

A thorough keyword analysis is about identifying the keywords and phrases that your potential customers use when searching for solutions to their challenges. Therefore, keyword analysis is also about identifying the keywords that you need to optimize your website content for.

A good keyword analysis reveals both the relevance of each keyword, the monthly search volume and the level of competition.

The result of the keyword analysis is a targeted keyword list that supports your on-page and off-page strategy.

Once the relevant keywords have been identified, it is important to prioritize them based on factors such as search volume, relevance and competition. High-volume keywords are often more competitive, and they are also often generic. Therefore, these keywords may not be right for your website.

Long-tail keywords, on the other hand, can give you more targeted traffic – and they are often easier to rank for.

When working with keyword analysis and selecting relevant keywords, it is also important to consider where users are in their purchasing process. The more specific a search is, the more likely the user is to buy. Therefore, your content should naturally also support the user's purchasing journey.

Each search a user makes can have different intentions. This describes information searches, navigation searches, and transactional searches:

  • Information search: Users who want to learn more about a topic.
  • Navigational search: Users searching for a specific website or brand.
  • Commercial search: Users who are searching for a specific product or service but are still in the research phase.
  • Transactional search: Users who are ready to make a purchase or conversion.

These different search intents also tell you something about where the user is in their buying process. By mapping the intent behind each keyword, you can optimize your content to match the specific stage in the buying journey – thereby increasing both relevance and conversions.

Keyword analysis can form the basis for how the content and structure of your website should be. Keyword analysis will most likely reveal different keyword variations and related searches, and therefore it is also important to group these keywords (Keyword Mapping).

Keyword mapping is about strategically distributing selected keywords across your website. By assigning specific keywords to specific landing pages, you can ensure that each page has a clear focus and relevance to the intended search query. This not only improves the user experience, but also helps search engines understand the relationship between pages, which can lead to better overall visibility in search results.

There are a number of different tools that can help you conduct a thorough keyword analysis. Some of these tools are free, others require a subscription.

Examples of tools:

  • Google Keyword Planner (via Google Ads)
  • Ahrefs
  • Semrush
  • Ubersuggest

These tools can help identify relevant keywords and uncover other relevant keywords. Also, make sure to use your knowledge and insight into the language and needs of your target audience.

Keyword analysis

Keyword analysis is the next layer in the SEO pyramid. Keyword analysis thus builds on the technical level. Although keyword analysis does not directly improve your ranking, it forms the basis for how you optimize your content – ​​and thus indirectly for the entire SEO strategy. Keyword analysis is therefore important for the next levels in the pyramid; On page and Off page.

Do you need help with SEO?


At itpilot we are ready to help you with your SEO work. We have many years of experience with SEO, and we understand how different SEO efforts and elements interact. Therefore, we can also help you with your SEO efforts, whether as consultants, or whether we are to handle parts or all of the SEO efforts.


Call us if you would like further information about SEO.


+45 87 25 07 87


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On page SEO

The next level in the SEO pyramid is On-page SEO. On-page SEO focuses on producing unique, valuable, and targeted content that addresses both user needs and the keywords identified in your keyword analysis.

However, on-page SEO is also about other things, including the use of various HTML elements, such as header tags (H1, H2, etc.), SEO titles and meta descriptions, structured data (schema markup), internal link building, etc.

To be successful with on-page SEO, it is first and foremost important that you create content that is unique, valuable and targeted to your target audience. This means that your content must answer the questions and needs of your potential customers – while also following the keywords you have identified in your keyword analysis.

Also, make sure to keep the content on your website up-to-date and relevant. Users' searches can change over time, so you should also update your keyword analysis (and therefore the content on your website) regularly.

When creating content, it is important to consider E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) so that you appear as a credible and competent player in the field. By delivering original and relevant content that supports the user's purchasing journey, you strengthen both your brand and your position in search results.

The keywords you have identified in your keyword analysis should be strategically integrated into your content. Although you will be writing your content directly for your target audience, you should ensure that your primary and secondary keywords appear naturally in the text – without leading to keyword stuffing. You should include the keywords in important elements such as headings, body text, URLs and image descriptions. This way, you ensure that both your visitors and search engines clearly understand what the page is about, while maintaining a readable and engaging tone.

It is a good idea to structure the content on your landing pages with different captions. This helps both users and search engines to quickly understand the content on the pages. It is important to use the different header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) here, as they help create a clear and logical structure in your content. Make sure that each page has a unique H1, which clearly indicates the main topic of the page. Then use H2 and H3 tags to divide the content into sections that make it easy for both users and search engines to navigate. Remember to include relevant keywords in your headings – but do it naturally so that it does not affect readability.

Every landing page on your website has a title tag and a meta description. These are the first elements potential visitors see in search results. So make sure each page has a unique and catchy title that includes the most important keywords and accurately reflects the page’s content.

The meta description should provide a short, informative summary of the page, so it is clear to the user what is hidden on the landing page. An optimized title and meta description can increase your click-through rate (CTR) and help your page be seen as relevant and trustworthy in the eyes of Google.

Internal link building is about building a logical and user-friendly structure where relevant pages are linked together. This helps users navigate around the website more easily. Make sure to use descriptive anchor texts (the text that is linked from) so that it reflects the page that is being linked to.

By creating a strong internal link structure, you help distribute link value and make it easier for Google to index and understand the relationship between your pages. This contributes to better overall SEO performance and improves user experience.

Images and illustrations are an important part of the experience on most websites. It is therefore important that the images are also optimized correctly - this can contribute to fast page loading and a good user experience.

Make sure to compress images so they don't negatively impact load times, and give them descriptive file names. Always add alt tags that briefly and accurately describe the image and include relevant keywords – without compromising on naturalness.

Optimized images not only improve your page speed, but also increase the chance of your images appearing in Google Images, which can further increase your visibility.

Link building is about building a strong and natural link profile by obtaining (quality) links from other websites. It is not about creating a large number of links – instead, you should focus on diversity and relevance – a single link from a reputable source can be far more valuable than ten random links. A relevant link comes from relevant content – ​​so there should be a connection between what is on the website and the content that is linked to.

Remember that do-follow links generally convey the most link value, and that a varied and organic link profile contributes to your overall authority and ranking in search results.

Content marketing can be many different things – and consist of many different types of content. Content marketing can also be done based on your own website, but it can also be done from external sources.

External content marketing is therefore about showing your expertise and authority outside of your own website. This can be done through PR, guest blogging, podcasts, forums, collaborations with influencers and other media. By publishing quality content on other platforms that reflect your experience and credibility (E-E-A-T), you can gain valuable backlinks and increase your brand’s visibility at the same time.

In general, it's a good idea to generate mentions of your brand (brand mentions). Google uses so-called "implied links" (brand mentions without clickable links) as an indicator of authority and credibility. Therefore, press mentions, reviews, forums and social media can be valuable even when they don't include a direct link.

Social media can be an important tool for increasing your online presence and generating engagement. Links from social media are typically nofollow links, and therefore serve no purpose in terms of link building, but links from social media can be an obvious way to generate traffic to your website.

However, a well-defined social media strategy can indirectly strengthen your brand authority and credibility – which in turn supports your off-page SEO. By publishing engaging content, sharing good advice and interacting with your target audience, you can build a positive reputation and drive relevant traffic to your website, which Google sees as a signal that your brand is popular and trustworthy.

Reviews are an effective way to increase your credibility and build trust among potential customers. By actively collecting reviews on platforms like Google, Facebook and Trustpilot, you show that your business is recognized and trustworthy.

Therefore, it is important that you both encourage satisfied customers to write a review. When you work purposefully to collect reviews, it is also important that you respond to them – that is, that you respond to both the bad and the good reviews. This all helps to strengthen your credibility with potential customers.

If you are a local business, local SEO is especially important for you. Local SEO is about being visible in your local area. There are many ways to be visible. First and foremost, you should ensure that you have full control over your Google Business Profile, where contact information, address and customer reviews are displayed – often in conjunction with Google Maps.

A strong local presence can increase both your credibility and your ranking in local search results, making it easier for potential customers to find and choose your business.

Off page SEO

The last layer in the SEO pyramid is Off page SEO. As the name suggests, it deals with activities outside the website. It is not only on the website that the work with SEO takes place. Activities outside the website help to influence the authority and credibility of the website.

Off-page SEO work includes link building, social media, local SEO, external content marketing, reviews, etc.