This blog is now a THING! However it needed SEO optimisation

This iteration involved implementing SEO optimisation. It was not too hard actually. The blog was already stable and usable but it was not giving search engines much to work with. This pass focused on crawl signals metadata and semantic structure while keeping the site looking exactly the same.

Main implementation updates to the code were as follows...

SEO details

Changes were required but I wanted to avoid altering its visual appearance. These improvements focus on metadata structured content and search engine visibility.

1. Meta Titles & Descriptions

Goal: Add unique meta <title> and <meta name="description"> tags to each page.

Implementation: Extract title and excerpt from post frontmatter:

{{ post.title }} | CrankTheCode

2. Heading Structure

Goal: Use semantic HTML headings (H1 - H3) to organise content.

Implementation: Ensure each post template includes:

{{ post.title }}

Section Title

Subsection

3. Keyword Optimisation

Goal: Embed targeted keywords in content naturally especially in headings and intros.

Implementation: Use relevant phrases (e.g. "FastAPI markdown blog") in:

  • Titles
  • First paragraph
  • Header tags
  • Meta description

4. XML Sitemap

Goal: Help search engines index all content.

Implementation: Create /sitemap.xml dynamically from post data:

{% for post in posts %} https://www.crankthecode.com/{{ post.slug }}/ {{ post.date }} {% endfor %}

5. Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Goal: Enable enhanced search features using JSON-LD.

Implementation: Insert this in the head of each blog post:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BlogPosting",
  "headline": "{{ post.title }}",
  "datePublished": "{{ post.date }}",
  "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "{{ post.author }}" }
}
</script>

6. URL Structure

Goal: Ensure clean descriptive URLs.

Implementation: Slug generation should use post title keywords (e.g. /fastapi-seo-guide/) avoiding IDs or symbols.

7. Internal Linking

Goal: Improve site crawlability and user time on site.

Implementation: Add relevant inline links to other posts within content:

Internal links are added selectively where relevant posts already exist.

8. Image Alt Tags

Goal: Boost image indexing and accessibility.

Implementation: Update image markdown to:

![FastAPI sitemap example](image.png)

9. Content Strategy

Goal: Encourage steady SEO growth with regular high quality posts.

Implementation:

  • Publish evergreen technical tutorials
  • Use consistent post structure and keyword planning

Final Checklist

  • Meta title & description tags
  • Structured H1-H3 usage
  • Keyword integrated content
  • Sitemap generation
  • JSON-LD structured data
  • Clean URL slugs
  • Internal links
  • Alt attributes on images
  • Long term content planning

-No visual modifications required.