SEO Patterns

Core Principles

• Every public page MUST have a unique <title> and <meta name="description">.
• Structured data MUST validate against Google's Rich Results Test before shipping.
• Server-render all content critical for indexing.
• Canonical URLs are mandatory on every page.

Implementation Workflow

1. Add meta tags and canonical URLs in server-rendered HTML.

• Checkpoint: every page has unique <title> and <meta name="description">.

2. Add structured data (JSON-LD) for the page type and keep blocks server-rendered.

• Checkpoint: Rich Results Test passes with zero errors.

3. Generate / update sitemap and reference it from robots.txt.

• Checkpoint: sitemap URL present in robots.txt and accessible.

4. Verify robots.txt rules and ensure public pages are allowed.

• Recovery: remove accidental Disallow: entries and re-submit sitemap.

5. Monitor Search Console for warnings and enhancement reports post-deploy.

Meta Tags & Open Graph

export const metadata: Metadata = {
  title: 'Product Name — Short Descriptor',
  description: 'Concise 150-160 char description with primary keyword.',
  alternates: { canonical: 'https://example.com/page-slug' },
  openGraph: {
    title: 'Product Name — Short Descriptor',
    description: 'Concise description for social sharing.',
    url: 'https://example.com/page-slug',
    type: 'website',
    images: [{ url: 'https://example.com/og-image.jpg', width: 1200, height: 630 }],
  },
  twitter: { card: 'summary_large_image', title: 'Product Name — Short Descriptor', images: ['https://example.com/og-image.jpg'] },
  robots: { index: true, follow: true },
};

Checklist: unique title (50-60 chars) · unique description (150-160 chars) · canonical URL · og:title/description/image (1200×630 px) · og:type · twitter:card/title/image · noindex only on admin/draft pages.

Structured Data & Crawlability

For structured data reference examples and detailed anti-patterns see REFERENCE.md.

• Generate XML sitemap dynamically from your data source (CMS, DB, filesystem).
• Use a sitemap index when >50,000 URLs or >50 MB.
• Include <lastmod> only if accurate; submit via Google Search Console and reference in robots.txt.

User-agent: *
Allow: /
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /preview/
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Crawlability checklist: robots.txt allows public pages · blocks admin/API/preview · XML sitemap auto-generated · referenced in robots.txt · no orphan pages · primary content in initial HTML · unique <h1> with keyword · structured data in SSR HTML · descriptive alt on images · no stray noindex · page load < 3s.

Anti-Patterns & Structured Data Reference

See REFERENCE.md for detailed structured data examples, validation commands, and a trimmed anti-pattern checklist.