I've been deep in a client project for the last few weeks that I can only describe as a SAGA. 

 

The short version: a website built to handle a much smaller catalog of products got a brand new, very fancy sync system plugged into it, and it broke. 

 

…Which sent me down a rabbit hole of behind-the-scenes things with names like WP-CLI and Action Scheduler that I had never paid any mind to. Every fix showed me the next problem, and every time I thought I'd hit the bottom of it, there was another floor.

 

And somewhere in the middle of matching product IDs across spreadsheets way past a reasonable hour, I realized something... I was having fun?

 

I've always loved websites. But if I'm honest, it's never been the pretty part that pulled me in, it's how things work. 

 

SEO is like that for me: It has rules, and once you know the rules you can bend them a little, run tests, and see what happens. That's the good stuff.

 

What I didn't expect to learn this month is that I kind of like web development, too.

 

Now, before anyone forwards me their broken code, let me be clear: The last coding class I took was in college, and I took it because it counted as a math credit (If you know, you know, liberal arts friends) and I am not about to hang out a new shingle.

 

But this project reminded me that a website puzzle doesn't have to end where Google Search Console stops handing me answers.

 

So why is this in your inbox?

 

Because the way I worked through that project is a lot like how Google works through your website!

 

One fix led to the next until I had a picture of how the whole thing fit together. Google does basically the same: It lands on a page, follows the links on that page to other pages, follows the links on those, and slowly builds its understanding of what your site is about and which pages matter most.

 

Which means if a page on your site has no links pointing to it from anywhere else on your site, it's a bit like a room in an old house with no hallway leading to it. It exists! It might be the nicest room in the house. But nobody's wandering in by accident, and that includes Google.

 

This is why internal linking matters so much, and also why almost everyone forgets to do it. It's tedious. You publish a new blog post, you're proud of it, you share it, and you move on. You don't go back to the three older posts on the same topic and add a link to the new one. I get it! It's the “doing the dishes” of SEO. Nobody wants to do them after they cooked the most amazing meal.

 

And it's a good reminder that the base of SEO isn't hard or complicated, no matter how many people are telling you how AEO and GEO are brand new disciplines you're already behind on.

 

A clear site where your important pages are well connected helps you in Google, and it helps AI tools make sense of you, too. No secret decoder ring required.

 

So here's your small project this week: Pick the page that matters most to your business, maybe your main service page or the one you most want people to find. 

 

Then ask: how many other pages on my site link to it?

 

If the answer is "just the menu," find two or three related pages (a blog post on the topic, your About page, a FAQ) and add a link from each one. Use words that describe where the link goes, like "our kitchen renovation services," instead of "click here." That link text tells both readers and Google what they'll find on the other side.

 

That's it. Tiresome? A little. Worth it? Every time.

 

I'm off to match a few more product IDs. Wish me luck!

 

From my home office to yours,

CJ