I'm writing about what I tried on fourteen sites over twelve months. First, let me be clear: nothing here is guaranteed, it varies by industry and competition. I've written the method I used to measure results under each item.
What worked. First, optimizing existing pages. Before writing new content, revamping pages stuck on the second and third pages yields results much faster. Measurement: queries ranking between 11-30 in Search Console, three months before and after.
Second, internal linking. Deliberately linking from strong pages to weak ones that have commercial value. How to measure: check the click-through rate change on linked pages compared to similar unlinked pages.
Third, layout stability matters more than page speed. Cutting load time from 2.4s to 1.9s didn't make a difference; stopping the page from jumping around while loading significantly boosted conversions.
Fourth, have a real expert write it. Text written by someone who knows the subject stays ranked longer than text written by someone just researching it.
Fifth, business profiles for local businesses. This was hands down the highest ROI item for small businesses.
What doesn't work. Adjusting keyword density: I haven't seen any measurable impact. Regular weekly content schedules: it's not about consistency, it's about picking the right topics. And directory submission sites: zero.