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SEO: design for search engines

Last updated on February 18, 2026

People want to find what they’re looking for quickly, search engines help them do that. Designing for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) means helping search engines categorize your content so people end up on the right page faster.

Good SEO starts with clear, useful content written for people first.

On this page

Create useful content

To rank well in search results, think about your audience and why they're searching. What problem are they trying to solve? What task are they trying to complete?

Clear plain language content helps people read and understand your pages more easily. When people find content useful, they're more likely to stay on the page, share it and return later. These signals help search engines understand that the content meets people’s needs, which improves search rankings over time.

Understanding metadata

Metadata tells search engines what your pages and assets are about. It's made up of keywords, synonyms, descriptions and titles.

Good metadata supports good content, it cannot replace clear writing on the page itself.

Use keywords

Keywords are the most popular words and phrases people use when searching. It’s easier for people to find your content when you use the same words they use.

Keywords need to be supported by clear, easy to understand content. Make sure your pages read naturally and avoid repeating keywords too often, as this can make content harder to read.

Tips

  • Doing design research will help you learn what words people use to describe your services
  • Check Google Trends for queries relevant to your pages
  • Review page analytics to understand the words and phrases people use to find your content
  • Though using keywords in page content is more important, some search engines still use keyword metadata. CMS Lite has a keywords option in the Metadata tab. If you're using another platform, check with your web team

Use keywords in your URL

Your URL should be clear and include keywords that describe the page topic. This helps search engines and readers understand the page before clicking.

The easier your URL is to read, the more likely people are to click it. Start with the page title and try to keep URLs under 80 characters.

See the CMS Lite Manual for information about human readable URLs.

Synonyms

People may search using different words for the same service. If certain words or phrases are not approved for general use, such as casual terms or slang, you can add them as synonyms in metadata.

This allows people to find the content even if they search using informal terms. For example, someone searching for 'welfare bc' may be looking for income assistance. Including 'welfare' as a synonym helps direct them to the right page.

CMS Lite has a synonym option in the Metadata tab. If you're using another platform, check with your web team.

Write descriptive page and asset titles

Pages and assets need titles that are clear, concise and use keywords found in the body of the content. Titles should be unique and no more than 70 characters long.

Page and asset titles display in search results and help people decide if they’ve found the right information.

Write clear page and asset descriptions

Descriptions should clearly describe to people what they will find when they click on a page or asset. Search engines often display this text in their results page, so it should be easy to understand and engaging.

Include relevant keywords where they fit naturally. Descriptions should be no more than 300 characters long and must be accurate and unique.

If many pages or assets use similar descriptions, search engines may show less helpful results.

See the CMS Lite Manual for information about adding descriptions to pages and metadata for assets.

Use headings

Use headings to break content into topics that show what the page is about. Including keywords in headings can improve your SEO and help people find what they’re looking for. 

Headings help people scan content and help search engines understand page structure. Search engines usually place the most importance on an H1 heading, followed by H2, H3, and so on. 

Every page should include an H1, in most content management systems, this is the page title. If you're using a platform other than CMS Lite, check with your web team to be sure.

Accessibility

Accessible content helps people and search engines.

Web crawlers are programs that reads web content to help search engines categorize it. Web crawlers cannot see images or videos, but they can read text. If you're using images or videos you need to include descriptions in text so search engines can categorize them. Because of this, many actions that improve SEO also improve accessibility, including:

Update often

Readers and search engines prefer content that is current. Outdated or inconsistent content can also affect how AI-generated search summaries present government information to the public.

Plan your content life cycle and update your pages regularly to make sure the information is still accurate and useful. Do not forget to check links. Broken links reduce usability, and poor usability can affect your SEO.

Analytics

Web analytics help you understand how people find and use content. Use analytics to see which pages perform well and which need improvement. This should be done as part of your ongoing content strategy.

Artificial intelligence and search engines

Search engines now also use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate content summaries. These summaries combine information from multiple sources into a short overview. Many people rely only on this summary and may not visit the actual content on our website.

This creates a risk. If the content AI pulls from is outdated, duplicated or inconsistent, AI summaries may present incomplete or incorrect information without important context. This can cause confusion and mistrust.

Regularly reviewing and updating content helps reduce the risk of misinformation and supports clear, consistent public information.