> Guides to what a search result is built from, finding the searches worth a page, schema markup, hreflang, removing a page, and the checks for a launch. - Canonical: https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/search-basics/ --- # Search basics: results, keywords and markup What a search result is built from, how to find the searches worth a page, and the markup, labels and checks that tell a search engine what each page is. ## Where to begin A search result is built from a page, and nearly every part of it can be read back to something on that page: the title, the description, the small links beneath, the icon beside the name. These guides take the parts one at a time, say what Google builds each from, and show how to check your own. Start with the result itself, then move to the searches: which ones your customers make, which ones your competitors answer and you do not, and how to tell what a page above yours is doing differently. The last guides cover the markup and labels a search engine reads, and the checks worth running when a site launches or changes. ## What a result is made of ### [How to write title tags and meta descriptions](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-write-title-tags-and-meta-descriptions/) What each line does, how long to make it, why Google sometimes rewrites it and how to check yours. ### [How to change how your website appears on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-change-how-your-website-appears-on-google/) The five parts of a search result, what Google builds each one from, and how to change it. ### [How to get sitelinks in Google search results](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-get-sitelinks/) What sitelinks are, why they cannot be requested, what Google says helps, and how to remove one. ### [Why your favicon is not showing in Google search](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/favicon-not-showing-in-google/) Google's requirements for a favicon in search results, the usual faults, and how long a fix takes. ## Finding the searches worth a page ### [How to do keyword research with free tools](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/keyword-research-with-free-tools/) Four free sources of real search demand, and how to choose which searches to build pages for. ### [How to find content your competitors have and you do not](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-find-content-gaps/) Four free ways to list what competitors are found for and you are not, and how to choose which gaps to close first. ### [Why a competitor outranks you, and how to check](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-a-competitor-outranks-you/) Five things to compare, page against page, with a free tool for each. ## Telling a search engine what a page is ### [What schema markup is, and which types a business needs](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/what-is-schema-markup/) What it is, what it changes in search results, the types worth adding and how to test them. ### [Hreflang explained: the right page for each country](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/hreflang-explained/) What the label does, when a site needs it, how to write the codes and the mistakes that make search engines ignore it. ### [How to remove a page from Google search results](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-remove-a-page-from-google/) The fast temporary block, the three permanent methods, and why robots.txt is the wrong tool. ## Launching, redesigning and checking ### [A website launch checklist for search](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/website-launch-checklist/) Launch-day checks for indexing, titles, redirects, the sitemap, tracking and speed, and what to read in the first week. ### [How to redesign a website without losing rankings](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/redesign-a-website-without-losing-rankings/) What to record before, what to keep, and the checks for launch day and the four weeks after. ### [How to check your website speed, and what the numbers mean](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-check-your-website-speed/) The three numbers Google uses, where to read them for your site and a competitor's, and what usually fixes each. ### [Core Web Vitals, explained for a business owner](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/core-web-vitals-explained/) The three measurements, Google's thresholds, where to read your own, and what usually fixes each. ### [What a technical SEO audit covers](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/what-a-technical-seo-audit-covers/) The six areas an audit checks, and what a useful one hands back. ## What these guides do not do Every guide here covers the part a site owner controls: what a page says, how it is marked up and what its result is built from. Where that result is shown is the search engine's decision, and no guide changes that. - [On-site SEO: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/seo/) - [Brand and graphics: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/brand-and-graphics/) - [New websites: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/website-design/) - [Redesigns and rebuilds: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/website-redesign/) - [How the guides are written](https://hadalmedusa.com/laws/) ## Free competitor gap report Each check in these guides is one a comparison runs on every page at once. Name up to three competitors and we measure your site against theirs, then send you where their pages answer a search more fully than yours. 1. Speed and technical health, side by side 2. On-page SEO and site structure 3. The content they are found for and you are not 4. Who holds the searches that matter in your market 5. A prioritised list of what to fix first [Request your free report by email](mailto:contact@hadalmedusa.com?subject=Competitor%20gap%20report%3A%20Topic%3A%20Search%20basics%3A%20results%2C%20keywords%20and%20markup&body=Website%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AWhere%20you%20compete%20(area%2C%20country%20or%20countries)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0ACompetitors%20to%20compare%20against%20(up%20to%20three)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AAnything%20else%20we%20should%20know%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A) - **Address** — contact@hadalmedusa.com - **Include** — your site; up to three competitors; where you compete ## Other topics - [AI search and answer engines](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/ai-search/) - [Website platforms: fixing one, or leaving it](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/website-builders/) - [When a website is not doing its job](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/site-problems/) - [Local search, Maps and reviews](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/local-search/) - [When Google Ads is not working](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/google-ads/) - [When a site is not showing on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/not-on-google/) - [Hiring a studio, and reading its reports](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/hiring-a-studio/) - [All guides](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/)