Spatial conservation prioritization (SCP) deals with identification of areas important for biodiversity, as well as allocation and scheduling of conservation actions to inform decision-making. In other words, SCP seeks to answer questions of where, when, and how we act to efficiently meet conservation goals. It is a form of technical assessment employed within the broader context of systematic conservation planning, which can be described as a complete operational model covering all stages necessary for successful conservation action. SCP can inform decisions regarding many types of actions, such as establishing new protected areas, habitat restoration and natural resource management.  However, for true policy-relevance, care must be taken in implementing the stated objectives of the decision-makers and stakeholders in the SCP analyses. In this talk, I introduce the basic principles of SCP and multiple methods build around these principles. To demonstrate both the requirements and the typical outputs of a fully developed SCP analysis, I will discuss a recent study on European scale addressing both broad scale species occurrence and supply of ecosystem services. Finally, I will highlight important issues demanding attention when SCP methods are to be used to support real-life conservation decision decision-making.