Learn On-Page SEO from Our Experts: Checklist Included

Is your content struggling to rank on the first page of SERPs? If the answer is yes, it might be time to pay attention to your on-page SEO.

On-page SEO is one of the quickest and easiest ways to add value to your content and increase the chances of it ranking well. This is because optimizing your on-page SEO is within your control. No worrying about link outreach or dealing with third-party directories.

However, on-page SEO optimization can feel daunting to some, just because it covers a lot of different elements. In the on-page SEO checklist below, I’m going to show you the essential things to pay attention to. 

Follow the guidance in this article and you’re one step closer to more organic traffic, improved search engine rankings, and happier website visitors!

Key Takeaways

• There are many parts to on-page SEO optimization, including keyword research, metadata, page content and internal linking.
• It’s vital to understand search intent – what is the purpose of your page, and where are your prospective customers in the sales funnel?
• Trust is important to both human visitors and search engines – your content needs to be authentic, accurate, and relevant.
• On-page SEO doesn’t work on its own – you need to combine it with off-page SEO, technical SEO, and local SEO to get optimal results.

Table of Contents

• Key Takeaways
• What Is On-Page SEO And Why Is It Important?
• Search Intent: The Foundation of On-Page SEO
• Keyword Research And Implementation
• Metadata
• Effective Content
• Avoiding Cannibalization/Duplicate Content
• Internal Links
• Page Structure
• Optimized Images
• Schema Markup
• FAQs
• Conclusion

What Is On-Page SEO And Why Is It Important?

On-page SEO (or on-site SEO) is the process of optimizing both metadata and content on a web page. If done right, your page will rank higher on search engines, which means more traffic to your website. 

Let’s take this current article you are reading, for example. It’s optimized for specific keywords and written to be readable and easy to understand.

As a result, it ranks well for many keywords and attracts a lot of backlinks. 1,500 last time we checked! 

So, why is on-page SEO optimization so important?

• It helps you rank. High-quality, trustworthy copy, as well as properly crafted title tags and meta descriptions, increase the odds of your page appearing on the first page of search engine results pages (SERPs).
• It ensures targeted and relevant traffic. You want to drive the people to your site who are most likely to convert. On-page SEO ensures your target customers are more likely to find your page.
• It makes for good usability. On-page SEO best practices, like cutting out duplicate content, simplifying web pages, and creating intuitive site architecture, improve the user experience of your site. This means visitors are more likely to stick around.
• It makes it easier to scale. Good on-page SEO makes for a solid foundation. This means you can add to your page and refresh it with new information as you grow, as well as when user intent changes.
• It’s safe. Assuming you don’t try to keyword spam, on-page optimization is the safest form of search engine optimization — it won’t get your website penalized by the search engines.

Search Intent: The Foundation of On-Page SEO

When looking for the right keywords to use on your pages, you need to think about search intent.

Search intent refers to the reason behind why someone types a query into search engines. For example, let’s say you sell sneakers online. 

Someone searching for “how to clean suede sneakers” is looking for care instructions, while someone looking for “buy Nike Dunk Lows” is ready to make a purchase right there and then.  

So, why is search intent so important to on-site SEO? 

Relevance is an important ranking factor to search engines like Google – they want to show searchers the results that offer the most value. If you choose the right keywords and tailor your page content to answer people’s questions, you’re more likely to appear in front of your target audience.

Keyword Research And Implementation

Good keyword research is the cornerstone of on-site SEO optimization. High-quality keywords that align with search intent increase the chances of ranking in search engines and attracting visitors who are most likely to convert.

Plus, keyword research lets you see which keywords your competitors are ranking for, meaning you can identify keyword gaps to educate new content.

There are lots of different tools for keyword research. Ubersuggest’s “Keyword Ideas” feature lets you identify new words and phrases to target by entering up to three seed keywords. You can see search volume and keyword difficulty and even check which rival sites rank for your keywords of choice.

When you’ve selected your keywords, it’s time to implement them on your page. It’s essential to do this naturally. 

Shoehorning them in makes your content hard to read, which frustrates customers and makes your page appear spammy, which can lead to penalties in search engines.

Keyword variations are a brilliant way to help your page rank without using the same words and phrases repeatedly. For example, instead of “sneakers”, you can say “tennis shoes”, “trainers” or “running shoes”.

I recommend adding keywords to the following places on a page where it feels relevant:

• Title tag and meta description.
• Page headings.
• The content on the page.
• Image alt text.
• Call-to-action.
• URL.

Metadata

Metadata (for the sake of on-page SEO) refers to elements like title tags, H1s and meta descriptions.

Title tags and H1s are one of the strongest on-page ranking signals that exist.

Meta descriptions don’t directly affect where your page ranks in the search engine results, but they affect how your page looks in the search engines. This can make the difference between your target audience visiting your website or clicking on another site instead.

Here’s how to optimize your metadata for on-page SEO:

• Add your page keywords into your metadata where appropriate.
• Ensure you have unique metadata for each page of your site.
• Make sure your metadata accurately describes the content on your page.
• Keep your metadata clear and concise – under 160 characters for meta descriptions and 60 characters for title tags.

Effective Content

You need to create content that both ranks in search engines and your target audience will read, enjoy, and act upon.

Great content has lots of benefits for your website:

• It shows that you have authority and expertise, meaning the search engines see you as a credible and reliable source of information. 
• It keeps visitors engaged on your site, showing the search engines that your website provides value.
• It encourages other websites to link to you, meaning more backlinks and an improved chance of ranking well.

Here’s an example of a website that’s smashing it when it comes to great content. Serious Eats contains a wide range of information to appeal to visitors, including delicious recipes, the best kitchen equipment, and food science articles. 

The site regularly publishes and updates content, showing the search engines that it’s a source of accurate and relevant information. The site also provides detailed author bios, showing the experience and expertise each writer has.

Avoiding Cannibalization/Duplicate Content

Duplicate content should be avoided whenever you can. This is because when the search engines identify duplicate content on your website, they must choose which page to show – and there is the risk that they’ll get it wrong.

You also need to avoid keyword cannibalization for the same reason. This is when you have two pages on your site optimized for the same keywords, and the search engines need to determine which page will rank.

Rob Tindula, Director of SEO at NP Digital, describes avoiding cannibalization as a two-part strategy:

“1. Understanding your existing rankings – If you already have a page ranking for a specific keyword within striking distance, it is a good sign that you should not map that keyword to another page.

2. Understanding keyword intent – keywords that may appear to be different can be the same or have the same intent in the eyes of Google. Doing SERP analysis is your best friend here.

If after going through the steps above you notice two or more pages on your site competing for the same or similar keywords, then you should consolidate those pages into one, stronger and more comprehensive piece.”

Internal Links

Did you know that adding strategically placed internal links can give your other pages a well-deserved on-page SEO boost?

For example, if you mention a complimentary service on one of your service web pages, you should link that service to the appropriate webpage. 

This not only makes it easier for visitors to navigate your site, but makes it easier for the search engines to crawl and understand your content.

Of course, it’s important to do this carefully so Google doesn’t think your web page is spammy. Focus on relevant links, consider your anchor text (the text that makes up your internal link), and regularly audit your existing links to make sure they still work.

Page Structure

Imagine that you have two web pages. One has understandable subheadings, uses bullet points, and neatly-spaced paragraphs. The other is a solid wall of text.

Which page do you think the search engines, as well as users, are more likely to understand?

A clear page structure makes it easier for search engine crawlers to scan your content and enhances the user experience for visitors. Both of these lead to an improved chance of your page ranking well in the search engines.

It’s important to follow a clear hierarchy when using headings on your page – for example, don’t jump from H2 to H4. This can confuse search engines and have a negative effect on your on-page SEO.

Optimized Images

Images are fantastic for making your page easier to read and providing additional value to visitors. Plus, they may appear in Google’s images tab, giving your site an extra SEO boost.

However, it’s important to optimize your images correctly.

Slow-loading images can frustrate visitors and affect your search engine rankings. Meanwhile, images without alt text can lead to accessibility issues for visitors who use screen-reading software.

Make sure your images are optimized correctly – Shopify recommends that product photos be around the 300kb mark.

You can check that an image has alt text in Chrome by right-clicking and choosing “Inspect” and looking for the “alt=” element.

Keep your alt text shorter than 125 characters where possible. Try to include relevant page keywords if you can, but don’t add them in for the sake of it – accessibility always comes first.

Schema Markup

Schema markup is excellent for on-page SEO as it provides search engines with additional context about your page content. This means your page is more likely to rank for specific search engine queries.

It also transforms how your page looks in the search engine results, meaning your entry looks more appealing and takes up more space compared to your competitors.

Schema markup is available for a wide range of pages including:

• Articles
• Reviews
• Products
• Frequently asked questions

The easiest way to add schema markup is to create the code in Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper and add it directly to your source code. Some plugins automatically create schema for you, for example, Yoast in WordPress.

FAQs

What is On-page SEO Optimization?

On-page SEO optimization is a set of processes designed to make page content more likely to rank well in search engines and increase web traffic. On-page SEO specifically focuses on elements that a reader would see, like the quality of content, or internal links on a given page. Another advantage is that you’re making your page content more appealing to readers.

Which Element is Most Important for On-Page SEO?

While all elements of on-page SEO are extremely important, here are the three I recommend focusing on:

• Keywords in metadata: Things like title tags and H1s are strong ranking factors whereas meta descriptions aren’t ranking factors, but help with things like click through rates.
• Copywriting and page structure: Good copywriting and page organization provides value to visitors and clearly explains what the intent of the page is. 

Internal link building: Provides the search engines with additional context about your site,promotes relevant content to visitors and improves rankings

What is the Difference Between On-site SEO and Off-site SEO?

On-site SEO refers to the strategies used to optimize a website’s content and structure for search engines. 

Off-site SEO refers to the actions taken outside of a website to improve its search engine rankings like link building and social media marketing.

Conclusion

On-page SEO is one part of a greater SEO strategy, but it plays a crucial role within that strategy. The content on a page, the search intent for its keywords, all of these communicate your site’s value to users.

You can get all the backlinks and have the best-optimized site out there, but if the page itself isn’t valuable, you’re not going to get those all-important conversions.

As a result, when you’re planning out your website and content strategy, be sure to think about what user needs you’re trying to fulfill. 

Knowing the need leads you to the right search intent, which leads to the right keywords, which leads to the right content. This helps get your on-page SEO off on the right foot.