When it comes to SEO, on-page SEO is one of the essential aspects. It’s well-known that if you want to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs), you need to focus on on-page SEO and ensure your website’s content is optimized for Google and other search engines. This blog post will discuss a comprehensive on-page SEO checklist that will help you optimize your website’s content and improve your rankings!
What is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO (also called on-site SEO) is the process of optimizing a website’s content for search engine crawlers. On-page SEO includes both the technical aspects of a website (such as its code and structure) as well as the content on the site (such as the text, images, and videos).
Why is On-Page SEO Important?
On-page SEO helps search engines understand what your website is about and how relevant it is to specific keywords. If your website’s content is not optimized, it will be difficult for Google and other search engines to rank your site high in SERPs.
Additionally, on-page optimization can help improve the user experience on your website, which can lead to more traffic and conversions. As Google mentioned with the new updates, “Great page experience doesn’t override having great page content. However, in cases where there are many pages that may be similar in relevance, page experience can be much more important for visibility in Search.”
What is Included in an On-Page SEO Checklist?
Here is a comprehensive on-page SEO checklist that will help you optimize your website’s content:
1.Identify Your Keywords
We don’t need to talk about how important keywords are. Keyword research and identifying keywords are the core of SEO. So, first, identify your core and secondary (long-tail) keywords. You can use keyword research tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner and Moz Keyword Explorer.
If you want to learn more about choosing keywords, you can check out our article.
2.Include Primary Keyword In Your URL
Your website’s URL is one of the first places Google looks at when determining your site’s relevancy for a particular keyword. It is essential to include your primary keyword in your URL. For example, if you optimize your website for the keyword “on-page SEO checklist,” you should have that keyword in your URL.
3.Use a short URL
Make sure your URL is short, descriptive, and easy to remember. A short URL is more manageable for users to type into their browser and is more likely to be shared on social media. Additionally, a descriptive URL helps search engines understand what your page is about.
It may depend on the website and the content, but usually, the easiest way to create short, descriptive URLs is to set your primary keyword as the URL slug. If you check our blog posts, you will see that their URLs are designed this way.
4.Write A Compelling Title Tag
As much as your URLs, your title tag is one of the most important on-page SEO factors. Users look at the title tag to understand what the page is about. It should be no longer than 60 characters and include your primary keyword. For example, the title tag for this blog post is “On-Page SEO Checklist: How to Optimize Your Content.” It is clear, descriptive, and includes the primary keyword.
5.Write A Compelling Meta Description
The meta description is the summary of a web page that appears below the title tag in SERPs. As searchers scroll through the ranked pages, they will refer to the meta description before clicking on the webpage. It should be no longer than 160 characters and include your primary keyword.
Here are some tips for writing compelling meta descriptions:
- Keep it under 160 characters: This is the maximum number of characters that will be displayed in search engine results. Any meta descriptions that are longer will be truncated.
- Write for your audience: Keep in mind who you are writing for and what they are looking for. Use language that is clear and concise, and avoid jargon.
- Include keywords: Use relevant keywords throughout your meta description to help improve click-through rates. However, don’t stuff your keywords in; use them naturally as part of the description.
- Make it unique: Each page on your website should have a unique meta description. Don’t simply reuse the same meta description for every page.
6.Optimize Your Images
All images on your website should have alt text that includes your primary keyword. It helps search engines understand what the image is about and how people can find it. And so it makes the image ranks higher in Google images as well.
Additionally, you should compress your images to reduce their file size. Large images can slow down your website.
7.Add Schema Markup For Rich Snippets
Schema markup is a code that helps search engines understand the content on your website. Adding schema markup to your website can help improve click-through rates by providing more information to users in SERPs.
Rich snippets are schema markups that can help your website stand out in SERPs.
8. Structure Your Content with Header Tags
Header tags are used to structure the content on your website. They help both search engines and users understand the hierarchy of your content. They can help improve the user experience by making it easier for users to navigate your website.
Structure your text by using keyword-focused subheadings. There is no strict rule about how many and how frequent you should use subheadings. However, Yoast suggests that the text following a subheading generally should not be longer than 250-350 words.
9. Include Your Keyword Throughout Your Page
It is essential to include your primary keyword throughout your page, including in the body text, title tag, meta description, and URL. However, you should avoid keyword stuffing, which is when you include a keyword too many times in an attempt to rank higher for that keyword. Keyword stuffing can hurt your SEO.
The highest quality content doesn’t always win, primarily if it’s not structured correctly. As you blend keywords for SEO into your website, compare top competitors’ heading structures and page components to help you find the most valuable on-page attributes.
10. User Experience Focused Content Structure
When optimizing your website for SEO, keeping the user experience in mind is important. This is one of the complex and tricky parts. As a matter of fact, multiple factors affect the user experience and you should consider them all.
Your content should be well-written and easy to read, it should be structured effectively with header tags, your page should be fast and mobile-friendly, etc. To learn more about user experience, you can check Google’s blog post.
11. Link To Relevant Resources
If you want to rank high for a specific keyword, you must link to relevant resources on your website. By linking to appropriate resources, you show search engines that your website is a reliable source of information on the topic.
12. Add Internal Links
Internal links are links from one page on your website to another page on your website. They help search engines understand the structure of your website and improve the user experience. Additionally, internal links can help improve your website’s SEO by assisting Google in indexing your new pages faster.
It is good to link to 2-5 other pages on your site in your content. Ensure you’re using keyword-rich anchor text (the visible characters and words that hyperlinks display when linking to another document or location on the web) in your internal links. Anchor text tells search engines the topic of the page you link to.
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