Ultimate On-Page SEO Guide: What is On-Page SEO and Detailed On-Page SEO Checklist

What is On-Page SEO?

There are many on-page elements that contribute to the overall effectiveness of SEO. The different elements that are located on your actual web page and contribute to the ability of a search engine to categorise and label your content is what we refer to as on-page SEO. Anything that you can see while on your webpage counts towards being an element of on-page SEO and some very common types of on-page SEO include your content, meta titles and even the URL. Each of these types of on-page SEO work together to ensure that search engines rank your web page highly! 

Search engines work by crawling through web pages and analysing a number of different things. While on-page SEO is just one of these factors that are measured, they are extremely important and Google labelled content as one of the most effective ways of attracting attention. Optimising content is one of the best and most effective ways to ensure that a web page ranks highly on a search engine and using specific on-page SEO keywords in the correct ways can make a world of difference! This is why SEO copywriting is such an important part of on-page SEO. 

If you are a person who is sitting and reading this while thinking “what is on-page seo?” or “how to do on-page optimisation in seo” and are hoping for further guidance, look no further than our team! When it comes to the effectiveness of your on-page SEO strategies, Markethinkers and our SEO consulting team of experts have a number of on-page seo techniques and ideas to ensure that your webpage reflects good and wholesome content while still attracting the attention of Search engines. If you are struggling with your on-page SEO, or any marketing issue, do not hesitate to contact our team and find out more about how we can help you achieve your on-page seo goals! 

How is it different from off-page SEO?

When comparing on-page vs off page seo, it should be noted that there are many differences in these two types of data. While on-page SEO relates to the elements that are on your webpage, Off-page SEO refers to the tools that are used to indirectly influence the ranking of a webpage. Even though these efforts are not direct, they are extremely important and influence the longevity of a webpage’s rankings. While the content on a website is extremely important, Google has over 200 ranking factors that impact how a web page is read and using each of these factors is necessary if you want to ensure that you have a high ranking. Backlinks are a great example of how off-page SEO works and using them is a tactic that many brands use to bring in traffic and attract the attention of search engines. While on-page and off-page SEO factors are different, they each interact with one another to form the basis of a page’s SEO and are both incredibly important elements to consider when creating a website or webpage. 

What is included in on-page SEO?

There are several different elements that contribute to on-page SEO. The following are just a few of the basic elements that make up this type of SEO:

• Content: The content that you use and the quality of the writing affect the overall impact that your webpage has. Within this broad-spectrum, things like keyword frequency, content structure and even the titles you use are all affecting the overall impact that your content has. Along with the above features, it is important to remember that these elements should never compromise good language. The content is what will ultimately be drawing customers in and getting them to take action so good writing that follows language rules is important! 

• URLs: URLs are often the first thing that a user sees or reads when searching for a webpage on a search engine. SEO friendly URLs have a specific structure and certain parameters that make them easier for search engines to place and also for those browsing through web pages to see. SEO friendly URL lengths are often short, include keywords and use hyphens to separate the words. These are just three ways that URLs can become easier to read and understand. This kind of structure is also better suited for search engines and it allows for them to easily pick up on what your webpage is about and will ensure better rankings on a search page! 

• Headings and titles: Heading and title tags help create a structure that search engines can read. The search engine crawlers are able to pick up on and differentiate between the different headings and titles, ensuring that the important elements of the content are highlighted. H1 and H2 tags help to organise your content in such a way that the algorithms of the search engine can pick up on these separations. Along with helping search engine crawlers, headings and titles improve the user experience as these on-page elements make web pages easier to read and help users find information more easily. 

• External links: External, or outgoing, links refer to links from your page to another website. Having an assortment of different external links to other valuable and informative pages that relate to your content can improve your rankings on search engines like Google. Having links going to other websites and pages tells a search engine that you have a lot of valuable and insightful information that would help any user who makes their way to your page. 

Why is On-Page SEO Important?

When considering why on-page SEO is important it is important to consider that there are millions of web pages and websites that are online and it is the responsibility of search engines to rank and organise the different pages to give the best and most relevant information to its users. It is therefore imperative that web pages have the correct content to attract the attention of the search engine so that their page ranks highly! 

On-page SEO is extremely important and those who initiate this type of SEO see results almost immediately. The content that you write and place on your website is what is read by a search engine, and the information that you supply is how it matches your content with results. On-page SEO is therefore how a search engine can correlate your content with results and can match it with certain relative searches. Content that is not optimised according to SEO rules may not be ranked highly or receive the traffic that it would have had had the content been structured to match how a search engine works. 

What Do You Need To Do With Content For On-Page SEO Optimisation?

What Makes Content SEO Compatible?

SEO compatible content refers to webpage content that has been strategically designed to ensure that search engines like Google can read the different types of content and rank it highly on search pages. There are a number of different features that affect the content and its SEO compatibility, including things like keyword frequency, keyword placement and even how the metadata is structured. These elements are just a few of the factors that influence how SEO compatible the content on a page really is. 

Why Should the Target Keyword Be Used in the First 100 Words?

One of the easiest things to do when creating content is to make sure that your target keyword appears early on in your writing. Making it clear exactly what your content is about and defining it within the first 100 words will ensure that websites like Google can determine exactly what your web page is about without having to dig too far into the content. Providing your main keyword early on in the content will ensure that your intentions are made very clear, and while later on in the content you can use synonyms and related words to help the search engine, it is best to be as straightforward as possible early on. 

Why Is Keyword Frequency Important?

There are many on-page SEO techniques that influence the effectiveness of your web page, one of the most important however is keyword frequency. The number of times a certain keyword or phrase appears in the text on a web page reiterates to the search engine what the content is about. There may be some hesitancy in confirming what the page is about if a certain keyword or phrase is only used once, but if it is used multiple times throughout the text, search engines can be sure. 

Though keyword frequency is extremely important when it comes to on-page SEO, keywords should never be used at the expense of good language practices. It is important to remember that the content that is going on your page will be read by users and is there anything worse than reading content that is just not good? We here at Markethinkers do not think so which is why our content is optimised with keywords without compromising the integrity of the writing!

Why Are Meta Titles Necessary For On-Page SEO?

The meta titles and meta descriptions are the content that we see when we are still on the search engine. This is the first look that we have at what the page is about and it is the first bit of information that attracts users to click on the link to your web page. Meta titles are very important for both users and the search engines as it tells both about what the content on the page is about. This falls into on-page SEO due to the fact that it is directly seen by users and is a feature that can draw in or turn away a person hoping to find certain information. It is important to be able to see exactly how the metadata will look which is why Markethinkers has created an amazing SEO tool that does exactly that! Our SERP preview tool allows for users to fill in both the title and meta description, ensuring that your final product has been previewed before even having been loaded on a search engine! 

What Do You Need to Do In The Technical Field In On-Page Seo?

Though on-page SEO refers to the elements like content and keywords, there are also a number of technical features that affect on-page SEO. The following are a few of the most common questions about different technical things that need to be done to ensure that your on-page SEO is structured as well as possible. 

Why Is It Important To Wrap Your Blog Post Title In The H1 Tag?

Blogs are slowly becoming one of the best ways for brands and businesses to form and build relationships with their customer base. Whether you are writing promotional or informative blog posts, it is still important to remember that SEO rules should still be followed as this will ensure that your blog posts have the most opportunity to be exposed and seen by organic traffic. When creating blog posts, it is incredibly important to wrap your blog post title in the H1 tag. This ensures that search engines can easily recognise what the heading is and what the content is about. While some blog platforms like WordPress automatically wrap headings in the H1 tag, this does not happen all the time and it is important to remember to check it yourself when uploading a post to your website. 

How does Wrapping Subheadings in H2 Tags contribute to On-Page SEO?

Wrapping the subheadings in H2 tags can also be extremely beneficial when it comes to helping search engine crawlers recognise what’s what on a webpage. Whether you are an HTML whizz or are just learning the ropes, be sure that you include headings when creating web pages. See below for an H2 heading labelled “Best On-Page SEO tools”. 

<h2 id=“cmtools” Class=“text-centre”> Best On-Page SEO tools</h2>

Why Is It Important to Use External (Outbound) Connections? How should it be done?

External, or outbound, links refer to links from your page to another website. Having an assortment of different external links to other valuable and informative pages that relate to your content can improve your rankings on search engines like Google. Having links going to other websites and pages tells a search engine that you have a lot of valuable and insightful information that would help any user who makes their way to your page. 

How to Optimise Your URLs for SEO?

URLs are an important feature of on-page SEO and they are often the first read part of a web page. It is therefore important to optimise your URLs to ensure that both users and search engine crawlers recognise and understand them. When it comes to good and optimised URLs, it is important to keep them short and to the point. Long and drawn out URLs tend to lose the attention of users, so less is always more when it comes to a good URL! 

Another thing to remember about URLs is that they should be easy to see and read. Non-SEO URLs are not spaced out well and it is often extremely hard to read them. An example of this can be seen by looking at the readability of the following example; OnpageSEOforbeginners as opposed to On-page-SEO-for-beginners, which one is easier to read and understand? The second URL has no spacing and each sentence seems to flow into the other making it hard to differentiate the words while the second is clearer to read and much easier to understand. When it comes to optimising a URL according to SEO rules, always remember that readability and ease should be the first and most important things to focus on. 

What does Increasing Your Page Speed ​​contribute to on-page SEO?

Along with being a ranking factor, the speed at which your page loads can affect the overall user experience of those who visit your web page. If a user has to sit and wait while a page loads, they may lose interest and rather visit a page that has a faster loading speed. The speed rate can also affect the bounce rate and can reduce the dwell time, or time that a user spends on your page between clicks. Both of these factors contribute to how a user interacts with your page and ultimately how a page will rank on search engines like Google. With speed being a ranking factor, it is important to improve on your loading period, things that could affect this is having lots of large images on your page, video content or even the server you use. 

Why is Image Optimisation Important for On-Page SEO?

In general, users respond better to and engage more with content that contains images. When adding images to content, it is still important to remember that the pictures used need to still be relevant to the content that you are writing about. If your webpage is about apples and you put an image of a banana on your webpage, this will further confuse the search engine and will result in a lower-ranked page. When talking about image optimisation, the following is important to remember and take into account: 

• Loading speed: The time that it takes for an image to load greatly impacts the user experience. Images that are slow to load can cause users to become disinterested and opt to try another webpage. Implementing lazy loading and also reducing the size of a picture can reduce the time it takes to load! 

• Alt text and tags: Alt text describes both the picture itself and the context in which it is being used. Creating good alt tags that have a lot of valuable information on them ensures that search engines like Google can pick up on what the image is and why it is relevant and valuable to your webpage. Alt text has also been known to help those who are visually impaired meaning that everyone can get something out of your content. 

• Titles and file names: ensuring that your pictures have been uploaded using relevant titles and file names also impacts how well a search engine can relate to your web page, titles and file names that have nothing to do with the image or do not fully grasp what it is may result in search engines not recognising the image as something that is relevant. 

Why Is It Important For Your Site To Be Mobile-Friendly?

In today’s day and age, our lives seem to revolve around our phones. If we are at home or even at the office, using our mobile devices seems to be the preferred way to interact online, and at the end of the day, searching for something on our phones is far easier than switching on our laptops! Being a mobile-friendly website will ensure that users will be able to interact both on laptops and other devices as well as mobile phones. Opening up a page that was designed for a laptop screen on a phone leaves content jumbled and misplaced and users leave the website as soon as they see the mess of information. 

Along with affecting the user experience, non-mobile-friendly websites do not tend to rank highly on search engines thanks to Google’s updates in 2016. The new ranking system ensures that websites that do not have a mobile-friendly page will rank lower than those who have included this feature. The main idea behind this change was that users who switch between devices should have similar experiences, if you are on a webpage on your laptop and switch to your phone after work, you should have the same experience. 

What Should You Avoid Doing For On-Page SEO?

When it comes to optimising content and other types of on-page SEO elements, it is important to remember that on-page SEO is all about interaction, both with users and the search engine. Many of the on-page SEO for beginners blogs and websites define on-page SEO as the closest interaction you will have with your client base, customers or viewers. It is important to make a good impression through your on-page SEO as this is the content that they will read and see.  One of the best on-page SEO tips is that you should be sure that you are creating good and well-structured data, this both increases the readability of your content for the users reading it and allows for search engine crawlers to quickly and easily see what your page is all about. Pages that are not well structured and well written would have a very low chance of ranking highly on a search engine and so this is something to note when creating your web page content. 

Another important thing to remember about your on-page SEO is that you should avoid creating links that have little to no impact on your content. Irrelevant, duplicated and untrustworthy links may have a detrimental effect on your content and with these types of external links added to your page, you may see a drop in your ranking on search engines like Google. If it is not relevant or from a trustworthy source, it is not worth having on your page. 

You may have many different kinds of on-page ideas about your SEO and how to structure and for it, however, it is incredibly important that you have certain on-page seo goals that you meet within a certain amount of time. Whether it is an increase in the amount of organic traffic or your ranking on Google, setting goals and accomplishing them is an easy way to manage your on-page SEO. 

On-Page SEO Checklist: What Are the On-Page SEO Ranking Factors?

An on-page SEO audit refers to the process of examining all SEO features and making sure that they are in line with good practices and will be effective tools to draw in traffic. An on-page SEO checklist can help ensure that you have all of the relevant features and information for both your users and the search engine crawlers who are looking through and analysing your information. The following are just a few of these most important on-page SEO steps to consider when designing your on-page SEO:

Keyword frequency and content	One of the easiest ways for a search engine to register your website’s content with a specific search engine question is through SEO keywords. Ensuring that the relevant keywords are used a certain number of times and are placed throughout your content, you are already on your way to ensuring that your content is SEO optimised. It is important to remember that the keywords you use should not be placed haphazardly across your content but they should rather be structured well and slide into your content seamlessly.
URLs	Though a URL may not seem like a direct and on-page SEO factor, it is often the very first thing that a user will see and get information from. It is important that URLs are easy to read, short and contain information about what a page is about. There are many different elements that make up a URL and it would be beneficial to understand each one. Be sure to read up on our blog post “What’s SEO-Friendly URL?” to find out more about URLs and SEO!
Headings and titles	Heading and title tags help create a structure that search engines can read. The search engine crawlers are able to pick up on and differentiate between the different headings and titles, ensuring that the important elements of the content are highlighted. H1 and H2 tags help to organise your content in such a way that the algorithms of the search engine can pick up on these separations. Along with helping search engine crawlers, headings and titles improve the user experience as these on-page elements make web pages easier to read and help users find information more easily.
Structured data	The way that content is structured greatly impacts both the readability of the content and a search engine’s ability to make sense of it. Structured data refers to a specific format, be it blog format, an article format or even a movie format! By making sure that your content has been structured specifically according to the type of data that it is you are increasing the search engines ability to recognise the content.
Make sure that your metadata is optimised	Your meta description and meta titles inform a search engine of what the content on your page is about. It is incredibly important that this data reflects your content well and contains keywords that match with what is on the webpage. It is important to remember that search engines like Google can sometimes rewrite metadata to match your page, so it is imperative that the content you have written matches the search results you hope to rank highly for.

How to Check a Competitor’s On-Page SEO?

The same can be said for a competitors on-page SEO rankings and how one can analyse their competition. SEO analysis goes a long way in improving your own SEO and analysing the competition is a great way to come up with keywords! Typing in the relevant keywords and checking as to whether or not they are ranked highly will indicate whether their content has been appropriately optimised according to SEO rules. It is important to check competitors and their rankings as this may impact your own brand and business. Learn from what they have done right and wrong to ensure that you rank higher than the competition and draw in traffic. 

A more accurate way to test out a competitor’s on-page SEO is by using free on-page SEO tools like Ahrefs to examine their main keywords and organic traffic. Not only does this let you know how good or bad a business’s online SEO is going but it also may provide you with relevant information with regards to the keywords that you are using.