In our latest blog, we’ve created a quick and easy on-page SEO checklist. Whether you’re just starting out in this industry, or you want to ensure you’re doing everything you can to improve rankings, read this simple post.
Since nobody likes to scroll through endless lists and long blogs, we’ve cut ours down to include only the most important factors. These can be crucial to improving your performance in SERPs.
What is On-Page SEO?
To put it simply, on-page SEO incorporates all of the ways in which you can optimise your website for the needs of your customer, and for search engines, by changing elements on each page. This is separate from other aspects of what we do (which are thought of as off-page), including link building and digital PR, as well as technical SEO.
Take These Simple Steps
- Optimise your title tag so that it matches your page content
- Write a snappy and informative meta description
- Ensure your URLs have a clear structure, reflecting the hierarchy of your site
- Include alt. text for any images on the page (and think about using video)
- Provide a consistent structure of header tags (H1s, H2s, etc)
- Create a system of internal links
Onto the Content Itself
Once you’ve successfully included all the other elements, you can now focus on the content alone (either as you write or if you’re editing old copy). Within this, there are a few key things you can think about.
Firstly, your content must always be of a high quality, informative and most of all, relevant. Your page needs to answer the searcher’s question or match their needs in the right way. You should also think about its length and readability, too (is it easy to look at and understand?).
Next, something important to ask yourself is, is it up-to-date? This will become a big factor if you’re reviewing older copy. Since your subject matter has to be relevant, this means it will likely need updating from time-to-time, by adding fresh information or deleting anything outdated.
Lastly, your content should include your keyword/s, ideally within the first 100 words. Then, you can enrich the rest of the text with any related phrases, as long as the information still matches the user’s intent and it doesn’t read as stuffy.
What To Avoid
There are certain factors that you should steer clear of when creating pages for your site. Many of these things may be accidental but can easily be spotted, and fixed, during an on-page SEO audit.
For example, you want to avoid duplicates wherever possible. This may be within your content or page titles, and you should always change these if you find them. The same goes for any missing titles or meta descriptions; by adding these in, you’re helping to boost that page’s relevancy. Look out for keyword cannibalisation, too.
Hopefully, this quick post has made your on-page SEO work even easier. For more insights and helpful posts on all things search engine optimisation, visit our blog, now.