On-Page SEO Tactics: The Elements We Always Include for Stronger On-Page SEO

You know you should be “doing SEO”, but it can be hard to know exactly what that ought to entail. Does search engine optimization end with keyword research? What’s on-page optimization, and how does it affect your place on search engine results pages? And, do any of these really move the needle on getting more calls, purchases, and bookings?

Before you spiral into an SEO-induced panic, we’ve put together a quick, clear SEO checklist of all the tactics you should be using for on-page SEO. And, vitally, we’ve explained each one, including instructions on how to apply them on your own website.

But first, a little reminder of why on-page SEO is so important in the first place.

Why Is On-Page SEO Important?

Search engines’ job is to rank websites according to how relevant they are to a person’s search intent. So, they’re scanning your website pages to see whether you’re a good fit for someone’s search for “home aquarium supplies”; if your website includes the right keywords, image descriptions, meta titles, etc., search engines will be convinced that you’re the best website for that person’s search.

Those tactics are just a few elements of on-page SEO, and they help search engines understand that your website should rank higher than other pages for the same keyword. On-page SEO helps you get more organic traffic to your website – that is, web traffic you don’t have to pay for via ads. As your traffic numbers improve, so does your domain authority (DA), another metric search engines look for to decide whether you’re a reputable, reliable source of information for readers.

Checklist of On-Page SEO Tactics

Ready for an on-page SEO checklist you can use to improve your search ranking? Without further ado, here are the on-page SEO tactics we couldn’t live without:

Target Keyword Optimization

Including relevant keywords on your website indicates to search engines that it has the best information about those keywords.

But you’re not Amazon, so you can’t rank for every conceivable keyword people might use to search for your products. Narrow your target list to keywords that have a high-ish monthly search volume (MSV) to show that they’re popular and a low-ish keyword difficulty (KD) score. That combination will give you keywords that are popular with people searching for your products, but not so popular that they’re impossible to rank for.

• Perform keyword research. You can use a free keyword tool like Ahrefs to help you pinpoint good options.
• Decide on 2-3 keywords you can use throughout the entire website. These should describe your core offerings. Then, you can choose 1-2 keywords for niche service areas.
• Edit your website copy to include those keywords as often as possible.
• Focus on putting keywords into page titles and headlines wherever possible. Search engines give extra weight to H1-H6 text.

But, steer clear of keyword stuffing. Search engines won’t reward you for adding so many keywords that it feels unnatural and you’ll start to sound like an AI bot rather than a real, human business owner. Keep your keyword ratios natural and enjoyable to read.

Blog Posts

Some keywords won’t work as headlines or in your main website copy, but they’ll make ideal topics for blog posts. Use niche, ultra-specific search terms as inspiration for blog topics and commit to posting at least 1 new blog every month. You might be surprised to find it’s those niche blogs that help you climb the search results ranks the fastest.

• Target related keywords you can use as blog posts.
• Include the main keyword in the blog post title and 1-2 more times throughout the copy.
• Shoot for at least 1,000 words per blog post and blog at least once per month.

Internal Links

Both internal and external links lend authority to your website, but on-page SEO focuses on internal linking. Adding internal links to important pages on your website encourages people to keep exploring your site, and it tells search engines that your website’s full of relevant links to rich, interesting data.

• Find internal linking opportunities on every page on your website, including your blog posts.
• The “anchor text” is the text you’ll highlight as your link. Make sure it’s descriptive, and use a keyword if possible.
• Check that older links actually go to the correct, linked page. Broken links will turn off human readers and search engines alike.

Meta Descriptions and Title Tags

Meta data is the summary information that search engines display with your web page. It’s a snippet of text that tells human readers what each page is all about, and search engines use it to decide whether your page is relevant to a user’s search.

• Include your primary keyword in the meta title, followed by your business name and another keyword if you have room. Title tags shouldn’t exceed 65 characters, so you’ll have to be succinct.
• Use your main keyword to write a compelling meta description, too. These can be longer – 155 characters.

Image Descriptions

Just like your meta data, image descriptions are a clever way to add more keywords. Plus, they make your website more accessible for people who can’t see the images, and search engines love website accessibility.

• Write a brief description of every image on your website that includes a keyword.

Every website builder is different, but in WordPress, you can add image descriptions in the Media Library.

Page URLS

Readable URLs – ones that aren’t just a string of letters and numbers – are far friendlier on the eye and help users understand where they are on your website. Plus, URLs are another place where you can sneak in a keyword without being accused of keyword stuffing.

• Include a main keyword in your URL if possible.
• Write short URLs that are easy to read.
• Use dashes instead of underscores to separate words.

Structured Data

Search engines like to see structured data on your website. It tells them that your site is well-organized and easy for people to navigate, and it also makes the website simple for search engines to read and catalogue.

• Include a schema markup on your website.

Well-structured data also encourages search engines to include featured snippets (that extra information you might see on a Google results page, like stars, reviews, or FAQs) when they display your website in results.

Page Speed

Generally, on-page SEO refers to the elements you can see and read on your web page. But your site speed is also part of on-site SEO – and it needs to be fast.

• Check your page load speed with this free tool from Pingdom.
• If it’s slow, you’ll need to make your website a bit lighter so that it’s easier to load. Compressing your images so that they’re not as data-heavy is a good place to start.
• You should also eliminate any unnecessary media elements, like music or videos that play automatically.

This All Sounds Hard. And What About Off-Page SEO?

Climbing the search engine rankings is harder than it sounds. It takes time and diligent effort – you likely won’t see improvements for months and even then, you’ll need to constantly monitor your core web vitals to understand what’s working and what needs adjustment.

Plus, the elements of off-page SEO are much more technical (hence, why it’s often called “technical SEO”) and require you to understand the mechanics of your website.

But there’s one quick-and-easy way to ensure your on- and off-page SEO are humming along nicely – by leaving it to us! We’ll help you plan and execute an on-page SEO strategy that improves your ranking and helps you improve conversions. If you’re ready to get started, let’s talk: 610.725.0702.