on-page SEO checklist
Keyword & Content Foundation to Advance Your Strategy
- Identify target keywords: Choose a primary focus keyword and relevant secondary or long-tail variations based on search volume and user intent.
- Match search intent: Ensure your content directly answers whether users want information, a specific product, a comparison, or a transactional page.
- Write high-quality content: Provide deep, original, and helpful information that satisfies the user’s query better than competitors.
HTML & Meta Tags
- Optimize the title tag: Keep titles under 60 characters (or around 600 pixels) and put your primary keyword near the front.
- Write compelling meta descriptions: Summarize the page in 150–160 characters with a clear call to action to boost click-through rates.
- Use a single H1 tag: Make your main headline clear, engaging, and inclusive of your primary keyword.
- Structure with subheadings: Use H2 and H3 tags logically to break up text and include secondary keywords.
URLs & Images
- Optimize URL slugs: Keep URLs short, clean, readable, and structured with hyphens and your target keyword.
- Add descriptive alt text: Describe images accurately while naturally integrating relevant keywords.
- Compress images: Keep media file sizes small to prevent slow rendering times.
Links & Technical Signals
- Build internal links: Connect your page to other relevant pages on your site to help search engines understand context and site hierarchy.
- Include outbound links: Link out to trusted, authoritative external sources that add value to your claims.
- Ensure mobile-friendliness: Make sure your layout and text resize smoothly for mobile screens.
- Improve page speed: Optimize Core Web Vitals and performance to eliminate render-blocking elements.
- Add structured data: Use appropriate schema markup (like Article, FAQ, or Organization) to help search engines parse your content.
