On-page SEO checklist refers to a list of optimization techniques that can be applied to individual web pages to improve their search engine ranking and visibility. It involves optimizing various elements on the page, such as the content, title tags, meta descriptions, headings, images, and internal linking, to make the page more search engine-friendly.
Do you have user traffic analytics set up?
Use any tool for tracking user activities to improve your site.
Is your page crawlable?
Ensure the rules in robots.txt do not block crawlers from crawling your site.
Is your page indexable?
Ensure your site is indexed by selected search engines. For example, use URL Inspection in Google or Bing. The URL Inspection tool allows you to check whether a URL could be indexable and offers details about the search engine-indexed versions of a certain website.
Is your page title wrapped in an H1 element?
The H1 heading, which is often the biggest heading on a page, describes the primary subject of the page. It conveys the page’s relevance to search engines. Note: The H1 should always be unique for the page and should not be the same on several pages.
Use headings elements
Organize the page’s content using headings HTML elements (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to make it easier for users and search engines to understand the page’s structure and content.
Are important keywords from the page title in the meta description?
Both your page title and your meta description should contain important keywords. This enhances the chance that someone who searches will find the keyword phrase or search query they were looking for. The correct target keywords at the beginning of each meta description can help boost a page’s click-through rate.
Are important keywords from the page title in the URL?
The URL may improve SEO if it contains relevant keywords. The URL is taken into account by search engines as a sign of the page’s content when they crawl and index web pages. Search engines can better grasp the content and relevancy of a website by including keywords in the URL. In search engine results, visitors frequently scan the URL; if it contains relevant terms, this might improve the probability that they will click on your link.
Use outbound links
Linking to other websites is a great way to provide value to your users. Links often enable readers to learn more, investigate your sources, and grasp how your information relates to their inquiries. It’s possible that search engines want to see outbound connections that show you believe the website you’re connecting to is a fantastic fit for users.
Use multimedia
Use images, videos, and diagrams to reduce the bounce rate and increase time on site.
Fix broken links
Broken links are hyperlinks on a webpage that lead to another webpage that is unavailable for various reasons (the page does not exist, the server is not responding, and the like).
Search engines are aware that broken links appear often on the internet. Broken links have a negative impact on the user experience, which is a ranking factor that has an indirect impact on SEO. These links could be quite annoying and ruin the experience. Therefore, you shouldn’t anticipate an increase in traffic or ranking as a result of fixing broken links. Instead, focus on ensuring that customers have a positive browsing experience as they navigate your website.
Broken links can harm SEO since they waste potential link value that may be used elsewhere. The link flow is interrupted, wasting the link juice that may have gone to alternative sites on your website. Broken links for outbound links may give search engines the impression that your website lacks authority. It is nevertheless worthwhile to optimize, even though these won’t have a significant influence on your website’s rankings or traffic.
Building inbound with links rel="nofollow" vs follow
Every time a website adds a dofollow link back (the attribute rel does not contain the value nofollow) to your website, your authority grows and your rankings increase.
Meanwhile, when a website inserts a nofollow link (rel="nofollow") back to your website, authority is not passed.
Use schema markup
Add schema markup to the page to provide additional context for search engines. Read more about schema in What is JSON LD? Frequently asked questions.
The HTML element title attribute and SEO
The HTML element title attribute can be used to provide additional information about an element, such as a link or an image. Here are some best practices for using the title attribute for SEO:
- Relevance and Descriptive Text: The title attribute should provide relevant and descriptive text that accurately describes the content of the element. This helps search engines understand the context and relevance of the element.
- Avoid Keyword Stuffing: While it’s important to include relevant keywords in the title attribute, avoid keyword stuffing. Focus on providing meaningful and concise descriptions that enhance the user experience.
- Unique and Non-Duplicate: Each title attribute should be unique and non-duplicate across different elements on a page. This helps search engines differentiate and understand the content of each element.
- Use in Anchor Tags: One beneficial way to use the title attribute for SEO purposes is within anchor tags. Providing descriptive text within an anchor tag can give you more real estate for targeted keyword phrases. However, it’s important not to duplicate the anchor text for usability purposes.
- Accessibility: Worth mentioning that the
titleattribute is not consistently supported by all screen readers. Some screen readers may not read thetitleattribute at all, while others may read it inconsistently or only under certain conditions, e.g. reading hints (title) must be enabled by the user in the VoiceOver.
SEO image optimizations
- Include your target keywords at the start of the filename, separated by hyphens. Avoid using underscores since search engines do not recognize them. For example, instead of naming an image
flowers367.jpg
, use a more descriptive name likered-tulip-flowers.jpg
. - Unique images tend to rank higher in search engines than stock images, especially if the stock images are being used on multiple websites.