On-Page SEO Checklist in 2024

On-Page SEO checklist for effective on-page optimization in 2024 via keyword research, page title, meta description, heading tags, content, URL, images, etc. Do you want to improve a page’s ranking in Google? This on-page SEO checklist is your ultimate guide. On-page SEO is the process of optimizing the content of an individual page to rank higher on Google. Activities include optimizing title tags and URL slugs, adding title tags, and more. Complete all 11 tasks (and three additional tasks) in this checklist, in any order. To optimize your content for target keywords, make your page Google-friendly and improve user engagement. Here is the full on-page SEO checklist in 2024 –

• Perform Keyword Research
• Optimize the Page Title
• Optimize Meta Descriptions To Drive More Clicks
• Write Informative and Useful Heading in H1 Tag
• Add Subheadings To Structure Content
• Use Target Keywords in Content
• Improve the Quality of Content
• Make the Page URL SEO-Friendly
• Use Engaging Visual Content (Images and Videos)
• Improve Navigation By Adding Relevant Internal Links
• Apply Schema Markup
• Ensure That Your Page is Indexed
• Add Sitemap To Improve Your Website Indexing
• Improve Website Usability For Better User Experience
• Increase Page Speed (Load Time)
• Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly
• Process Conversion Optimization to Improve CR

What is On-Page SEO (On-Site SEO)?

On-page SEO or on-site SEO is the process of optimizing various front-end and back-end components of your website so it ranks in search engines and generates new traffic. On-page SEO components include content elements, site structure elements, and HTML elements.

Huge Importance of On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is important because it tells Google everything about your website and how you provide value to visitors and customers. It keeps your website optimized for both the human eye and search engine crawlers. Building and publishing your website is not enough, you need to optimize it for Google and other search engines to rank it and attract new traffic.

On-page SEO is called “on-page” because the adjustments and changes you make to optimize your website can be seen by visitors on your page (whereas technical and off-page SEO factors are not displayed at all times). Every part of On-Page SEO is entirely up to you; That’s why you must get it right.

Top 15 On-Page SEO Checklist

Let’s start exploring the top 15 On-Page SEO checklist for effective on-page optimization.

Perform Keyword Research

Target keywords—i.e., relevant search queries—are crucial to on-page optimization. After all, the goal is to rank for relevant keywords and become more visible in search results. Perform keyword research to find what words and phrases people use to find pages like yours. There are lots of keyword research tools on the market. And they provide data you can use to choose the best keywords for your brand. Note that this data includes –

Intent – the type of search intent or motivation behind each search

Volume – volume of searches per keyword, average number of monthly searches

Keyword difficulty – KD (keyword difficulty), a measure of how difficult it is to rank in the top 10 organic results of Google

Optimize the Page Title

The title tag is the title of the page that appears in the SERP. You need to tell Google what your page is about. And encourage users to click through. Title tags are one of the most important elements for on-page optimization. So, be sure to include your page’s main keywords (the main search terms you want to rank for). Ideally from the beginning. You can also add secondary keywords. However, it is important to avoid unnatural “keyword stuffing”. This can look like spam to Google and your users. Aim for a title tag length of 50-60 characters (including spaces). Because Google shortens title tags that are too long.

Checklist –

• Do you have the most important keyword in the title of your website?
• Do you include the keyword at the beginning of the title tag?
• Is the title tag 70 characters or less?
• Is the content of the title unique?

Optimize Meta Descriptions To Drive More Clicks

A meta description is a description of a page that appears in the SERP. Meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor. This is the key to standing out in search results and attracting more clicks, so it’s part of this on-page optimization checklist. Use it to explain what users can expect from your site and why it’s worth visiting. And make sure you include your main keywords. Google often displays users’ search queries in bold in the meta descriptions of the SERPs. It might make your list even more eye-catching. We recommend that your meta description be a maximum of 120 characters (including spaces). This reduces the risk of Google ranking them in its SERPs for desktop and mobile.

Checklist –

• Do meta description tags include targeted keywords?
• Is the meta description content up to 150 characters?
• Descriptive content to help users understand it Do you use synonyms for?
• Is it unique for each website?

Write Informative and Useful Heading in H1 Tag

All pages must have an H1 tag containing the page title (or heading). This is one of the easiest yet most important tasks on the SEO checklist on this page. H1 differs from title tags in that it appears on the page. Not SERPs. The H1 tag should be similar to the title tag. That’s because it also tells Google and users what the page is about. However, there is rarely a character limit here. Focus on creating H1s that are meaningful on your page and encourage visitors to stay. And include at least your main keywords.

Checklist –

• Is there an h1 tag?
• Is the target keyword in the h1 tag and is it placed at the beginning of the tag?
• Is the content of the heading tag unique?

Add Subheadings To Structure Content

Research shows that high-performing articles tend to use H2, H3, and H4 tags. This is because subheadings break up the text and make it easier for users to browse your content. Proper H tags (header tags) also help Google understand the structure of your page. Only the H1 header is required. However, you can add as many H2-H6 tags as you need, depending on the depth of your content. Work with a nested hierarchical system.

Use Target Keywords in Content

Google uses keywords and context to determine whether a page is related to a particular keyword. If your text content doesn’t mention your target keyword, Google may think your page isn’t relevant to that keyword. When optimizing on-page, use your main keyword in the first paragraph. Then sprinkle repetition (and/or secondary keywords) throughout. However, avoid keyword stuffing. H. Don’t force the use of keywords that sound unnatural.

Checklist –

• Are your primary keywords appearing in the first few lines of your website’s content?
• Are you maintaining optimal keyword density within the body of your content?
• Is your content longer than 500 words?
• Does each website have its unique content?

Improve the Quality of Content

The nature of the content is highly dependent on search intent. For example, someone looking for a product might be satisfied with a short description. However, those looking for information may need a detailed guide. In either case, your content needs to meet high standards to be competitive in the SERPs and keep users interested. This is why you need to check the quality of the content when filling out her on-page SEO checklist. Here are some of the most important quality indicators for your content.

Accuracy – Content must be factually correct and up to date. Also, there should be no spelling or grammatical errors.

Originality – Avoid duplicating large blocks of content on your website. Also, make sure that plagiarism (copying content from elsewhere) does not occur.

Length – Concise content is more engaging. But be sure to be comprehensive. Provide all the information the searcher needs at this stage.

Readability – If the text is too difficult or too easy to read, the reader is more likely to leave the page. Make sure the reading level is appropriate for your audience.

Formatting – Make your text more appealing by using paragraph breaks, subheadings, tables, bullet points, and other formatting elements.

Tone of Tone – It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. The appropriate tone of voice depends on the topic and target group.

Make the Page URL SEO-Friendly

The URL slug is part of the URL that is unique to the page. URL slugs should be concise, clear, and descriptive.

Checklist

• Do you have short and clear URLs?
• Are keywords placed at the beginning of the URL?
• Do you use hyphens in the URL?
• Is the content available from one URL?

Here are some tips to keep in mind.

• Consider using your page’s primary keyword as the URL slug.
• Words are separated by hyphens (‘-‘).
• Avoid including years that are subject to change (e.g. “best-headphones-2023”). )
• If you change the URL slug, be sure to redirect to the older version.

Use Engaging Visual Content (Images and Videos)

Use images and videos to add value to your content. This includes photos, illustrations, instructional videos, and more. Therefore, you should use these to split the text as needed.

Checklist –

• Do all images on your website have alternative text?
• Do the alt text for images on your site include keywords?
• Do the image filenames include keywords or related text?

Here are some tips for adding images.

Add descriptive alt text to each image. This is a description of the image that appears in the page’s code.

You can resize and compress images using free tools. This way, images won’t slow down page load times.

Here are some tips for using video.

Create videos that match your search intent. For example, create tutorial videos to support written instructions.

He hosts videos on YouTube, one of the largest search engines on the Internet. Embed the video from there.

Improve Navigation By Adding Relevant Internal Links

Internal links are links between pages on a website. These help Google and you find your way. Note that these internal links are attached to descriptive anchor text, rather than generic text like “Click here.” This helps Google (and you) understand what the linked pages are about.

Checklist –

• Are internal links keeping link juice flowing smoothly?
• Are you using targeted keywords as anchor text for internal links?

Apply Schema Markup

Schema markup, or structured data, is a programming language that “tells” Google details about different types of data on your website. Also, the more Google understands your site, the more accurately it can rank your content. Google uses these codes to create rich results (or “rich snippets”).

Google supports 32 schema types. Includes articles, events, FAQs, how-tos, products, and local business schemas. This is one of the more advanced tasks in the SEO checklist on this page. However, Google has a Structured Data Markup Helper to help you add schema to your pages.

Ensure That Your Page is Indexed

For a page to appear in search results, Google’s web crawler must first add it to the Google index. You can check if your site is indexed using Google Search Console. Please use the search bar to find the URL of the page. Now let’s take a look at the information provided.

Add Sitemap To Improve Your Website Indexing

Every site requires a sitemap. However, even if your website is not indexed, search engines will still index it. The presence of a sitemap makes it much easier for search engines to find and index your pages. A sitemap helps tell search engines two important things – The location of all internal links and the priority of various pages on your website.

The former improves the indexing of all internal pages and paves the way for internal page visibility in search engines. On the other hand, the latter contributes to the understanding of information architecture. You can also specify the sitemap location in the robots.txt file. This file is usually the first file search engine crawlers look for when crawling your website.

Checklist –

• Do you have an XML sitemap?
• Have you submitted your sitemap to Google Search Console?
• Can you find your sitemap in your robots.txt file?

Improve Website Usability For Better User Experience

Usability is the key to search engine rankings element and is controlled by elements on the page. In addition to the answers to the questions above, other factors affect the usability of a website. This takes into account how a particular search engine user interacts with the links returned during a search. For example, let’s say you’re a searcher and you click a link and immediately click the “back” button. Your engagement with this website is low. This can be due to poor user experience, and such engagement metrics can lead to lower search rankings.

Checklist –

• Is your website easy to navigate and understand?
• Does your website have a low bounce rate?
• Is your content relevant to your target search keywords?
• Is the information on your website easily accessible?
• Does your website have trust signals?
• Is your website compatible with all browsers?
• Is your website user-friendly when viewed on small screens (mobile)?
• Does your website have pop-ups or splash pages? Not included?

Increase Page Speed (Load Time)

Google and users want pages to load quickly. Even the slightest delay can cause visitors to close your site and move elsewhere. Here’s a short list of things that may be slowing down your page speed –

• Large amounts of HTML on the page
• Redirect chains
• Large JavaScript or CSS files

Check your page speed with Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. Just enter the URL of your page. Then click Analyze. Next, view the Core Web Vitals Assessment (mobile and desktop) to see if you passed. Core Web Vitals are important speed metrics that impact user experience and search rankings.

Maximum Content Full Paint (LCP) – The amount of time it takes to display the main content of the page.

First Input Delay (FID) – Response time to the user’s first interaction.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – Measure of layout movement that occurs during loading.

Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

Over 60% of Google searches are done on mobile devices. Therefore, when evaluating the quality of a page (and determining its ranking), Google primarily considers the mobile version of the page. This means mobile SEO is of utmost importance. So, you should use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your site provides a great user experience on mobile devices.

Just enter the URL of your page. Then click “Test URL”. If your site is “not available on mobile”, see “Why isn’t it available?” Click on the issue for more information. Improving mobile friendliness doesn’t necessarily happen in a day. (Unlike many of the tasks in his SEO checklist on this page.) But it’s usually worth the time investment.

Process Conversion Optimization to Improve CR

If you don’t optimize your website to increase the number of leads, subscribers, and customers you attract… That’s wrong. Remember that every page of your website has a conversion opportunity. This means that every page on your website should contain at least one call to action (CTA), even if many pages have multiple CTAs. Make sure your website has a mix of CTAs from different stages of the flywheel. If you are new to search engine optimization, we suggest you to look for SEO services to make sure that you get all the benefits of above mentioned steps.