On-Page SEO Checklist for Beginners

Following this On-Page SEO Checklist helped us quickly reach 100,000 visitors per month on an affiliate website with 30% informational content and 70% commercial content.

It’s important to take care of your On-Page SEO to rank higher in Google and other search engines. For this reason, we’re going to be discussing the official checklist you need to keep in mind if you want to make sure your website is ranking as high as possible on Google Search results.

Here’s a checklist of the most important On Page SEO factors:

1. Title tags

The title tag is the first thing that people see when they land on your website. It’s also one of the most important elements of on-page SEO.

Your title tag should be:

• Unique and descriptive
• No more than 60 characters long
• Relevant to your content
• Optimized for your target keywords

2. Meta Descriptions

The meta description is the short text that appears under your title tag in the search results. Although it doesn’t directly affect your rankings, it’s still an important element of on-page SEO.

Your meta description should be:

• Under 155 characters long
• Relevant to your content
• Optimized for your target keywords

3. H1 Tags

The H1 tag is the second most important on-page SEO factor (after the title tag). It’s a large, bold font that appears at the top of your web page. Google gives extra weight to words that appear in H1 tags, so it’s important to include your target keywords here.

Your H1 tag should be:

• Relevant to your content
• Optimized for your target keywords

4. Keyword Density

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword appears on a page, divided by the total number of words on the page. Although there’s no perfect keyword density, a good rule of thumb is to aim for 1-2%. This means that if you have a 1000-word article, you should use your target keyword 1-2 times.

5. Image Alt Text

Alt text is the short text that appears when you hover over an image. It’s also an important factor for on-page SEO.

Your image alt text should be:

• Relevant to your content
• Optimized for your target keywords

6. Internal Links

Internal links are links that point from one page on your website to another page on your website. They’re important for two reasons:

• They help visitors navigate your website
• They help search engines understand your website structure

When linking to other pages on your website, make sure to:

• Use relevant anchor text (the clickable text)
• Use keyword-rich anchor text
• Link to relevant pages
• Use a reasonable number of links per page

7. External Links

External links are links that point from your website to another website. They’re important for two reasons:

• They help visitors find related information
• They help search engines understand what your website is about

When linking to other websites, make sure to:

• Link to high-quality websites
• Use relevant anchor text
• Use keyword-rich anchor text
• Link to relevant pages
• Use a reasonable number of links per page

8. Page Load Speed

Page load speed is the amount of time it takes for a page on your website to load. It’s an important factor for both visitors and search engines. If your pages take too long to load, visitors will get frustrated and leave. Search engines also penalize slow-loading websites.

There are a few things you can do to improve your page load speed, including:

• Optimizing your images
• Minimizing your code
• Using a content delivery network
• Enabling browser caching

9. Mobile-Optimization — Means Mobile Friendly

Mobile-friendliness is another important factor for both visitors and search engines. In fact, Google has announced that they will be prioritizing mobile-friendly websites in their search results. This means that if your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, it will be penalized in the search results.

There are a few things you can do to make your website more mobile-friendly, including:

• Using a responsive design
• Optimizing your images
• Minimizing your code
• Enabling browser caching

10. Social Media

Social media is an important factor for on-page SEO. Not only do social signals help search engines understand what your website is about, but they also help drive traffic to your website. The more social signals you have, the better.

There are a few things you can do to improve your social media presence, including:

• Creating social media profiles on popular platforms
• Posting high-quality content
• Engaging with other users
• Using social media plugins on your website

On-page SEO is an important part of any SEO strategy. By optimizing your web pages for your target keywords, you can improve your website’s visibility and organic traffic. Follow the tips in this article to start improving your on-page SEO today.

Additional SEO Checklists

You should never look at SEO as only On-Page SEO, but a holistic strategy that encompasses:

• On-Page SEO
• Off-Page SEO
• Technical SEO

SEO Checklist for On-Page Optimization

1. Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions.
2. Use keyword-rich headings and subheadings.
3. Use keyword-rich anchor text when linking to other pages on your website.
4. Use keyword-rich alt text for your images.
5. Optimize your page load speed.
6. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
7. Promote your content on social media.
8. Use relevant, high-quality external links.
9. Implement Google Authorship if you’re an author.
10. Use structured data mark-up where appropriate.

Checklist for Technical SEO

1. Register your website with Google Search Console.
2. Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console.
3. Set up robots.txt file.
4. 301 redirects if you change your URL structure.
5. Use canonical tags to avoid duplicate content issues.
6. Make sure your website is accessible to search engine crawlers.
7. Use an SSL certificate to make your website more secure.
8. Fix any broken links on your website.
9. Minimize your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code. Check for errors using validators like the W3C Markup Validation Service.
10. Improve your server response time. Shoot for a response time of under 200 ms.

1. Get high-quality inbound links from trusted websites.
2. Promote your content on social media.
3. Participate in online forums and discussion groups.
4. Submit your website to directories and listings sites.
5. Give away freebies and run contests.
6. Speak at conferences and events.
7. Conduct interviews with industry experts.
8. Write guest posts on other websites.
9. Create infographics and videos.
10. Monitor your SEO progress with Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Perform regular keyword research to find new target keywords.

1. Optimize your Google My Business listing.
2. Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions.
3. Use keyword-rich headings and subheadings.
4. Use keyword-rich anchor text when linking to other pages on your website.
5. Optimize your images with keyword-rich alt text.
6. Add your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) to your website.
7. Add your business NAP to online directories and listings sites.
8. Create location-specific pages for each of your locations.
9. Monitor your SEO progress with Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Perform regular keyword research to find new target keywords.
10. Hire an SEO company or consultant to help you with your local SEO efforts.

SEO Checklist for Ecommerce Websites

1. Optimize your product pages for your target keywords.
2. Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions.
3. Use keyword-rich headings and subheadings.
4. Use keyword-rich anchor text when linking to other pages on your website.
5. Optimize your images with keyword-rich alt text.
6. Add product reviews and testimonials to your website.
7. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
8. Promote your content on social media.
9. Conduct interviews with industry experts.
10. Monitor your SEO progress with Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Perform regular keyword research to find new target keywords.
11. Hire an SEO company or consultant to help you with your ecommerce SEO efforts.

SEO Checklist for Small Business Websites

1. Optimize your website for your target keywords.
2. Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions.
3. Use keyword-rich headings and subheadings.
4. Use keyword-rich anchor text when linking to other pages on your website.
5. Optimize your images with keyword-rich alt text.
6. Add your business NAP to your website.
7. Add your business NAP to online directories and listings sites.
8. Promote your content on social media.
9. Conduct interviews with industry experts.
10. Monitor your SEO progress with Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Perform regular keyword research to find new target keywords.
11. Hire an SEO company or consultant to help you with your small business SEO efforts.

SEO Checklist for WordPress Websites

1. Optimize your website for your target keywords.
2. Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions.
3. Use keyword-rich headings and subheadings.
4. Use keyword-rich anchor text when linking to other pages on your website.
5. Optimize your images with keyword-rich alt text.
6. Add social media sharing buttons to your website.
7. Promote your content on social media.
8. Conduct interviews with industry experts.
9. Install an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack.
10. Monitor your SEO progress with Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Perform regular keyword research to find new target keywords.
11. Hire an SEO company or consultant to help you with your WordPress SEO efforts.
12. Use a WordPress theme that is optimized for SEO.
13. Use a WordPress caching plugin to speed up your website.
14. Use a WordPress CDN like CloudFlare or MaxCDN.
15. Install Google Analytics on your WordPress website.
16. Install Google Search Console on your WordPress website.
17. Submit your XML sitemap to Google Search Console.
18. Set up 301 redirects if you ever change your permalinks or migrate your website to a new domain.
19. Use pretty permalinks (e.g., /category/post-name/) instead of ugly permalinks (e.g., /?p=123).
20. Avoid using too many plugins on your WordPress website.
21. Avoid using common keywords in your permalinks.
22. Avoid using stop words in your permalinks.
23. Use keyword-rich titles for your blog posts and pages.
24. Use keyword-rich meta descriptions for your blog posts and pages.
25. Optimize your blog post images with keyword-rich alt text.
26. Interlink your blog posts with each other to help boost your SEO.
27. Promote your blog content on social media.
28. Conduct interviews with industry experts and include them in your blog posts.
29. Allow comments on your blog posts and respond to them.
30. Monitor your SEO progress with Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Perform regular keyword research to find new target keywords.
31. Hire an SEO company or consultant to help you with your WordPress SEO efforts.

SEO Checklist for Wix Websites

1. Optimize your website for your target keywords.
2. Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions.
3. Use keyword-rich headings and subheadings.
4. Use keyword-rich anchor text when linking to other pages on your website.
5. Optimize your images with keyword-rich alt text.
6. Add social media sharing buttons to your website.
7. Promote your content on social media.
8. Conduct interviews with industry experts.

Conclusion

By following the SEO checklist items above, you can help improve your website’s search engine ranking and visibility, which can lead to more traffic and customers. If you need help with your SEO efforts, consider hiring an experienced SEO company or consultant.

Feature Image Credit: Pixabay; Pexels; Thank you!

Lucas Vitale

Lucas is the Co-Founder & CEO at SEO Assistance. With a decade of experience in SEO, he has used his skillset to help grow thousands of businesses around the world.