On-page SEO is everything you can control directly on your web pages. Here are 25 factors to check and optimize for better rankings.
Title & Meta
1. Unique title tag — under 60 characters, keyword near the front.
2. Meta description — under 155 characters, includes a call-to-action.
3. URL structure — short, descriptive, includes keyword. No random IDs or parameters.
Headings & Content
4. One H1 per page — should include or closely match your target keyword.
5. Logical heading hierarchy — H2 for main sections, H3 for sub-sections. Don't skip levels.
6. Keyword in first 100 words — tells Google what the page is about immediately.
7. Minimum 1,000 words for key pages — thin content rarely ranks. Long-form content correlates with higher rankings.
8. No keyword stuffing — write naturally. Google's NLP is sophisticated enough to understand topics without exact-match repetition.
Images
9. Alt text on all images — descriptive, includes keywords where natural.
10. Compressed images — use WebP format, keep files under 200KB.
11. Width and height attributes — prevents layout shift (CLS).
12. Lazy loading — for below-the-fold images, use loading="lazy".
Links
13. Internal links — every page should link to 3-5 other relevant pages on your site.
14. Descriptive anchor text — "read our SEO guide" beats "click here".
15. No broken links — check regularly with an audit tool.
16. External links to authoritative sources — linking out to quality sites signals trust.
Technical On-Page
17. Canonical tag — prevents duplicate content issues.
18. Schema markup — Article, FAQ, HowTo, Product — whatever fits your content type.
19. Open Graph tags — for proper social media previews.
20. Mobile-responsive — test on real devices, not just browser resize.
User Experience
21. Above-the-fold content — your main message and CTA should be visible without scrolling.
22. Readable font size — minimum 16px for body text.
23. Fast page load — under 3 seconds. Every second of delay costs 7% in conversions.
24. No intrusive interstitials — popups that block content hurt rankings on mobile.
25. Clear navigation — users should reach any page in 3 clicks or fewer.
How many of these 25 does your site pass?
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