On-page SEO

On-page SEO is everything on the page itself that search engines read. That includes the title tag, the meta description, headings, the body text and its structure, internal links and anchors, images and alt text, structured data, the URL, and the technical states of the page such as canonical, indexability and speed.

Off-page SEO is what other sites say: links, mentions, reviews. Technical SEO is the site-wide machinery: crawling, indexing, rendering, speed. Keep them separate in your head so you fix the right thing first.

You can change on-page today without waiting for anyone. That makes it the fastest way to lift relevance and click-through on a small site.

A tidy page helps crawlers confirm the topic and users confirm the fit. Example: /pricing should say Pricing in the title and h1, explain plans in the first paragraph, and link to /guides/getting-started and /faq with clear anchors.

1. 1

   Check queries and clicks per URL in Search Console

   Open Performance. Filter by Page, pick a URL like /features. Scan queries and click-through rate. Low CTR with good position points to weak title or meta description.

2. 2

   Confirm indexability and canonical

   Use the URL Inspection tool. The page should be indexable and not point its canonical to a different URL unless that is intentional.

3. 3

   Verify the page basics in source

   View source or your CMS fields. Read the title tag, meta description, h1, h2s, URL slug, and any structured data. Fix typos and topic drift.

4. 4

   Check internal links in and out

   From /features, link to the child pages with descriptive anchors. From related pages, link back to /features. Avoid orphan pages.

5. 5

   Test speed and stability

   Run PageSpeed Insights. Aim for Core Web Vitals: LCP 2.5 seconds, CLS 0.1, INP 200 ms. Large hero images and third-party scripts often block LCP or INP.

A fixed page looks like this: a clear title under 60 characters, an h1 that matches it, the answer in the opening, scannable subheadings, and links that help the next step.

• One page per topic. Do not fold multiple intents into one URL.
• Put the topic in the title and the h1. Keep the title under about 60 characters.
• Answer early. State the core answer in the first paragraph, then expand.
• Link related pages. Use descriptive anchor text both ways.

Then tighten the rest. Use a readable URL like /guides/getting-started. Write plain, specific copy. Add alt text that describes the image, not a keyword list. Add relevant structured data where it helps the result type. Set a self-referencing canonical unless a different canonical is intended.

• Mixing topics on one page. Split into distinct pages that match search intent.
• Buried answer. Move the definition or key points to the top third of the page.
• Duplicate or vague titles. Make each title unique and specific to the page.
• Keyword cannibalisation. Merge clones or differentiate with clearer intents.
• Orphan pages. Add internal links from navigation and relevant articles.
• Wrong canonical or noindex. Fix tags so the intended URL can index.
• Slow LCP from a hero image. Compress, set proper dimensions, and lazy-load below-the-fold.
• Thin content. If a page says little and no one needs it, expand it or remove it.