What Is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO (also called on-site SEO) is the process of optimizing webpages and their content for both search engines and users. It can help rank pages higher on Google and drive more organic traffic.
Common tasks associated with on-site SEO include optimizing for search intent, title tags, internal links, and URLs.
Below, we’ll cover different techniques for optimizing your site for on-page concerns.
But first, let’s explore the difference between on-page and off-page SEO:
On-Page vs. Off-Page SEO
On-page SEO covers anything you can do on a webpage (or internally) to improve your rankings.
Off-page SEO covers anything you can optimize outside of your site (or externally) in an attempt to boost your rankings. Backlinks are arguably the biggest off-page SEO factor. Other examples include social media and PR.
Both are important components of any good SEO strategy.
But you have more control over SEO factors. So focusing on those is a good place to start.
Why Is On-site SEO Important?
Search engines use keywords and other on-page SEO elements to check whether a webpage matches a user’s search intent.
And if the page is relevant and useful, Google serves it to the user.
In other words:
Google pays attention to on-site SEO signals when ranking pages.
The Google algorithm is always changing, but Google continues to prioritize user experience. Google recommends focusing on “people-first content.”
Meaning creating valuable content that matches user intent is more important than ever.
Now, let’s take a look at how you can update your content to reflect best practices.
9 Techniques for Your Website
Here are some key on-page optimization techniques you should consider:
- Write unique, helpful content
- Place target keywords strategically
- Write keyword-rich title tags
- Write click-worthy meta descriptions
- Use headings and subheadings to structure your page
- Optimize URLs
- Add internal links
- Add external links
- Include and optimize images
Let’s look at these in more detail.
Advanced On-Page SEO Tactics
Once you’ve got the on site SEO basics down, you can try out some more advanced SEO page optimization techniques.
Let’s start with an important SEO factor—page speed.
Optimize for Page Speed
We may never know every Google ranking factor. But we do know that page speed is a confirmed ranking factor.
So it’s more important than ever to optimize for page speed.
You can use Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool to get an overall performance score for both mobile and desktop, in addition to actionable suggestions for improvement.
This tool assesses Google’s Core Web Vitals, which are factors that impact page experience.
The Core Web Vitals are:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): amount of time it takes for the main piece of content to load
First Input Delay (FID): amount of time it takes for your website to respond to the first interaction from a user (like a click on a link)
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): amount your webpage shifts (or “moves down”) as more content (e.g., banners, images) loads
To get started, enter your URL and click the “Analyze” button: