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The Ultimate On Page SEO Checklist for Better Search Engine Rankings
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, search engine optimisation (SEO) plays a crucial role in determining the success of online businesses and websites.
A comprehensive SEO strategy involves both on-page and off-page SEO tactics. The former focuses on optimising individual web pages to improve their visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).
In maximising your efforts for on-page SEO, important to recognise is the significance of primary keywords and their search volume. Include these in your web page content or blog post without excessively repeating the primary keyword.
This comprehensive guide provides an ultimate on-page SEO basics checklist. It will help you optimise your website for better search engine rankings and more search traffic.
What is an On-Page SEO Audit?
An on-page SEO audit is a systematic examination of various website elements that contribute to its search engine visibility and rankings. These elements include:
- Page titles
- Headings (header tags)
- Meta descriptions
- Page URLs
- Images
- Internal link
- Page speed
- Mobile-friendliness
- Schema markup
- And more
You can ensure your website complies with search engine guidelines by assessing and optimising these components. Doing so will help your content rank higher in Google search results and become more accessible on mobile devices.
Why are On-Page SEO Audits Important?
On-page SEO audits are essential for several reasons, especially for organic SEO experts:
1. Improved Search Engine Rankings
By mastering on-page SEO, you can boost your site's rankings on Google and other search engines, making it more visible to potential customers.
2. Enhanced user experience
An excellent website offers a better user experience, which can lead to:
- Higher engagement
- Lower bounce rates
- Increased conversions
3. Increased organic traffic
When your website is more visible to potential site visitors, you can get more organic traffic. People searching for relevant keywords or phrases related to your business will easily find your website as more users clickthrough to your site from search results.
On-Page SEO Checklist
1. Page Title Optimisation
What is a Page Title?
A page title, also known as a title tag, is an HTML element that briefly describes the content of a webpage. An essential ranking factor, titles appear in SERPs as clickable headlines.
Why Audit Your Page Titles?
Auditing your page titles ensures they are optimised for search engines and users. Creating unique and compelling title tags that include your primary keyword can boost click-through rates (CTR) and enhance search engine rankings. It is recommended for titles to have only 50-60 characters to avoid truncation in search results.
Page Title Audit Checklist
- Keep titles within 50-60 characters
- Include target keyword(s) near the beginning
- Make titles unique, compelling, and relevant to the content
- Avoid keyword stuffing
2. What is a Heading?
A heading is an HTML element (H1, H2, H3, etc.) that defines the structure and hierarchy of your content. Headings help search engines and users understand the organisation and importance of various sections on your page.
The use of title tags plays an important role as well. Including the primary keyword in the title tag can help search engines better understand the content on the page. Additionally, incorporating an H1 title tag can signal to search engines that the content on the page is significant and should be given more weight in search rankings.
Why Should You Audit Your Headings?
Auditing your headings ensures they are properly structured and visually appealing, making it easier for search engine bots to crawl and index your content. Google can comprehend the subject of a webpage not just by scanning its keywords.
Including related LSI keywords in your content can provide additional context and make it pertinent to broader topics. This prompts Google to recognise your content's superiority, and it may be granted a higher rank on SERPs.
Scatter LSI keywords across the article for the Google bots to grasp the substance of your work with ease, ultimately leading to superior page ranking.
H1 Heading Audit Checklist
- Use only one H1 heading per page
- Include the target keyword in the H1 heading
- Make the H1 heading descriptive and relevant to the content
3. Meta Description Optimisation
What are Meta Descriptions?
Meta descriptions refer to HTML elements that provide a concise overview of the content of a webpage. These descriptions are visible in search engine results underneath the page's title and URL and assist users in determining whether or not to visit your page.
Why Should You Audit Your Meta Descriptions?
Auditing your meta descriptions ensures they are compelling, informative, and optimised for search engines.
Persuasive meta descriptions have a character limit. Try to incorporate long-tail keywords and related LSI keywords. Unique and informative descriptions can improve your click-through rates (CTR) and bring more organic search traffic.
Meta Description Audit Checklist
- Keep meta descriptions within 150-160 characters
- Include target keywords and related keywords
- Write unique and persuasive descriptions for each page
4. URL Optimisation
A uniform resource locator (URL) refers to a web address that directs to a particular website, webpage, or document available on the internet.
Why Should You Audit & Optimise Your URLs?
Putting the primary keyword in your URL is a must because it is a ranking factor. By auditing your website's URLs, you can ensure that they are SEO-friendly and contain the necessary elements to help your pages rank higher in SERPs.
Remember to make them unique, descriptive, and eye-catching if possible. By creating URLs that encapsulate what the page is all about, you can help users better understand the content and improve their overall user experience.
URL Audit Checklist
- Use descriptive and keyword-rich URLs
- Keep URLs short and easy to read
- Use hyphens to separate words
- Avoid using special characters, uppercase letters, or unnecessary parameters
- Use a consistent URL structure throughout the website
5. Image Optimisation
What is Alt Text?
Alt text, or alternative text, is an HTML attribute that provides a text description of an image for search engines and visually impaired users.
Why Should You Audit & Optimise Alt Tags?
This enhances the accessibility of your website, enriches the user experience, and contributes to better search engine rankings.
Image Alt Text Checklist
- Include relevant and descriptive alt text for all images
- Use target keywords and related keywords in the alt text
- Keep alt text concise and meaningful
- Resist the temptation to use the same keyword over and over again
6. Internal Linking
What is Internal Linking?
Internal linking refers to the practice of linking one page on your website to another page within the same domain. It helps search engines crawl and index your site, and it assists users in navigating your content.
Why Should You Audit Your Internal Links?
Auditing your internal links ensures they are strategically placed, relevant, and optimised to improve your website's search engine rankings and user experience.
Internal Linking Audit Checklist
- Use descriptive and keyword-rich anchor text
- Link to related content within your website
- Ensure internal links are relevant and provide value to users
- Avoid excessive or unnatural internal linking
- Check for and fix broken links
Don’t Forget the Other Cornerstones of SEO!
Technical SEO
Investing in technical SEO is essential if you're looking to enhance your website's visibility and attract more traffic. Technical SEO, a crucial ranking factor, focuses on optimising your website's technical aspects, such as site speed, mobile-friendliness, and structured data, on boosting rankings and user experience.
Site Speed
Ensure your website loads quickly to provide a better user experience and improve rankings. Slow-loading pages can negatively impact user engagement, after all.
To improve site speed, consider:
- Optimising images
- Minifying CSS and JavaScript files
- Leveraging browser caching
Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can help you identify areas for improvement and offer suggestions to enhance your site's performance.
Structured Data
Structured data, another essential aspect of technical SEO, involves implementing markup language to provide more information about your page content. This can lead to rich snippets and other enhanced search features.
Mobile-Friendliness
Ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is vital, as Google prioritises mobile-first indexing. Regularly monitoring your website's performance using tools like Google Search Console can help identify technical issues that may be affecting your rankings.
For more information and expert insights, check out the blog post of Search Engine Journal.
Content Optimisation
This entails creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that targets the right keywords, meets search intent, and satisfies user needs.
Understanding the keywords that users use to find the content they need is a crucial aspect of achieving a good ranking in SERPs. To do this, conducting thorough keyword research and mapping is necessary.
Consider your intended audience and their search queries when selecting appropriate keywords for your content. There are free keyword research tools available but some of the most popular ones are the following:
- Google Keyword Planner
- Keyword Tool
- SEMrush
- Long Tail Pro
Moreover, using tools like Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools can help you monitor your website's performance and identify areas for improvement.
Google Search Console
This offers a wide range of features to help improve your website's ranking in search results. Some key functionalities include the ability to see which keywords your website is ranking for, check ranking positions, and identify website errors or broken links. Additionally, Google Search Console allows you to submit sitemaps to help search engines better understand the structure and content of your website.
Bing Webmaster Tools
This powerful platform improves a website's search performance on Bing. It is similar to Google Search Console, a free tool used to track a website's organic search performance.
Additional Considerations
Schema markup
Schema markup is a type of code that can be added to a website's pages to provide search engines with more context about the content on the page. By using schema markup, website owners can help search engines better understand the content on their pages and display rich snippets in search results.
Rich snippets provide supplementary details along with the basic search outcome, such as:
- Reviews
- Ratings
- Prices
By providing more information about the content on a web page, rich snippets can help increase click-through rates.
Keyword Difficulty
Keyword difficulty (KD) is a metric that measures how difficult it would be for a website to rank in the top 10 organic search results on Google for a particular keyword. The higher the percentage, the more difficult it will be to rank for that keyword.
When selecting which keywords to target, you must balance keyword difficulty and search volume. While targeting high-volume keywords can lead to more traffic, ranking for them may be more challenging due to their higher KD. Conversely, targeting low-volume keywords with low KD may be easier to rank for but may result in less traffic.
The solution is to choose keywords with a harmonious combination of ranking feasibility and potential.
Bounce Rate
It's necessary to monitor your website's bounce rate. This refers to the percentage of users who leave your website after viewing only one page. By keeping an eye on your metrics through Google Analytics, you can identify areas of your website that may need improvement and take action accordingly.
Web Page Content or Blog Post Length
A key factor to consider when creating content is the length of the content itself. Studies have shown that long-form content consistently outperforms short-form content in search rankings. By creating comprehensive, in-depth content, you can provide more value to your users. Coupled with optimised title tags, structured data, and incorporated long-tail keywords, these increase the likelihood of ranking higher in search results.
Link Building
Link building is not typically considered part of technical SEO. Instead, it is categorised as a part of off-page SEO.
However, if you're looking to make your mark in the world of SEO, then mastering the art of link building is crucial. They are a measure of trust in your web pages. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more Google trusts your content, and the higher your website will rank in search results.
So, if you want to boost your SEO success, building backlinks is absolutely essential. Click here for more insights on off-page SEO.
External Linking
External linking is not typically part of on-page SEO. Still, external linking can indirectly impact on-page SEO by providing context and credibility to your content.
Linking to authoritative and relevant sources can help establish your website as a reputable source of information and improve the overall user experience.
You can also check for and fix broken external links, which might drive some site visitors away.
In Summary
Implementing a solid checklist is a recipe for success when it comes to on-page SEO. By following a set of best practices, you can optimise your website's content and structure to help search engines better understand what your pages are about and ultimately improve your rankings.
But on-page SEO isn't just about optimising your content for keywords. It also involves improving your website's user experience by ensuring fast page load times and easy navigation. Creating a user-friendly website that provides value to your visitors can increase engagement and drive more traffic to your site.
At Khepri Digital, we understand the importance of on-page SEO. Our team of experts has the skills and expertise to deliver top-notch SEO services in Singapore that will help your website climb the search engine rankings and get noticed by your target audience. Learn more about how we can help you take your SEO game to the next level and achieve lasting success in the digital landscape.
Contact us today and let's get started!