On-Page SEO is a search engine optimization term that refers to the improvement of various types of elements on the internal pages of a website. Today, you’ll learn exactly what it involves and how it contributes to your overall strategy, users, and search engines.

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What is On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO (or internal page optimization) refers to a number of SEO practises that are covered by both technical SEO and content strategy (CMS).

In the various resources you may find online, you will notice that the terms On-Page SEO and On-Site SEO are used interchangeably. In any case, both terms are used to explain the same thing – the optimization of various front-end and back-end factors that affect your website’s rankings. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

On-Page Optimization plays an important role in the overall SEO strategy, as it helps Google understand the content on a given page and determine if it is relevant to the query the user is entering into the search engine. Furthermore, it affects the elements accessible to the user and is directly responsible for their experience on the site.

As you may already know, search engines like Google are all about one thing – providing the information the user is looking for and ensuring a good experience. Therefore, optimising your internal pages will help the search engine assess whether your content is helpful and whether it meets the user’s search intent.

If the above two are true, then your page will perform better in search results (SERPs). This, in turn, will contribute to more organic traffic to your site and, therefore, more potential customers for the products or services you offer.

What is the difference between On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO?

It is very important to understand the terms On-Page and Off-Page SEO, as they are completely different in meaning. On-Page refers to the optimization of elements inside the pages of the website, while Off-Page refers to the optimization of elements outside the pages of the website. But let’s look at each of them separately.

Off-Page Optimization

Off-Page Optimization concerns improvements outside the scope of the page and site itself. It is a major factor in your efforts to build your site’s authority and make it a credible source of information with a high level of expertise for your specific niche (E-E-A-T).

Here are some examples of this type of optimization:

Building backlinks to your website (or link building);
Sharing on social media for greater visibility and higher engagement;
Press releases and appearances in various media and websites;
Local business optimization.

On-Page Optimization

On-Page SEO, on the other hand, is about making improvements within the web pages to help your ranking in the SERPs for specific queries. Its other focus is building a website that makes it easier for search engines and users to search, use, and navigate.

On-Page SEO consists of several different types of elements:

Content Elements;
HTML elements;
Web site architecture elements.

In other words, on-page optimization helps pages rank in Google, and off-page optimization helps them rank higher in SERPs.

In conclusion, we can say that both types of optimization are crucial to your success, but you usually have more influence and control over the On-Page factors.

How does internal optimization contribute to your SEO strategy?

One of the benefits of On-Page Optimization is the fact that you have direct access to the factors that influence your rankings. In other words, how well they are optimized and how useful and user-friendly the experience is depends entirely on you.

On-Page SEO contributes to your overall strategy in several ways. First, it sends reliable signals to Google that the site or the page is providing information on a topic that is relevant to the user’s intent and the keywords they are typing into the search engine.

When Google receives these signals, it understands that your content is relevant and would be helpful to that user. That’s why it ranks your page higher in the SERPs – to help the user in their search.

On the other hand, we shouldn’t underestimate the fact that optimizing On-Page elements also leads to an overall improvement of the site’s architecture and design. This creates a prerequisite for better, easier navigation for crawlers and a more friendly, useful experience for site visitors.

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How to optimize the internal pages of your website?

As mentioned earlier, we can divide the elements of On-Page SEO into three main categories. In the following paragraphs, we will cover each individual category. We will also share tips and best practices for optimizing your website’s internal pages.

Content Elements

Content is a key factor for every website and business. It lies at the heart of communication with the reader and the value we provide them through the different stages of the customer journey. Let’s move on to On-Page SEO tips related to website content.

1. Do keyword analysis and choose relevant topics

To create high-quality content, you first need to do careful keyword research and analysis. This will identify user interests, which in turn will allow you to provide real value through your content strategy.

The most successful tactic for this type of research is to use the right SEO tools for keywords and phrases. Once you’ve analyzed the words, consider which type of buyer persona would use it and at what phase of their customer journey (with what intent).

When you have this data, it will be easier to create quality content in the form of relevant topics. You’ll also be able to select the right type/format of content, such as whether it should be an informative blog page, a video or a product/service comparison.

2. Create new content or optimize existing one

If you are still in the early stages of creating your website, then the next step is reasonable – you need to start creating new content according to your already clearly established strategy and plan.

However, we don’t exclude the option where you have built your strategy at a later stage when you already have existing content on your site. In this case, you need to perform a technical SEO audit, and then start optimizing your published content in a step-by-step way.

In either case, there are some generally accepted practices that lead to good results. First, you need to write for a specific persona type and actively help solve a problem or provide an answer to a question.

Adding visual content has also been proven to increase reader engagement, and is sometimes even necessary to add to the overall picture. Although it may seem like a good idea, don’t overload the text with keywords and phrases. Instead, keep the language natural and only use them where necessary.

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HTML elements

HTML elements are pieces of source code that include content and tags. These elements are used to add textual content and images, but also to format the document in a way that search engines and readers can understand.

3. Create engaging user metadata

The metadata you create for your page is the first impression you leave in your readers’ minds. These elements are the title and description, which are displayed right on the search engine results page. Because of this fact, they have a direct impact on your CTR performance (click-through rate).

Here are our tips for creating meta titles (title tag):

Keep to a maximum length of 60 characters to display the entire title on both mobile and desktop devices;
The title should be a reflection of your content. Don’t mislead users by providing one headline but send them to a different type of information;
Use capital letters according to the rules in written language. Do not duplicate meta titles for different pages;
Include your brand name after the main title. Example: 7 Tips for Successful On-Page SEO – SERP Acad.;
Focus on an original and engaging title instead of keyword overload.

The tips for meta descriptions are a bit different:

Create a description no longer than 157 characters so the user can see your entire message;
Don’t split the meta description into more than 1 or 2 sentences, and avoid symbols (-/+/&);
Use the active voice and call to action;
If possible, add the keyword or phrase at the beginning of the description.

4. Use H1-H6 tags for better content structure and scanning

H1 to H6 tags are HTML tags, and if used correctly, they create a clear hierarchical structure. This structure helps the user to scan the content and find the information they need more easily, as well as the search engine to recognise important and relevant parts of the content.

There are a few basic tips for using H1-H6:

Use these HTML tags to highlight the main subtopic headings. Organize them in order of importance. H1 should be first (title/topic) and H2 are the main subtopics you are developing;
Use H3-H6 as sub-headings for the subtopics as this will develop an even clearer structure;
Include key and topic-related words and phrases in subheadings, but don’t overload them. Remember that the reader and their experience are most important.

Additional tips:

For H1-H6 tags, use a larger and bold font size than the main content (body text);
For even better structure and readability, create short paragraphs and list using bullets whenever possible.

5. Create descriptive and useful alt text

Alt text is the description of a graphic element that appears instead of the element when there is a rendering problem. It also allows search engines and blind people to use screen readers to understand what the image is referring to. Image optimization includes proper sizing, compression, and creating file names and alt texts.

Let’s take a look at some best practices when creating alt text:

Do not use the alternative text as an opportunity to add more keywords. Instead, describe the image accurately and clearly in a way that relates to the topic you are writing about;
Imagine you’re in the position of a user who can’t see the image, only the alt text you used;
Strive for a maximum length of 125 characters, as readers have a limit on alt text;
Avoid phrases like “image of”, “picture of” and similar. This loses out on the maximum number of characters you can use.

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Elements of the website architecture

Website architecture is as important to the search engine bots crawling your site as it is to the users trying to find content on it. The wrong architecture and lack of links are like a city without streets – it has everything you need, but you can’t get to it. The two main elements to pay special attention to are URLs and internal links. This will ensure a longer stay for site visitors, as they will find the content they need without any problems.

6. Create simple and consistent URLs

There are several good practices:

Use as few words as possible and avoid long addresses;
Include the keyword or phrase;
Separate words with hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_);
The use of symbols is not recommended;
Use UTF-8 encoding for specific language characters (this method can generate very long URLs);
Provide the secure data exchange protocol (https).

7. Link all pages on your website to avoid orphan pages.

Here are our tips for creating internal links:

Do not leave pages on the site that cannot be reached by links from at least one other page (orphan pages);
Create pillar pages that link to a large amount of related content from your site;
Use your clustering structure to link thematically related clusters, subclusters and blog posts;
Create links with anchor text in the main content (body text);
Use relevant anchor text to tell the user what type of page you are taking them to;
Avoid anchor text such as “click here”.

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Conclusion

On-page SEO is the optimization of internal elements of your website’s pages, which can help that page rank for a specific keyword and query.

This is a mandatory part of an overall SEO strategy as you have full access and influence over the On-page factors. Optimizing them will not only contribute to better rankings, but also to an easier and intuitive user experience.

7 Tips for Successful On-Page SEO

What is On-Page SEO?