On-Page SEO: the Complete Guide
We wrote this golden guide to on-page SEO in 2023 to help you make the most of your content.
By the time you're done with this SEO guide you’ll learn:
How to optimize your content
How to create SEO-friendly URLs
How to write titles and descriptions
Many other useful SEO-related things!
So let’s goooo! There is so much to learn and look at. We’re excited!
1: On-page SEO—the 101
What is on-page SEO?
On-page SEO (sometimes referred to as “on-site SEO”) is the system used to optimize web page content so that your website and its pages are picked up in Google search when users are searching for what they want.
The most common on-page SEO practices include the following: optimizing title tags, content, internal links and URLs.
Know that on-page SEO is a different practice from off-page SEO, which is used to optimize all signals that take place in the back end of your website (for example, backlinks).
Why is on-page SEO so useful and important?
For starters, it makes a huge, huge difference in 2023.
In fact, Google’s own “How Search Works” report states that:
And guess what? Even though Google is way smarter than it was a decade ago, and its algorithms are way fancier, it still uses old-school logical practices such as looking for a specific keyword on one of your pages.
GOOGLE STILL CRAWLS YOUR SITE FOR KEYWORDS
And there is rich data to prove this somewhat bold claim.
In an analysis of 11M Google search results the testers did not find a correlation between keyword-rich title tags and first page rankings. At all.
But if you search for a common or somewhat competitive keyword (such as travel insurance, for instance), you’ll see that the top-ranking pages in that search nearly all use that exact same keyword in their title tag.
But wait, there’s more. More, that is, than stuffing huge numbers of keywords into your page’s HTML code.
To rank your content these days, to stay relevant and on page one, you should be also optimizing your content for:
Page loading speed
Click-through-rate
User experience
Bounce Rate plus Dwell Time
So let’s focus and learn more about each of the above.
2: Optimizing content for SEO
Now that you’ve seen why on-page SEO still matters, it’s time to start optimizing your content.
Specifically, in this chapter, we’re going to show you how to keyword-optimize every page on your website.
Ta-daaa!
So if you’ve ever wondered “how do I actually use keywords on my page?”, you’ll love the actionable tips in this chapter.
Use Your Target Keyword In The First 100 Words
This is an old-school on-page SEO tactic that still makes a difference. Say you’re trying to sell a Learning to Sew course, your key word is Sewing.
All you need to do is use your main keyword once in the first 100-150 words of your article.
For example, in this article optimized around the keyword “SEO”, we mentioned the keyword right off the bat. That easy.
Using the target word in the first 100 words. Easy!
Why is this important?
Google puts more weight on terms that show up early on your page. Like the early risers at the bakery, front of line, who get the biggest loaves of bread.
Imagine that you just published an article about Learning to Sew. If your article was about Learning to Sew would it make any sense to first use the term “sew” halfway down the page? That would be bad writing.
So please do drop your keyword somewhere in the first 100 words or so. We think the earlier the better. Just one of those small things that help the Googles comprehend what your gorgeous page is all about.
Wrap Your Blog Post Title in an H1 Tag
The H1 tag is like a mini title tag. So sweet. So concise. So useful.
In fact, Google has even told us in its report that using an H1 tag “helps Google understand the structure of the page”.
Most platforms (like WordPress and Squaresapce) will automatically put the H1 tag in your blog post title. If that’s the case, then you’re good to go.
But ladies and gentlemen, even though it’s the 21st century and we have AI and ML, this is not always the case. So do check that your site’s code is AOK and make sure your title is wrapped in an H1 before you do anything else. And also make sure that your keyword is inside of that H1 tag.
Wrap Subheadings in H2 Tags For SEO
This is important. And take a look above this line at the beautiful sub-heading. It’s an H2 tag. Do include your target keyword in at least one subheading. And wrap that subheading in an H2 tag, as we have done above.
Will an H2 tag make or break your on-page SEO?
No, it won’t expel you from the kingdom of SEO. But it can be to your detriment after a few articles. Our own SEO experiments have shown us that wrapping up your target keyword in an H2 tag can make small difference to your SEO game
Here’s an example of this strategy in action (target keyword=”content marketing tools”):
Keyword Frequency
Keyword Frequency is just like it sounds: It’s how many times your keyword appears in your content.
Google may deny that using the same keyword multiple times helps. But SEO pros with experience will tell you that it definitely works.
Think about it this way: Imagine that you have a page that Google THINKS is about a specific keyword. But that keyword only appears once on the page.
How confident can they be that the page is about that keyword? Not very.
On the other hand, if the page mentions the keyword 10 times, Google can be more confident about that page’s topic.
To be clear:
This isn’t about keyword stuffing or anything like that.
It’s simply mentioning your target keyword a few times to confirm to Google that your page really is about that topic.
There’s no need to go overboard here. As long as you use your keyword naturally a few times, you’re good.
Use External (Outbound) Links
External links to related pages helps Google figure out your page’s topic. It also shows Google that your page is a hub of quality info.
And this isn’t just a theory. The folks at Reboot Online ran an experiment to see if external links helped improve rankings.
They created 10 new websites. Half of the websites linked out to authority sites (like Oxford University). The other half had no external links.
And the websites with external links outranked the sites without them.
Optimize Your URLs for SEO
Your URL structure is an underrated part of on-page SEO.
Yes, some time ago Google started to use weird versions of URLs in the search results.
But even then, the terms that you use in your URL show up here. Plus, URLs in the mobile and desktop SERPs are now above the title tag.
So I’d say that your URL is actually more important now than before.
With that, here’s how to create SEO-friendly URLs:
Make your URLs short
Include a keyword in every URL
Seriously. That’s it.
For example, my guide to link building is optimized around the keyword “link building”. So I used that keyword in my URL.
That’s not to say that your URL should ONLY have your keyword. It’s perfectly fine to add an extra word or two to your URL…
…or to have your keyword come after a subfolder.
3: Optimize Title and Description Tags
In this chapter you’ll learn how to optimize your title and meta descriptions for SEO.
According to Google, title tags still “help a lot” with your rankings.
So they’re worth optimizing.
And it’s the same story with your description. Google may not use your description to understand the content on your page, but searchers use it to figure out which result to click on.
So if you want to write SEO-friendly title tags and descriptions, this chapter is for you.
Front-load Your Title tag
In my opinion, your title tag is the most important on-page SEO factor.
That’s because your title tag gives search engines a high-level overview of what your page is all about.
In my experience, the closer the keyword is to the beginning of the title tag, the more weight it has with search engines. This article is a good example. take a look at my title:
Your keyword doesn’t necessarily have to be at the very beginning of your title. It doesn’t always make sense to do that.
But the closer your title is to the front of your title tag, the better.
Use Title Tag Modifiers
Using modifiers like “best”, “guide”, “checklist”, “fast” and “review” can help you rank for long tail versions of your target keyword.
For example, Backlink.io’s SEO tools post includes the modifiers “best” and “free”.
That way, they will rank for long-tail versions of “seo tools” like “best free seo tools”.
You can even be more strategic than this.
You they added the title tag modifier “for SEO” in this list of keyword research tools.
Why did they do this? So their page would show up when people used terms like “SEO keyword research tools”. And it worked for them.
Use Unique, Keyword-Rich Meta Descriptions
Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide states that:
And Google recently recommended that you write your own meta descriptions.
(Even though Google can override them with their own snippet.)
That’s because a good meta description helps your result stand out, which can boost your organic CTR.
Here’s a description template that we use and recommend.
You also want to include your keyword once in your description.
Why?
Because Google bolds terms that match the person’s query.
4: Write SEO Content
Now it’s time to publish content that deserves to rank #1.
This process goes well beyond using keywords on your page.
To rank your content in 2022, your content needs to be:
Unique
Super valuable
Optimized for search intent
And in this chapter I’ll show you how to make sure that your SEO content checks all of these 3 boxes.
Unique Content
When I say “unique”, I’m not just talking about duplicate content.
I mean publishing something that doesn’t just regurgitate the same stuff that’s already out there.
In other words: content that brings something new to the table.
That something new can be:
A new tip or strategy
A better list of curated resources
Strong design and UX
New case study
Streamlined step-by-step process
Do you think good content ranks because it uses a keyword a bunch of times?
Nope, it needs to be unique. No plagiarisation. No rehashing the same old shit.
No ChatGPT.
Some SEO folk are talking about google penalizing those who use ChatGPT. And that could be disastrous for millions of businesses who thought it would be so easy to create content with the AI. So go ahead and use ChatGPT as research, but your web copy needs to be edited and rewritten to sound unique.
You can use originality.io to see if your content is too heavy on the ChatGPT.
Valuable Content
Publishing something that’s unique is a good starting point.
But it’s not enough.
(After all, literally millions of blog posts come out every single day.)
So for your content to stand out and get noticed, it needs to be SUPER valuable.
Here are a few ways that you can make your SEO content insanely valuable:
Add details: Images, screenshots, and steps makes it easy for someone to put your content into practice.
Crisp writing: Strong copywriting will make your content more engaging.
Updated material: Brand new strategies, steps and examples go a long way.
Expert authors: Most content is written by people that have never done the thing they’re telling you to do. Content from someone with first-hand experience is almost always more valuable than something written by a random freelance writer.
Start off with beginner-friendly stuff. And gets more advanced as you work your way through it.
Content That Satisfies Search Intent
Unique, valuable content can get you to the first page of Google.
But if you want to stay there, your page has to satisfy Search Intent.
In other words:
Your page has to be EXACTLY what a Google searcher wants.
Otherwise, your page will likely be buried on the 3rd page.
5: Optimize for CTR
Your organic click through rate is important for two reasons:
First, CTR is (probably) a Google ranking factor.
Second, increasing your CTR can drive more traffic to your site.
In this chapter I’ll show you five practical ways that you can improve your organic CTR.
Use “Question Title Tags”
Few years ago we analyzed 5 million Google search results to figure out why certain pages get clicked on over others.
And one of our most surprising findings was that question-based title tags have an above-average CTR.
So whenever it makes sense, I recommend testing titles tags that have a question.
For example, my nofollow links guide uses a question in the title tag.
That’s because anyone searching for “nofollow link” probably just wants to know what that means.
And my title tag shows people that my site will give them what they want.
In fact, that page has a 27% CTR for the keyword “nofollow link”.
Fill In Missing Meta Descriptions
I talked about meta descriptions way back in Chapter 1.
Specifically, I pointed out that you want your descriptions to be super compelling.
But you don’t need to write an amazing description 100% of the time. Just HAVING a meta description might be enough.
In fact, we found that pages with a meta description got approximately 6% more clicks vs. pages with a missing meta description.
I recommend doing an SEO audit on your site to find pages that don’t have a meta description. Then, add in descriptions for pages that need them.
Use Review or FAQ Schema
Schema doesn’t directly help your SEO.
But using certain types of Schema can hook you up with you Rich Snippets.
And Rich Snippets CAN help you get more clicks.
Two of the best types of Schema for getting Rich Snippets are review Schema:
We also discovered that emotionally-charged “Power Words” decreased click through rate by 12%.
What gives?
Well, people are attracted to titles that pack an emotional punch… to a point.
If a title goes overboard, it looks like clickbait.
And they’ll click on another result that looks less spammy.
Bottom Line: Write title tags with some emotion. But avoid terms like “insane” and “powerful” that can make your title look like clickbait.
Add the Current Year to Title and Description
Adding the year to your title and description won’t make or break your CTR.
But in my experience, it does help… especially for content that can go out of date really quickly.
For example, someone searching for “Seneca philosophy” doesn’t need something that came out last month.
But for a keyword like “best smartphones”, people want to make sure they’re about to read something current.
And adding the year to your title and description makes it clear that your content is up-to-date.
6:On-Page UX Signals
In this chapter I’ll show you how to optimize your content for “UX Signals”.
(In other words, how Google searchers interact with your content).
Does Google really pay attention to Dwell Time, Bounce Rate and other user interaction signals?
Yes.
In fact, Google’s “How Search Works” says that, to help them rank the best results, they “use aggregated and anonymized interaction data to assess whether search results are relevant to queries”.
Now it’s time to show you how to make sure that your content keeps Google searchers on your page.
Push Content Above the Fold
When someone lands on your site from Google, they want their answer FAST.
This is why you want to avoid massive images above the fold, like this:
Instead, put your headline and introduction front and center.
To be clear: it’s OK to have an image at the top of your post. But if it pushes your content down the page, that’s bad.
Chunk Your Content
In a perfect world visitors would read every word on your page.
But we don’t live in a perfect world 🙂
This is why you want to make your content super easy to skim.
This is something I spent A LOT of time on here at Backlinko.
I use a ton of H2 subheadings.
7: Advanced On-Page SEO Tips
This last chapter is a list of some of my favorite on-page SEO techniques.
So once you’ve optimized your page’s title and H1 tags, here are a handful of tips that will help take your on-page SEO to the next level.
Let’s get right into the strategies.
Use Original images
Do you use stock images in your content?
Well, those stock images might be hurting your SEO.
Shai Aharony recently tested the effect that stock images had on Google rankings.
Here’s what went down…
First, Shai created a bunch of brand new websites just for these experiments. These were fresh domain names that had never been registered before.
So if you’re using stock photos that a thousand other sites use, consider creating custom images.
This is something we do at Backlinko. And at least according to this little study, these original images probably help us rank.
Internal Linking
Internal linking is HUGE for SEO.
Specifically, you want to link from high-authority pages on your site to pages that need a boost.
When you do, make sure to use keyword-rich anchor text. Here’s an example:
With that, here’s the process that I use and recommend.
First, use an SEO tool like Semrush and its “Indexed pages” report to bring up the pages on your site with the most link authority.
Then, add a few internal links from those pages to a high-priority page on your site.
For example, I recently wanted to improve our rankings for our press release guide.
So I added an internal link from one of our most authoritative pages to that guide.
Simple.
And if you want to see a great example of how to internal link on your site, check out Wikipedia.
They add LOTS of keyword-rich internal links to every page:
Write Comprehensive Content
Google wants to show their users content that gives them EVERYTHING they want on a single page.
In other words: comprehensive content.
And if your post covers an entire topic, it has a higher chance of ranking.
And one of the easiest ways to make sure that Google sees your content as complete?
LSI keywords are synonyms that Google uses to determine a page’s relevancy.
I don’t go nuts about LSI keywords because I usually write REALLY long content.
(Long content increases the odds that you’ll naturally use LSI keywords.)
But if you want to make 100% sure that you’re using LSI keywords, search for your keyword in Google and scroll down to the “Searches Related to…” area at the bottom of the page:
And toss any that make sense into your post.
Boost Your Page Speed
Google has stated on the record that page loading speed is an SEO ranking signal (and they recently made PageSpeed even MORE important).
According to our analysis of 5.2 million websites, you can improve your site’s loading speed by moving to a faster host.
Removing as many third-party scripts as you can.
And reducing your page’s total size.
Image Optimization
You want to give every image on your site a descriptive filename and alt text.
This helps Google (and visually-impaired users) understand what each image is showing.
And if it makes sense, make one image optimized around your target keyword. So use a filename that includes your target keyword (for example, on-page-seo-chart.png). And use that same keyword as part of your image alt tags.
Another reason to optimize your images for SEO: it gives search engines another clue of what your page is about… which can help it rank higher.
Put another way: when Google sees a page with pictures of “blue widgets” and “green widgets” it tells them: “this page is about widgets”.
Rank Your Content In Featured Snippets
Ranking in a Featured Snippet can make a HUGE difference in your CTR.
The only catch?
According to this industry study, you need to already be on the first page to have any shot of getting a Featured Snippet.
Voice Search SEO
Voice search is growing SUPER fast.
And the best way to optimize your content for voice search?
Create FAQ pages.
Our voice search SEO study found that Google loves to pull voice search results from FAQ pages.
We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email and say hello.
