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On-Page SEO: The Definitive Guide

This is a complete guide to on-page SEO in 2024. Explore the factors that can make or break your SEO success.

In this new guide you’ll learn how to:

  • Optimize your content for search engines
  • Create SEO-friendly URLs
  • Write compelling and click-worthy titles
  • Create original and helpful content
  • Seamlessly integrate keywords into your content
  • Lots more

Let’s get started!

On-page SEO: The Definitive Guide

Chapter 1: On-Page SEO Basics + Template

On-page SEO Basics

Welcome to the foundation of your on-page SEO journey!

In this chapter, we’ll demystify why on-page SEO remains a linchpin for digital success in 2024.

So if you’re looking for the key to enhancing visibility and user experience, this chapter is for you.

What is On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO (also known as “on-site SEO”) is the practice of optimizing web page content for search engines and users. Common on-page SEO practices include optimizing title tags, content, internal links, URLs, and other ranking factors.

This is different from off-page SEO, which is optimizing for signals that happen off of your website (for example, backlinks).

Other examples include social media marketing, guest posting, and PR.

On-Page SEO Off-Page SEO
Definition Optimization of elements on a website’s pages Strategies performed outside the website to boost authority and visibility
Goal Enhance individual page visibility and relevance Boost overall website authority and trustworthiness
Examples Keyword Optimization
Meta Tags
Schema Mark-up
Internal Linking
Images
Page Speed
Featured Snippets
Link Building
Social Media
Guest Posting
Public Relations
Influencer Marketing
Local SEO
Brand Mentions
Tools Used On-page analysis tools, content optimization tools, site crawlers, page speed insights, analytics tools, AI Backlink analysis tools, social media analytics and platforms, Google Business Profile, outreach management tools

Does traditional on-page SEO still make a difference in 2024?

Yup! Google’s “How Search Works” report states that, even with advancements in artificial intelligence, certain traditional SEO practices, like specific keyword presence, remain integral:

Google on On-page SEO

Even though Google is MUCH smarter than it was back in the day, it still uses old-school stuff (like looking for a specific keyword on your page).

Google still crawls your site for keywords

And there’s data to back this up.

Our analysis of 11M Google search results didn’t find a correlation between keyword-rich title tags and first page rankings.

Keyword optimized title tags don't correlate with higher first page Google rankings

But if you search for any competitive keyword, you’ll notice that the top-ranking pages almost all use that exact keyword in their title tag.

Google SERP – Life Insurance Quotes

Why is On-Page SEO Important?

Picture on-page SEO as the friendly guide helping your website communicate with Google. It’s like dropping hints about what your content is all about, but in a language Google understands – keywords.

That said: There’s more to on-page SEO than cramming keywords into your page’s HTML. It’s about rolling out the welcome mat for your visitors.

A well-optimized page ensures they find what they’re looking for without the online equivalent of a wild goose chase.

To rank your content in 2024, you also need to optimize your content for:

So, in the grand scheme of things, on-page SEO isn’t just a checklist; it’s your secret weapon for standing out and making both algorithms and people say, “Yep, this is the one!”

How to do On-Page SEO

On-page SEO has changed A LOT over the last few years. Back in the day, you only needed to do four or five basic things to optimize your page (like making sure that your keyword density was high enough). And you were pretty much done.

Today? Optimizing your site’s content is much more involved. There are more steps. And those steps are more complex than before.

But there are ways to make it simple to create content that helps you rank for your target keywords.

Semrush’s On-Page SEO Checker can help you analyze your content and provide actionable insights you can implement in minutes.

Semrush – On Page SEO Checker

This tool lets you know if you have your keyword in all the key locations like the H1 and body content but also offers suggestions for improvement and provides valuable information on semantic keywords to enhance your content.

Semrush – On Page SEO Checker – Ideas

Semrush also offers a suite of other tools that make it the all-in-one companion for on-page SEO.

But tools aren’t the only way to simplify your SEO process.

Our on-page SEO checklist helps you keep track of all the little things that you need to do to optimize your content.

On-Page SEO Template

Download Now: On Page SEO Template

You can use it like a checklist to make sure that you’re checking off all of the boxes that Google and alternate search engines want to see.

In fact, I personally use this on-page SEO checklist to keep track of things. Otherwise, I’ll forget something small (like adding my keyword in an H2 tag).

But when I have my handy on-page SEO template open in one tab and my page open in another, I make sure that every step gets done.

Chapter 2: Optimize Title and Description Tags

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.

Make Click-worthy Titles

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.

Frontload your keyword in your title tag

Here’s an example from my image SEO post.

Post with frontloaded keyword

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. For both search engines and users.

Users will know that your content matches their search query. But there are other ways to get them to click on your site.

Using modifiers like “best”, “guide”, “checklist”, “fast” and “review” can help you rank for long tail versions of your target keyword.

For example, our SEO tools post includes the modifiers “best” and “free”.

Backlinko – Best free SEO tools

That way, we can rank for long-tail versions of “seo tools” like “best free seo tools”.

You can even be more strategic than this.

Pro Tip: If you need help generating hundreds (or thousands) of relevant keyword ideas, check out our free keyword generator.

I added the title tag modifier “for SEO” in this list of keyword research tools.

Title tag modifier

Why? So my page would show up when people used terms like “SEO keyword research tools”. And it worked!

Google SERP – SEO keyword research tools

Title tags ensure each individual page’s purpose is clear to Google, and users know what they’re clicking on.

One of the easiest ways to improve your title tags is simply by confirming you have one on every page. And it’s original.

Site crawlers, like Semrush’s Site Audit tool, can help to identify pages that don’t have a title tag or have a duplicate title.

Site errors

AI tools, like ChatGPT, can be a great place to brainstorm potential titles, offering a starting point for your creative process.

ChatGPT – Title ideas

Use Unique, Keyword-Rich Meta Descriptions

Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide states that:

Google Webmasters on Description meta tag

Even though Google can override them with their own snippet, Google recommended that you write your own meta descriptions.

Google says "Fill in your meta descriptions"

That’s because a good meta description helps your result stand out, which can boost your organic CTR.

A good meta description boosts your organic CTR

Here’s a description template that I use and recommend.

Meta description formula

You also want to include your keyword once in your description.

Why?

Because Google bolds terms that match the person’s query.

Bolded search term in SERP

Again, this can give you a nice little CTR bump.

Here are a few other tips for making your meta descriptions click-worthy:

  • Be Concise: Keep your meta description under 160 characters to ensure it displays fully in search results.
  • Unique Descriptions: Craft distinctive meta descriptions for each page to avoid duplication and enhance click-through rates.
  • Focus on Value: Highlight the unique selling points or key information that sets your page apart.
  • Clarity is Key: Communicate the content and purpose of your page to manage user expectations.
  • Front-Load Important Information: Place critical details near the beginning to ensure visibility and impact.
  • Avoid Clickbait: Ensure your meta description aligns with your content to build trust with users.

Chapter 3: Craft Captivating and Valuable SEO Content

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 2024, your content needs to be:

  • Unique
  • Super valuable
  • Optimized for search intent

In this chapter I’ll show you how to make sure that your SEO content checks all of these 3 boxes.

Embrace Uniqueness

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: fresh 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

For example, this SEO checklist post ranks as number 1 for the keyword “SEO checklist”.

Google SERP – SEO Checklist

Do you think I rank because I used my keyword a bunch of times?

That helped. But for a competitive term like this, using keywords isn’t enough.

My page ranks at the top because it’s unique.

Sure, it has tips and strategies that you can find anywhere, but it also has lots of tips and examples that you can only find in my post.

Unique tip in post

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:

  • Detailed: Images, screenshots, and steps make 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.
  • Accurate: Provide trustworthy, up-to-date information for your audience.

The main thing that makes my SEO checklist post so valuable is the checklist itself.
It starts off with beginner-friendly stuff.

Beginner-friendly tip in post

And gets more advanced as you work your way through it.

Advanced tip in post

Along the way, you get a ton of specific details:

Detailed tips in post

Up-to-date examples:

Up-to-date tip in post

And content written by someone that lives and breathes SEO every day:

Real-life example in post

Satisfy 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.

SERP goes to third page

This is a mistake that I had to learn the hard way.

Some time ago, I published this comparison of the top backlink checkers on the market.

Backlinko – Best backlink checker

My goal was to rank for the keyword “backlink checker”.

A few days after I published that post, I decided to check out the SERPs for that term.

And I quickly realized that 100% of the type of content on the first page results were tools.

"backlink checker" SERP

Literally, 10 out of 10 results were backlink checker tools. There wasn’t a single blog post on the first page.

This means the chance of my post hitting the first page was basically zero.

Whoops!

Fortunately, I do rank for a long-tail version of that keyword (“best backlink checker”).

Google SERP – Best backlink checker

But if I spent more time looking at the Search Intent for that term, I would have realized that my content had zero chance of ranking for “backlink checker”.

And now it’s time for the next chapter…

Chapter 4: Optimize Your Content for SEO

Optimize Your Content For SEO

Embarking on the journey of on-page SEO involves more than just the art of crafting compelling content.

It’s about strategically placing your target keywords, creating a seamless structure, and employing tactics that signal to search engine crawlers that your page is an authoritative source on a specific topic.

In this chapter, we delve into actionable techniques that can elevate your on-page SEO game, ensuring your content not only attracts but retains its rightful place on the coveted first page of search results.

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.

All you need to do is use your main keyword once in the first 100-150 words of your article.

For example, in my article optimized around the keyword “email marketing”, I mentioned that keyword right off the bat.

Keyword in post intro

Why is this important?

Google puts more weight on terms that show up early on your page.

Use your target keyword terms in the first 100 words

Which makes sense. Imagine that you just published an article about The Keto Diet. If your article really was about The Keto Diet would it make sense to first use the term “keto diet” halfway down the page?

Of course not.

This is why you want to drop your keyword somewhere in the first 100 words or so. This is one of those little things that helps Google understand what your page is all about.

Wrap Your Keywords Into Headings

Heading tags are like the guiding stars in the vast universe of your content, ensuring both search engines and users find their way through the cosmic landscape of your webpage.

In fact, Google has stated that using an H1 taghelps Google understand the structure of the page”.

Google on H1 tags for rankings

It’s best practice to include a single H1 per page. You want to check your site’s code to make sure your title is wrapped in an H1. And that your keyword is inside of that H1 tag.

Title and keyword in H1 tag

You can use the Semrush Site Audit Tool to find pages that are missing H1 tags and write new tags with keyword incorporated into them.

Semrush – Site Audit – Warnings

Strategically incorporating your target keyword and other relevant keywords within the H1 to H6 tags not only communicates the topical relevance to search engines but also enhances the user experience by providing a clear hierarchy.

Will heading tags make or break your on-page SEO?

Nope. But it can’t hurt. And my own SEO experiments have shown me that wrapping your target keyword in an H2 tag can make a dent.

Here’s an example of this strategy in action (target keyword=”content marketing tools”):

Keyword in H2 tag

Keyword Frequency

Keyword Frequency is just like it sounds: It’s how many times your primary 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.

Keyword frequency : Low

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.

Keyword frequency : High

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 subject matter.

For example, one of our posts ranks in the top 3 in Google for the keyword “YouTube SEO”.

Google SERP – YouTube SEO

How many times do you think I used the exact term “YouTube SEO” in that 3,200-word post?

6 times.

So yeah, there’s no need to go overboard here. As long as you use your keyword naturally a few times, you’re good.

Key places to include your keywords on your page include:

  • Title Tags and Meta Description
  • Alt Text
  • URLs
  • Headings
  • First Paragraph

The Semrush On Page SEO Checker can provide you with a comprehensive list of recommendations to let you know if your keywords are in these key places.

Semrush – On Page SEO Checker – Recommendations

Use External (Outbound) Links

External links to related pages help Google figure out your page’s topic. It also shows Google that your page is a hub of high quality content.

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 outgoing links.

And the websites with outgoing links outranked the sites without them.

Phylandocic experiment – SERP

Your outgoing links should be to relevant, high quality sites. Never to low-quality, spammy websites.

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 organic search.

Google SERP – URL structure – Desktop

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.

Google SERP – URL structure – Mobile

So I’d say that your URL is actually more important now than before.

With that, here’s how to create SEO-friendly URLs:

  1. Make your URLs short
  2. 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.

Google SERP – "Link building" in 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…

Google SERP – "Video marketing" in URL

…or to have your keyword come after a subfolder.

Google SERP – "Watch time" in URL

Chapter 5: Optimize for CTR

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 organic 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.

Backlinko - Google CTR stats

And one of our most surprising findings was that question-based title tags have an above-average CTR.

Question titles have a 14.1% higher organic CTR .vs. Non-question titles

So whenever it makes sense, I recommend testing title tags that have a question.

For example, my nofollow links guide uses a question in the title tag.

Question in 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”.

Nofollow Link post – CTR

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.

Pages with a meta description have a higher average CTR .vs. Pages without a 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.

As a refresher, rich snippets are enhanced search results that provide additional information beyond the typical meta description.

They can include images, ratings, reviews, and other structured data, offering users a more informative preview of a webpage directly in the search results.

Two of the best types of Schema for getting Rich Snippets are review Schema:

Google SERP – Review schema

And FAQ Schema:

Google SERP – FAQ schema

You can double check if you have your Schema set up correctly using the Structured Data Testing Tool.

Structured data testing tool result

Add Some Emotion to Your Title Tags

Our CTR study found that emotional titles got clicked on 7% more often vs. titles that didn’t have a strong emotional sentiment.

Emotional titles have a higher organic click through rate

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

Here’s an example of what I mean.

Year in 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.

Chapter 6: On-Page UX Signals

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:

Huge image above the fold

Instead, put your headline and introduction front and center.

Intro above fold

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.

H2 tag in post

Bullets:

Bullet list in post

And images:

Images in post

Have an Active Community

Having a community on your blog is like a Bounce Rate cheat code.

Why?

A high-quality comments section gives people something to read… after they finish reading your post.

That’s because comments add context to your post:

Comment from Teresa on Backlinko post

Contribute new approaches and strategies:

Comment from Marko on Backlinko post

And, sometimes, spice things up with a little bit of controversy:

Comment from Pawel on Backlinko post

All things that keep people super glued to your page.

To encourage an active blog community:

  • Encourage readers to share their thoughts, experiences, and insights related to your content.
  • Acknowledge and respond to comments promptly.
  • Welcome diverse viewpoints and encourage discussions.
  • Recognize and showcase valuable contributions from your community.
  • Pose questions or seek their opinions to stimulate engagement.

Implementing these strategies, not only fosters a community. It’s creating an ecosystem where readers actively contribute, adding depth and context to your posts.

Chapter 7: Advanced On-Page SEO Tips

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 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.

Shai's new test domain names

He used generic stock images on some of the sites. And original images on others.

Stock image or unique image

The results were clear: sites with unique images outranked the sites that used stock photos.

Duplicate images .vs. Unique images

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.

Internal link from high-authority pages to low-authority pages

When you do, make sure to use keyword-rich anchor text. Here’s an example:

Keyword-rich anchor text

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.

Semrush – Indexed pages report

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.

Internal link in Backlinko post

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:

Keyword-rich links in Wikipedia article

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.

Content topic authority (Marketmuse data)

And one of the easiest ways to make sure that Google sees your content as complete?

Long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are specific, and typically longer phrases, that users might enter into search engines when looking for highly niche or detailed information. Google uses this to determine a page’s relevancy.

I don’t go nuts about long-tail keywords because I usually write REALLY long content.

(Long content increases the odds that you’ll naturally use these keywords and cover the topics.)

But if you want to make 100% sure that you’re using covering the topic fully, search for your keyword in Google and scroll down to the “Searches Related to…” area at the bottom of the page:

Google SERP – Related searches

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 made PageSpeed even MORE important).

According to our analysis of 5.2 million websites, you can improve your site’s load time by moving to a faster host.

TTFB performance among major web hosting providers (Desktop)

Removing as many third-party scripts as you can to boost load speed.

Third-party scripts negatively impact page load times

And reducing your page’s total size.

Factors that impact fully loaded on desktop & mobile

If implementing these strategies doesn’t yield the desired results, it’s crucial to delve deeper into your site’s technical aspects.

Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can identify specific issues affecting your page load time so you can tackle them individually.

Google PageSpeed Insights – Backlinko

Enhancing page speed is not just a best practice; it’s a pivotal step in ensuring your website meets the evolving on-page standards set by search engines. Learn how to uncover additional factors that contribute to your website’s overall health and performance with our definitive guide to Technical SEO.

Image Optimization

Image optimization is important for a few reasons:

  • Search engine crawlers can’t “see” images, so it’s important to help them to understand all the types of content on your page, including visual content.
  • Optimizing your images can help you appear in image search, which can increase your visibility in search even more.
  • Properly formatting and optimizing your image files can make a big difference in improving your page loading times.

You want to give every image on your site a descriptive filename and alt text.

Alt text

This helps Google (and visually-impaired users) understand what each image is showing.

Alt text example

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.

Alt text on WordPress image

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”.

Optimized images help search engines understand your content

In order to write optimal alt text that is beneficial to both users and search engines, here are a few tips:

  • Be descriptive
  • Avoid keyword stuffing
  • Keep it concise
  • Be specific
  • Include key details
  • Consider the audience
  • Avoid repetition

Besides filenames and alt text, you should also optimize your images so they don’t affect your page load speed.

You can check out our image SEO guide to find out about techniques like lazy loading, optimal image file size and types, and more.

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.

Where featured snippets tend to rank

This means you need to find first page results that have a Featured Snippet AND you rank for.

To find them whip open Semrush or whatever SEO software that you use.

And find pages from your site that rank on the first page of Google.

Organic research – Top 10 filter

Then, filter for keywords that have a Featured Snippet already.

Organic research – SERP features filter

Then, look at the Featured Snippet in Google for each of those terms.

Google SERP – Featured snippet

Finally, you need to optimize your content to rank in the Featured Snippet.

So if you see a “definition” Featured Snippet, then you want to include a short definition in your content.

Bounce Rate definition in Backlinko post

If it’s a list of steps or tips, then you want to make sure that your page structure is consistent.

Consistent page structure on Backlinko post

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.

Results which are FAQ pages

Regularly Monitor and Update Content

Achieving optimal on-page SEO isn’t a one-time task.

It’s an ongoing commitment to ensuring your content remains relevant, engaging, and aligned with search engine algorithms.

SEO algorithms evolve, user behavior changes, and industry trends shift. Regular monitoring allows you to adapt your content to stay ahead of the curve.

To maintain peak performance, monitor these metrics:

  • Traffic Trends: Keep an eye on your website traffic. Sudden drops may indicate issues with your content or SEO strategy.
  • Bounce Rate: A high bounce rate could suggest that visitors aren’t finding what they expect. Regularly assess and improve content to lower bounce rates.
  • Click-Through Rate (CTR): Monitor CTR to evaluate how well your title tags and meta descriptions are performing. Adjust if needed.
  • Keyword Rankings: Track the performance of your target keywords. If search rankings decline, it may be time to revisit and optimize your content.

Conduct regular reviews, at least once a month, to stay proactive in identifying potential issues and opportunities.

And for more in-depth analysis, don’t forget about our comprehensive On-Page SEO checklist. This can act as a roadmap to ensure to stone is left unturned.

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing this comprehensive guide to mastering on-page SEO! You’ve equipped yourself with the knowledge and actionable insights needed to optimize your content effectively.

Ready to dive deeper into the world of SEO and digital marketing?

Explore Backlinko’s array of in-depth marketing guides covering topics like off-page SEO, technical SEO, inbound link building, and more. Elevate your digital marketing prowess and stay ahead in the ever-evolving landscape.

On-page SEO: The Definitive Guide

FAQ

What is the difference between off-page SEO and on-page SEO?

Off-page SEO focuses on optimizing signals that occur outside your website, such as building backlinks and establishing a social media presence. On the other hand, on-page SEO involves optimizing elements directly on your web pages, like content, meta tags, and internal links.

What is the difference between on-page SEO and technical SEO?

On-page SEO deals with optimizing individual web pages to improve their search engine rankings and user experience. Technical SEO is a portion of on-page SEO that involves optimizing the technical aspects of your entire website, ensuring it’s crawlable, indexable, and performs well from a technical standpoint.

How often should I perform on-page SEO?

On-page SEO is not a one-and-done task. Regular monitoring and updates are essential, with a suggested frequency of at least once a month for routine checks. Conduct more in-depth assessments quarterly to ensure your content stays relevant and aligned with evolving search engine algorithms.

What are the key elements of on-page SEO?

Key elements of on-page SEO include optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, content (including keyword usage), internal links, URLs, images, and ensuring a positive user experience. These elements collectively contribute to improved search engine rankings and user engagement.

How important is on-page SEO for overall website performance?

On-page SEO is integral to overall website performance. It directly impacts search engine rankings, user experience, and the discoverability of your content. Neglecting on-page SEO can hinder your site’s visibility and user engagement.

Are there tools available to assist with on-page SEO?

Yes, several tools can aid in on-page SEO efforts. Tools like Semrush, Moz, and Ahrefs offer features for keyword research, content optimization, and performance tracking. Utilizing these tools can streamline the on-page optimization process and provide valuable insights for improvement.

Now I’d Like to Hear From You

on-page-seo-conclusion

I hope you found this new on-page SEO guide helpful.

Next, check out 10 best SEO practices to improve your rankings for more tips.

541 Comments

  1. WHAT… AN… AWESOME… POST! Well done 🙂

    I plan to start a blog and this post has definitely helped me.

    Thank you for your hard work.

    Chuck

    P.S. Just checked who’s ranking for on-page SEO and I see this article on page 1 of Google. Well deserved 🙂

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Chuck, you’re welcome 👍 👍 👍

      This guide should definitely come in handy then.

  2. Hey Brian, great reference guide — definitely my new go-to when people ask what to do for on-page.

    And I love that you called out the importance of unique content. So many people just look at what’s already working and do the exact same thing (only 10% better or longer). We need more unique content!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Kyle. As the creator of The Skyscraper Technique, I do think there’s a place for content that’s better than what’s out there. That said, at a certain point that’s impossible or impractical. Or the SERPs demand something different. Which is where actual unique content (and not just “unique” in the sense that it passes copyscape) comes in.

      1. Oh, totally. It’s just amazing how often people think doing it just a *little* better is enough. Low-DA sites trying to out-rank incumbents with slightly better versions of the same content (and no promotion, either). Not a winning recipe.

  3. Eddy Avatar Eddysays:

    Extremely informative! Thanks!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Eddy. Glad you found it helpful.

  4. What an in-depth article on On-Page SEO! I really needed one for 2020 after the Core Update. Thanks, Brian for such wonderful insights.

    Keep up the great work!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Edward, no worries. Happy to help.

  5. Milos Avatar Milossays:

    Hey Brian,

    Thanks for the insightful guide as always! Really appreciate it as it is always helping my business immensely.

    Quick question – you have page A and B. You want to rank keyword “xyz” on page A, so is it a good SEO practice to link from page A to page B with “xyz” as an anchor text? Would that increase or decrease your chances of ranking “xyz” on page A?

    Or it would be better if you link from page B to page A with “xyz” as the anchor text if you want to rank that keyword on page A?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Milos, you’re welcome. You definitely want to rank from page B to page A with your target keyword in your anchor text. This tells Google: “Page A is the page on my site that’s most about that keyword”.

      1. Milos Avatar Milossays:

        Hey Brian,

        Many thanks for your clarification. I will make sure to do like that.

        Would you then say that it makes sense to link to the external high-authority website with your main keyword in the anchor text? So from the example above – from page A to high-authority external page with “xyz” as anchor text. Would that help page A with “xyz” as the keyword?

        Anyways, keep up the awesome work!

        1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

          Hey Milos, that probably won’t help you rank for that specific keyword. External links can help you rank. But if you link to another page on the same topic and link with “XYZ”, you’re telling Google: “This other page is actually about XYZ, which is why I’m linking to it”. Which is not ideal.

  6. Daniel Cuttridge Avatar Daniel Cuttridgesays:

    Awesome guide Brian! I think that there’s a lot of evidence now to suggest pushing content above the fold is really important. Creating hybrid “featured image sections” like you’ve done with your guide here is something I wish more people were doing. It’s something that a lot of people don’t even consider, so it’s nice to see you’re including this in here when not many would have picked up on it if you didn’t!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Daniel. I’m always a big fan of putting content way above the fold. A nice featured image has it’s place (we use them on our studies, like this one: https://backlinko.com/google-ctr-stats). But there should still be room for the first few lines to show up.

  7. I liked where you gave example of wikipedia for internal linking. I was always confused about how should I go about internal linking.

    Not to worry now!

    Also, I liked the tip where you mentioned that high authority page can give other page good boost if it’s linked through high authority page using main keyword as anchor text.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Ankur 👍 👍 👍

  8. What a great resource for on-page-seo! There’s a lot to do for many of us!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Tobias. For sure: on-page SEO has changed a lot. There’s more to take into account (Search Intent, page loading speed etc.) and to actually do. Hence why I wanted to produce a new guide to on-page SEO.

  9. Mohd Yunus Avatar Mohd Yunussays:

    Thanks Brian for always being there when it comes to SEO.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      No problemo.

  10. Great article. Well-written, as always! Since Google recently changed how they display results on desktop, the “Optimize Your URLs for SEO” section is a bit out-of-date. Just thought you might like to know so you can make that update.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Stephen. Do you mean Favicons next to the URLs? We have a screenshot of that new-ish style in the guide.

      Either way, with the new breadcrumb URLs, I still recommend the same best practices as before. In fact, they make kthe keywords in your URLs even more obvious.

  11. Jason Avatar Jasonsays:

    Your publish date on this article is today. Yet… there’s 20,961 shares on this post and you’re ranking #1 already. Did you publish new instead of just hitting update? Why?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Jason, this post will explain it better than I can in a comment: https://backlinko.com/content-relaunch

      Actually, today’s guide is more of a combination of The Content Relaunch and The Skyscraper Technique 2.0.

  12. Hey Brian, another great post as always and mostly the tactics I am implementing on my site but there are a few things I probably need to go back through like adding the keyword in the first 100 words.

    My site has a low DA so if you were in charge would you target more specific long tail keywords around the 20-400 range that are likely to convert rather than build out a definitive guide say like this on branding but I doubt I would have the authority to rank on page 1 for big volumes?

    Alex

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Alex, thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’d actually combine the two: create a definitive guide on a long tail topic. That way, you have a good chance of ranking and create something that’s worth linking to.

  13. Hamza Hashim Avatar Hamza Hashimsays:

    Hi, you are awesome man, thanks for sharing this amazing content.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      👍 👍 👍

  14. Great Information, thanks for the article, my boss paid a web company for SEO and they simply created web pages with no site links! “Orphan pages” I heard they were called. But a lot of articles say it’s actually bad for SEO…have you done any articles on this?
    Thanks

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Andrew, you’re welcome. Orphan pages definitely aren’t ideal. You want internal links somewhere on your site to every page. But as long as you interally link (and ideally get external links too) to your orphan pages, you’re fine.

  15. Hey brian,

    Thanks for sharing this masterpiece with us. I believe on page seo and technical seo is the two main factors of ranking.
    And I totally agree with you that voice search is growing and everyone should focus on that.

    Thanks again brian.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      No problem. On-page SEO + technical SEO = the foundation. After that, it’s all about link building. And that pretty much sums up SEO in two sentences 😆😆😆

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Ivaylo. A lot of work went into this guide so I’m glad to hear that.

  16. Amazing content again & so thorough! Will contact you with questions once I digest the entire article. Thanks again for all your effort.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Darshana, thank you. I think you’ll find it useful.

  17. Rohit singh Avatar Rohit singhsays:

    Hey brian. This post is super helpful 😍

    I came to know about few new things that I was not aware about.

    As I’ve published a post on my blog yesterday for On-Page SEO.

    I will add new things learned from you once I will try and test it 👌

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Sounds good, Rohit.

  18. Endashaw Avatar Endashawsays:

    Wow, I mean, you are the best, I have been trying to get a in depth in on page seo for a while now, this was very much helpful

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      👍

  19. Sergi Avatar Sergisays:

    Great guide for SEO-guys!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Sergi

  20. Brian, do you take deep dives into your Search Console and how it can be leveraged to inform your on-page? Your deep dives are no joke and I’d love to see how you approach Search Console. Thanks again for the amazing content.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Mitch, I haven’t done a deep dive video on that yet but I might. Great suggestion.

  21. How do I get a PDF of this great document?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Joe, it may be a while for that. It takes some time to turn these guides into PDFs. Please check back in a few weeks on the post and we may have a PDF version available.

    1. Joe, you could also use a browser extension and save Brian’s amazing post to a pdf doc. You can find one for both Firefox and Chrome.

  22. Excellent!!! We do most of what you pointed out. A couple of things we haven’t focused on… but will now. Top notch work and insights. Bang on from our experience as well.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Donat, nice! I hope those new techniques make a difference.

  23. Hasnat Avatar Hasnatsays:

    Thank you so much Brian Dean (The Maestro) for this masterpiece.Time and time you proved yourself as a SEO genius.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks!

  24. Spot on yet again. Simple, informative but above all, common sense.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Andy, thank you. It was tough to distill this HUGE topic into a single-page guide. But I tried my best to highlight the most important strategies that are working best right now.

  25. Hi Brian. All the time I’m reading your posts with interest. This time I found something new, which I have not tried it before. Let’s see…maybe will work. Cheers!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Andrei, sounds good. Let me know how it goes.

  26. Brian, another incredible comprehensive overview of on-site SEO for 2020. There is so much value from just focusing on a few of the basics here. If I had to focus, I’d start with understanding what Google thinks users who type in your keyword need, to get the search intent aka “Let’s see what the SERP says”, then crafting the right content to match up to that.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Robin, thank you. 100%. Sometimes you can get Search Intent from the keyword itself (“what is X” or “buy Y”). But Search Intent is mostly learning from the SERP.

  27. Hi Brian,

    Thanks for another amazing masterpiece in New Year. On page SEO is important factors to rank a website or a page. But the sad thing is people are still following the old tactics that aren’t effective anymore, I mean keyword stuffing like stuff.

    Most people are still believing in old SEO tactics that has died years ago. I hope this guide would shake them and will make to use advanced SEO methods.

    Thanks,
    Umesh Singh

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Umesh.

  28. F.R.E.A.K.I.N.G T.A.S.T.I.C

    Brian, first you made this complex topic SIMPLE a couple of years back, now you gradually progressed to make this SIMPLE topic even SIMPLER to understand, accessible, and actionable.

    Well done… BOOKMARKING IT!!

    BTW I would like to append one short topic into “image optimization” that “image compression,” (don’t need to use paid plugins, I compress my images for free), here is a funny story that happens with me recently.

    Recently I published my new (power) article, which uses hundreds of images in it because I wanted to run my images through “imagify” compression algorithms to compress my images.

    However, before uploading any image to my website, I always use a free online image compression tool. But I wanted to compress it even further to increase my article load time As fast as it could be.

    But when I activated “imagify,” it didn’t even compress my image by 1%. Instead, it says, “well done; your images are already compressed as it best”… and it was for free, that made my day.

    So I wanted to let fellow readers know that online image compression tool I use. So they don’t need to pay for any premium plugins to compress their website images.

    Use these two image compression plugins before uploading images to your site.

    https://compresspng.com/
    https://compressjpeg.com/

    And you never need to use any other paid plugin.

    BTW Thank you brian for this brilliant article, loved it.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Rahul. For sure: image compression is massive when you use lots of images in your posts (like we do here at Backlinko). Also: you linked to the same plugins twice there.

      1. Yes brian… it’s the same compression tool, but the first one is for compressing “PNG,” and the second the one for compressing “JPG.”

        I included both versions right there.

        1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

          Ah OK. Makes sense now. Thanks Rahul

      1. Looks like one is for .jpg and one for .png, but I haven’t checked to verify that.

        1. You’re right Jim…

          You have sharp eye :p

  29. Thank you very much, Brian, for such an in-depth on-page SEO guide. You are a “rock star” in the SEO industry. I learnt a lot of things from your blogs which are very detailed yet simple to understand for beginners and intermediate SEOs.

    Keep it up!

    Have a nice day!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Manoj. Glad you found it helpful.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      More shares, more traffic, more links, easier to read… the list goes on and on.

  30. Hi Brian,
    I love your content. I have learned many pertinent tips.
    My website is image based because I am a photographer. Do I need to add a blog to increase my ranking? How do I get to the 1st page of search results without blogging?

    Thank you so much for your help.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Matthieu, you’re welcome. It depends a lot on what your goals are and who you serve. If you only serve a specific local area, you probably want to focus on local SEO over content marketing/blogging: https://backlinko.com/local-seo-guide

  31. Awesome article, Brian!
    You start at the core, pragmatic and easy to understand, but you’re also going beyond the obvious-standard-SEO-know-how and make this article up-to date and really useful – even for SEOs!
    User signals, markup, title optimization, emotions to account for real user behavior… All of that makes the difference! Supreme content.
    Thanks!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Matthias, you’re welcome. As you may know, this guide is based on one of Backlinko’s first posts (which was an infographic). Since then, on-page SEO has become 10x more complicated, with UX signals, new title tag optimization approaches etc. So I wanted to combine some of the traditional stuff with lots of new strategies and approaches.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Gregory! Now I have an epitah 😂

  32. All tips are relevant and helpful as usual, i think you missed AMP features in page speed section, AMP is quite essential for content publishing website.

  33. Great article as always Brian, thank you so much for this guide.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Edgar, you’re welcome. I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed it.

  34. Hannah Watkins Avatar Hannah Watkinssays:

    Very comprehensive. I honestly did not realize it had changed so much!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Hannah. On-page SEO has actually changed very slowly and gradually. Things like UX signals, organic CTR etc. only came on over the last few years. And even then, they started as sort of fringe ranking factors and are now, in my opinion, central to ranking.

  35. Thanks, Brian for this detailed guide on-page SEO. I really learned a lot and as always looking forward to your next Definitive Guide on SEO.

    Cheers.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      No worries, Joseph. There are definitely more SEO guides on the way.

  36. Has always you do what you preach. An excellent in-depth guide to on-page-seo. Thanks Brian!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Luis. Well said: this page is (hopefully!) optimized super well.

  37. Great article bro, I do all of the mentioned things but sometimes leave Image description empty. Will make sure to fill that in from now on as well. Thanks!

    Btw, in the “Have an active community” paragraph, you have written “the” I think it should be they*.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Gautam. Image descriptions aren’t a huge deal. But they can’t hurt so it’s worth doing.

  38. Jeffrey Avatar Jeffreysays:

    Great post again! In relation to optimizing URL’s, isn’t it better to shorten the URL’s and therefore also exclude the subfolders? Or is that not relevant (anymore)?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Jeffrey. You 100% want to shorten URLas as much as you can. But sometimes it makes sense to have subfolders. For example, it’s almost impossible to structure an ecommerce site without category subfolders.

  39. Markus Avatar Markussays:

    Thank you for the guide! Haven recently gotten back into content marketing, it’s useful to get a refresher on what’s important and new in on-page SEO. I really like the information you’re putting out. 🙂

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Markus, you’re welcome. This guide should definitely come in handy in that case. Hope it helps you out.

  40. Shaheer Avatar Shaheersays:

    Well Brian, back in the days I used to follow your blog a lot, but now you’re just updating your old posts and in new articles, you’re just adding so simple tips and just changing the names like you changed the “keyword density” to “keyword frequency” you just changed the name as it will look cool. Also, in the last chapter, you just tried adding internal links to your previous posts, and just adding simple tips and naming them advanced tips? Literally bro? Now, you’re jsut selling your course and making people fool.

  41. killer post as always Brian. nothing that new for me compared to 2019 but it is great to have all the tips at one place. keep it up!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks John. That was my goal with this guide: to put everything about on-page SEO and optimizing content in one place.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      👍

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome. I’m glad you learned something new from today’s guide.

  42. Great and very informative guide. Unique content when accompanied with E-A-T factors definitely gets good search engine rankings.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Well said, Bhumika.

  43. Ali D Avatar Ali Dsays:

    Great job

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      👍

  44. Mikael Nyström Avatar Mikael Nyströmsays:

    Excellent on-page SEO tips and as always very useful in the real world! About to start a SEO review of our site soon and your article will be of great help. Thanks!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Mikael, thank you. For sure, this should really help you find ways to boost up your on-page SEO. Let me know if you have any questions.

  45. Mack Avatar Macksays:

    Hello, this is a great crispy-clear like an ice piece of rich content I’am inspired by! Thank you for your hard work.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Mack.

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