After completing keyword research, the next practical step is on-page SEO.
On-page SEO is the process of optimising your website’s content and underlying code to improve its search engine rankings. The goal is to clearly signal to search engines what your page is about by aligning its key elements with your target keywords. The following are the core elements to focus on.
Core On-Page SEO Elements
- Title Tags
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The HTML
<title>element is a strong ranking factor that appears as the clickable headline in search results.- Implementation: Keep the title under 60 characters to avoid it being cut off. Place your main keyword near the beginning for maximum impact. A reliable format is:
Primary Keyword | Secondary Keyword | Brand Name.
- Implementation: Keep the title under 60 characters to avoid it being cut off. Place your main keyword near the beginning for maximum impact. A reliable format is:
- Meta Descriptions
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This is a short summary of the page’s content. While not a direct ranking factor, it has a major impact on your click-through rate (CTR) from search results.
- Implementation: Write a description under 160 characters that acts as an advert for your page. Include your keyword and a call-to-action to encourage clicks.
- Header Tags (H1, H2, H3)
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Header tags create a clear structure for your content, which helps both users and search engines read and understand it.
- Implementation: Use one unique
<h1>tag for your main page title. Use<h2>tags for main section headings and<h3>tags for subheadings to create a logical outline.
- Implementation: Use one unique
- URL Structure (Slugs)
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A clean and descriptive URL helps users and search engines understand what a page is about at a glance.
- Implementation: Keep URLs short and descriptive. Include your primary keyword and use hyphens (
-) to separate words.
- Implementation: Keep URLs short and descriptive. Include your primary keyword and use hyphens (
- Image Optimisation & Alt Text
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Alt text is a written description of an image. It allows search engines to understand the image’s content and is essential for accessibility, as screen readers announce it to visually impaired users.
- Implementation: Before uploading, give images descriptive file names (e.g.,
valley-gardens-harrogate.jpg). Write clear alt text that accurately describes what the image shows.
- Implementation: Before uploading, give images descriptive file names (e.g.,
- Internal Linking
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Internal links are links from one page on your site to another. They help search engines discover your content and understand your site’s structure.
- Implementation: Use descriptive, clickable text (anchor text) that tells users and search engines what the linked page is about, instead of generic phrases like “click here.”
The Foundation: Content Quality
While these technical elements are important, they work best when applied to high-quality content. Good on-page SEO helps promote content that is well-researched, detailed, and gives the user what they are looking for. The goal should always be to create a genuinely useful resource on your chosen topic.
Next Steps
Once your individual pages are optimised, the next step is to examine the website’s technical foundation. This involves the principles of Technical SEO, which ensures your site can be crawled and indexed effectively by search engines.