You don't need a new website to rank better. Most sites we audit have the same handful of on-page problems, and nearly all of them can be fixed in an afternoon. Here are the ten fixes we make first for almost every client.
Why on-page SEO still matters
Search engines rank pages, not websites. Every page needs to tell Google clearly what it is about and give visitors a good reason to stay. On-page SEO is the part of that work you fully control, which makes it the fastest place to find gains.
The 10 fixes
- Write a unique title tag for every page. Keep it under about 60 characters and put the main keyword near the start.
- Improve your meta descriptions. They don't affect rankings directly, but a clear benefit in the snippet raises your click-through rate.
- Use one clear H1 per page. Make it describe the page topic, then organize the rest of the content with H2 and H3 headings.
- Match the search intent. Look at what already ranks for your keyword. If the results are guides, a sales page will struggle.
- Add internal links. Link from your strongest pages to the pages you want to rank, using descriptive anchor text.
- Compress and name your images. Smaller files load faster, and descriptive file names and alt text help image search.
- Fix broken links. Broken links waste crawl budget and frustrate visitors. Redirect or update them.
- Clean up your URLs. Short, readable URLs with the main keyword are easier to share and understand.
- Add structured data. Schema markup for articles, products, FAQs or local businesses can earn rich results in Google.
- Refresh outdated content. Update statistics, examples and dates on older posts so they stay competitive.
The best on-page SEO doesn't feel like SEO at all. It's simply a page that answers the question better than anyone else.
Where to start
Begin with the pages that already get some impressions in Google Search Console but sit on page two. They are closest to breaking through, so small improvements to their titles, content and internal links often move them onto page one within weeks.
If you'd rather have an expert look first, our free site audit checks all ten of these points across your whole website and gives you a prioritized list of fixes.
