On Page SEO Techniques: 45 SEO Activities & Tasks Checklist

Here is the ultimate list of 45 On-Page SEO tasks & activities. This is your go-to checklist to completely learn and follow on-page SEO optimization techniques for any website. This is the list of activities and tasks which you need to carry out when optimizing your pages as part of search engine optimization.

On Page SEO Techniques: 45 SEO Activities & Tasks Checklist

What is Meant By On Page Optimization?

The set of tasks and activities that we do on a particular web page to help it look more relevant and presentable for its target audience on search engines are what we mean by on-page SEO optimization.

Since we are saying tasks and steps we do on a page it on page optimization means improving many or all aspects and factors of a particular page.

What all on page SEO means and covers is what we will discuss and elaborate in this 2023 guide.

What is On Page SEO - Definition and Meaning

On page SEO can be defined as the task of optimizing or improving the content of a webpage and the supporting website elements that help display the content on that page, so that the page targets and ranks better for keywords and gets more organic traffic from search.

In short onpage means site optimization and is a list of website optimization techniques and strategies, which you do to optimize a website for google search, and for better keywords ranking and more relevant search traffic. This is what SEO optimization is.

On page or on site is that part of SEO which is done on the web page or website and therefore is called on page or on site SEO. It basically means making a web page ready in every aspect to best target search queries or keywords and at the same time appeal to the visitors that are targeted through those search queries and that come from search engines.

It covers and includes all the techniques, actions and strategies meant to create and optimize content and make it readily and easily accessible for search engines and visitors.

SEO or search engine optimization is basically a two step process of building and then improving & strengthening the search visibility of a web page or website. The first step here is what is called as on page SEO and covers optimization of a web page for certain search queries through the proper use certain specific keywords.

On page SEO is also referred to as on site SEO, and the reason(s) for calling it onsite and activities that it covers is what makes on-page so important in SEO. This guide is about those activities and tasks of optimization that make it most important part of SEO. This on page SEO optimization covers many techniques, tools and strategies which aim to optimize different parts of a web page and its content.

There is a strong need and base of on page SEO or the complete SEO, for that matter. Search engine rankings is the need and keyword targeting is the base and the way to achieve it.

On page is both important and spreads widely in doing search optimization.

What makes on-page optimization important is that it needs and involves more techniques of SEO than just page optimization. It requires using your keywords wisely, making content better, proper use of images, and even some technical aspects. On-Page even drives us to further improve many onsite SEO factors.

We have compiled this list of 45 on page SEO optimization techniques. These are factors that are part of and affect keyword and page optimization and also page rankings. This is in the form of a checklist of major on site SEO optimization. With this list of techniques you can follow and do a better on page optimization as well as learn what is on page SEO optimization. On page optimization including content optimization is the core when it comes to doing SEO in the best way.

Our SEO training course also primarily focuse on strategies of selecting right keywords, writing best content and optimizing the page & content for fast rankings.

What All Can On Page SEO Optimization Activities & Tasks Cover

On Page SEO is the list of all activities that we do on the page of our website to make it more relevant for our search users and to make it more presentable and structured.

On Page optimization activities list touches, includes and effects more aspects of SEO and parts of a website than any other activity.

From website designing, development to content, images to keyword research and technical optimization.

On Page activities even impact off page activities. How well we do on page decides how better & faster results we can get from off-page activities.

Moreover, on-page is very closely related to off-page. We always need to be maintain close correlation and synergy between on-page and off-page.

It is what we optimize and focus upon with on-page that we promote with off-page.

Both move towards one direction, towards the targeted keywords, but in their own different ways, which are similar at times.

Two similarities between on-page and off-page are keywords and content.

What is On Page SEO and How it Works?

On page can be said to be the centre piece of SEO. It is what holds everything together.

On page can be the best way to understand and how you can learn SEO fast from scratch in one day, on your own.

On Page is essentially how SEO works as optimization.

On page is optimization, the most important part of SEO. Search engine optimization is all about optimization for search engines.

As a function of SEO on page works as pull and push.

This is how SEO helps and works for business.

It needs both push and pull to make optimization work for search engines.

The technical optimization, keywords and content perform the push function.

While the off-page SEO works as a pull function, to help achieve the goals of optimization of pulling the page rankings & visibility higher on search results.

In that way, on-page can properly represent complete SEO activities.

Importance of On-Page SEO

Do you know the real importance of on-page SEO?

Let me show you why you need to give high importance to onpage optimization techniques.

You will best understand this when you know what I achieved by changing or rather improving my on-page SEO focus for some keywords and content.

I was able to improve ranking of one LT (long-tail) keyword in matter of few days just by improving upon the onpage focus for that particular keyword.

Do you know how can you make the quickest change in keyword positioning? Or when you want to change the focus of keywords that you want to target for a page?

It is onpage SEO optimization.

Do you know one of the fastest ways how you can perfectly destroy your keywords rankings and focus?

It is again on-page SEO optimization.

This is the importance of on-page optimization in SEO.

Essential Tasks To Start On Page SEO

There are basically 5 essential tasks that we must do before we move on to doing on page SEO techniques.

On-page SEO optimization is not possible and cannot be effective unless we complete these 5 tasks.

And while doing on page optimization we may have to go back and improve factors pertaining to these 5 tasks.

And therefore on page search engine optimization involves many activities falling under these 5 tasks.

We can call these impacting but necessary factors and tasks of on page SEO.

These 5 essentials for on-page SEO are:

  • Website Development
  • Website Design
  • Technical SEO Optimization
  • Keyword Research
  • Content Writing & Optimization

Keyword research is the most important part of SEO. You cannot do any optimization without right keywords. Yet, finding your keywords can lose its importance if they are not used properly.

Which keywords we use at which places in the page is a part of on-page optimization and is one important activity of on-page SEO.

On page SEO often motivates and drives us to find our keywords with more in-depth research. This is how we do keyword research properly.

There is no meaning in on-page without content. And content has no direction and meaning if it is not properly optimized using on-page activities.

All the importance of website content is boosted by complete optimization.

Many technical optimization techniques are considered a part of on-page techniques activities. These play very important role in optimization.

And in fact they effect and improve the results you get from optimization.

Website is important for business. But how we design and present it is equally important.

Website design and development plays a role in on page optimization. The first thing that on page activities use are website elements.

Secondly website designing can impact effectiveness of optimization.

A heavily designed website may impact your optimization efforts and results negatively.

You can refer to this post from searchenginejournal to see how they divided the essential on page factors into a list of 12 on page SEO steps and activities covered under content, keywords and website architecture.

Required Steps for Better On Page SEO Optimization

Website Development Stage

We list here 7 essential steps to help in better site optimization and bring better results from on page techniques and optimization. These are steps which one can and should take before or while planning your website.

Do remember that when you start optimizing a page for SEO then these 7 factors are going to have an impact on how well and how much result you get for your pages in terms of optimization.

These techniques are more technical in nature and related to website design and development. Although being considered more as part of technical SEO, they affect on-page performance for sure.

These are also the essential elements which every website consist of.

These factors result in better optimization of web pages and so are a part of on page optimization. These factors which will impact your on page optimization or its results in some way. This is in the sense that these are actions that are done on the web page and these, like, on page, can have effect on rankings directly or indirectly.

1. HTTPS

An HTTPS status helps a website build trust and authenticity, as well as provide online protection. This is not a direct on page factor but since it is seen as a ranking factor as it builds trust, it will certainly help achieve on page results in better ways.

2. Domain Name

Earlier years it would have been a keyword specific domain but not now. This is more about what not to do than what to do for domain name. You can have your main keyword or part of it which is general in your domain name in a way that does not sound stuffed. If you decide to put your keyword then it should only be to give your viewers an idea of what your site is about.

3. Site Structure & Planning

Site structure and its planning could go a long way in making a website user as well as search engine friendly. It can make the on page work much easier when a you have clear idea of how to build and structure your website. It means planning your website's overall framework which assist in many important on page optimization tools or steps coming ahead like designing, keyword research, navigation, internal linking, etc. This would typically include, understanding your key subject, creating sub topics, hubs of similar sections, how other and all sections could related to each other and to your main subject, plan and visualize type of content for each, look how your competitors do it, looking for a better way of doing it, translating your business profile into an online profile, etc.

4. HTML Sitemap

This is an HTML version of your sitemap which you put on your website as a page. This simply creates an ordered or categorized list of all your pages divided by (if any) sub sections. This could be similar to what your website menu looks like, just with much more detail and having all the pages listed here. This lets users and bots know better all your important pages, what you are covering and how your site is structured.

5. User Friendly Design & Layout (UX Design)

When we start on page we look at the overall website design and the designing of each pages and even the essential elements of a website.

This calls for a design that is use friendly. This is what UX designing is about.

Design of a website should not only attract and inspire users to read but also help them keep reading.

A design which creates obstacles for users to read is not user friendly.

And in that case no matter how good your optimization is, you may not get the benefits as your users are not that likely to stick to your pages or website and read.

6. Responsive Website

You need a responsive website, now more than ever.

Google uses smartphone crawlers for indexing. It gives priority to mobile friendly websites.

And when Google has gone all in for "Mobile first indexing" your focus should be more here.

If your content does not look presentable and readable on a mobile then rest of the on page tools and techniques could be of little use to your website and its rankings.

And the best way to have a mobile friendly website is to make the design responsive.

7. Website Speed

Website speed is one important optimization factor as it impacts your search position, performance and ranking.

Your website needs to load fast.

Much of this is decided while developing and planning your website.

What scripts you use, how your data will be delivered.

How much space and bandwidth you start with or plan for.

All these will decide your website loading speed and your SEO performance.

Therefore this has direct impact on optimization results you can achieve.

Website Designing Stage

8. Website Design

Website designing is not just about images or colors or how it looks.

It is more about what looks better and smooth for the eyes.

Website design is how your users feel when they land on your website.

It about placing the elements at right places.

Design your website imagining what your readers want to read and how best can you help them in reading and understanding your content.

9. Use of Media

Use of images can bring lot of difference to your page's readability and ease of understanding.

Images attract and make the page more interesting. And relevant images can boost up interest.

Videos increase on page time.

Use of Infographics provides many benefits. You can share data or content with the use of interesting infographics for business.

10. Top Bar Menu

Menu can say more about your website than just serve as a list of pages.

It tells what your website is about and what it focused on.

It can help build trust.

It can both obstruct page view and enhance or help it.

A helpful menu even inspires readers to visit more pages.

Technical Optimization Steps to Help On-Page SEO

11. URL Structure

This includes the length of the URL and how structure it. It should not be too long. This is the first place where you can use your keyword without the explanation or stop words. To separate the keywords or the words use hyphen (-). Never use underscore (_) or space or mix all the words without space.

12. Indexed Pages

The pages you want to optimize has to be indexed by Google.

Only then that page will target the keywords and content you are optimizing it for.

Therefore indexing your pages properly is very important.

13. Optimized Images & Other Media

We mentioned before the importance of using media like images, videos, etc. to improve readability and build more interest.

But these could very well hamper it if not used properly.

The images and media files which you plan to use should be well optimized. Optimization means few things here.

First, minimize the size (KB/MB) of these files while maintaining their quality.

Second, use media with appropriate height & width, respective of the content section where you are using it.

Third, use it only and at the right places where they can be of good use.

Stuffing a web page with images and/or videos could make it look awful and will surely decrease your page's loading speed drastically.

14. Internal Linking

Internal linking is a way to give meaning, direction and structure to the whole website and/or to some particular sections of website with content on similar or related topics. It helps search engines to better understand your content.

It also helps websites to put more of their content in front of viewers who can also understand and know your content and pages better through internal linking.

15. Image Alt & Title Tags

Image alt text or the alternate text for images is very important part of images.

Users cannot see this, but it is a way to explain what the image is about.

This way it helps search engines understand your images and index these as well as related it better to the part of content where it is used.

You can also use image title tag with a little shorter title like description of the image.

The code is like this: <img src="image file name" alt="alt text" title="title text">.

Content Optimization Boosts On-Page SEO

16. Content Length

Content length in a way is a strong signal towards the depth of coverage of a subject on a web page.

But that is not a strict rule or something. Keeping web page content between 1,000 words to somewhere 2,000 words can be a good idea.

Pages ranking on top have a good amount of content, in the range of 1,800 - 2,000 words.

17. Content Highlighting

Overdoing of everything is bad in SEO, which will apply equally here too.

You can highlight some of the important words or sentences or sentence parts by way of coloring, underlining, bold, italics or a combination of these.Again, do not overdo it.

18. Keyword Density

Keyword density means the number of times you use or repeat your keywords in the content.

In the industry, it is believed that a 2% to 3% of keyword density is safe or ideal.

This means in a content of 100 words, 2 to 3 words should be the keywords, and not more.

The idea is to avoid over optimization and keyword stuffing, and be natural when writing content.

Keyword stuffing happens when you want to influence keywords ranking and search engines.

But if you write for your readers, aiming to explain your theme or topic properly and write naturally, keyword density should never be a worry for you.

19. Schema and Listed Items

Schema is a markup language to present your content as a list and in a more structured form.

You can also use HTML codes to present content in form of lists like <ul></ul>.

Content structuring is important and is a way to present text better.

Listed items can help rank your pages faster.

It can even help rank your page in snippets.

If you look at the snippet rankings in Google then many of these are listed items.

This includes schema markups too.

Keyword Research to Start On-Page SEO

20. Start with Keyword Research

Keywords are the map and direction of your SEO journey. Without the use of right keywords, any SEO campaign will be directionless no matter how good it is going to be and no matter how relevant, valuable and high authority backlinks you can get. For this keyword research is what needs to be done. We cannot just randomly select some keywords and start our SEO, as this would be all the more dangerous. The factors which we need to see and what is normally included in keyword research are:

  • A. Website subject, further divided into onto web pages
  • B. List of (all possible) keywords related to our subject
  • C. Categorize by pages or sub topics
  • D. Segregating keywords by their meaning & intention
  • E. Further narrowing the list by difficulty level, relevancy, etc

After this foundation level and important exercise of keywords research, the below on page techniques are about keywords optimization i.e. the right use of those keywords and other optimization tools to support keywords optimization.

You can also look at and refer to this video below as it talks about the 5 simple hacks in SEO (including keyword research) with tools which could help you in on page SEO optimization.

On Page SEO Optimization Techniques (Ultimate Checklist)

Do On Page SEO step by step through these techniques

This checklist of on page SEO techniques is important to learn and follow. This is because on page is important in search engine optimization. And also because proper & thorough optimization can be a very important factor when it comes to learning how to rank keywords faster.

We list here important on page optimization techniques. This is a step by step guide giving you the important steps to optimize web pages completely and effectively and achieve better keywords placement and optimization.

21. Title Tag

Title tag is placed in the header section of the page. The code for this is <title></title>. The text between these codes is the title, like this, <title>Use your keywords here</title>. Here you can create an attractive and purpose oriented short one line sentence which includes your keyword. Ideal length is said to be between 50-60 characters. I have seen full titles with 69 characters showing.

22. How Many Keywords in Title

How many keywords you want to use in Title. Believe it or not this is one big task.

This means understanding how many keywords can you use in your title.

There are no specific guidelines to it.

But remember two things.

Stuffing just keywords will look spammy to your readers. As your title is the boldest line readers see in the search engine result page (SERP) list.

Ask yourself do you want readers to look at your site as spammy? No one would like it.

Second thing to remember is that SERP shows only a limited number of characters (words) in your title.

So, even if you keep putting more keywords in your title tag, it will not show.

23. Meta Description & Keywords

This is a short description of what the page is about.

This is now more used to attract clicks and increase click-through-rates (CTR) than to help a page rank better.

This ideally should be about 1-2 lines, 25-30 words and under 150 characters.

Meta keywords are the keywords we use in the meta description.

Although search engines no longer use these keywords as ranking signal, these are still useful.

Remember searchers also at your meta description and Google highlights relevant keywords that appear in description.

But also note that Google can also take this description from your content.

24. H1 Tag

This is your content's main heading, which should rightly describe what the content is all about in brief.

You need to put your main keyword here in a sentence that tell viewers what they will be reading.

It is important for keyword positioning and more importantly to make viewers read when they come clicking your search result.

It should be in sync with your Title and preferably or could it's extension.

25. Other heading tags (H2, H3..)

These are sub headings and are used to organize the content.

When you create and look at your content as a sum of parts which describe or elaborate your main subject (H1) then H2, H3s become your sub titles for each part.

26. LSI

You could and probably should use LSI or Latent Semantic Indexing keywords within your text.

Using LSIs and also synonyms at some instances in a way reinforces, reminds the users what the topic is trying to say.

It also helps boosting or supporting main keywords.

And while it explains or elaborates various content points, it also makes a page rank for keywords which are these LSI & synonyms itself plus other many related keywords.

27. Keywords in Image Alt & Title Tags

You probably know that images also rank in Google.

And you can get traffic from those ranked images as they link back to the page which uses that image.

These images rank due to various factors.

One of those being the keywords you use in the alt and title tags for each image.

Alt tag is the alternative text for the image.

Image title tag is what appears when you point your cursor on the image.

You can (and should) use relevant keywords in the two image tags.

If you thought this is all about onpage then you are for a surprise. Here are few more important on-page SEO optimiztion tasks, activities and techniques.

More On-Page SEO Tasks & Activities (18 Unique Checklist)

These additional on-page SEO tasks & activities are equally important techniques of onpage optimization in search engine optimization.

Here are 18 more on page SEO techniques, tasks & activities

28. How to Use Your Main Keyword

With keyword research we decide our keywords including the main keyword we want to use.

The task of using the main keyword does not get complete with that step.

When we start onpage we decide how we are going to use our main keyword.

We may decide to use it as standalone.

Many use their main keyword in phrase.

So decide how you are going to use your main keyword.

29. Where to Put Your Main Keyword

Where should you keep your main keyword?

The first place to use your main keyword is your Title tag for that respective page.

And the most effective practice is to put your main keyword right at the beginning of the Title.

30. How to Phrase Your Main Keyword

As we said above that using your main keyword as early as possible in the title tag makes it more effective.

Therefore when you decide to use that keyword in a phrase then the best way to make that phrase is to start it with your keyword.

The phrase you put your keyword into, should also say or summarize your page content.

31. Keyword Separators to Use

When we use more than one keywords in our title tag then we need separators.

We often use two phrases or statements in the title. Even then we need these separators.

What are these separators?

These are just like we use when we write.

a dash – or —

a vertical bar or pipe |

Parantheses ( & )

Brackets [ & ]

Colon :

Semicolon ;

Dot ·

32. SEO Copywriting

You can say SEO copywriting is a part of on-page optimization. Or at least an essential contributor.

SEO copywriting means writing your content and using the keywords or its variations at the right places.

33. Logo

We see logo or name of a website at the very top and right hand side of every page.

It should be simple and nice looking.

Never make it too big or confusing to look at and read.

It surely gives an impression.

Remember it is the first thing that a human eye would usually look at on every page.

34. Fixed Menu

Fixed menu are the menu bars which remain fixed and can be seen as you scroll down the page.

It can both be helpful and obstructive.

First you should decide whether you need a fixed menu bar.

Will it solve any purpose?

And if yes, then design it to be simple and subtle and not create any obstacles in reading the content.

35. Paragraph Sizes

Size of your paragraphs is important.

You may not have paid attention to these.

Longer paragraphs do look that easy and interesting to read.

When you structure your content into smaller paragraphs then it is more effective.

This way your content becomes easy to read.

36. Sentence Length

Length of your sentences is another important factor for onpage optimization.

You should try to write your content more in one line sentences.

Sentences stretching into 3-4 lines are not user friendly.

One line sentences are easy to grasp and understand.

37. Above the Fold Page Section

Designing of the above the fold page section is very important. And what you say there including the images you use.

This section includes placement of H1, supporting image and supporting text.

It is the first piece of content which users read.

38. Placement of Social Media Tags

Placement of social media tags is also an on-page SEO task and technique.

Social media tags link to your social media pages.

When you are doing digital marketing then social media becomes an important platform for marketing.

Even when you are doing SEO, social media optimization is what most SEO consultants also do to reach and target their audience or reach more audience.

Therefore, it becomes important to decide where to place your social media tags and how to optimize these.

39. Placement of Call to Action (CTA) Tags

Call to Action (CTA) tags are very important.

These are usually buttons or links to take a user to a relevant product page or to motivate them to take actions like subscribe or fill a form.

These tags need both right placement and right button design.

40. Footer Optimization

Footer optimization is one important on page optimization task and activity of SEO.

Footer is also content.

Your page footer can display important information like links, about, address and more.

41. Color Combination

Color combination of your website can impact your on page SEO performance.

Too many colors can make your website look below standard or even spammy.

Bad color combinations can also be a negative factor for the readers of your pages.

42. CTA Color

CTA tags color is also very important.

As we explained CTAs are your call to action tags.

These tags should be properly visible or highlighted.

And they should stand apart from other tags.

For this color is important.

And these tags usually should have a uniform color all across your pages.

43. Font Size

An often ignored factor, Font size is important.

Too small or too large font size are not user friendly.

When your website font size is too small for mobile users then they may not be interested in reading your content.

44. Font Type

Font type can say more about your content and your website than we know.

There are even psychological factors associated with it.

However, without going into all those details, you should carefully use font type.

It should not be too bold, too edgy or too light to read.

45. Spacing

Spacing is important for every page and content.

Spacing means the space you provide between your sections or divs.

Proper spacing is also needed around important sections and especially CTA tags to make them stand out.

On-Page SEO Tasks Summarized

The above 45 SEO tasks and activities represent on-page SEO optimization in a complete way.

We can divide these tasks into specialized on-page SEO activities and tasks that assist and support on page optimization.

For example proper technical SEO is a must for effective on-page optimization and so is a thorough keyword research.

However, often we tend to dive deeper into keyword research while doing SEO optimization. Hence, it is more like a part of on page than technical SEO.

And also, on-page optimization is but a collective task and activity of using keywords in the best possible way.

Conclusion

All the on page SEO techniques discussed above are important part of doing SEO in a complete way. To become a successful SEO professional you need to master these.

On page is a very important part of best and complete search engine optimization.

Without a thorough onpage and best optimization, your SEO remains incomplete and ineffective.

Once you master on-page SEO optimization you very much master most of the SEO and can nicely set-up your website for ranking.

Here are few more resources to help you master SEO complete.

Few Helpful Resources