On Site SEO

I start with the search results page, not the page itself. I open the SERP for the keyword I want to rank for and look at the top 5 results. I ask: what format are they using? A listicle, a guide, a product page? If all five are blog posts with a step-by-step structure, I do not write a landing page. I match the format first. Then I write a title tag that uses the exact phrase people search for, but I do not stuff it. For example, if the keyword is "on site SEO", my title might be "On Site SEO: How I Optimise Every Page I Publish" — it includes the phrase and signals usefulness.

Next, I write the meta description. I treat it as an ad for the page. I include the keyword once, but I make sure the description promises something the page delivers. I use active voice and a call to action like "Learn how I fixed my site speed" rather than "This article covers site speed optimisation." I keep it under 160 characters. I also check the preview in Google Search Console to see if my title is being rewritten — if it is, I adjust.

Then I move to the content. I write the page with a clear heading structure: H1 for the title, H2 for main sections, H3 for subsections. I use the primary keyword in the H1 and at least one H2, but naturally. I also include related terms that the top-ranking pages use, which I find by copy-pasting their content into a word frequency tool. I never repeat a sentence structure just to hit a keyword count.

I add images with descriptive file names and [alt text](/alt-text/) that tells a screen reader what the image shows. If the image is a chart, the alt text says "Bar chart showing organic traffic growth from 1,000 to 5,000 visits in six months." If it is decorative, I leave alt empty. I also compress every image to under 100 KB using a tool like TinyPNG.

Finally, I link internally. I add three to five links from the page to other relevant pages on my site, using anchor text that includes the target page's topic. For example, I link to my [on-page SEO](/on-page-seo/) guide when I mention title tags. I also make sure those linked pages are themselves well-optimised, because internal links pass authority both ways.

The biggest trap is treating on-site SEO as a one-time task. I used to optimise a page, publish it, and never touch it again. But search intent shifts, competitors update their content, and Google's algorithm changes. I now set a quarterly review for every page that gets more than 100 clicks a month. I check the title, meta description, and whether the content still matches what searchers want. If the SERP now shows a video result at position one, I consider adding a video or rewriting the page.

Another watch-out is keyword cannibalisation. I have had two pages targeting the same keyword compete with each other, and both ranked lower than if I had merged them. I now run a [content audit](/content-audit/) every six months using a tool like Screaming Frog to find pages with overlapping topics. I consolidate them into one page with a 301 redirect from the weaker one.

Do not ignore the [meta description](/meta-description/) even though Google sometimes rewrites it. I have seen cases where a well-written meta description increased click-through rate by 30% even though Google replaced it with a snippet. The key is to write a description that summarises the page's value, not just a list of keywords. I test two versions using Google Search Console's performance report: I compare pages with similar impressions and see which one gets a higher CTR.

Beware of over-optimising your [title tag](/title-tag/). I once forced the exact keyword into the title even when it made the title awkward. That page performed worse than another page where I used a natural variation. Google can understand synonyms and related phrases. Use the keyword when it fits, but do not sacrifice readability.

Finally, watch your site speed. On-site SEO includes page load time. I check my page using PageSpeed Insights and aim for a score of 90 or above on mobile. If the page is slow, I look at images, JavaScript, and server response times. I have seen a one-second delay cost me 20% of organic traffic.

I used to believe that more keywords on a page automatically meant better rankings. I wrote 2,000-word articles with the exact keyword in every paragraph, and I thought that was thorough. I was wrong. Google's helpful content update penalised several of those pages because they were repetitive and low-value. I had to rewrite them, cutting the keyword density from 5% to 1.5% and focusing on answering the user's question. The traffic came back after three months.

I also ignored [internal links SEO](/internal-links-seo/) for years. I thought external links were the only thing that mattered. Then I ran a test: I added a single internal link from a high-authority page to a new article, and that article jumped from page 8 to page 3 in two weeks. I now treat internal linking as a core part of on-site SEO, not an afterthought.

Another mistake was writing meta descriptions that were too long. I used to hit 170 characters because I thought I had to include every variation of the keyword. Google truncated them, and the click-through rate was terrible. I now keep them under 155 characters and write them as a sentence someone would actually want to click.

I also misunderstood the role of headings. I thought H1 was only for the page title and H2 for subheadings, but I never used H3 or H4. I now use a hierarchy that mirrors the page structure. For example, an H2 section called "How to Optimise Images" has H3 subheadings for "File Names" and "Alt Text". This helps users scan and gives search engines a clear outline of the page.

Finally, I neglected [seo copywriting](/seo-copywriting/) for the sake of SEO. I wrote sentences that sounded robotic because I insisted on using the exact phrase. I now write for people first, then go back and adjust the phrasing to include the keyword naturally. The result is a page that converts better and ranks higher.