On-page SEO
Optimising titles, headings, content, internal links and HTML on your own pages.
On-page SEO, defined
On-page SEO covers everything you control on an individual page: the title tag, meta description, headings, body copy, images and alt text, internal links, URL and any structured data. The goal is to make each page's topic and purpose obvious to both people and search engines.
An example from a UK business
An accountant's services page has the title "Services | Smith & Co" and one long paragraph. After an on-page review it gets a clearer title ("Bookkeeping and tax returns for sole traders in Exeter"), headings for each service, a short FAQ and links to two related guides. The content is the same business, just explained properly.
What to avoid
- Repeating the same title and description across many pages.
- Using headings for styling rather than structure.
- Writing for a keyword list instead of a person.
- Forgetting internal links, which leaves good pages hard to find.
AffordSEO's monthly on-page batch works through titles, meta descriptions, headings and internal links a set of pages at a time.
A quick check you can do now
Pick your five most important pages. For each, write down the title tag, the H1 and the first sentence. Ask whether a stranger would know what the page offers, where and for whom. Then check that each page links to at least two related pages. Our free tools can help with titles and headings.
What it changes for you
It's the part of SEO you control entirely, and it's often where the quickest gains are. Many small business sites have pages titled "Home" or "Services", headings that say nothing and no links between related pages. Fixing those basics costs little and helps every visitor.
Other on-page terms
- Title tag: The HTML title of a page. It matters for relevance and for whether people click.
- Meta description: An HTML summary of a page that Google may show under the title in results. It isn't a direct ranking factor.
- H1: The main visible heading on a page; should describe the topic clearly.
- Internal linking: Links between pages on the same site that help users and distribute crawl paths.
Start with a free SEO audit
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