An On-Page SEO Checklist That Improves Organic Search Results

Why would you need an On-Page SEO Checklist, if content is really king? Can't you just write great content and increase your website traffic because you're awesome? The short answer is "no". You should absolutely create great content, but that alone won't bring you readers. It's like yelling in a windstorm. There is so much noise on the internet, it becomes difficult for anyone to hear you, and being heard--being found--is not something you want to leave to chance.

Enter SEO or search engine optimization. SEO is essentially a set of tactics you can use to help your content get found in search. Savvy content marketers or even businesses who need their websites found by the right audiences need to know about two kinds of SEO: on-page and off-page tactics. Off-page SEO tactics involve activities you engage in to increase your rank in search that happen “off” of your website via external websites, such as backlink strategies. In contrast, on-page SEO is all about techniques you use on your website pages to optimize your website so you can increase your rankings in search engines. While off-page SEO is very important and essential for any SEO strategy, in this post, we’ll be focusing on on-page SEO techniques you can practice on your blog to increase your blog content’s ranking in search engines.

On-Page Blog SEO

And while it’s probably only been a few days since the latest “Why SEO is Dead” blog post was published, SEO isn’t obsolete and is more important than ever. In many ways, it’s even more complicated, especially given Google’s constant updates and changes to its search engine algorithms. People tend to freak out every time Google changes something about its algorithm. Despite the whole “sky is falling” mentality that automatically happens after every change, the bottom line is that Google makes their changes based on the best interest of the searcher, i.e., your potential customer. They're actually doing you a favor. Great content is created for the benefit of the audience. Google tweaks its algorithms so that your audience isn't misled to the wrong page, which means every adjustment means a greater likelihood that your core audience will be directed to your site. You don't want to get people on your page with high ranking keywords that aren’t actually interested in your content or purpose. All that's going to do is annoy them and cause them to leave. So you want your keywords to target the right people--the  people who will be most receptive your content and, optimally, convert to leads or sales. 

On-Page Blog SEO Checklist -- What Do You Need?

We've talked a bit about what to stay away from and why on-page SEO is so important. But that doesn't actually tell you much about what you do need. So let's repurpose all of this mission critical information into a usable checklist that will help you make changes that will improve your ranking and drive more traffic to your blog. A checklist is extremely practical  because it can become a standard tool used in your blog production workflow to ensure each post is optimized for search. It enables you to double-check yourself. Did you include every item to optimize your page? Are you using the right keywords and targeting your audience? You may also want to pay special attention to your content management system. For instance, if you're using WordPress, there are specific widgets and tools designed to make your on-page SEO easy to develop. Whatever platform you're using, make sure you're up to speed on the best tools that work well with design and usability. The last thing you want is to become frustrated when trying to implement simple links with the correct keyword because the "user-friendly" platform is only friendly to rocket scientists. Often that's more a case of not being up to speed on the tech side of your platform, which means that the good news is it's easy to resolve.

Want to get 25 quick and practical tips to increase your blog traffic through on-page SEO, download our FREE On-Page SEO Blog Checklist!

Okay, let's get into the actual checklist.

1. Choosing Your Keyword Phrases: This isn't even the most important aspect of on-page SEO, but it's where we'll start. Make sure your keywords align with the content you’ve published and that you’re targeting the right audience. In short, make sure the keyword is relevant and the final content produced matches your audience’s search intent. If you're writing a sardonic post about terrible mothers titled "MILF - Moms I'd Like to Forget", it's cute and funny, but it's also likely to get you a lot of traffic from people searching for something entirely different. Realize who would actually search your terms. Stop on the checklist and think about it, not just by way of checking the keyword ranking. 

2. Using Your Keyword Phrases: For your on-page SEO, the keyword you choose is important. But it's also important where you place it. Always front end load the title - and by that, I mean place the keyword first or as close to the beginning of the title as possible. You should also use the keyword in the first paragraph and maybe once or twice more in the content. Don't go overboard because you could get flagged for stuffing content. You also want to use your keyword in the meta description of your post.

3. Editing Your URL: You can optimize your post URL so that the keyword is included in the post. If you're on WordPress, you can do this by altering the slug. This also boosts SEO optimization but, if you're using the keyword in the title, this might be automatically taken care of for you when you create the post, depending on your content management system.

4. Creating Headers: In code, your headers would be <h1> for the title or <h2> for the subheadings. Most content management systems do this for you, so you might not even see the header tags. They're still there in the code. If they're not, you should make sure that they are because including the keywords in the H1 and sub-headers will aid in optimization. So double check your management system to see if the code is included and make sure one of the uses of your keyword is in a sub-header.

5. Optimizing Images: You should be using images for your blog posts. And those images should be optimized, which many people forget. One key thing you should do is make sure that the image file is saved under an optimized name. Another idea is in making the keyword part of the text attached to the image with the attribution. You can also optimize video attribution the same way.

6. Improving Site Speed: This should actually rank first on this list and it's probably pretty high on your overall site SEO. Pay attention to your site speed even on individual pages. Lag time in downloading will cost you viewers.

7. Checking Mobile Optimization: Your site is optimized for mobile, we hope. It's likely that a majority of your readers are tuning in from their phones, so definitely double check the page and layout on your phone. Make sure the links work and that images are clear. Make sure there's nothing getting in the way of the reader's experience. You should do this check with every published piece, even if you have optimized for mobile.

8. Adding Inbound Links: Inbound links are still important. If you're paying attention, you'll notice that I often link my previous content on this blog. Why? Well, partially because I'm expounding on topics that I'm discussing currently. So I know my audience will appreciate the option to look into the topic a little further. It's also a good tip for you to use because the more you can reference your other content, the more value your audience finds on your site and the longer they stay.

9. Creating External Links: External links are also exceptionally helpful to those seeking value and interested in learning about the subject. So this adds value for your reader but it also does a little something extra for your search engine ranking. When you include outbound links to expert content, Google has an easier time categorizing your topic.

10. Paying Attention to Content Length: You'll get some varying opinions on the best content length for a post, and many sources seek answers based on the specific demographics of the reader. It's surprising that younger readers tend to prefer much longer content, but it's pretty statistically accurate and longer posts are definitely shared more frequently.

This list is by no means finite. You'll find other aspects of your on-page SEO that you want to double check with each post. But this does cover the basic necessities to get you started. Your keyword choices are still very important. You can also mix up your keywords - you don't have to use the same phrases you used to create landing pages or previous blogs. Keep them on point with the actual content of the specific page and your audience's need. We'll talk more about SEO tips and tricks in upcoming blogs. For today, let me leave you with a few take aways from this post that you can try right now.

Tips to Try Today:

Download our FREE On-Page SEO Blog Checklist, which includes 25 actionable tips you can use to increase your blog traffic by as much as 50% within 3 months!

Check your Content Management System. Stop right now and go look at your content management system to see if they include widgets or tools to aid in your on-page SEO and make sure you're using them to your full advantage.

Refresh your knowledge on Google's algorithm history. Whether you're creating all of your own content or hiring out, you need to know exactly what's expected of your site. So make sure you give yourself a refresher here and there to not get caught off guard.

Create your own checklist. You can use this one or create one of your own. Print them out on paper to check off every time you or your team creates a post.