If your website is relatively new, you might think you’ve missed the boat with SEO. Didn’t you have to start a website in 2006 to get ranked on Google? The answer is an emphatic no!

You might be surprised to hear that nine out of ten pages on the internet still don’t rank on Google. So there is still plenty of opportunity for the company that wants to grab it. 

To help you get started, here is our definitive on-page SEO checklist to ensure you properly optimize each new article you publish. 

Have You Added Keywords?

The most crucial on-page SEO step to getting ranked on Google is having the right keywords and making sure you include those in your article. You’ll need to add them to your page title, headers, description, and image alt tags. 

Is the Content Relevant?

One of the most critical tasks in this SEO on-page checklist is whether or not your content is relevant. 

In addition to including keywords, does your content match that keyword? Does your content provide a detailed and meaningful answer if the keyword is a question? 

Is the Content High Quality? 

The content must be easy and enjoyable to read and well-structured. That means using relevant and keyword-rich subheadings in the correct format (H1, H2, H3, and so forth).

You should also add high-quality, relevant images or video that helps provide more value to your reader.  

Is the URL Meaningful?

Don’t forget to check your URL to ensure it’s in simple language, meaningful, and links to your keyword. Some platforms, such as WordPress, will default to your page title, but this is often too long and unwieldy, so shorten it. 

Have You Included Structured Data Markup?

Even if you know a little about how to optimize for SEO, you might not have heard of data markup.

Structured data markup is information you add in a specific (structured) format. Since it’s AI-friendly, search engine algorithms use this to help determine the type of content you’ve published. 

Have You Added Internal Links?

Internal linking improves the navigation across your site, and Google likes to see them when ranking your content.

It will help show a search engine that your content links to other highly relevant content. That will enable the search engine to determine that you have a valuable website to offer to visitors. 

Have You Added High-Quality External Links? 

Google also likes to see links to external websites.

These must be links to high-quality websites with meaningful content that adds context to your article. Go for a recent post from a well-known website with a high DA ranking, e.g., a newspaper publisher. 

Is the Page Loading Quickly

Google ranks websites that you have optimized for speed. Always test your website and each page to ensure that it’s loading correctly and promptly. If it isn’t, start by compressing any images you’ve added to that page. 

Does the Page Work on Mobile? 

Finally, don’t forget that nowadays, people are equally likely to view your site on mobile and desktop. When publishing new content, check that page on different browsers and mobile and tablet screens. 

Our On-Page SEO Checklist

We hope you have found our on-page SEO checklist valuable. Make sure you bookmark this so you can tick off each item the next time you publish a new post. 

For more SEO advice and tips, why not browse through the recent articles in our technology section?