13 Crucial On-Page SEO Elements You Must Understand

On-page SEO involves optimizing various components of a website to enable search engines to effectively crawl, comprehend, and rank pages for relevant queries.

Although off-page factors such as backlinks and brand signals are vital, fine-tuning on-page elements establishes the foundation for enhancing search visibility.

In addition to content, on-page factors convey a page's relevance and quality. Website architecture—including site speed, mobile responsiveness, and URL structures—plays a significant role in influencing on-page SEO.

On-page SEO is crucial because:

• It helps search engines discover and display your pages to users.
• Pages with higher rankings attract more clicks and traffic.
• Strong rankings enhance your brand’s credibility.
• It allows you to create content that resonates with your audience’s needs.
• It serves as the foundation for other SEO efforts, such as link building.

This guide covers 13 key on-page SEO elements, including E-E-A-T, keyword semantics, HTML tags, and site structure.

13 Key On-Page SEO Factors

On-page SEO can be categorized into content, HTML, and website structure. Let’s dive into each of these components.

Content You’ve probably heard the saying: Content is king.

SEO without quality content is like a sleek sports car with no engine—visually appealing but ineffective. However, not all content is created equal.

Here are the key content factors to consider for maximizing your on-site SEO:

1. E-E-A-T

Google evaluates your site using E-E-A-T, which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

According to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, E-E-A-T assesses the firsthand experience, subject matter expertise, authority, and trustworthiness of both a website and its content creators.

The introduction of "Experience" highlights the growing importance of content created by individuals with relevant credentials and practical, real-world experience on the subject. This is particularly vital for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics, such as health, finance, and safety.

Although Google has only confirmed a few factors like PageRank and links, it's widely recognized that author expertise, topical authority, transparency, and hands-on experience are crucial in E-E-A-T evaluations.

2. Keywords

It’s essential to create content that incorporates the words and phrases your target audience is actively searching for.

With advancements in AI and natural language processing, it’s essential to move beyond just targeting individual keywords.

Optimize for:

• Semantically related phrases and topics (entities): For example, if you provide cloud data storage, related entities could include backup solutions, disaster recovery, and data management.
• Contextual meaning and intent: A search for “cloud migration” may have different intentions, such as seeking technical guides, pricing information, or migration strategies.
• Comprehensive answers: Address relevant subtopics to fully cover the customer journey.
• Use keyword research tools to discover related entities and queries connected to your main topics.

Start by downloading our ebook on keyword research.

3. SEO Writing

Creating content that balances search engine optimization and human engagement is an art form.

Writing copy that is both SEO-friendly and engaging can be tricky if you’re not familiar with the process.

We have a dedicated guide to help you master this skill, but here are some key takeaways:

• Emphasize readability: Ensure your content is easy to scan, so users can quickly find the information they’re looking for.
• Avoid keyword overuse: Keyword stuffing is a tactic used by unethical SEO professionals to manipulate rankings. Google penalizes sites that overuse keywords, which could result in your page being demoted or removed from search results.
• Keep sentences and paragraphs concise: Long blocks of text can be overwhelming. Break up your content into shorter sentences and paragraphs to improve readability and keep visitors engaged.
• Use subheadings: Subheadings grab attention and help guide readers through the page. Make sure to use them strategically to structure your content.
• Utilize bulleted lists: Bulleted lists are a great way to present information in easily digestible chunks. Use them when they add clarity and value to your content.
• Incorporate personal experience: Where relevant, share the author’s background, experience, and hands-on knowledge to establish credibility and demonstrate expertise.

4. Freshness

For fast-moving topics, it’s crucial to keep your content fresh and provide ongoing value as you learn more about your audience’s needs.

Google rewards sites that regularly update their content, rather than letting it become stale or outdated.

Some tips:

• Regularly update content with new insights, information, or perspectives.
• Address and correct inaccuracies or outdated data promptly.
• Expand content to explore newly discovered audience interests.
• Consider offering content exports or opt-in options for frequently updated material.

5. Visual Assets

Incorporating images, videos, charts, and other engaging visuals not only makes your content more appealing to visitors but also improves its appearance in search results.

Optimizing your visuals can increase visibility in both image search and the SERP image carousel.

To make your content discoverable in both text and image-based searches, consider these tips:

• Provide contextual information and relevant details in image captions.
• Use schema markup for images, videos, products, and other media to enhance search visibility.
• Ensure visual assets are high-quality, original, and aligned with the content of the page.
• For e-commerce sites, include multiple clear product images from different angles.
• As computer vision technology evolves, search engines will become better at understanding and surfacing relevant images and videos.

Optimizing for visual search today can help future-proof your content.

6. Title Tags

This is a crucial area where attention to detail is key.

On its own, a title tag might not instantly boost your SERP rankings, but it plays an important role in how your page is presented and perceived by both search engines and users.

When combined with other on-page elements (such as those discussed here), title tags can help provide context and show your site's relevance.

For a deeper dive into optimizing title tags, check out this guide.

7. Meta Description

Some seasoned SEO professionals might dismiss meta descriptions with a frustrated, “Everyone knows they’re not a ranking factor.”

While it’s true that there’s little evidence linking meta descriptions directly to rankings, they still serve important functions.

Don’t be discouraged from including meta descriptions on your site, as they offer two key benefits:

• They help Google understand the content and context of your webpage.
• They significantly impact your click-through rates (CTRs).

Well-crafted meta descriptions give searchers a clearer idea of your page’s content, leading to higher click-through rates. So, don’t overlook them.

8. Image Optimization

We've already highlighted the importance of visual assets on your page. Now, let's take a closer look at their technical optimization.

Here are some tips to improve your image optimization:

• Use SEO-friendly alt tags.
• Choose the appropriate format and file size for faster loading.
• Customize file names (e.g., avoid generic names like IMG_08759).
• Ensure your images are mobile-friendly.

For more detailed guidance on HTML image optimization, check out our comprehensive resource here.

9. Geotagging (For Local Search)

While the global economy is dominant, most business still happens locally. Connect with nearby customers by optimizing your on-page local SEO.

Focus on these three key tactics for local traffic:

• Optimize your business listings and citations, including name, address, phone number (NAP), website URL, business descriptions, and reviews.
• Create local content, such as addressing “near me” searches or providing location-specific information.
• Build links with other local businesses and organizations.

Here are some additional local SEO tactics to consider:

• Use localized schema markup for local business listings, events, special offers, and more.
• Optimize your Google Business Profile with current information, photos, posts, Q&A, and locally relevant content.
• Take advantage of proximity and geolocation data for mobile searches.
• Develop location-specific pages, content hubs, or microsites.

Examples of effective local SEO include:

• A restaurant featuring locally sourced food on dedicated pages.
• A service provider's website with geo-targeted pages for each service area.
• An e-commerce site showcasing products available for local pickup.

For further details on building your geotagging SEO strategy, read this guide.

Website Architecture

A well-structured website is crucial for two key reasons: First, a logical layout ensures better crawlability by search engines, and second, it enhances the user experience.

Here are the key factors to consider when optimizing your site’s architecture:

10. Site Speed

A slow-loading site not only frustrates visitors but also harms your search rankings.

Search Engine Journal examined how page loading time impacts SEO and confirmed that page speed is indeed a ranking factor.

However, the required minimum speed for your site is constantly evolving.

You can meet Google’s Core Web Vitals thresholds to improve your site’s speed. If your site isn't meeting these standards, here are some steps to help:

• Enable compression
• Reduce redirects
• Optimize images
• Leverage browser caching

11. Responsive Design

Mobile search traffic surpassed desktop usage in 2016 and continues to grow.

As mobile users increase, Google has prioritized websites with designs that adapt to mobile screens.

While it's still possible to rank without a responsive design, Google strongly recommends having one.

To learn more about how responsive design affects search rankings, read this article.

12. URL Structure

In the past, URLs played a critical role in SEO. Businesses used keywords in their domain names to improve rankings.

But Google has since adjusted its algorithm, making URLs less influential than they once were.

While URLs no longer have the same weight they used to, they still factor into your site's overall SEO score. Evidence suggests they play a role in initial ranking and could be used to organize pages. While not a top priority, you shouldn’t overlook them.

To learn more about how URLs impact Google rankings, click here.

13. Links

Do you remember E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) from earlier in this article?

One of the best ways to demonstrate E-E-A-T is through links from reputable websites.

Think of it like this: Would you trust your 401(k) with a financial advisor who manages Warren Buffett’s portfolio, or with your cousin Jimmy, who lives in your aunt’s basement? While Jimmy may do a fine job, he doesn’t have the credibility that comes with a strong co-sign.

Links function in a similar way.

There are three main types of links for SEO:

• Internal links: These point to other pages on your own website.
• Outbound (External) links: These direct users to other websites, like this link to Google’s SEO page.
• Inbound (Backlinks): These are links from other websites pointing to your page.

Of these, inbound links are the most valuable for boosting E-E-A-T signals. High-quality, relevant inbound links, particularly from authoritative sources, can enhance your site’s expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

SEO professionals use various strategies to generate quality backlinks, such as through social media, shareable infographics, and direct outreach.

However, not all inbound links are beneficial. Some links, especially from link farms, forum posts, or guestbooks, may be spammy and can hurt your rankings. If you don’t disavow these, they may damage your SEO efforts.

FAQ's

What are the important element of on-page SEO?

On-page SEO refers to the SEO elements you control on the webpage, or the webpage code, itself. Examples of on-page SEO include content, headlines and headers, image optimization, title tags, meta descriptions, structured data, and more.

What are the 5 important concepts of SEO?

The 5 important concepts of SEO
Keywords: One of the most important concepts in SEO is the use of keywords. ...
On-page optimization: ...
Off-page optimization: ...
Content: ...
User Experience:

What are the 7 key elements of an optimized page?

On this page, we'll cover seven critical on-page ranking factors you need to know, including:
Keyword Usage.
Page Content.
Title Tag.
URL Structure.
Page Speed.
Mobile Friendliness.
Site Security.

How important is on-page SEO?

On-page SEO is the starting point you need for worthwhile rankings, and it's how you end up ranking for relevant search queries. But on-page SEO is only one part of the puzzle, and it works best in combination with a strategy for off-site SEO and backlinks.

What is page structure in SEO?

Site structure refers to how you organize your website's content. In other words: the pages and posts on your website. These often have a variety of – related – topics, and site structure deals with how this content is grouped, linked and presented to the visitor.