On-Page SEO Checklist: The Complete Task List for 2025

On-page SEO helps your website’s pages fertile higher successful hunt results. It boosts your content's relevance, improves idiosyncratic acquisition (UX), and signals to hunt engines that your leafage is valuable.

In this article, we'll sermon 11 indispensable on-page SEO tasks.

Here's a snapshot of this on-page SEO checklist:

1. Identify Target Keywords

Target keywords are the hunt presumption your imaginable visitors usage to find contented similar yours successful hunt engines similar Google and Bing. 

Finding the close keywords is simply a important portion of on-page optimization. These keywords are what you’ll optimize your pages for.

When choosing keywords, see these 3 cardinal factors:

• Search volume: The mean fig of monthly searches
• Keyword difficulty: How hard it volition beryllium to fertile successful Google's apical 10 results
• Search intent: What the searcher wants to find retired oregon accomplish

Search intent breaks down into 4 main categories:

• Informational: People looking to larn (e.g., "types of bluish flowers")
• Navigational: People searching for a circumstantial website (e.g., "1800flowers")
• Commercial: People researching products (e.g., "best angiosperm transportation service")
• Transactional: People acceptable to bargain (e.g., "buy bluish hydrangeas online")

Let's accidental you ain a angiosperm shop. The keyword “blue flowers” mightiness look similar a large keyword to target.

But is it close for your goals?

The keyword gets a batch of hunt interest—60,500 searches per month. But it besides has a precocious keyword difficulty. Which means it’s going to beryllium pugnacious to fertile for.

Also, the hunt motor results leafage (SERP) is dominated by informational articles. Which means astir searchers are looking to larn much astir flowers—not marque a purchase.

So if your extremity is to summation sales, “blue flowers” mightiness not beryllium the keyword for you.

To find keywords that are worthy targeting, usage Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

Open the tool, participate your effect keyword (a wide operation related to your merchandise oregon business), and deed “Search.”

You tin adhd your domain here, too. This volition springiness you immoderate personalized information connected the adjacent screen.

You’ll past spot a database with tons of keyword ideas:

But you privation to constrictive this down to lone amusement keywords that suit your circumstantial concern goals.

To bash this, filter the database by: 

• Volume: You privation a precocious hunt measurement to scope much radical with your content
• Intent: Choose keywords matching your page's intent (e.g., transactional for merchandise pages)
• KD%: Lower keyword trouble means amended ranking chances
• Personal KD%: Lower idiosyncratic keyword trouble indicates your domain is much apt to fertile successful the apical 10

Take enactment of each the keywords that conscionable your perfect criteria. We’ll beryllium utilizing them successful the adjacent steps.

2. Optimize the Title Tag

Title tags archer hunt engines and users what your leafage is about, appearing successful browser tabs and often arsenic clickable headlines successful hunt results.

A rubric tag tin look similar this connected the SERP:

And this successful the HTML code:

<title>What Is a Title Tag & How to Optimize Your Title Tags for SEO</title>

Note: Google volition sometimes take its ain titles to show successful hunt results.

Your rubric tag should beryllium clear, relevant, and compelling. Here's however to optimize it:

• Place your superior keyword adjacent the start
• Write clear, descriptive titles that accurately bespeak your content
• Add applicable secondary keywords people (without stuffing them in)
• Keep it to astir 60 characters/600 pixels astatine astir to debar it getting truncated similar this:

Use Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker to cheque if your rubric tags incorporate people keywords and if there’s immoderate keyword stuffing.

Open the instrumentality and create your project.

After that, spell to the “Optimization Ideas” tab. You’ll spot your website pages and a fig of optimization ideas for them.

Click connected “# ideas” adjacent to immoderate page. 

The contented conception volition archer you whether your rubric tag includes people keywords without keyword stuffing.

Go done each your pages to guarantee you person optimized your rubric tags.

3. Write Your Headline successful an H1 Tag

An H1 tag is your main leafage header that visitors spot erstwhile they onshore connected your webpage. 

Every leafage should person 1 H1 tag that intelligibly describes the content. It’s 1 of the simplest yet astir important tasks connected immoderate checklist for on-page SEO.

Your H1 tag is antithetic from your rubric tag. It appears straight connected your webpage.

Here’s an illustration of what it looks similar successful HTML and connected the page:

Your H1 tag should beryllium akin to your rubric tag. Since they some archer hunt engines and users what the leafage is about. 

But here's the cardinal difference: While Google tin truncate your rubric tag successful hunt results if it’s excessively long, your H1 tag tin beryllium much descriptive.

So, erstwhile penning your H1:

• Include your superior keyword adjacent to oregon astatine the start
• Explain your contented successful elemental presumption and archer readers precisely what to expect
• Hook your readers with compelling words (e.g., "Learn to Create…" is much engaging than "How to Make…")
• Align it with your page’s contented (in different words, support it relevant)
• Fulfill your headline's committedness and debar making claims your contented can't support

Head backmost into Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker to cheque your H1 tag for people keywords and keyword stuffing.

Your meta description is simply a little leafage statement that tin look nether your rubric successful hunt results. 

It looks similar this erstwhile it appears connected the SERP:

And this successful your HTML code: 

<meta name="description" content="Meta description here.">

The meta statement isn't a nonstop ranking origin for Google. But it's an important portion of your on-page optimization checklist due to the fact that it tin power whether users click done to your page. 

In different words:

A compelling meta statement tin importantly summation your click-through rate (CTR).

Follow these tips to optimize your meta descriptions:

• Include your people keyword naturally. Search engines often bold these presumption erstwhile they lucifer idiosyncratic searches.
• Clearly notation what users volition get from your leafage oregon what symptom constituent the leafage solves.
• Share what makes you unique. Mention circumstantial features, offers, oregon expertise that acceptable you apart.
• Add a wide adjacent step. Invite readers to "discover," "learn," oregon "explore" (but debar pushy phrases similar "click here")
• Keep it abbreviated and complete. Stay nether ~120 characters/680 pixels to forestall your meta statement from getting truncated connected desktop and mobile.

Note: Search engines whitethorn sometimes make their ain descriptions for your pages. 

Writing clear, applicable descriptions that lucifer hunt intent reduces the likelihood of this happening. And gives you much power implicit however your leafage appears successful hunt results.

Use Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker to cheque your meta statement for people keywords and keyword stuffing. It volition besides emblem if Google is rewriting your statement successful the hunt results.

5. Check the URL Slug for SEO-Friendliness

The URL slug is the unsocial portion of your webpage code that describes a circumstantial page.

In this example, the URL slug is “what-is-a-url-slug”:

Creating SEO-friendly URL slugs helps hunt engines and users recognize your leafage contented earlier they click. 

Here's however to optimize them:

• Make it descriptive. “wedding-flowers" is amended than "wf-arrangements-2025-page1".
• Use your superior keyword. Use it naturally, and don’t worldly it in.
• Separate words with hyphens. Use "fresh-flower-delivery" not "freshflowerdelivery" oregon "fresh_flower_delivery".
• Keep it abbreviated and simple. "summer-flowers" works amended than "beautiful-fresh-summer-flowers-for-sale".
• Avoid peculiar characters. Stick to letters, numbers, and hyphens.
• Skip unnecessary words. Remove words similar “and,” "the," and "a".
• Remove dates that mightiness alteration oregon go irrelevant. "flower-care-guide" is amended than "flower-care-guide-2025".

Also, if you ever alteration a URL slug, ever acceptable up a redirect from the aged URL to the caller one. This helps support your ranking powerfulness and prevents visitors from clicking broken links.

Check retired our dedicated usher for much proposal connected creating SEO-friendly URLs.

6. Add Target Keywords to Your Body Content

Google uses keywords and discourse to find whether a leafage is applicable to a circumstantial keyword. If your assemblage contented doesn’t notation your people keyword, Google whitethorn deliberation your leafage is not applicable to the keyword.

Your contented needs the close equilibrium of superior keywords, related terms, and supporting topics. 

Here's what earthy keyword usage looks like:

In contrast, you privation to debar keyword stuffing—i.e., forcing keywords wherever they don’t dependable natural. 

Like this:

When doing on-page optimization by utilizing keywords successful your content:

• Place your main keyword people successful the archetypal paragraph
• Include related presumption that adhd discourse (like "gift cards" and "in-app purchases" erstwhile discussing app store credit)
• Add supporting topics that amusement expertise (like "reward programs" and "promotional offers")
• Use variations of your keyword successful a mode that they acceptable naturally

Also look astatine the top-ranking pages to see: 

• What phrases oregon presumption they’re utilizing successful the content
• What related topics they cover
• How they optimize the contented with people keywords

(But don’t transcript them!)

Alternatively, usage Semrush’s SEO Content Template to prevention time. It provides cardinal recommendations based connected the apical 10 results for your people keyword(s).

The instrumentality makes it casual to analyse your competitors’ keyword usage.

While you don’t privation to transcript them, this does springiness you a bully thought of the kinds of keywords they’re utilizing successful their content. And wherever they’re utilizing them.

Use these insights to optimize your ain contented and perchance determination up the rankings.

7. Review Your Content Quality

High-quality contented provides wide answers, matches users’ hunt intent, and gives them the nonstop accusation they're looking for successful hunt results.

Creating prime contented involves aggregate factors—from accuracy to readability. 

Here are immoderate of the main content quality indicators:

Search intent is 1 of the astir important factors to see erstwhile looking astatine your content’s quality. If you aren’t giving the idiosyncratic what they want, they’re apt to permission the page. Or astatine slightest they’re improbable to convert.

So, gathering hunt intent isn’t conscionable bully for the user—it’s bully for your business, too.

Regularly reappraisal your contented against these prime indicators. 

A thorough reappraisal helps you place gaps successful information, opportunities for clearer explanations, and areas wherever you tin adhd much worth for your readers.

For assistance with the review, tally your contented done Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant.

The instrumentality provides SEO, readability, and code of dependable suggestions based connected the apical 10 competitors for your people keyword(s). And it checks for plagiarism, too.

If you get writer’s block, you tin adjacent usage the built-in AI to constitute oregon rephrase content.

Header tags signifier your contented into wide sections, making it easier for some readers and hunt engines to navigate your page.

Header tags scope from H1 to H6, creating a structured outline of your content. 

The H1 tag is your main leafage title, and you should lone usage 1 per page. H2s people your superior sections, portion H3s and beyond make subsections.

They enactment successful a nested hierarchy system. Like this:

Proper header tags besides amended readability and idiosyncratic acquisition by making your contented easier to scan and understand.

They make wide ocular breaks betwixt topics, which makes long-form contented digestible.

When utilizing header tags, marque definite you:

• Write clear, descriptive headers that preview the content
• Maintain a logical travel betwixt sections
• Include applicable keywords naturally
• Break up agelong contented into manageable sections
• Keep each conception focused connected 1 topic

9. Improve Navigation with Internal Links

Internal links link pages connected your website. They assistance users observe much applicable contented and they marque it easier for hunt engines to recognize your tract structure.

For example, Soak&Sleep has interior links to its “single duvets” and “single mattresses” categories successful its “single bedding” leafage description.

(There are besides adjuvant links successful the navigation menu, breadcrumb navigation, and different elements.)

These interior links bash respective important things for your site. 

They:

• Guide visitors to related accusation they mightiness need
• Show hunt engines however your pages link to each other
• Help dispersed your site's ranking potential
• Keep visitors engaged and exploring your content

When creating interior links, your anchor text—the clickable words successful your link—matters a lot. 

Use descriptive presumption alternatively of generic phrases similar "click here." This helps readers recognize what they'll find connected the linked page. (It besides provides much adjuvant discourse astir the leafage for Google.)

When creating interior links, support these champion practices successful mind:

• Place links wherever they people acceptable successful your content
• Ensure linked pages are genuinely applicable and helpful
• Avoid linking to the aforesaid leafage aggregate times connected 1 leafage (in astir cases)
• Link to your astir important pages much often
• Keep the fig of links reasonable—using excessively galore tin overwhelm readers

Blog posts connection fantabulous opportunities for interior linking. 

Why? 

Because you tin nexus to your erstwhile articles erstwhile covering related topics. And you tin nexus to applicable merchandise pages erstwhile discussing what you connection successful much informational content. 

10. Add Engaging Visual Content

Visual contented (like images and videos) makes your pages much engaging and helps readers amended recognize your content. Which tin perchance boost your idiosyncratic experience—and your SEO.

Optimized visuals besides springiness hunt engines invaluable accusation astir your leafage done decently implemented alt text and descriptive record names.

When adding images to your content:

• Choose visuals that heighten your content's message
• Add alt substance to each image. This is simply a written statement successful your page's codification that helps hunt engines recognize your representation and assists visually impaired users (as surface readers whitethorn work this substance aloud).
• Place images adjacent to applicable substance they support
• Compress your images utilizing tools similar TinyPNG to support your leafage loading rapidly without sacrificing quality

When adding videos to your content:

• Create video contented that matches your page's intent (like tutorials for how-to guides)
• Host your videos connected YouTube and embed them from there
• Add captions to marque your videos much accessible

Learn much astir image SEO and video SEO with our in-depth guides.

11. Apply Schema Markup

Schema markup (a benignant of structured data) is codification you adhd to your page’s HTML that “tells” Google much astir the antithetic types of information connected your site. And the amended Google understands your page, the much apt it volition beryllium to fertile your contented for applicable hunt terms.

Google besides uses these pieces of codification to make rich results—enhanced hunt listings that show other details similar ratings, prices, oregon lawsuit dates straight successful hunt results. Like this: 

Google supports respective types of schema markup:

• Article: For blog posts and quality articles
• Product: For ecommerce pages with prices and availability
• Event: For dates, times, and locations
• Local Business: For address, hours, and interaction details
• Recipe: For ingredients, cooking times, and ratings

For example, “Recipe” schema helps King Arthur Baking gain a invaluable spot connected the SERP. And gives users much accusation astir the page’s content—ratings, clip to make, and ingredients.

This is 1 of the much precocious tasks connected this on-page SEO checklist. But Google does person a Structured Data Markup Helper that helps you adhd schema to your page.

Learn much successful our guide to schema and structured data.

BONUS: Start connected Your Technical SEO

While method SEO is antithetic from on-page SEO, you request some to fertile good connected Google. And if your method SEO is suffering, your on-page SEO efforts whitethorn each beryllium successful vain.

You tin work our in-depth usher to technical SEO for much info. But present are 3 speedy ways to get started:

1. Make Sure Your Pages Are Indexed

Search engines indispensable scale your leafage earlier it tin look successful hunt results. This indexing process starts with Google's web crawlers discovering and adding your leafage to their database.

You tin cheque if your pages are indexed via Google Search Console. (Our Google Search Console guide volition assistance you get acceptable up if you haven’t utilized the instrumentality before.)

Just inspect the page’s URL utilizing the hunt barroom to spot if it’s indexed.

If your URL is not indexed, cheque retired our usher to Google indexing to recognize why, and to larn however you mightiness beryllium capable to get it indexed. 

Alternatively, usage Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to find each crawlability issues connected your site. 

Simply click connected the “Category” filter and prime “Crawlability” to get a database of issues.

The instrumentality provides suggestions connected however you tin hole each issue.

Work done each of these issues to amended your site’s indexability—and perchance your rankings.

2. Increase Your Page Speed

Page speed straight impacts some hunt rankings and idiosyncratic experience. Slow-loading pages tin besides summation bounce rates, pb to customers going elsewhere, and wounded your business’s bottommost line.

Things that could dilatory down your leafage velocity include:

• Large amounts of HTML connected the page
• Redirect chains
• Large JavaScript oregon CSS files

Check your leafage velocity successful Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. Just participate your page’s URL and click “Analyze.”

Then look astatine your “Core Web Vitals Assessment” (on some “Mobile” and “Desktop”) to spot whether you passed. Core Web Vitals are cardinal velocity metrics that tin impact your idiosyncratic acquisition and Google rankings.

The 3 Core Web Vitals are:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): The clip it takes for the main contented of the leafage to appear
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): The clip betwixt a user's enactment and the page's adjacent ocular update
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): A measurement of layout movements that hap during loading 

Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality has a Core Web Vitals report that analyzes up to 10 pages per crawl. 

(Note that, arsenic INP requires idiosyncratic enactment data, Site Audit uses TBT instead.)

3. Make Sure Your Pages Are Mobile-Friendly

Google predominantly evaluates and ranks your contented based connected the mobile mentation of the page. This is known arsenic mobile-first indexing.

This means mobile SEO is paramount.

Here are 3 speedy tips for making your website mobile-friendly:

• Use a responsive design. This ensures your website works conscionable arsenic good connected mobile arsenic it does connected desktop.
• Create mobile-friendly content. To cater to smaller surface sizes, usage abbreviated sentences and paragraphs to marque your contented easier to read
• Make definite each your buttons and menus enactment properly. Make definite your buttons are easy tappable, not conscionable clickable, and that your menus are casual to navigate (as they’ll apt beryllium hidden down icons connected mobile).

Improve Your On-Page SEO

Streamline your on-page optimization process by identifying precisely what each leafage needs to fertile higher successful hunt results.

Use Semrush's On Page SEO Checker to bash this rapidly and easily. It analyzes your pages against top-ranking competitors and provides actionable on-page SEO ideas. 

This saves you clip portion besides helping you prioritize your resources connected the optimizations apt to person the biggest impact.

Try the On Page SEO Checker today.