Hello Redears, This SEO guide includes a comprehensive list of 15 on-page SEO factors.

Below, you’ll discover the top 15 on-page SEO activities you need to focus on to ensure your content gets indexed and ranked properly on google for its target keywords in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. By the end of this page, you’ll understand how specific on-page SEO elements affect the success of your content in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

On-Page SEO Factors List

1. Keywords

Keywords are specific words or phrases that people use to search for information, products, or services on search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. In SEO, keywords are an important aspect of optimizing a website for search engines, as they are used to help search engines understand what a web page is about and how relevant it is to a particular search query.

To use keywords effectively in SEO, website owners and marketers need to conduct keyword research to identify relevant keywords and phrases related to their business or industry, analyze the search volume and competition for each keyword, and incorporate them into their website’s content, meta tags, and other on-page elements in a natural and relevant way.

It’s important to note that while using relevant keywords can improve a website’s search engine rankings, stuffing content with too many keywords can be seen as spammy and result in penalties from search engines. Therefore, it’s essential to use keywords wisely and focus on creating high-quality content that provides value to the users.

There are two types of keywords you want to focus on for on-page optimization:

Primary keywords are the main keywords that a website or a specific page is optimized for. These are the most important keywords that accurately describe the content and purpose of the page and are usually included in the page title, meta description, header tags, and throughout the body of the content.

For example, this guide is targeting the primary keyword phrase “on-page SEO factors”.

Secondary Keywords

Secondary keywords, also known as LSI (latent semantic indexing) keywords, are related keywords and phrases that are semantically or contextually relevant to the primary keyword and help to further clarify the topic of the content. They are not the main focus of the content but are used to provide additional context and relevance to the primary keyword.

Using secondary keywords can help search engines better understand the content of the page and its relevance to a particular topic or query. They can also help to diversify the keywords used on a page and avoid overusing the primary keyword, which can be seen as spammy and result in penalties from search engines.

For example, this guide is targeting the secondary keyword phrases “on-page SEO elements”, “on-page SEO activities”, and “on-page SEO components”.

2. Page Title

In SEO, the page title (also known as title tag) is the HTML element that defines the title of a web page and appears in the search engine results page (SERP) as a clickable link. It’s an important on-page factor for SEO as it helps search engines understand the content and purpose of the page and also gives users an idea of what to expect when they click on the link.

There are two types of page titles that are important for SEO:

1. Main Page Title: This is the main title of the page that appears in the SERP and should accurately and concisely describe the content and purpose of the page. It’s important to include the primary keyword or key phrase in the main page title to help search engines understand the topic of the page and rank it higher in relevant search results.
   
2. Browser Page Title: This is the title that appears in the top of the browser window when the page is open. It’s also important for SEO as it helps users and search engines identify the page and its content. It’s typically similar to the main page title but can be slightly longer and more descriptive.

When creating page titles for SEO, it’s important to use relevant and descriptive words and phrases that accurately reflect the content of the page, include the primary keyword or key phrase, and are concise and user-friendly. It’s also important to avoid duplicating page titles across multiple pages, as this can confuse search engines and result in lower rankings.

For example, when crafting this on-page optimization list, the top-ranking competitor only listed 8 to 10 factors, so we made our list better by sharing 13 components you can focus on for on-page SEO with the hope that it will drive more clicks from the SERPs. See the image below for the optimized page title.

3. Meta Description

In SEO, a meta description is a brief summary or snippet of text that appears in the search engine results page (SERP) below the page title and URL. It’s an HTML meta tag that provides a brief description of the content and purpose of the page and is usually between 50-160 characters long.

The meta description serves as a preview of the content of the page and can help users decide whether or not to click on the link. It’s also an important on-page factor for SEO, as it can help search engines understand the content and relevance of the page and rank it higher in relevant search results.

Behind the scenes, search engines use your meta description to gain even more context and understanding about your pages which will benefit you by way of improved rankings. Also, when the search query matches one of the keywords in the meta description, search engines will bold or highlight that text. See the example image below.

4. URL Structure

URL structure refers to the way that URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) are organized and constructed on a website. It’s an important on-page factor for SEO, as it can help search engines understand the content and organization of the website and improve its visibility and rankings in relevant search results.

The easiest way to optimize the URL structure for your web pages is to put your primary keyword as an exact match phrase in the URL. For example, the URL for this guide is simply “/on-page-seo-factors-list/” because that’s the primary SEO keyword that’s being targeted.

5. Headers

Header tags (also known as heading tags) are HTML elements that are used to structure the content of a webpage into sections and sub-sections with varying levels of importance. They are important on-page factors for SEO, as they help search engines understand the organization and hierarchy of the content and its relevance to a particular query or topic.

There are six different header tags, ranging from H1 to H6, with H1 being the most important and H6 being the least important. The H1 tag should be used for the main heading of the page and should accurately and concisely describe the content and purpose of the page. The H2 tag should be used for sub-headings, followed by H3, H4, and so on, for sub-sections and sub-subsections.

When using header tags for SEO, it’s important to use them in a hierarchical and logical way that accurately reflects the content of the page. The main heading should always be an H1 tag, and subsequent headings should be nested in descending order (i.e., H2, H3, etc.) based on their importance and relevance to the content.

H1 Heading

The H1 heading is the main heading of a webpage and is typically the largest and most prominent text on the page. It’s an important on-page factor for SEO, as it provides a clear and concise description of the content and purpose of the page and helps search engines understand its relevance to a particular query or topic.

In addition to its importance for SEO, the H1 heading also helps to improve the readability and user-friendliness of the content, as it provides a clear and concise summary of the page’s content and purpose. It’s also an important visual element of the page, as it helps to establish the overall design and layout of the content.

H2 Subheadings

The H2 subheading tags are important element of on-page SEO Factor because. search engines analyze the text within the H2 tags to understand the subtopics of the page to index and rank it for relevant keywords or phrase.

As explained in our other guide on H2 tag optimization, your primary keyword and secondary keywords in their own H2 subheadings can help improve the on-page optimization factors for those queries.

H3 Subheadings

However, it’s still a good on-page SEO practice to optimize the H3 tags by including partial match keyword phrases, keyword variations, synonyms, and semantically-related words to boost the topical relevance of the content.

H3 headings are typically used to break up larger sections of content into smaller, more specific sub-sections. They should be used to introduce a new topic or idea within the broader context of the page and should be relevant to the overall content and purpose of the page.

6. Body Text

Body text is an important on-page factor for SEO, as it helps search engines understand the relevance and quality of the content and its relevance to a particular query or topic. When creating body text for a webpage, it’s important to focus on creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content that accurately and thoroughly covers the topic or subject of the page. Google’s own documentation on How Search Works even stresses the importance of this optimization factor by stating: 

Therefore, you should add your primary and secondary keywords to the following locations on the page to improve the on-page SEO signals for Google’s search engine algorithm:

• Introduction: One time each within the first 100 words.
• Body Content: 2-3 times spread throughout the copy.
• Summary: One time each within the last 100 words on the page.

7. Image Optimization

Images are another element of on-page SEO that can help improve organic visibility and traffic for your website in two ways:

• Using descriptive filenames: Descriptive filenames that accurately reflect the content of the image can help search engines understand the relevance of the image to the webpage.
  
• Adding alt tags: Alt tags provide alternative text descriptions for images, which can be read by search engines and assistive technologies for visually impaired users.
  
• Optimizing image size: Optimizing the size of images based on their location and purpose on the webpage can help to improve the load time of the webpage and the overall user experience.
  
• Overall, optimizing images for performance and SEO is an important aspect of website optimization, and can help to improve the overall effectiveness and user-friendliness of a webpage.

8. Internal Links

When creating internal links, it’s important to use relevant and descriptive anchor text that accurately reflects the content of the linked page. It’s also important to ensure that internal links are organized and easy to navigate, so that visitors can find the information they need quickly and easily.

Overall, internal linking is an important SEO technique that can help to improve the visibility and usability of a website, and is an important aspect of on-page optimization.

Additionally, having a good mix of internal links on the page encourages visitors to stay on your website for longer periods of time, which is a positive user experience signal that search engine algorithms consider when ranking your site in the SERPs.

A basic on-page SEO strategy to follow for internal linking is to pick the top 3-5 keywords you want the target page to rank for in Google, Yahoo, and Bing, and then rotate through those keywords as you build internal links to the content. Preferably, you want at least 5-10 internal links at a bare minimum pointing to the page to help boost the internal on-page SEO factor for keyword relevancy.

9. External Links

External links are another important element to add to your on-page SEO list when updating old content or writing new content you want to rank higher in the search engines.

External links, also known as outbound links, are hyperlinks that direct users from one website to another. These links point to pages on a different domain than the domain of the page on which the link is placed.

10. Schema Markup

Schema markup, also known as structured data markup, is a type of code that is added to a webpage in order to help search engines better understand the content of the page. Schema markup uses a standardized vocabulary of tags to identify different types of information on a webpage, such as product information, reviews, events, and more. By using these tags, search engines can more easily identify and categorize the content on the page, which can lead to improved visibility in search results.

You can use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to get started tagging sections of your site to take advantage of these on-page SEO parameters. This tool will automatically create the markup for you in JSON-LD or Microdata to quickly copy and paste into your article’s HTML source code for immediate SEO benefits.

11. Content Quality

website Content quality is another important factor of on-page SEO because it demonstrates your credibility and authority on the topic. Search engines Google use algorithms to determine the quality of content on a website by analyzing signals such as topical depth, helpfulness, readability, and user engagement.

12. Mobile Responsiveness

Mobile responsiveness is an extremely important factor for on-page SEO because search engines Google now use mobile-first indexing, which is a process that predominantly uses the mobile version of website content for indexing and ranking in the SERPs.

With the increasing use of mobile devices for internet browsing, it’s important for websites to be optimized for mobile responsiveness to provide a positive user experience. A mobile-responsive website should be easy to navigate, with text and images that are easy to read and interact with on a small screen.

13. Page Speed

When it comes to on-page SEO ranking factors, website page speed is a critical parameter that can impact user experience, and ultimately, the keyword positions for your website in the SERPs.

As stated in the Page Experience documentation, “Google’s core ranking systems look to reward content that provides a good page experience.

The top on-page SEO activities you should focus your efforts on to improve Core Web Vital scores include LCP, FIP, and CLS, which can be measured using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. this factor is most important in SEO factor

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is a metric used to measure a webpage’s loading speed and user experience. Specifically, LCP measures the time it takes for the largest content element on a webpage to be loaded and displayed on the screen. This content element is typically an image or a block of text, and is often the main focal point of the page.

LCP is important because it directly impacts user experience. If a webpage takes too long to load the largest content element, users may become frustrated and leave the page before it fully loads, resulting in a high bounce rate.

To optimize for LCP, website owners can take several steps, such as optimizing images and other media, minimizing the use of third-party scripts, and using a content delivery network (CDN) to improve load times. It’s also important to ensure that the website’s server is fast and responsive, and that the website is designed with user experience in mind.

Google considers LCP to be one of the key metrics for its Core Web Vitals initiative, which focuses on improving user experience on the web. As such, optimizing for LCP can not only improve user experience, but also help improve search engine rankings and drive more traffic to a website.

On-Page SEO Factors Summary

I hope you enjoyed this list of the top on-page SEO factors.

As you discovered, there are certain essential on-page SEO activities you need to focus on to help search engines understand your website content and how it relates to user queries. And by optimizing the most important on-page SEO elements listed in this guide, you can improve your website’s keyword rankings and visibility in the SERPs to attract more organic traffic.