On-Page SEO Guide: How to Optimise a Page That Actually Ranks

On-page SEO — how you structure and write a single page — is roughly 60% of what determines whether it ranks. Technical foundations enable ranking; backlinks help ranking; content quality drives ranking. But on-page is the specific work you do on the page itself to hit search intent perfectly.

This is the page-by-page playbook we use on every article and product page. Not 2015 keyword-stuffing. Modern, intent-first, human-readable on-page work that actually ranks in 2026.

1. Match search intent first (everything else is secondary)

Before you write a word, look at the current top 10 results for your target keyword. What kind of content ranks? Long-form guides? Product listings? Video? Comparison tables? Whatever's ranking now is what Google thinks matches the intent — you have to match or exceed that format.

If the top 10 are all listicles and you write a 5,000-word essay, you'll struggle. If they're all product pages and you write a blog post, same. Intent match is the single biggest determinant of whether your page has a shot.

2. Title tag — the highest-leverage line of code

• 55–60 characters to avoid truncation in SERPs.
• Primary keyword near the front — first 3–5 words if possible.
• Compelling / clickable — this is your ad copy in Google.
• Unique per page — no two pages should share a title tag.
• Brand at the end — usually optional; helps for brand-heavy queries.

Weak:   Home | Acme Corp
OK:     Web Design Services in London | Acme
Strong: Custom Web Design in London — Premium Sites | Acme

3. Meta description — the CTR lever

Google may rewrite your meta description (60%+ of the time). When it uses yours, it needs to earn the click.

• 140–160 characters to avoid truncation.
• Include the target keyword — Google bolds matches, catching the eye.
• One clear promise / value proposition.
• Active voice where possible.

4. URL structure

• Short — under 60 characters where possible.
• Lowercase, hyphen-separated.
• Include the primary keyword or a close variant.
• No dates, no query strings, no session IDs.
• One URL per piece of content (avoid duplicates via /page vs /page/).

5. H1 and heading structure

• One H1 per page — usually the same as (or a variant of) your title tag.
• H2s divide the page into scannable sections. Each H2 addresses a sub-topic.
• H3s under H2s where a section has multiple sub-points.
• Never skip levels — don't jump from H2 to H4.
• Include keyword variants in headings naturally.

6. Content depth and structure

The right length depends on the query — Google surfaces what fully answers it, not what's longest. General rules:

7. Keyword placement (naturally)

1. Title tag — front-loaded.
2. H1 — early.
3. URL — included.
4. First 100 words of body — natural mention.
5. One H2 — variant is fine.
6. Two to three body mentions across the article — as they naturally arise.
7. Image alt text — where the image relates to the keyword.
8. Meta description — once.

8. Images — SEO + speed both matter

• Descriptive filenames — blue-hoodie-front.jpg, not IMG_1234.jpg.
• Meaningful alt text on every non-decorative image.
• Modern formats (AVIF/WebP) and responsive sizes.
• Compressed to reasonable size (usually <200 KB for content images).

Full details in our image SEO guide.

9. Internal linking

Every page should link to and from other relevant pages on your site. Aim for 3–8 contextual internal links per article. Use descriptive anchor text — not click here. See our internal linking strategy piece.

10. FAQ + schema markup

For informational pages, add a genuine FAQ section addressing common questions. Mark it up with FAQPage schema. Google often surfaces these as rich results directly in search, taking up more SERP real estate and driving higher CTR.

The bottom line

On-page SEO is boring, mechanical, and hugely effective. Match intent, nail the title, structure with headings, include keywords naturally, cover the topic completely, and link internally. Do those six on every page and your on-page work is genuinely competitive. Then let content quality and links do the rest.