Search Engine Optimization or SEO consists of many parts. One of these parts is OnPage optimization. OnPage SEO includes all optimizations that take place on the website (e.g., the optimization of texts on the website) in order to improve rankings in the Google search results (SERPs) for selected keywords.
In this article you will learn everything about OnPage SEO that you need to know to optimize your website.
What is OnPage SEO?
OnPage SEO is the SEO optimization that takes place on a page, for example, directly on webpages. The main point here is to improve the content such as texts, images, code and user experience. By this way webmasters can get rewards with better rankings on search engines like Google, Bing etc.
Besides OnPage SEO there is also OffPage SEO— these terms are often confused, however there are important differences between the two terms. We have a dedicated blog post about OffPage SEO.
The difference between OnPage and OffPage SEO
OffPage SEO is the simply opposite of OnPage SEO. Generally, the optimizations that take place outside of your own website. Like, links from external sites to your own website (backlinks) are the focus of OffPage SEO, because the more people recommend your website by linking to it, the more trust Google has in your website.
To do good Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you need a good interplay of OnPage SEO, OffPage SEO and Technical SEO. In this way you show Google how high-quality, relevant and trustworthy your website is.
Factors for OnPage SEO
In this checklist you will find all components of OnPage SEO, sorted by priority and impact on ranking. The higher up in the checklist, the more effect the topic has on your Google rankings:
Content
The most important thing for comprehensive OnPage optimization is high-quality content. Have you ever heard the phrase: “Content is King”? This rule has for years been the secret to ranking very high on Google.
The highest-quality, most comprehensive and most relevant content is preferred by Google in 99% of cases. It is important to satisfy the user and provide them with all the answers they are looking for.
But how do you write high-quality content that is rewarded by Google? You will find out here:
Relevance
There is a good reason why relevance is the most important ranking factor.
Imagine that you search on Google for “electrician in berlin” — however, instead of electricians, Google shows you the best Chinese restaurants in Berlin.
That wouldn’t fit together, therefore Google pays close attention to keywords and other signals to figure out what a page is about.
If one actually searches for electricians in Berlin, Google would also show electricians.
No matter how good the contents of the restaurant websites from Berlin are — they do not match our search, therefore they will not be shown.
So how can you tell Google what your website is about? Use suitable keywords.
If you are a master painter in Munich, regularly use keywords like “painter in munich” in your content, especially in the first paragraph on your page — in this way you tell Google which topics your website covers.
Quality
The other important factor in content creation is quality. This is the hardest part of OnPage SEO, which determines whether you rank on Google or will be stuck on page 4 of Google for all eternity.
Let us stay with our “electrician in berlin” example.
Imagine you find a website of an electrician that looks interesting.
You click it and the only thing you see is:
“Your electrician in Berlin. Contact us!”
Would that be enough information for you to consider this electrician?
We know neither WHO this electrician is, WHAT is offered, WHERE the company is located, nor HOW to contact the company, since contact details are missing.
Now imagine you click another page and find a well-structured website with details on all services, many images, an FAQ section, and a contact page.
Which of these websites will be rewarded by Google? Obviously the second website, because it was able to answer all the users’ questions.
This is exactly what you must do as well: write high-quality content that answers all the questions a user might have when searching for a keyword.
Metadata
Metadata are, among other things, what the user sees on Google when your website is displayed there. The displayed title is called the meta title and the smaller description below it the meta description.
It is important that you use your target keyword (the most important keyword for which you want to rank) far in front in your meta title and your meta description. They also have to be interesting so that more clicks are generated.
Example:
Your target keyword for your new page is “save money with ai”.
A suitable meta title for this keyword would be: “Save Money with AI: 8 Methods with Which You Can Save €4000”.
A suitable meta description would be: “Find out how easy saving money with AI is and how you can save at least €500 a month through our tools.”
Readability & Structure
With the heading structure (H1–H6) in the website’s HTML code, Google can understand the contents and hierarchy of a page much better. A clear outline with main and subheadings shows which topics are particularly important and how individual sections are connected.
The H1 title is the most important — it must be at the top in the HTML. It is also important to include the target keyword there. There may be only a single H1 per page.
H2s are subtopics of the H1, H3s are subtopics of H2 titles, and so on.
Simply put yourself in the position of a reader and optimize your website so that it is as easy to read and as well structured as possible.
Also include, where appropriate, elements such as tables, FAQs, lists, or images to optimize readability and user experience.
Internal links
Internal links are one of the most powerful tools for getting even more SEO power out of your own website.
The principle is very simple: pages should link to relevant pages on your own website.
You have surely noticed this in this article — we have placed valuable internal links at meaningful points that, for example, explain terms related to SEO or go into more detail on certain topics.
In this way you improve the user experience and share the SEO power from one page with another page on your website.
Make sure that you do not set excessive amounts of links. The internal links should be helpful and relevant.
Our Comprehensive OnPage SEO Checklist
To save you the work, we have created a comprehensive checklist that presents the most important OnPage SEO measures. The table is also sorted by impact, so that the most important points are at the very top:
| Priorität | Bestandteil | Beschreibung | Wirkung auf Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Must-Have | Content Quality & Search Intent | Unique, relevant content with added value (“information gain”) that meets the search intent. | Very high |
| 🥇 Must-Have | Title Tag | Main keyword at the front, unique, approx. ≤ 60 characters, formulated to attract clicks. | Very high |
| 🥇 Must-Have | Keyword-Optimization | Keyword in H1, in the first 100 words, naturally in the content & in subheadings. | Very high |
| 🥇 Must-Have | Content-Structure (Headings H1–H6) | Clear hierarchy, semantic chunking, FAQ sections, skimmable. | High |
| 🥇 Must-Have | Internal Links | Contextual links with natural, keyword-rich anchor texts; breadcrumbs; no orphan pages. | High |
| 🥈 Wichtig | Meta Description | No direct ranking factor, but a strong lever for CTR; keywords are bolded in SERPs. | Medium |
| 🥈 Wichtig | URL-Structure | Short, descriptive, keyword-based; no unnecessary parameters or years. | Medium |
| 🥈 Wichtig | Keyword-Frequency & -Position | Mentioned naturally multiple times, especially in title, H1, introduction & subheadings. | Medium |
| 🥈 Wichtig | Image Optimization | Alt texts, descriptive file names, compression, lazy loading; helps load time & understanding. | Medium |
| 🥈 Wichtig | Featured Snippets & Schema | FAQ/HowTo/Review/Product markup; increases chances of rich results & LLM citations. | Medium |
| 🥈 Wichtig | User Experience (UX) | Important info above the fold, good readability, mobile usability, high dwell time. | Medium |
| 🥉 Nice-to-Have | Emotional Titles & Year | Boosts CTR; indirect effect on rankings through higher click-through rate. | Low |
| 🥉 Nice-to-Have | Content-Length | No direct metric; helps to fully cover search intent (“as long as necessary”). | Low–Medium |
| 🥉 Nice-to-Have | Media (Images, Videos, Infographics) | Supports understanding & engagement; additional context signals. | Low |
| 🥉 Nice-to-Have | Open Graph & Twitter Cards | Important for social previews & CTR, not a direct SEO factor. | Low |
| ⚙️ Technische Basis | Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP) | Load time, interactivity, layout stability — official but moderate ranking factor. | Medium |
| ⚙️ Technische Basis | Mobile-Friendliness | Mobile-first indexing: responsive layouts & good usability on mobile devices. | Medium |
| ⚙️ Technische Basis | Indexability (Robots, Canonicals) | Correct robots settings & canonical tags prevent duplicate content & indexing errors. | Medium–High |
Conclusion
OnPage SEO focuses on all SEO optimizations that take place on the page. High-quality & relevant content, optimized metadata, good readability & heading structure, and valuable internal links are the most important topics in OnPage optimization.
If you are looking for a suitable SEO agency that will catapult your rankings to the next level, then contact us today and we will arrange an appointment for a non-binding initial consultation! We look forward to hearing from you.
