On-page SEO checklist: 10 things every page needs
Most of technical SEO is simple rules repeated on every page. A ten-item list to run through before publishing.
On-page SEO isn't complicated; it's just easy to forget. Repeat these ten items on every new page and you've handled most of the technical side.
1. One main heading
Each page should have exactly one H1, and it should say what the page is about. Two H1s make a search engine ask "which is the real topic?"
2. Don't break the heading hierarchy
H2 follows H1, H3 follows H2. Skipping a level (H1 straight to H4) confuses both screen readers and crawlers.
3. Keep the page title under 60 characters
This is the title shown in search results. Longer titles get cut off. Put the brand at the end: "Corporate Website Prices — ATAS"
4. Write a description
150-160 characters. It doesn't directly affect ranking, but it decides the click-through rate — which does affect ranking.
5. Keep URLs readable
/services/corporate-website is good. /page?id=47 isn't. Avoid spaces and accented characters in addresses.
6. Alt text on images
Describe what each meaningful image shows. For decorative images leave the alt text empty — writing "decorative line" only wastes a screen reader user's time.
7. Compress your images
Produce them at the size they'll be displayed and convert to WebP/AVIF. On most sites this single item delivers the biggest speed gain.
8. Link internally
Every page should link to other relevant pages on the site. This keeps visitors on the site and helps crawlers find pages.
9. Set a canonical URL
If the same content is reachable at more than one address (with/without www, with/without a trailing slash), say which one is authoritative.
10. Add it to the sitemap
A new page should enter sitemap.xml and be submitted in Search Console. Otherwise it can take Google weeks to find it.
Bonus: check it on a phone
Even with all of the above correct, none of it helps if the page is broken on mobile. Open it on your own phone before publishing.
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