Technical On Page SEO Checklist

Technical on-page search engine optimisation (SEO) is a key part of any successful digital marketing strategy. It helps to ensure that your website is visible to search engines and can be found by potential customers. Ten10.ie provides comprehensive SEO services that are tailored to your unique business needs, helping you to get the most out of your website.

When it comes to optimising your website for search engines, there are a number of technical elements that need to be taken into consideration. This technical SEO checklist will help you make sure that all the necessary steps have been taken in order to maximise your website’s visibility and performance in search results pages (SERPs).

Technical OnPage SEO Checklist

Page Titles

Page titles are one of the most important elements when it comes to optimising a website for search engines. They are a crucial part of any successful SEO strategy, as they provide an easy way for search engines to understand what a page is about and index it accordingly.

Creating effective page titles that accurately reflect the content on each page is essential in order to rank higher in SERPs and attract more visitors. Here is our On Page SEO checklist on how you can optimise your page titles for SEO:

SEO Checklist – Tips for Optimising Page Titles

Make Sure Page Titles are Unique

Make sure that all page titles across your site are unique and accurately describe the content on each page. This will help search engines identify each page effectively and boost your website’s visibility in SERPs.

Include relevant target keyword

Use relevant target keywords in your page title tags wherever possible, but make sure not to exaggerate or keyword stuff as this could have a negative impact on rankings.

Keep it Short & Sweet

Keep your titles short, sweet and to the point – anything longer than 70 characters may be cut off by search results, so avoid long descriptions if possible.

Avoid Using Repeated Words

Avoid using repeated words across multiple web pages or you run the risk of confusing search engines and damaging your rankings!

Stay Consistent with Your Branding

Try to remain consistent with branding across all page titles while making sure they still accurately reflect the content within them (for example, include either “Ten10” or “Ten10 IE” rather than both).

Make sure each page on your site has a unique title tag that accurately reflects its content and includes relevant keywords.

SEO Checklist – Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are an essential part of any successful SEO strategy. They provide a brief summary of the content on each page, which helps search engines understand what it is about and index it accordingly. It can also show up in SERPs as a snippet that users can read before they click through to your website, helping them decide whether or not the content is relevant to their search query.

Creating effective meta descriptions that accurately reflect the content on each page is important in order to rank higher in SERPs and attract more visitors to your website. Here are some tips on how you can optimise your meta descriptions for SEO:

SEO Checklist – Tips for Optimising Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are a key aspect of SEO that can impact the click-through rate (CTR) of a website. They provide a brief summary of the content on a web page, and search engines use them to give users an idea of what the page is about. Here are some tips for optimising meta descriptions for SEO:

Keep it concise

Meta descriptions should be no longer than 155-160 characters to avoid being truncated in search engine results pages (SERPs). By keeping it short and to the point, you can communicate the most important information about the page in a clear and concise manner.

Use relevant keywords

Including relevant keywords in the meta description can help improve its visibility in search engine results pages. However, it is important to use them in a natural and relevant way, rather than simply stuffing them into the description.

Highlight unique selling points

Meta descriptions should highlight the unique selling points of the page, including any benefits or features that set it apart from competitors. This can help entice users to click through to the website.

Use a call-to-action

Including a call-to-action (CTA) in the meta description can encourage users to click through to the website. This can be as simple as using action-oriented language, such as “Learn more” or “Discover,” or by using a more specific CTA, such as “Download our free guide.”

Avoid duplicate content

Each meta description on a website should be unique and specific to the content on the page. Duplicate descriptions can confuse search engines and users, and may negatively impact the website’s ranking.

Consider the user’s perspective

When crafting a meta description, it is important to consider the user’s perspective and what they are looking for. This can help you create a description that accurately represents the content of the page and resonates with the user’s needs and interests.

Use brand messaging

Including brand messaging in the meta description can help users identify the website and understand what it represents. This can help build brand recognition and trust with users.

Optimising meta descriptions for SEO is an important aspect of digital marketing that can impact the click-through rate and ranking of a website. By keeping them concise, using relevant keywords, highlighting unique selling points, including a call-to-action, avoiding duplicate content, considering the user’s perspective, and using brand messaging, website owners can create effective meta descriptions that accurately represent the content of their website and appeal to users.

SEO Checklist – Headings

Headings are a crucial part of any successful SEO strategy, as they provide an easy way for search engines to understand the structure and content of a page. They also help make your website more user-friendly by providing users with a clear overview of what the page is about.

Creating effective headings that accurately reflect the content on each page is essential in order to rank higher in SERPs and attract more visitors. Here are some tips on how you can optimise your headings for SEO:

Tips for Optimising Headings

Use Relevant Keywords – Use relevant keywords in your heading tags whenever possible, as this will help search engine algorithms better understand the content on each page.

Vary Your Heading Tags

Make sure to include heading tags of different sizes (H1-H6) across all pages, as this will help give further structure and hierarchy to your content which search engines can use when indexing it.

Keep Page Titles & Headings Short & Sweet

Keep headings short and to the point – aim for no more than 70 characters if possible so that they don’t get cut off when displayed in SERPs.

Be Careful with Keyword Stuffing

Try not to exaggerate or keyword stuff when using headings, as this could have a negative impact on rankings!

Stay Consistent with Your Branding

Try to remain consistent with branding across all headings while making sure they still accurately reflect the content within them (for example, include either “Ten10” or “Ten10 IE” rather than both).URLs

Make sure all URLs are short, and descriptive, and include relevant keywords where possible. Avoid using long strings of numbers or letters as these can be difficult for users (and search engines) to understand.

SEO Checklist – Image Alt Tags

Image Alt Tags, also known as alt attributes or alt text, are a crucial component of SEO. They provide descriptive text to search engines and users about the content of an image, which can improve the website’s ranking and make it more accessible to users with visual impairments.

Search engines rely on alt tags to understand the content of an image since they cannot “see” the image as humans do. Alt tags provide information about the image, including the subject matter, context, and purpose. Search engines use this information to determine the relevance of the image to a search query and rank it accordingly.

Alt tags also make the website more accessible to users with visual impairments who rely on screen readers to navigate the web. Screen readers read out the alt text to users, providing them with a description of the image. This helps visually impaired users understand the content of the website and make informed decisions about how to interact with it.

Optimise Alt Tags for SEO

To optimise alt tags for SEO, it is important to use descriptive and keyword-rich text. This helps search engines understand the content of the image and how it relates to the website’s overall content. However, it is important not to stuff alt tags with too many keywords, as this can be seen as spammy and negatively impact the website’s ranking.

In addition to being descriptive and keyword-rich, alt tags should be concise and relevant to the image. They should accurately describe the content of the image in a way that is easily understandable to users and search engines. If an image is purely decorative and does not convey any information, then it is acceptable to use an empty alt tag, such as alt=””, to indicate that the image is decorative.

It is also important to include alt tags on all images on the website, including logos, icons, and background images. Alt tags should be added to images using the HTML “alt” attribute, which can be added to the image tag in the website’s HTML code.

Image Alt Tags are a crucial component of SEO that can improve the website’s ranking and accessibility. They provide search engines and users with descriptive text about the content of an image, which helps them understand its relevance to a search query and how it relates to the website’s overall content. By optimising alt tags with descriptive and keyword-rich text, website owners can improve their website’s visibility in search results pages and make it more accessible to all users.

SEO Checklist – Internal Links

Internal linking is a crucial aspect of SEO that can help improve the ranking and user experience of a website. links are links that point from one page of a website to another page within the same website. They are important because they help search engines understand the structure of a website and how different pages are related to each other.

Internal linking can help distribute page authority throughout the website, which can improve the ranking of all pages, not just the homepage. They also help users navigate the website and find the information they are looking for. Here are some tips for optimising links for SEO:

Use descriptive anchor text

The anchor text is the clickable text that appears as a link. It is important to use descriptive and relevant anchor text that accurately reflects the content of the linked page. This helps search engines understand the context of the link and improves the user experience.

Link to relevant content

Internal links should be used to link to relevant content within the website. This can help users discover new content and improve the user experience. Additionally, linking to relevant content can help improve the ranking of that content, as search engines see it as more important when it is linked to from other pages on the website.

Use a logical linking structure

Internal links should be organised in a logical and intuitive structure. This helps users navigate the website and improves the user experience. Additionally, a logical linking structure helps search engines understand the hierarchy of the website and how different pages are related to each other.

Avoid over-linking

Overlinking can negatively impact the user experience and make the website look spammy. It is important to only use links when they are relevant and add value to the content.

Use internal links in the main content area

Internal links in the main content area of a page are given more weight by search engines than links in the footer or sidebar. It is important to use internal links in the main content area to improve the ranking of linked pages.

Update internal links regularly

As the content on a website changes, links may become outdated. It is important to update internal links regularly to ensure that they are still relevant and accurate.

By using descriptive anchor text, linking to relevant content, using a logical linking structure, avoiding over-linking, using internal links in the main content area, and updating internal links regularly, website owners can create an effective internal linking strategy that helps users find the information they need and improves the ranking of the website.

SEO Checklist – External Links

External link building, also known as backlinks, are links that point from other websites to your website. They are an important aspect of search engine optimisation (SEO) because they signal to search engines that your website is authoritative and valuable. When other high-quality websites link to your website, search engines see this as an endorsement of your content, which can improve your website’s ranking in search results.

Here are some tips for optimising external links for SEO:

Focus on quality over quantity

It is more important to have a few high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites than many low-quality backlinks from spammy websites. Focus on building relationships with reputable websites in your industry and create content that is worthy of being linked to.

Use relevant anchor text

The anchor text of an external link should be descriptive and relevant to the content on your website. This helps search engines understand the context of the link and improves the user experience.

Avoid paid links

Paid link building is a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can result in a penalty or even a ban from the search results. It is important to focus on building organic links through high-quality content and relationship building.

Monitor and disavow bad links

Sometimes low-quality websites may link to your website, which can negatively impact your ranking. The Google Search Console allows you to monitor and disavow bad links to your website to prevent them from affecting your ranking.

Google Search Console

Google provides a free tool – Google Search Console – that helps website owners monitor and improve their website’s performance in search results. It provides insights into how Google crawls and indexes your website, as well as data on search queries, impressions, clicks, and more.

One of the key features of Google Search Console is the ability to monitor and analyse your website’s links. It provides data on the number of links to your website, the domains that are linking to your website, and the anchor text used in those links. This information can help you identify high-quality backlinks that are helping to improve your ranking, as well as low-quality backlinks that may be harming your ranking.

SEO Checklist – Site Speed

Site speed is a critical component of search engine optimisation (SEO) and user experience. A slow loading website can result in a poor user experience, which can lead to high bounce rates and lower search engine rankings. Therefore, website owners need to ensure that their websites load quickly to improve their ranking and user experience.

One way to improve speed is through web hosting services that offer fast loading times. Ten10.ie, for example, powers its web servers with Amazon Web Services (AWS), which offers some of the fastest speeds available in Ireland. AWS provides reliable, scalable, and cost-effective cloud computing services, which can help website owners to improve their website’s performance.

Here are some tips for optimising site speed for SEO:

Compress images

Large image files can slow down your website’s loading time. Therefore, it is essential to compress images to reduce their file size without compromising their quality. This can be done by using image compression tools or plugins.

Minimise HTTP requests

HTTP requests are made when a browser requests resources from a server, such as images, scripts, or stylesheets. Minimising the number of HTTP requests can help to speed up your website’s loading time.

Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A CDN is a network of servers that are distributed around the world to deliver content to users from a server that is geographically closer to them. This can help to reduce the time it takes for content to reach the user.

Enable caching

Caching stores a version of your website’s content on a user’s computer or device, which can help to speed up subsequent page loads. Enabling caching can help to reduce the time it takes for your website to load.

Use a fast web hosting provider

Web hosting providers can have a significant impact on your website’s speed. Therefore, it is important to choose a hosting provider that offers fast loading times, such as Ten10.ie, which powers its web servers with AWS.

Speed is a crucial factor in SEO and user experience. A page should load as quickly as possible—preferably in one to 3 seconds, according to Google. Slow loading websites can result in high bounce rates, lower rankings, and poor user experience. Website owners need to ensure that their website loads quickly to improve its ranking and user experience. Optimising site speed can be achieved through image compression, minimising HTTP requests, using a CDN, enabling caching, and choosing a fast web hosting provider – all these features and services are available from Ten10.ie.

SEO Checklist – Make sure your site is indexable

Making sure that your site is indexable is an essential component of any SEO strategy. If your site is not indexable and your site will not appear in search results. Here are some tips on how to ensure that your site is indexable:

Submit your sitemap

A sitemap is a file that lists all the pages on your site, and it can help to discover and index your pages more efficiently. Submitting your XML sitemap to Google and Bing can help ensure that all of your pages are indexed. You can submit your site map from Google search console, Bing webmaster tools or by using other search engines tools.

Check for crawl errors

Crawl errors occur when search bots are unable to access your site’s pages. These errors can be caused by broken links, server errors, or other issues. Use tools such as Google Search Console, bing webmaster tools and other search submission tools to identify and fix crawl errors on your site.

Check for robots.txt file

A robots.txt file is a file that tells which pages of your site to crawl and which pages to ignore. If you accidentally block crawling your pages through your robots.txt file, your site will not be indexable. Make sure to check your robots.txt file to ensure that you are not blocking any important pages. Tools such as Google Search Console or bing webmaster tools will help identify if there is a robots.txt file blocking access.

Avoid duplicate content

Duplicate content can confuse search results and cause them to index the wrong page. Make sure to avoid publishing duplicate content on your site, and use canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a page.

Check for broken links

Broken links can prevent search providers from crawling and indexing your pages. Use tools such as Screaming Frog to identify and fix broken links on your site. Google Search Console or bing webmaster tools can also help identify broken links.

Use SEO-friendly URL structures

URLs should be easy to understand and include relevant keywords. Use descriptive URLs that accurately describe the content of a page and avoid using generic or non-descriptive URLs.

Making sure that your site is indexable is a crucial (if not obvious) component of any Search engine optimization strategy. By submitting your sitemap, checking for crawl errors, ensuring that your robots.txt file is correctly configured, avoiding duplicate content, checking for broken links, and using SEO-friendly URL structures, you can ensure that your site is accessible and visible. This will help you to improve your site’s visibility in search results, drive more organic traffic, and ultimately grow your business.

Search Intent

 

Conclusion

Follow our technical on page SEO checklist, and to ensure that all the necessary steps have been taken in order for your website’s visibility and performance in SERPs is maximised – something which Ten10’s experienced team specialises in helping businesses achieve!

This article explains and provides a technical SEO checklist and an on-page SEO checklist which we hope you find useful. Check our other articles for a complete SEO checklist, including off-page SEO, how to use Google Analytics, and keyword research all aimed at helping to get your WordPress websites higher up the Google rankings.