On-Page SEO Checklist for 2022 (Ultimate Guide)

On-page SEO is one of the most fundamental skills you need to master if you want better rankings and more organic search traffic. In this video, I’m going to walk you through my complete on-page SEO checklist for 2022. It will be the last step-by-step checklist you’ll ever need. I recommend watching some of this video and then implementing the recommendations right away. Here’s one thing to keep in mind: You must go through this on-page SEO process for EACH page you want to rank in Google. But keep this in mind: You should only be at this stage of the SEO process if you have already done keyword research, qualified a keyword target, and created a content asset around that qualified keyword.

Transcript

00:00
– Today, I’m gonna show you my complete SEO checklist.
00:03
In fact, this is the same checklist I’ve used
00:05
to get first page Google rankings for competitive keywords,
00:09
like Keyword Research Tools, and SEO Campaign.
00:12
I’m Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko,
00:15
and in this video, I’m gonna walk you through
00:17
my entire SEO checklist,
00:19
step-by-step, keep watching.
00:22
When I first got started with SEO,
00:23
I had no idea what I was doing.
00:25
So, I started to search for things,
00:27
like how to get higher Google rankings,
00:29
and how to SEO my site, and despite following all the advice
00:33
that I read, my traffic didn’t budge.
00:35
It was really frustrating.
00:37
(growls) I hate you, Google.
00:38
Today, my site brings in hundreds of thousands
00:41
of visits per month, mostly from Google,
00:43
and major media sites, like Entrepreneur,
00:46
have called me “an SEO genius”.
00:48
My secret, I developed a repeatable,
00:51
step-by-step SEO process,
00:53
and that’s exactly what I’m gonna share with you right now.
00:56
So let’s kick things off with Step #1
00:58
of this SEO Checklist,
00:59
Set Up Essential SEO Tools and Plugins.
01:03
Your first step is to make sure that you have
01:05
three important SEO tools set up and ready to go.
01:08
The first tool that every site needs to have
01:11
is the Google Search Console.
01:12
This tool makes it super easy
01:14
to track your site’s performance in Google.
01:16
It can also help you find technical SEO problems
01:19
that are holding you back, but most important of all,
01:22
the Search Console shows you the exact keywords
01:25
that you rank for, and where you rank for them,
01:28
and unlike third party tools,
01:29
this data comes straight from Google,
01:32
so you know it’s legit.
01:33
The next tool you wanna set up is Google Analytics.
01:37
Google Analytics is the best way
01:39
to see how people find and use your website,
01:42
but that’s just scratching the surface.
01:44
With Google Analytics, you can do all sorts of cool stuff
01:47
like find pages on your site that bring you traffic,
01:50
identify the exact websites that send you traffic,
01:53
your site’s Bounce Rate, Paid Views,
01:55
and Time on Site, and lots more.
01:57
Finally, if your site runs on WordPress,
01:59
you need to install the Yoast SEO Plugin.
02:03
Yoast is by far the most popular SEO plugin on the planet,
02:06
and for good reason.
02:08
Yoast makes it super easy to make your WordPress site00:00
– So in today’s video, I’m going to show you
00:01
my complete on-page SEO checklist.
00:04
This is the exact step-by-step checklist we use
00:07
for every SEO campaign we work on.
00:09
In fact, we just used this exact checklist
00:11
to grow pages organic search traffic by 1,337%
00:15
and then we used it again
00:17
to grow this page’s traffic by 1,059%.
00:21
Now here’s my promise to you
00:22
when you watch this entire training video,
00:24
you will never need to read, watch or consume
00:27
any other content about on-page SEO after you watch.
00:31
Now does that sound good?
00:32
Well before we get started,
00:33
like this video right now to show me you’re pumped
00:36
and leave a comment below saying
00:38
let’s do this to show me you’re excited.
00:40
Let’s get started.
00:42
(upbeat music)
00:49
Hey, so welcome to my YouTube channel.
00:51
My name is Nathan Gotch and I’m the founder of Gotch SEO.
00:54
And in this video I’m going to walk you through
00:55
my agency’s entire on-page SEO checklist from A to Z.
01:00
Now if you’re not subscribed to my channel,
01:01
please subscribe because I publish in depth SEO
01:04
and digital marketing videos that will help you grow
01:06
any company you’re working for or working on.
01:09
And don’t forget to hit the bell button
01:10
because you’ll get first access
01:12
to new training when you do it.
01:14
So the first thing we need to tackle is what is on-page SEO?
01:18
On-page SEO is the process of optimizing
01:20
a single page on your website.
01:22
This is not to be confused with on-site SEO
01:25
which is the process of optimizing an entire website.
01:28
However, these two types of optimization
01:30
are not mutually exclusive.
01:32
For example an on-site optimization action
01:34
like installing an SSL certificate
01:36
is also a good on-page optimization action.
01:39
It’s also important to mention the difference between
01:42
on-page SEO versus off-page SEO.
01:44
Off-page SEO is nothing more
01:46
than another way to say link building.
01:48
Link building or off-page SEO is
01:50
the process of acquiring backlinks to your website.
01:53
So while on-page SEO is the foundation you need to rank,
01:56
you’ll usually need a substantial offsite SEO plan
02:00
to acquire backlinks to your pages and website as a whole.
02:03
It’s definitely possible to rank without many backlinks,
02:05
but in most cases you’ll need them.
02:07
Now next question is why is on-page SEO important?
02:10
Most people with basic knowledge of SEO usually equate
02:13
on-page SEO which is placing keywords on a page.
02:15
And there’s no denying that keywords
02:17
are critical for on-page optimization
02:19
but there is much more to the process.
02:21
As you’ll soon find out, on-page optimization includes
02:24
keywords, copywriting, media, links,
02:28
user experience and even conversions.
02:31
Understanding and executing all of these on-page SEO factors
02:34
is important because it will determine
02:36
how well your page will rank in Google.
02:38
What I’ll be showing you isn’t just about rankings though.
02:41
This checklist will help you optimize your pages
02:44
to the fullest extent but it will also help you
02:46
increase dwell time, build rapport for your brand
02:49
and even drive conversions.
02:50
So now it’s time to show you how
02:52
to do on-page SEO step by step.
02:54
Just follow this checklist and you’ll achieve
02:56
a perfectly optimized page.
02:58
So the first part of this process is performance.
03:01
Number one, do you have Google Analytics tracking set up?
03:04
You need a way to measure the SEO performance of your page
03:07
and Google Analytics is pretty hard to beat,
03:09
but there are some decent
03:10
alternatives out there like Clicky.
03:12
Just make sure you have a way to track
03:14
organic search traffic and conversions.
03:16
Number two, are you tracking your primary keyword phrase?
03:19
Tracking individual keywords
03:21
isn’t as straightforward as it used to be
03:22
because of localization, personalization and other factors
03:26
however, you should still be tracking your primary keyword
03:30
just to make sure you’re on the right track.
03:32
I personally use ahrefs to track keyword performance.
03:35
So now let’s move on to phase two
03:36
which is crawling and indexing.
03:38
So number three, is your page crawlable?
03:40
You simply can’t rank if Google’s spiders
03:42
can’t access your page.
03:44
Your robots.txt file and NoIndex tags
03:47
are two common culprits you need to look out for.
03:49
This tool is perfect for checking your page’s crawlability.
03:52
Just enter your URL and click submit,
03:54
then the tool will show you everything that is
03:56
or isn’t blocking search engine crawlers.
03:58
You wanna see a 200 status code
04:01
and no news is good news
04:02
when it comes to the other sections.
04:04
You can also use Screaming Frog SEO Spider
04:06
to make sure your pages are crawler accessible.
04:09
Just click the response codes tab
04:10
and select blocked by robots.txt.
04:13
So number four, is your page indexable?
04:15
Having a crawlable page is
04:17
the first step to ranking in Google.
04:18
The second step is to make sure
04:19
that your page actually gets indexed.
04:22
The best way to check if your page is properly indexed
04:24
is to copy your URL and paste it into Google.
04:27
Established pages should show up and if they don’t
04:30
then you need to take some additional steps.
04:32
First check if the page is using the Noindex tag.
04:35
Just click the directives tab in Screaming Frog
04:37
and selected Noindex from the filter dropdown.
04:40
If it passes that test,
04:41
then you need to examine your site architecture.
04:43
Sometimes your page is buried too deep within your website
04:46
and crawlers aren’t able to reach it.
04:48
This issue is most common with eCommerce websites
04:51
or really large websites.
04:53
So to find out,
04:53
click the site architecture tab in Screaming Frog
04:56
and look under the crawl depth section.
04:59
You want most of your pages
05:00
to be no more than three clicks deep.
05:02
And if your pages passes both of these tests
05:04
then you should use the fetch as Google tool.
05:06
The last way to get your page indexed
05:08
is to simply acquire backlinks to it.
05:10
So now that you’re tracking performance,
05:12
your page is crawlable and your page is indexed,
05:15
it’s time to optimize your page for your primary keyword.
05:18
Which brings me to point number five,
05:19
are you targeting the right keywords?
05:22
Some people overestimate their ability
05:23
to rank for certain keywords.
05:25
You need to go through extensive keyword qualification,
05:28
in competitor analysis, processes to ensure
05:31
that you’re targeting the right keywords.
05:33
I won’t go too deep into it here but here’s a 30,000 foot
05:36
keyword qualification process you can use.
05:39
First, run your keyword through ahrefs keyword explorer tool
05:42
and you can quickly eliminate keywords
05:45
based on keyword difficulty or KD.
05:47
For example, newer websites or websites that lack authority
05:50
shouldn’t target keywords greater than a KD of 50.
05:53
If your keyword passes the KD test,
05:55
then you need to compare your website
05:57
against the ranking competitors on average.
06:00
Gather the following data points for each competitor
06:03
and average them out, DR, backlinks,
06:05
total linking group domains,
06:07
which you can export from ahrefs keyword explorer
06:09
and word count.
06:10
So now you have a roadmap of what you’ll need to do
06:13
to compete for your target keyword phrase.
06:15
So number six is have you already targeted this keyword?
06:19
Keyword cannibalization which is when
06:21
multiple pages target the same primary keyword phrase
06:24
is something you need to keep tabs on.
06:26
Here’s an example.
06:27
So avoiding this issue at the onset
06:28
should be a priority for every SEO campaign.
06:31
Trust me when I say this,
06:33
(evil laughter)
06:34
it’s a nightmare working through large scale
06:37
keyword cannibalization issues.
06:39
Here’s what you need to know,
06:40
target one primary keyword per page
06:43
and then focus on creating and updating that one page.
06:47
Don’t create or optimize another page
06:49
for the same primary keyword.
06:51
Now I should mention the Hub and Spoke model.
06:53
You can target closely related keywords
06:56
if the intent is different.
06:58
For example, on Gotch SEO I have a blog post about
07:01
how to do an SEO audit which is informational intent
07:04
and then I have a page targeting SEO audits service
07:07
which is transactional intent.
07:09
These keyword phrases are closely related
07:12
but have much different intent.
07:13
So here’s a visual from Jimmy Daily.
07:15
Just make sure you don’t get this model twisted
07:18
and think that you should start pumping out thin pages
07:20
around your primary page/keyword.
07:23
Which brings me to point number seven
07:24
which is does your page satisfy search intent?
07:27
So if you’ve been following my work
07:28
or you’re a member of Gotch SEO Academy,
07:30
then I know you’re probably sick of me talking about this
07:33
but the truth is, it’s so incredibly important
07:36
and it’s something that a lot of websites get wrong.
07:38
There are four primary categories of search intent,
07:41
number one is informational,
07:43
which would be how to get backlinks.
07:45
Number two are transactional which are buy backlinks.
07:49
Number three are comparison inquiries
07:50
which are moz versus ahrefs
07:52
and number four are navigational inquiries like Gotch SEO.
07:56
So understanding the intent behind your targeted keyword
07:58
should dictate how you structure your page.
08:01
For example, if you’re targeting a keyword phrase
08:03
that has informational intent,
08:05
then that page should educate and attempt to build rapport.
08:08
The truth is most searchers are not ready to buy
08:11
when searching informational keywords.
08:13
They’re likely at the beginning of the customer journey
08:16
and you need to be cognisant of that
08:17
and structure your page as an educational resource.
08:20
Now that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try
08:22
to push the prospect to the next stage in the buying cycle,
08:25
but you need to take baby steps.
08:27
Lead magnets are my go to CTA for searchers at this stage.
08:31
So number eight, is your primary keyword in the title?
08:34
Now while SEOs don’t agree on everything,
08:36
most would have a hard time disputing that
08:38
your primary keyword should be in your page’s title tag.
08:41
So if you do anything on this checklist,
08:43
make sure your targeted keyword is in your title.
08:45
But if on-page SEO was as simple
08:47
as placing your keyword in the title,
08:49
then there would be a lot more successful SEOs.
08:52
But here’s the truth, that’s a bare minimum
08:55
on page SEO action.
08:57
So to take your title tag optimization up another notch,
09:00
you need to improve its clickability.
09:02
Which brings me to point number nine
09:03
which is is your title click worthy?
09:06
Google uses the words in your title tag
09:08
to understand what your page is about.
09:10
But there’s another side of title tags
09:12
that you need to understand.
09:13
First, you can find your website’s SERP CTR performance
09:16
in Google’s search console when you click on performance.
09:19
It’s critical that you make your title
09:21
as eye catching and click worthy as possible.
09:23
In fact, increasing your SERP CTR
09:26
is one of the easiest ways to get more
09:28
organic search traffic without creating any new content.
09:31
Which brings me to point number 10
09:33
which is can you add modifiers to your title?
09:35
So title modifiers like best, top or the year,
09:39
2019 for example can help you capture more
09:42
long tail organic search traffic.
09:44
Now number 11 is have you used
09:46
all of your title tag real estate?
09:48
Titles can be as long as 65 characters
09:50
before being truncated in Google SERPS.
09:53
You should take full advantage
09:55
of this character real estate.
09:56
Just make sure your keyword is toward the front of the title
09:59
but after that, you should use all
10:01
the copywriting techniques you can
10:03
to entice searchers to click on your result.
10:06
You can use Screaming Frog to find all titles
10:08
under or over 65 characters when you click on page titles
10:12
and click the filter drop down.
10:13
So number 12 is is your page title wrapped in an H1 tag?
10:17
Every page on your website should have an H1 tag.
10:20
You can using Screaming Frog SEO Spider
10:22
to find what pages don’t currently have H1s.
10:24
Just click the H1 tab
10:26
and select missing H1s from the filter dropdown.
10:29
Now the question is can you have multiple H1s on a page
10:32
and how does that impact SEO performance?
10:35
– Regardless of whether you use HTML5 or not,
10:38
having multiple H1 elements on a page is fine.
10:41
The answer is yes but it would be a very rare circumstance
10:45
when I would either consider doing it.
10:47
Number 13, is your primary keyword in the meta description?
10:50
Google often rewrites meta descriptions
10:53
but it’s still a good idea to write a descriptive one
10:55
that includes your primary keyword.
10:57
For example, Google replaced my meta description
10:59
from my guide about 301 redirects
11:02
with the first couple sentences of my content.
11:04
Number 14 is your meta description click worthy?
11:07
Like your title, you should try to make
11:09
your meta description as click worthy as possible.
11:11
Number 15 is your primary keyword in your URL?
11:15
In my experience pages that have the primary keyword
11:18
in the URL tend to perform better.
11:19
Google also claims that having your keyword in the URL
11:22
is a very small ranking factor.
11:25
Number 16, is your URL structure lean?
11:27
There’s some evidence that shorter URLs perform better
11:30
but it’s likely a very small factor.
11:32
The main reason for shortening your URLs is for UX.
11:35
And that’s because long URLs are hard to remember
11:38
and even difficult to share.
11:39
So with that said, there really are no benefits
11:42
of having long URLs so cut all the fat off your URLs
11:46
and leave only your target keyword phrases.
11:48
Number 17, is your primary keyword in the first sentence?
11:52
Now it’s extremely challenging to test
11:54
micro on-page SEO factors such as
11:56
placing your keyword phrase in the first sentence
11:58
but it’s something I’ve always personally done.
12:00
To me, if you want Google’s algorithm
12:02
to truly understand what your page is about,
12:05
then you need to make it abundantly clear.
12:07
So naturally placing your target keyword phrase
12:09
in the first sentence is a perfect way to achieve that goal.
12:12
Number 18, is your keyword density
12:14
to aggressive relative to your competitors?
12:17
Many argue that you shouldn’t pay attention
12:18
to keyword density and I agree for the most part,
12:21
you should write your content
12:22
in the most natural way possible
12:24
and the density should work it’s way out.
12:26
However, it doesn’t hurt to check the competition
12:29
to identify the average keyword density
12:31
for your targeted keyword phrase.
12:33
Just use this tool to gather the keyword density
12:35
for each competitor and then average it out.
12:37
Then just compare your current density to that average.
12:40
If you’re creating an entirely new page,
12:42
then create the content first and then adjust.
12:45
Just keep in mind keyword placement
12:47
is more important than density.
12:49
Number 19, have you added variations
12:51
of your primary keyword into the copy?
12:54
So it’s smart to structure your pages
12:55
around one primary keyword, however,
12:58
you should also try to rank that page
13:00
for all the closely related variations as well.
13:03
One of my favorite ways to find these keyword variations
13:06
is to use ahrefs keyword explorer.
13:07
Just enter your primary keyword phrase
13:09
and then click on also rank for.
13:11
Number 20, have you added synonyms
13:13
of your primary keyword into the copy?
13:15
Google’s Hummingbird algorithm is designed
13:18
to rank pages based on themes, not just keywords.
13:21
Now while it’s important to structure your page
13:23
around your primary keyword,
13:25
you also need to interweave other relevant synonyms
13:28
and topics around it.
13:29
If you examine my backlinks guide,
13:31
you’ll see this in action.
13:32
Every single section on that page was deliberate.
13:35
All I did was pull all the ideas from answer the public
13:38
and other keyword tools and put ’em on the page.
13:40
So in short, your page should be answering
13:42
every question and solving every problem
13:45
around your targeted keyword phrase.
13:47
Just be careful not to intermingle different intents.
13:50
For example, that’s why I created a separate page
13:53
for the keyword phrase buy backlinks
13:55
instead of just placing that section in my guide.
13:57
My backlinks guide has informational intent
14:00
while buy backlinks has transactional intent.
14:03
So now let’s move on to phase four which is content.
14:05
21, is your page different and better than your competitors?
14:09
Unique is better than long.
14:11
Every page on your website that you wanna rank
14:13
needs to bring something new and fresh to the table.
14:16
Always approach your content from the angle of
14:18
how are we going to make this page different
14:20
than what currently exists while adding more value?
14:23
Now this is much easier when you’re competing
14:25
for informational queries.
14:27
But how do you make your page unique
14:28
when you’re competing for transactional queries
14:30
like Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer?
14:32
First, you need to leverage the content
14:34
that is unique to your brand.
14:36
That’s going to be testimonials, case studies and results.
14:39
That should be the focal point of every effective local page
14:43
because you’re trying to persuade searchers to become a lead
14:46
and you achieve that goal by having
14:47
overwhelming social proof
14:49
and establishing your brand’s authority.
14:51
Second, your page’s UX and UI
14:53
needs to be better than your competitors.
14:55
Now fortunately on the local level,
14:57
most businesses aren’t willing to invest in design.
15:00
That means there’s a strategic advantage if you do.
15:02
The other big factor that most
15:04
local businesses ignore is UX.
15:06
Pages targeting transactional queries
15:08
should be built for conversions or goal completions.
15:11
That means forums should be above the fold
15:14
and CTAs should be prominent.
15:15
Thirdly, most local businesses
15:17
aren’t willing to invest time or money
15:19
into video production, graphic design
15:21
or quality photography.
15:23
You should invest in multimedia
15:25
if you’re serious about ranking.
15:26
I’ve personally invested over $30,000
15:29
in video editing alone.
15:31
It’s worth it.
15:31
My last recommendation is to educate.
15:34
Can you add a FAQ to the page that makes a searcher
15:37
more likely to become a lead?
15:38
Can you give them accurate, unbiased educational information
15:42
that will help them make an informed decision.
15:44
Helping searchers and adding value builds good will
15:47
which builds trust for your brand.
15:49
And trust is the key to high conversions.
15:52
22, is your copy free of spelling and grammatical errors?
15:55
Use tools like Grammarly to find
15:57
spelling and grammatical errors.
15:58
And the truth is Google isn’t fond of spelling
16:01
and grammatical errors based on what they said
16:03
in their search quality evaluator guidelines.
16:06
It also wouldn’t hurt to hire a proofreader
16:08
or editor to go through your pages.
16:09
23, is your copy longer on average than your competitors?
16:14
Now there’s some correlation that pages with more words
16:16
tend to perform better in Google.
16:18
It’s just really important not to take this out of context.
16:21
Your copy needs to be well crafted and thought out.
16:24
Writing several thousand words
16:26
of fluff content won’t do much.
16:27
As I mentioned in the previous checkpoint,
16:29
your copy needs to be radically different
16:31
than your competitors, not just longer.
16:34
Use this tool or Screaming Frog to see
16:36
how long your competitors content is.
16:38
244, is your copy well written?
16:40
So some SEOs forget that not all writing
16:42
is created equally.
16:43
Just because you wrote 2000 words doesn’t mean it’s good.
16:46
Writing is a skill
16:47
and some people are further along than others.
16:50
You really only have two options,
16:52
spend thousands of hours writing
16:54
and reading to improve your ability
16:56
or hire someone who already has the skill.
16:58
If you aren’t a great writer
16:59
but don’t have the budget to hire, than write the content
17:02
and have an editor go through to improve it.
17:05
25, is your copy scannable?
17:07
Internet users scan before they read
17:09
that’s why your content needs to use
17:11
all the methods available to improve
17:13
the scalability of your page.
17:15
This is super important for text heavy pages
17:17
like blog posts or articles.
17:19
You need to use your best judgment
17:21
to give this check a pass or fail
17:23
but here’s a simple two-step process.
17:25
First, scan your target page that you wanna optimize,
17:28
then assess whether or not a reader can get
17:30
an understanding of what the page is about
17:32
without reading the entire thing.
17:34
26, if your copy written for an eighth grader?
17:36
There are target markets that want
17:38
advanced writing and content but they are the minority.
17:42
Your content should be written
17:43
to be understood and actionable.
17:45
If someone can’t understand what you’re talking about
17:48
and how to implement what you’re suggesting,
17:50
then there’s a problem.
17:51
Some experts forget that no one cares
17:54
how much you know or how much experience you have.
17:56
It’s believed that we as humans
17:59
are inherently self interested.
18:01
We wanna know how you’re going to help us.
18:04
That’s why craftier content so that it reads
18:06
at an eighth grade level or below is so effective.
18:09
It makes your content easier to understand,
18:11
easier to take action on,
18:12
and makes you far more relatable.
18:14
You can use Hemingway Writer to make
18:16
your content easier to understand.
18:17
More importantly, study the best direct response
18:20
copywriters of all time like David Oglivy, Dan Kennedy
18:24
and Frank Kern and you’ll see that simple writing wins.
18:27
Number 27, is your copy engaging?
18:30
Writing at an eighth grade level or lower
18:32
is the first step to writing an engaging copy.
18:34
The second step is to actually be engaging when you write.
18:38
People need to consume your content before they take action.
18:41
That’s why all of these tactics
18:43
in this copywriting section are so important.
18:45
From an SEO perspective, if searchers are engaging
18:48
and digesting your content,
18:50
that is a positive signal for your page.
18:52
It will increase dwell time
18:54
and if you’ve done a good job,
18:55
the searcher may complete another action
18:58
such as sharing your page, visiting another page,
19:01
subscribing to your list, becoming a lead
19:03
or even purchasing one of your products.
19:06
So now the question is how do
19:07
you make your copy more engaging?
19:09
Well first, write to one reader
19:12
by using pronouns such as you and yours.
19:14
Second, interweave relevant stories to illustrate points.
19:18
Lastly, actually know what you’re talking about.
19:21
While it’s easy to fake expertise online,
19:23
most readers sniff out BS.
19:25
Number 28, does your copy use short paragraphs?
19:29
Long paragraphs are like the kryptonite for internet users.
19:32
(suffocating noises)
19:36
Massive blocks of text are one of the most
19:38
repelling things you’ll encounter online.
19:40
Keep your paragraphs short and scannable.
19:43
I personally wouldn’t go beyond
19:44
three sentences per paragraph
19:46
and I know this isn’t what your English teacher taught you
19:48
but they’ve likely never sold anything on the internet.
19:51
Number 29, are your headings structured logically?
19:54
Using logical paid structure,
19:56
won’t have a profound affect on your performance
19:58
but it’s still a good practice.
20:00
Every page should have an H1 tag
20:02
and then you should follow it with an H2, H3, H4, et cetera.
20:06
Number 30, is your copy using descriptive headings?
20:09
I learned the concept of descriptive headings
20:11
from Frank Kern.
20:12
In short, a reader should be able to scan your headings
20:14
and understand exactly what the content is about.
20:16
Kern refers to this as headings that tell a story.
20:20
He also mentions that readers almost always
20:22
scan content before they commit to reading the entire thing.
20:25
That’s why descriptive headings are so important.
20:27
Number 31, have you used keyword variations,
20:30
LSI keywords or synonyms in your headings?
20:33
Your H1 tag can be similar to your title tag
20:35
but other headings should include variations
20:38
of your primary keyword, LSIs and synonyms.
20:41
Answer The Public is perfect for finding
20:43
these keyword variations.
20:45
Number 32, is your copy using
20:47
bullet points and numbered lists?
20:48
Use bullet points
20:49
and numbered lists as frequently as you can.
20:52
This will break up your content
20:53
and make it easier for readers to commit to digesting it.
20:56
Number 33, is your copy fresh?
20:59
You should review your copy at least biannually
21:02
or annually to make sure it’s still accurate.
21:04
Keeping your content accurate and current
21:06
is critical for pleasing Google’s algorithms.
21:09
This concept is mentioned countless times
21:11
in Google’s search engine evaluator guidelines.
21:14
There’s also a better ROI when you improve existing assets
21:18
as opposed to creating new assets.
21:20
So let’s move onto phase five which is image optimization.
21:23
So 34, does your page have as many
21:26
or more images than your competitors?
21:28
Unique images make your page more interesting and engaging
21:31
and you should aim to have at least as many unique images
21:35
as your competitors or more.
21:36
35, are your images unique to your website?
21:40
Like writing, not all images are created equally.
21:43
Always strive to have unique images
21:45
and graphics on your page.
21:47
Now of course this may require hiring a graphic designer
21:49
or a photographer but it’s a worthwhile investment
21:52
because it will improve the quality and appeal of your page.
21:55
Plus, it’ll improve your brand’s perception
21:58
if you put in that extra little effort.
22:00
36, are your images high quality?
22:02
Getting unique images is the first step,
22:04
the second step is making sure that they’re actually good.
22:07
Hire a professional to take pictures or create graphics.
22:10
Businesses love to cut corners to save money
22:13
but in the long run it doesn’t actually save you money
22:16
because low quality pictures and graphics
22:18
hurt your brand’s perception.
22:19
Number 37, are you using the right image format?
22:22
Deciding between PNG, JPG or GIFs
22:26
doesn’t have a massive impact on SEO performance.
22:29
But it can help with page loading speed.
22:31
PNG is the highest quality out of the three
22:33
and that means it will likely
22:34
take the longest to fully load.
22:36
At the end of the day, don’t worry,
22:38
it’s not a life or death decision.
22:39
Default to PNG and JPG because they’re the most common.
22:43
Number 38, are your image sized appropriately?
22:46
Your image should be sized and uploaded as the size
22:49
that are going to appear on your page.
22:51
This prevents image downsizing
22:53
which will improve your page’s loading speed.
22:55
39, are your images compressed?
22:57
Using high quality images is super important
23:00
but you also need to make sure
23:01
that they are optimized for loading speed.
23:03
Images are often one of the biggest culprits
23:05
of slow loading pages and the way to prevent this
23:08
is to compress your images.
23:09
Tools like Optimizilla are perfect
23:11
because it will show you the image compression side by side.
23:14
That way you don’t jeopardize image quality
23:16
but you’re also optimizing for loading speed.
23:19
Number 40, do your images have descriptive file names?
23:22
Google recommends using descriptive file names
23:24
for your images but what does that mean?
23:27
It means you should save your images
23:28
based on the contents of the image.
23:31
For example, if your picture is
23:32
of a 12 week old male great Pyrenees,
23:35
then your file name should be
23:36
12-week-male-great-pyrenees.
23:38
This will help with your image performance.
23:40
Just don’t go overboard and keyword stuff your files.
23:43
Number 41, do all of your images
23:45
have descriptive and accurate ALT tag descriptions?
23:48
Google spiders use ALT tags to understand
23:51
what an image is about.
23:52
And you should always use descriptive ALT tags
23:54
for every image on your page.
23:56
So now let’s move on to phase six
23:58
which is video optimization.
24:00
Number 42 is does your page have video content?
24:03
Video is one of the preferred mediums
24:05
of content consumption online
24:07
and it’s also one of the best ways to engage searchers
24:10
and keep them on your page for longer
24:12
which is a positive user signal.
24:14
I highly, highly recommend investing in video
24:17
even if your competitor’s aren’t.
24:18
43, are the videos relevant to the page/primary keyword?
24:23
Like your images and copy,
24:25
the video needs to be hyper relevant to the page’s content.
24:28
Number 44, are the videos unique to your brand?
24:31
Yes, you can go to YouTube and embed any video on your page
24:35
but that isn’t the best long term strategy.
24:37
You should be creating your own unique videos
24:40
because it’s a great way to improve your brand’s perception
24:43
and it’s also another way to grow your brand’s presence
24:45
on the second biggest search engine which is YouTube.
24:48
Number 45, are the videos high-quality and valuable?
24:51
Video content is incredibly effective on many
24:54
different fronts when it’s high quality and valuable.
24:57
Your aim should be to create the best video content you can
25:00
but there’s a challenge,
25:02
you need to be decently engaging
25:03
and articulate when the camera turns on.
25:06
And this takes time and a ton a patience.
25:08
So either you need to put in the hours to become engaging
25:11
or you need a team member who
25:13
can represent your brand on video.
25:15
I won’t get too deep into creating video
25:16
because it’s outside the scope of this video
25:18
but one huge recommendation I have
25:21
is to script out your content.
25:23
Number 46, is the video content responsive?
25:26
Your videos should be easily viewable on all devices.
25:30
YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia videos
25:33
are designed to be responsive
25:34
but sometimes custom built website can cause problems.
25:37
Use this tool to test your video responsiveness.
25:40
If your video isn’t responsive,
25:42
you’ll need to optimize your design.
25:44
In the meantime, you can use this tool
25:46
to make the videos responsive.
25:47
Number 47, are the videos hosted on the right platform?
25:51
So deciding where to host your videos is important
25:53
both from an SEO and business perspective.
25:56
From an SEO perspective, YouTube is king
25:58
because it’s the biggest video search engine by far.
26:01
That’s why hosting your videos on YouTube
26:03
and then embedding them on your keyword targeted page
26:06
can have a dual effect.
26:07
Meaning you can rank in both Google and YouTube
26:10
to drive maximum visibility.
26:12
But if you have no interest in building a YouTube channel,
26:14
then you can host your videos anywhere
26:16
and still get all the benefits.
26:17
Number 48, are the videos optimized?
26:20
Your video’s title should match the keyword
26:22
your page is targeting.
26:24
For example my Anchor Text Guide
26:25
features a video about anchor texts.
26:28
Now let’s move onto phase seven which are links.
26:30
Number 49, does your page have internal links?
26:33
Internal links are a powerful way
26:35
to build your site’s authority,
26:36
improve your site’s crawlabilty and index ability
26:39
and help you rank other important pages on your site.
26:42
Number 50, are your internal links
26:44
using descriptive anchor text?
26:46
Unlike external links, your internal links
26:48
should use keyword rich anchor text.
26:50
One thing I love to do is run my competitors
26:53
through Screaming Frog SEO Spider
26:54
to get an idea of their internal link anchor profile.
26:58
Number 51, are your internal links
27:00
optimized based on the first link priority?
27:03
The big factor you need to keep in mind
27:05
is first link priority and this means
27:07
that Google’s algorithm likely only counts
27:10
the first link/anchor text on a page
27:13
and that’s the main reason why I typically
27:15
avoid placing pages I’m trying to rank in the navigation.
27:18
Number 52, does the page have breadcrumbs?
27:20
Breadcrumbs are useful for large or eCommerce websites.
27:23
You just need to keep in mind
27:24
the first link priority principle.
27:26
Especially if you’re trying to rank your category pages.
27:28
Number 53, are your internal links useful?
27:31
Injecting internal links for the sole purpose of ranking
27:34
isn’t a great idea.
27:35
Remember that the goal of your page is to please the user.
27:38
Every internal link should serve a purpose
27:40
or help the user in some way.
27:42
In general, as long as you’re linking to relevant
27:44
and valuable pages, then you’ll be good to go.
27:46
Number 54, are all of your internal links
27:49
using preferred URLs?
27:51
Moving to new domains, changing URLs
27:53
or installing SSL certificates can cause URLs to change.
27:57
And the end result is a redirect chain.
27:59
Redirect chains force link equity
28:01
to pass through a buffer
28:02
and may actually slow your page’s speed
28:04
if they are excessive redirects.
28:06
You should audit your internal links
28:08
to make sure they’re using their preferred URLs.
28:10
Number 55, does your page have external links?
28:14
Linking out to relevant and trusted resources
28:16
builds the trust of your page.
28:18
56, are all affiliate, sponsored,
28:20
or paid links using a NoFollow tag?
28:23
Google states in its webmaster guidelines
28:24
that all paid links should have the NoFollow tag.
28:28
A NoFollow tag is supposed to prevent page rank
28:30
from following through the link.
28:31
Number 57, are all of your external links
28:33
set to open in a new window?
28:35
Your goal should be to keep users
28:37
on your site as long as possible
28:39
and that’s why you should make sure
28:40
all external links open in a new window.
28:42
I know this is a super minor issue
28:44
but you wouldn’t believe how often I find it in audits.
28:47
Number 58, does your page have broken links?
28:49
Broken links hurt user experience
28:51
and need to be tackled on a frequent basis.
28:53
You should audit your page and site every quarter
28:56
to identify and fix broken links.
28:58
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is my favorite tool
29:01
for accomplishing this goal.
29:02
Just click the response codes
29:03
and then click the filtered dropdown
29:05
and select client 4xx and select in links
29:09
and click in links to find all your broken links.
29:12
Number 59, are all of your links clearly links?
29:15
So sometimes web design and UX can clash
29:18
and deciding how to style links
29:19
is often one of those challenges.
29:21
Now I’m in the camp that links should always be underlined
29:24
and should be a different color than the body text.
29:27
Links are meant to be clicked on.
29:29
So now it’s time for phase eight
29:31
which is user experience optimization.
29:33
Number 60 is does you page load in less than three seconds?
29:37
Page speed is one of the most important UX factors.
29:40
Not only can improving your page’s
29:42
loading speed help SEO performance
29:44
but it’s also a good business initiative.
29:46
I recommend both Pingdom and GTmetrix
29:48
to optimize your website loading speed.
29:50
Number 61, is your page responsive and mobile friendly?
29:53
The majority of all web searches
29:55
will be conducted on mobile devices in the near future.
29:58
That’s why there’s no debate that
29:59
your website needs to be mobile friendly.
30:02
Test your page using this tool to make sure
30:04
the experience is optimal on all devices.
30:06
Number 62, does your website
30:08
have an SSL certificate installed?
30:10
Google stated a few years ago that SSL certificates
30:13
would be a part of their algorithm
30:15
and would also be a ranking factor.
30:17
Also, Google Chrome now labels websites
30:20
with the dreaded not secure label.
30:22
This is a big deterrent for users
30:24
and having this label could hurt
30:25
both your search engine performance and even your business.
30:28
You can use this tool to test your page’s security
30:30
and SSL certificate installation.
30:32
Number 63, is your font type legible
30:35
and easy to read on all devices?
30:37
Now this is a given
30:38
but your font type should be easy to read.
30:40
Some of the easiest fonts to read are Open Sans,
30:43
Montserrat, and Playfair Display.
30:45
Number 64, is your font size large enough
30:48
to be easily read on all devices?
30:50
Having large readable font is super important on mobile
30:53
and users shouldn’t have to pinch to zoom to read your text.
30:57
Number 65, does your page use aggressive interstitials.
31:00
Google has stated that their algorithm
31:02
will demote pages with aggressive interstitial pop ups.
31:05
And honestly, I don’t blame them
31:07
because they’re pretty annoying.
31:08
If you’re going to use them, then only load them
31:10
when a user visits a second or third page on your website.
31:14
I would avoid loading them on mobile altogether though
31:16
unless it’s a slide down or slide up
31:19
that can be easily closed.
31:20
Number 66, does your page have aggressive ad placements?
31:24
One element that Google’s original panned algorithm targeted
31:27
was aggressive ad placements coupled with thin content.
31:30
Now some businesses livelihood depends on ad revenue
31:33
but some take it a little too far.
31:35
If you wanna continue performing well in Google,
31:38
then you need to think about the user first.
31:40
So the question is does jamming ads in their face
31:43
help them achieve a goal
31:44
or solve a problem that they were searching for?
31:46
Every SEO driven page should be
31:48
built to serve the user first.
31:50
Get that part squared away and then think about
31:52
how to place ads in a way
31:54
that doesn’t disrupt the user’s experience.
31:56
So now for phase nine which is local
31:58
and you really only need to tackle one question
32:01
for on-page SEO and that’s number 67,
32:04
is your address prominently displayed?
32:06
So if you’re trying to rank your page in the local pack
32:08
then your address needs to be displayed.
32:10
It doesn’t need to be above the fold
32:12
but it should at least be in the body of the content
32:15
or in the footer.
32:15
Just be careful with placing the address in the footer
32:18
if you have multiple locations.
32:19
And that’s because most footers will display site wide
32:22
which means your address will displayed on every page.
32:25
Now this isn’t an issue if you have one location.
32:27
However if you have multiple locations
32:29
then you should only display the address
32:31
on the location page that’s most relevant.
32:33
So the next phase is structured data.
32:36
Number 68, is your address using structured data?
32:39
Google claims that structured data
32:40
isn’t a part of their algorithm
32:42
and whether that’s true is tough to say
32:44
but I believe implementing structure data correctly
32:46
can only have a positive impact on your page’s performance.
32:49
So at the very minimum wrap your address
32:52
with structured data to help Google’s algorithm
32:54
better understand your page and your business.
32:57
Number 69, is your page using structured data?
33:00
Local businesses will likely benefit
33:02
from using structured data
33:03
but it has so many other uses as well.
33:06
The good news is that many content managing systems
33:09
have structured data built in
33:10
and it will do basic markup for you.
33:13
This Schema plug-in works perfectly for WordPress.
33:15
Number 70, is the structured data set up correctly?
33:18
You wanna make sure your structured data
33:20
is set up correctly once you’ve implemented it.
33:22
And the best tool to use is Google’s
33:24
Structured Data Testing Tool.
33:26
The next phase of this process is optimizing your page
33:28
for your money, your life and EAT.
33:31
Number 71, are you giving health, financial or legal advice?
33:34
Many believe Google’s algorithm update on August 1, 2018
33:37
which is called the Medic Update
33:39
targeted your money, your life
33:41
or YMYL types of websites and pages.
33:44
In short, any websites offering health,
33:47
financial or legal advice
33:48
will be under greater scrutiny going forward.
33:51
And the main reason is because incorrect,
33:53
unproven or inaccurate information in these spaces
33:56
can actually hurt a person.
33:58
Google only wants to rank pages
33:59
that have accurate information in their search engine.
34:02
And this is incredibly apparent
34:03
based on how they score pages in their
34:06
Search Engine Raters guidelines.
34:07
So with that said, make sure your page’s content
34:10
is accurate no matter what niche you’re in.
34:12
Number 72, does your page have the appropriate disclaimers?
34:16
All health, financial and legal advice
34:19
should be accompanied by appropriate disclaimers.
34:21
This not only protects your business,
34:23
but it’s also a signal of trust for your page.
34:26
Number 73, does your page list
34:28
and link to all sources of information?
34:30
Plagiarism can get you kicked out of college,
34:32
however on the internet, anyone can steal, copy
34:35
and distribute your content and ideas.
34:38
Sure, it definitely sucks
34:39
but you don’t need to be the scum of the internet.
34:42
Instead when you get information from another page,
34:45
that you didn’t previously have knowledge of,
34:47
you should link to that page.
34:48
First it’s ethical and a common curtesy to do so
34:51
and lastly, it makes your page far more trustworthy,
34:54
both for users and search engines.
34:56
Number 74, does your blog content have a visible author?
35:00
Every informational page like blog posts
35:02
should have a visible author.
35:04
Back in the day, hiding your identity was a common practice
35:07
but these days it will probably hurt more than help
35:09
when it comes to your SEO performance.
35:11
Number 75, is the author credible
35:13
and qualified to write about the topic?
35:16
E-A-T also known as EAT which stands for
35:18
expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness
35:21
has been a big topic since the August 1 Google update.
35:25
Some debate whether it’s taking factor or not
35:27
and debating is fun and usually a waste of time
35:29
but I don’t think it matters either way.
35:31
A qualified person should be writing your content
35:34
and this policy can only benefit
35:36
your business and SEO performance.
35:38
Think about it, what page is more valuable?
35:40
Page A which is written by someone
35:42
who has years of experience in X industry
35:45
or Page B which was written by
35:47
some jack of all trades writer you hire on Upwork?
35:50
It makes logical sense that Google is going to
35:53
value content written by someone
35:54
who has the qualifications to write about
35:57
whatever topic it is.
35:58
Number 76, does every blog post
36:01
have a detailed author box and bio?
36:03
I believe every blog post should have an author box
36:06
or something similar in a detailed bio of the author.
36:09
The bio should explain why the author is qualified
36:12
to write about the topic.
36:13
Number 77, does each author have a dedicated
36:17
and detailed author page?
36:18
Now this isn’t entirely necessary
36:20
but I think it’s worth the effort.
36:21
It just adds another level of trust to your content.
36:25
Now the author bio at the bottom of each post
36:27
is just a short description of your writer’s qualifications
36:30
but the author page is a more detailed description
36:33
along with links to social media profiles
36:35
and other articles.
36:36
So this second to last phase you need
36:38
to tackle are goal completions
36:40
which brings me to point number 78
36:41
which is does the page have clear calls to actions or CTAs?
36:45
Some believe that Google puts weight onto goal completions
36:49
and a goal completion is the action
36:51
that a user is supposed to take on your page.
36:53
Now this will largely depend on the intent
36:55
of the targeted keyword phrase.
36:57
For example, if your page ranks for
36:59
St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer,
37:00
two appropriate goal completions
37:03
would be contact form submissions and phone calls.
37:05
Now it’s probably very hard for Google to get this data
37:08
but it’s still a good business objective.
37:10
I believe that every page on your website
37:13
should have a call-to-action.
37:14
And as I mentioned, your CTA will depend
37:16
on the intent of the targeted keyword.
37:18
If it’s a product page, then your CTA will be sales driven.
37:21
If it’s a top of the funnel informational asset
37:23
then your CTA may be as something as simple as
37:26
asking the user to share your page or leave a comment.
37:28
Number 79, is the page shareable?
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Social media sharing button should be
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prominently displayed on informational content
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because it’s more likely to be shared if it’s good.
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Make it as easy as possible
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for the user to share your content.
37:42
I personally use SUMO for most of my websites
37:45
but there are many good options out there.
37:47
And finally, the last on-page SEO phase
37:50
is optimizing your design and user interface.
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And you only need to ask one question, which is number 80,
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is the website design modern and updated?
37:59
Some websites need serious facelifts
38:02
and it’s a good investment to continually
38:04
upgrade your site’s design to keep it modern.
38:06
Striking a balance between design and UX
38:09
is critical from an SEO perspective
38:11
so take it seriously.
38:13
So wow, that was super intense
38:15
but I didn’t want to leave any stone left unturned.
38:18
So if you got value from this training video,
38:20
please leave a comment below saying awesome
38:23
and don’t forget to like, subscribe and hit the bell button
38:26
because you’ll get first access
38:28
to new videos like this in the future.
38:30
Thank you so much for watching
38:31
and I’ll see you in the next video.

Optimized Webmedia Marketing is the best SEO Vancouver company. To learn how Optimized Webmedia Marketing can help optimize your website to attract more organic visitors, book a free consultation.