On-Page SEO: A 12-Point DIY Checklist

SEO
On-Page SEO: A 12-Point DIY Checklist

On-page SEO is the part you fully control and it delivers results the fastest. Twelve checks per page, no paid tools required.

On-page SEO covers everything you optimize directly on your own pages. Unlike link building, this is entirely within your control and shows results the soonest.

Title tags and descriptions

  1. Title tags should include your main keyword, placed as close to the front as possible, kept under about 60 characters so it isn’t cut off.
  2. Give each page its own title. Duplicate titles leave Google unsure which page to prioritize.
  3. Write meta descriptions for people, around 150–160 characters, stating clearly what they’ll get by clicking.

Content structure

  1. One H1 tag only per page, containing the main keyword.
  2. Use H2 and H3 in proper order to organize sections — not just to make text bigger.
  3. State the answer in the opening paragraph. Both readers and Google weigh the beginning more heavily.

URLs and links

  1. Short URLs, no accents, with a keyword: /dich-vu/seo-tong-the.
  2. Link internally to related pages, using anchor text that describes the destination instead of “click here.”
  3. Check for broken links regularly — dead links hurt the user experience and waste crawl budget.

Images and technical setup

  1. Give images descriptive alt text that describes the image, without keyword stuffing.
  2. Compress images and use WebP. Speed is a ranking factor.
  3. Test the mobile version on your actual phone, not just by shrinking your browser window.

Where to start

If you can only do three things, pick these: a unique title tag for every page, a clear H1–H2 hierarchy, and compressed images. These three give you the best return for the effort.

Need a full site audit instead of page by page? See our website SEO service or read 8 criteria for an SEO-ready website.