Why On-Page SEO Still Matters & How To Optimise
On-page SEO is the work you do directly on your web pages to help them rank higher in search results. It covers everything from your title tags and headings to your content, images, and internal links. And despite all the noise about AI and algorithm updates, it’s still the single biggest lever most businesses can pull to improve their rankings.
We’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it: on-page SEO is 80% of the battle. The majority of ranking problems we see when auditing new client websites come down to pages that simply haven’t been optimised properly. The content doesn’t match what people are searching for. The title tags are generic. The headings are vague. The internal linking is non-existent. These aren’t complex problems, but they’re devastatingly common.
This guide covers the key on-page elements you need to get right, why each one matters, and what good looks like in practice.
What Is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO is the practice of optimising the content and HTML source code of individual web pages so that search engines can understand what each page is about and rank it for the right search queries. It’s one of the three core pillars of SEO, alongside technical SEO (how your site works) and off-page SEO (links and authority from other websites).
The goal is simple. When someone types a query into Google, you want your page to clearly demonstrate that it’s the most relevant, helpful result for that search. On-page SEO is how you communicate that relevance, both to the search engine and to the person who lands on your page.
Title Tags: The Most Important Line on Your Page
Your title tag is the blue clickable headline that appears in Google’s search results. It’s the first thing a potential visitor reads and it’s one of the strongest ranking signals Google uses to understand what your page is about.
A good title tag includes your primary keyword (ideally near the beginning), gives a clear indication of what the page offers, and stays under 60 characters so it doesn’t get cut off in the search results. According to research by Ahrefs, Google rewrites title tags around 33% of the time, and titles over 60 characters are significantly more likely to be rewritten.
We see businesses regularly using generic title tags like “Home” or “Services” or their company name on every page. That tells Google nothing about what the page covers. Every page on your site should have a unique, descriptive title tag that includes the terms you want to rank for.
Do Meta Descriptions Affect Rankings?
Meta descriptions don’t directly affect rankings. Google has confirmed this. But they absolutely affect whether people click on your result, and click-through rate matters. A compelling meta description acts as an advert for your page in the search results.
Keep them under 155 characters, include your primary keyword (Google bolds matching terms which catches the eye), and write something that makes a searcher want to click. Think of it as your two-second pitch. If your meta description is blank or auto-generated from the first paragraph of your page, you’re leaving clicks on the table.
Headings and Content Structure
Headings (H1, H2, H3) serve two purposes. They help visitors scan the page and find what they need, and they help Google understand the structure and topic of your content.
Your H1 should be your main page title and should include your primary keyword. You should only have one H1 per page. Your H2s break the content into logical sections, and H3s sit underneath for subsections. This hierarchy matters. It’s how Google reads the outline of your page.
Don’t skip levels (going straight from H1 to H4, for example) and don’t use headings just to make text bigger. Every heading should describe what the section beneath it covers. If someone read only your headings, they should get a clear sense of what the entire page is about.
How Should You Use Keywords in Your Content?
Keywords still matter. Google’s own documentation says the “most basic signal” that content is relevant is the presence of the same keywords as the user’s search query. Anyone telling you keywords are dead in 2026 is wrong.
That said, how you use them has changed. Keyword stuffing (cramming the same phrase in as many times as possible) hasn’t worked for years and can actively harm your rankings. The approach that works is natural placement in the right locations:
Include your primary keyword in the title tag, the H1, the first 100 words of content, and at least one or two H2 headings. Use it naturally throughout the body text without forcing it. And use related terms and variations, which Google’s natural language processing expects to see alongside your main keyword.
If your page is about “plumber in Bromley” then Google also expects to see terms like emergency plumber, boiler repair, local plumber, and the surrounding areas. This isn’t about gaming the system. It’s about writing comprehensive content that genuinely covers the topic. If your content is too thin or repetitive, it won’t rank. We’ve covered this in our post about content creation for the sake of it.
Internal Linking Is One of the Most Underused Tools in SEO
Internal links are links from one page on your site to another page on the same site. They’re one of the most powerful and most neglected on-page SEO tactics available.
Internal links do three things. First, they help Google discover pages it might not find otherwise. Second, they pass authority (PageRank) from one page to another, helping your important pages rank higher. Third, they help visitors navigate your site and find related content.
We regularly audit sites where the homepage has dozens of internal links but the service pages and blog posts have almost none. That’s a missed opportunity. Every page on your site should link to at least two or three other relevant pages. Use descriptive anchor text (the clickable words) that tells Google what the linked page is about, not generic text like “click here” or “read more.”
Think about it from the visitor’s perspective. If someone is reading your page about kitchen renovations, they’d probably also be interested in your page about bathroom renovations or your portfolio of completed projects. Link to those pages naturally within the content. Google follows those links and uses them to understand the relationships between your pages.
Image Optimisation
Images are easy to overlook, but they contribute to both page speed and search visibility. The main things to get right are:
File size. Large images are the single biggest speed killer on most websites. Compress your images before uploading them. A hero image doesn’t need to be 4MB. Tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel can reduce file sizes by 60-80% without visible quality loss. Use modern formats like WebP where your CMS supports them.
Alt text. Every image should have descriptive alt text that explains what the image shows. This helps Google understand the image (it can’t “see” images the way humans can) and it’s essential for accessibility. Include your keyword where it’s genuinely relevant, but don’t stuff it. “Team of roofers installing slate tiles in Bromley” is good alt text. “Roofer Bromley roofing Bromley roofer near me” is not.
File names. Rename your image files before uploading. “IMG_4392.jpg” tells Google nothing. “slate-roof-installation-bromley.jpg” tells it exactly what the image shows.
URL Structure
Your URL should be short, descriptive, and include your target keyword. A URL like “yourdomain.com/plumber-bromley” is far better than “yourdomain.com/services/page-2/?id=847”. Keep URLs lowercase, use hyphens to separate words, and avoid unnecessary parameters or date structures.
Once a URL is live and indexed, don’t change it unless you have a very good reason. If you do change it, always set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. We’ve seen sites lose significant rankings because someone tidied up their URL structure without implementing redirects.
On-Page SEO and AI Search
Everything we’ve covered above also applies to AI search engines. Tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity use retrieval systems that pull content from web pages. The clearer your page structure, the more likely your content will be extracted and cited in AI-generated answers.
Direct answers at the top of sections, clear heading structures, and well-organised content all make it easier for AI to parse your pages. This is increasingly important as zero-click searches continue to rise and GEO becomes a factor in how businesses get found online.
Getting On-Page Right Is the Fastest Way to Improve Rankings
On-page SEO isn’t complicated. It’s not mysterious. It’s methodical work that most websites simply haven’t done properly. Fix your title tags, write content that matches what people are searching for, structure your pages with clear headings, link your pages together, and optimise your images. These are the basics, and they work.
If your website has been sitting on page 2 or 3 for months, the answer is almost certainly on the page itself. Before you spend money on link building or content marketing, make sure the fundamentals are right. We’ve built our agency on this approach and it’s why our clients consistently see results within the first few months.
Want us to look at your on-page SEO? Get in touch and we’ll run an audit and tell you exactly what needs improving.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most important on-page SEO factor?
Your title tag and the relevance of your content to the search query are the two most important factors. If your title tag doesn’t include the terms people are searching for, and your content doesn’t match their intent, the page won’t rank. Everything else builds on getting those two things right.
How many keywords should I target per page?
Focus on one primary keyword per page and a handful of closely related secondary terms. Trying to rank a single page for multiple unrelated keywords dilutes its focus and usually means it ranks well for none of them. If you have several distinct keywords to target, create separate pages for each one.
Does word count affect SEO rankings?
There’s no magic word count. Google ranks pages based on how well they answer the search query, not how long they are. A 500-word page can outrank a 3,000-word page if it provides a better, more relevant answer. Write enough to cover the topic properly and stop. Don’t pad content for the sake of length.
Should I update old content or write new pages?
If you already have a page targeting a keyword, update and improve it rather than creating a competing page. Two pages targeting the same term creates keyword cannibalisation, where your pages compete against each other instead of against your competitors. Consolidate and strengthen what you already have.
How quickly will on-page SEO changes affect my rankings?
It depends on how often Google crawls your site, but typically you’ll start to see movement within two to six weeks of making on-page changes. For pages that are already indexed and ranking on page 2 or 3, well-executed on-page improvements can sometimes push them onto page 1 within a month.
