On page SEO comprises a series of fairly straightforward steps but you need to get most of them right to get a good result. Common questions are:

Does On Page SEO really matter?

You may have heard that off pages factors are more important in determining ranking by the search engines. Whilst that is true, on page SEO is still very important because it is the basis for all your SEO activities. On Page SEO is basically organising your site and its pages in a way that is search engine friendly. As a result the search engines will clearly understand what your pages are about. If they are not clear as to your subject then you will have difficultly in getting a good ranking however many backlinks you get.

Does the platform matter?

In theory no but it is easier to use a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress. A CMS makes it easy to create, amend and generally maintain your content, tasks which are harder with a static site even with page builder software. This is important because search engines like to see sites that are active so you need to be regularly adding new content and updating old content.

What On Page SEO factors should I consider at the outset?

The most important thing for your SEO is to pick the right keywords to build your site around. It is best if your site is focused on one topic so the pages can be linked to support each other. It is also important to get your primary keyword in your domain name as near the beginning as possible. Get a decent hosting service, frequent downtime as slow loading are bad for on page SEO purposes.

How should I structure the site to benefit on page SEO?

In general bigger is better so you should to keep adding content on an ongoing basis. The pages on the site should be linked together using keyword anchor text. Some external links are good. These should be relevant authority sites and are best if placed within the content. Site wide links are of little benefit and having too many links (particularly to irrelevant sites) is bad.

What "standard" pages do I need?

An important part of on page SEO is having the standard pages that the search engines like to see, this can make a significant difference to your ranking. The following should be available with a link from every other page (i.e. in footer or header):- About Us, Contact Us, Privacy Policy, DMCA Policy, Anti-Spam Policy, Terms of Use.

How should I structure my content?

You should build each page around a keyword bearing in mind the points below. However, make sure that the content is good and appears natural to human visitors. Some of the things you should do are:

• Put the keyword in the URL.

• Use the keyword in the title.

• Use the keyword in all headings.

• Use the keyword in the first sentence and throughout content, but don't over do it.

• Always have an image with the keyword as the Alt text.

Ideally you would run through a checklist after you create a page to make sure your on page SEO is good. This is a good idea but it is something of a chore.

If you are using WordPress you can get a WordPress SEO plugin to do this for you.