On-page SEO checklist for WordPress: 18 things to check on every page

On-page SEO is everything you control on the page itself. It won’t replace great content or backlinks, but getting it wrong can hold good content back. Use this checklist every time you publish or update a page.

Keyword and intent

1. One main topic per page. Decide the primary search phrase the page should rank for.
2. Match search intent. Search the phrase yourself. If Google shows guides, write a guide; if it shows product pages, a blog post won’t rank.
3. Cover related questions. Look at “People also ask” and related searches, and answer them on the page.

Titles and descriptions

1. SEO title under about 60 characters, with the main keyword near the start and your brand at the end.
2. Meta description of 120 to 155 characters that summarises the page and gives a reason to click.
3. Clean URL: short, lowercase, with the main keyword, like `/website-cost/` rather than `/?p=123`.

Headings and content

1. One H1 that clearly describes the page.
2. Logical H2 and H3 structure that someone could skim like a table of contents.
3. Answer the main question early. Don’t make readers scroll past an essay to get the point.
4. Original, useful content. Add your own experience, examples and numbers. Thin rewrites of other pages rarely rank.
5. Readable formatting: short paragraphs, lists, tables where useful.

Links

1. Internal links to related pages and services with descriptive anchor text, not “click here”.
2. External links to genuinely helpful sources where they add value.
3. No broken links. Check them regularly.

Images

1. Descriptive file names and alt text that explain what the image shows.
2. Compressed, correctly sized images in modern formats like WebP.

Technical

1. Structured data where relevant: Article for posts, Product for products, LocalBusiness for your company, FAQ only if the questions are visible on the page.
2. Fast and mobile-friendly. Check the page in PageSpeed Insights and on a real phone.

Doing this in WordPress

• Use an SEO plugin or a theme with built-in SEO fields for titles and descriptions.
• Set permalinks to “Post name” in Settings.
• Make sure “Discourage search engines” is unchecked in Settings → Reading on your live site.
• Submit your sitemap (usually `/wp-sitemap.xml`) in Google Search Console.

On-page SEO works best on a fast, technically clean site. My speed and SEO service covers both.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a blog post be for SEO?

As long as it needs to be to fully answer the question, and no longer. Look at what currently ranks: if the top results are thorough guides, a short post won’t compete. If they’re quick answers, padding won’t help.

How many keywords should I target on one page?

One main topic plus closely related phrases. Trying to rank one page for unrelated keywords usually means it ranks for none of them. Give each important topic its own page.

Do meta descriptions affect rankings?

Not directly, but a clear, relevant description can raise your click-through rate from search results, which brings more visitors from the same ranking. Google sometimes rewrites descriptions, but a good one gives it a strong default.

How soon will on-page changes show in Google?

Google may recrawl a popular page within days, while smaller sites can take a few weeks. You can request indexing for an updated page in Google Search Console.

Key takeaways

• Match search intent before worrying about anything else.
• Titles, headings, internal links and images are fully in your control.
• Refreshing existing content is often the quickest win.

Related reading

• Local SEO for small businesses: how to show up in Google Maps
• 10 website design mistakes that quietly cost you customers