1. Page Title (Title Tag)
Your page title is what shows up in Google search results as the clickable headline.
✅ Make it clear, relevant, and include your target keyword near the beginning.
Example: “Affordable Dog Grooming in Austin | Furry Friends Spa”
2. Meta Description
This is the short summary shown below the title in search results. It doesn’t directly impact rankings, but it helps people decide to click.
✅ Write a short (155–160 characters) description that includes keywords and a call to action.
Example: “Professional dog grooming in Austin, TX. Book your pup’s spa day today!”
3. URL Structure
The website address (URL) of each page should be short and descriptive.
✅ Use hyphens instead of underscores, and include keywords if possible. (Hyphens are recognized as separators between words whereas underscores are treated like characters and make two words become one, in the eyes of search engines. In the example below, dog-grooming-austin reads to the engine like “dog grooming austin” whereas dog_grooming_austin would reads as “doggroomingaustin”.)
Example: www.mysite.com/dog-grooming-austin
4. Headings (H1, H2, H3)
Headings organize your content for both users and search engines.
✅ Use one clear H1 heading per page (usually your main page title), followed by H2 and H3 for sections and subsections. It’s a really common mistake to use headings exclusively for size. Instead, use them for defining what are essentially subtitles in your document. Think of them more like an outline of topics in your document with h1 being the top level heading – you shouldn’t ever have more than one h1. Once you get the headings added, you can always adjust the font size.)
Think of headings as the outline of your content.
5. Keywords in Content
These are the words and phrases people type into search engines when looking for your services.
✅ Use keywords naturally in your text—especially in the first 1–2 paragraphs, in headings, and in page titles.
Avoid keyword stuffing (cramming in a bunch of keywords so that the content doesn’t read correctly)—write for people first, search engines second.
6. Alt Text for Images
Alt text helps screen readers describe images for visually impaired users—and helps Google understand what the images are.
✅ Write a short, clear description of each image using keywords where appropriate.
Example: “Golden retriever getting a bath at Austin pet grooming salon.”
7. Internal Links
Linking to other relevant pages on your site helps users find more information and helps search engines crawl your site better.
✅ Link naturally to other services, blog posts, or FAQs.
Example: “Learn more about our pet nail trimming services.”
8. Mobile-Friendly Design
Most web traffic comes from smartphones. Google prioritizes mobile-optimized websites.
✅ Make sure your site works well on all screen sizes—text should be readable, buttons clickable, and content easy to scroll.
9. Consider Page Load Speed
Slow websites lose visitors—and rankings. Content creators can’t always affect some of the following items, but optimizing images (resizing huge images, compressing them in jpg format, etc) and hosting videos on YouTube, Vimeo or a similar service and embedding them on the site can make a big difference.
✅ Optimize image sizes, avoid heavy animations, and use fast hosting.
Test your site speed with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.
10. Content Quality & Length
Search engines love helpful, informative content.
✅ Write content that answers your customers’ questions clearly and thoroughly. Aim for 300–1,000 words per page when possible.
Avoid fluff. Focus on being helpful and trustworthy.
11. Outbound Links (to Trusted Sources)
Linking to high-quality, relevant external sites can build credibility.
✅ Include outbound links when it makes sense—like to a product manufacturer, licensing organization, or related blog.
12. Use of Multimedia (Images, Video)
Pages with images and videos tend to perform better.
✅ Use visuals to support your message and engage visitors—but optimize them so they don’t slow your site down.
Final Tip: Review & Update Regularly
Search trends change over time.
✅ Revisit key pages every 6–12 months to update information, refresh content, and improve SEO elements.
Be sure to check out our post “What Is On-Page SEO (And Why Small Business Owners Should Care)” to learn more about what SEO is and how it can improve your search rankings.
Need help with on-page SEO?
We do that stuff daily here at Roost Web, so just reach out!
