The following checklist shows the most important on-page factors at the top. Do not try to have everything listed below on every page but follow the general principles as far as possible without spoiling the experience for the visitor.
- Do the inbound links use keywords as their anchor text?
- Does the Title tag start with the desired keyphrase for the page?
- Does the domain name contain the keyphrase and backlinks use this keyphrase as the anchor text?
- Does each page (or product) have just one URL on the site?
- Is there just one (and no more) Heading Level 1 (H1) containing the main keyphrase?
- Does the first sentence contain the main keyphrase?
- Does the pathname (directory) contain the keyphrase?
- Does the filename contain the main keyphrase?
- Are the desired keyphrases proximate to one another?
- Are important keyphrases highlighted in italics or bold?
- Are other keyphrases presented naturally in the body text?
- Where an image is used as a link, are Alt tags present?
- Does the meta Description tag contain the main keyphrase?
- Are links to the home page coded correctly?
- Does the meta Keywords tag contain the main keyphrase first, followed by others?
- Are there keyphrases in the last para of the page?
- Are there outbound links to major authority sites?