Karan Dave

SEO Intern at Shaligram Infotech BBA Student Market Research Enthusiast

SEO On‑Page Playbook: A Beginner’s Checklist

This is a practical, step‑by‑step checklist for optimising any web page. Use it for your own site, client work, or as a training resource.

Before You Start

  • Identify the target keyword – one primary keyword per page (e.g., “Ahmedabad cafe SEO audit”).
  • Check search intent – is the searcher looking for information, a product, a specific service, or a local business?
  • Review the current page – if it exists, note its title, meta description, content, and internal links.

1. Title Tag (50–60 characters)

  • Include the primary keyword at the beginning.
  • Add a power word or number (e.g., “Actionable”, “Step‑by‑Step”, “5 Ways”).
  • Write for humans first – make it compelling and clear.
  • Keep unique – no duplicate titles across the site.

✅ Example:
“How to Write an SEO Title Tag (With 3 Examples)”
❌ Avoid: “Title Tag | Blog | My Site”

2. Meta Description (150–160 characters)

  • Include the primary keyword naturally.
  • Summarise the value – what will the reader learn or gain?
  • End with a soft call‑to‑action (e.g., “Read more”, “Learn how”, “See the results”).
  • Make it unique – no copy‑paste from other pages.

✅ Example:
“Learn how to write SEO titles that increase CTR. Step‑by‑step guide with real examples and a free checklist.”

3. URL Slug

  • Keep it short, readable, and keyword‑rich.
  • Use hyphens to separate words, not underscores.
  • Remove stop words (and, of, the, to) where possible.
  • Avoid dates or numbers unless absolutely necessary.

✅ Example: /seo-title-guide
❌ Avoid: /2024/10/12/how-to-write-a-seo-title-guide/

4. H1 Heading (Main Heading)

  • Only one <h1> per page.
  • Include the primary keyword.
  • Make it descriptive and engaging.
  • Should closely match the title tag (but can be slightly longer).

✅ Example:
“How to Write an SEO Title Tag That Gets Clicks”

5. Subheadings (H2, H3, H4)

  • Use a logical hierarchy – H2 for main sections, H3 for sub‑sections.
  • Include secondary keywords naturally.
  • Break up long content – every 2–3 paragraphs should have a subheading.
  • Make them scannable – answer “What’s in this section?”

✅ Example:
“Step 1: Choose Your Primary Keyword”

6. Content Optimisation

  • Length: Cover the topic in sufficient depth – 500–1500 words for most blog posts, longer for definitive guides.
  • Keyword placement: Primary keyword in first 100 words, and 2–3 times naturally in the body. Avoid keyword stuffing.
  • LSI & related keywords: Include synonyms and related terms (e.g., “search snippet”, “meta description”, “click‑through rate”).
  • Bold/italic: Highlight key phrases – but don’t overdo it.
  • Lists & tables: Use bullet points and numbered lists to improve readability.
  • Internal links: Link to 2–3 other relevant pages on your site. Use descriptive anchor text (not “click here”).
  • External links: Link to 1–2 authoritative sources (when relevant).

7. Image Optimisation

  • File name: Use descriptive, hyphen‑separated words (e.g., seo-title-example.png).
  • Alt text: Describe the image and include the keyword if relevant (e.g., “Screenshot of a well‑optimised SEO title”).
  • Size: Compress images to <200 KB. Use TinyPNG or Squoosh.
  • Dimensions: Set width and height attributes to avoid layout shift.

8. Internal & External Links

  • Internal: Link to related pages on your own site. Use contextual anchor text.
  • External: Link to high‑authority sources (e.g., Google Search Central, Moz, Ahrefs).
  • Broken links: Check for 404s – use a tool like Broken Link Checker or Screaming Frog.

9. Schema Markup (Optional but Powerful)

  • Add Article schema for blog posts.
  • Add LocalBusiness schema for contact/landing pages.
  • Use FAQ schema if you have a Q&A section.
  • Test with Google’s Rich Results Tool.

10. Final Checks Before Publishing

  • Spell check and grammar – use Grammarly or a second pair of eyes.
  • Mobile preview – does everything look good on a phone?
  • Page load speed – run a quick PageSpeed Insights test.
  • Social preview – if you share on LinkedIn/Twitter, does the title and image pull correctly?
  • Set a canonical URL – to avoid duplicate content issues (especially for e‑commerce or similar pages).

How to Use This Playbook

  • As an intern: Keep this list open in a tab. Before publishing any page, run through every checkbox.
  • For your team: Create a shared document (e.g., Google Sheets or Notion) where everyone can track SEO tasks per page.
  • In your portfolio: This page itself is a demonstration of your ability to document processes.

This playbook is based on my daily SEO workflow at Shaligram Infotech and my personal portfolio optimisation.