On-Page SEO Optimization

Title Tag

The title tag is the single most important on-page ranking factor.

Rules

Common patterns

Blog post:    "How to [Action] [Topic] in [Year] | Brand"
Product:      "[Product Name] - [Key Feature] | Brand"
Category:     "[Category] - Shop [Subcategory] Online | Brand"
Homepage:     "Brand - [Primary Value Proposition]"
Service:      "[Service] in [Location] | Brand"

MCP Tool: Use analyze_page to extract and evaluate the current title tag, or generate_meta_suggestions to get AI-powered title recommendations.

Meta Description

Not a direct ranking factor, but directly impacts CTR (click-through rate) from search results.

Rules

Pattern

[Value proposition with keyword]. [Supporting detail]. [CTA].

MCP Tool: Use analyze_page or generate_meta_suggestions for current analysis + suggestions.

Heading Structure (H1-H6)

Headings define content hierarchy and help search engines understand page structure.

Rules

• One H1 per page — must contain primary keyword, should match search intent
• H2s for major sections — include secondary keywords naturally
• H3-H6 for subsections — maintain strict hierarchy (no skipping levels)
• Never use headings for styling — use CSS instead
• Never leave headings empty

Correct hierarchy

H1: Primary Topic (one only)
  H2: Major Section 1
    H3: Subsection
    H3: Subsection
  H2: Major Section 2
    H3: Subsection
      H4: Detail
  H2: Major Section 3

Bad hierarchy (skipped levels)

H1: Topic
  H3: Section (skipped H2!)
    H5: Detail (skipped H4!)

MCP Tool: Use analyze_headings with targetKeyword parameter to validate structure and keyword presence.

Content Optimization

Keyword placement signals

Content quality signals

• Word count by type:
  • Blog post: 1,500-2,500+ words (topic-dependent)
  • Product page: 300-1,000 words
  • Category page: 500-1,000 words
  • Landing page: 500-1,500 words
  • Homepage: 400-800 words
• Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 6-8 for general audience
• Originality: 100% unique content, no thin/duplicate content
• Multimedia: Include images, videos, tables, lists to enhance engagement
• Freshness: Update content regularly, especially for time-sensitive topics

Keyword density

• No exact target — write naturally
• Primary keyword: 0.5-2% is typical for well-ranking pages
• Avoid keyword stuffing (repeating the same phrase unnaturally)
• Use semantic variations and related terms (LSI keywords)

MCP Tool: Use analyze_page with includeContent: true to get word count and content analysis.

Image SEO

Rules

Alt text patterns

Good:  "Blue Nike running shoes on a trail"
Good:  "SEO audit dashboard showing Core Web Vitals scores"
Bad:   "image1"
Bad:   "shoes shoes running shoes blue shoes nike shoes"  (keyword stuffing)
Bad:   (empty alt on non-decorative image)

MCP Tool: Use analyze_images to audit all images on a page for alt text, size, format, and lazy loading.

Internal Linking

Internal links distribute link equity (PageRank) and help search engines discover and understand your site structure.

Strategy

• Hub-and-spoke model: Pillar pages link to cluster pages and vice versa
• Contextual links: Link within body content (not just navigation) — these carry more weight
• Descriptive anchors: Use keyword-rich, descriptive anchor text (not "click here" or "read more")
• Limit per page: Reasonable number (under 100-150 total links; focus on quality)
• Fix orphan pages: Every indexable page should have at least one internal link pointing to it
• Link to deep pages: Don't just link to the homepage — distribute equity to important pages
• Prioritize above-the-fold: Links higher on the page may carry more weight

Anchor text rules

Good:  "Learn about technical SEO auditing"
Good:  "our guide to keyword research"
Bad:   "click here"
Bad:   "this article"
Bad:   "https://example.com/page"  (naked URL)

MCP Tool: Use analyze_internal_links to map all links, evaluate anchor text quality, and detect broken links.

URL Structure

Rules

• Keep URLs short and descriptive: /seo-audit-checklist not /p?id=123&cat=seo
• Use hyphens, not underscores: /technical-seo not /technical_seo
• Lowercase only
• Include primary keyword
• Limit depth: 3-4 levels max (/category/subcategory/page)
• Avoid parameters when possible (use canonical if unavoidable)
• No stop words: /seo-audit not /the-complete-guide-to-seo-audit
• Stable URLs — don't change URLs without 301 redirects

Open Graph & Twitter Cards

Essential for social sharing appearance and click-through from social platforms.

Required Open Graph tags

<meta property="og:title" content="Page Title">
<meta property="og:description" content="Page description">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page">
<meta property="og:type" content="website">

Twitter Card tags

<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Page Title">
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Page description">
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/image.jpg">

Image requirements

• Minimum: 1200x630px for summary_large_image
• Aspect ratio: 1.91:1
• File size: Under 5MB
• Format: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF

Canonical Tags

Prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the preferred version of a page.

Rules

• Every indexable page should have a self-referencing canonical: <link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page">
• Use absolute URLs (not relative)
• Point to the HTTPS version
• Point to the non-www or www version (whichever is preferred)
• Don't canonical to a different page unless content is truly duplicate/very similar
• Don't canonical to a 404 or redirected URL

Quick Reference: On-Page Audit Checklist

Related Skills

• seo-technical-audit — for crawlability, speed, and indexing issues
• seo-schema-structured-data — for adding JSON-LD markup
• seo-content-strategy — for keyword research and content planning
• seo-mcp-tools-expert — for using MCP tools effectively

Key MCP Tools for On-Page SEO

See COMMON_MISTAKES.md for the 15 most frequent on-page SEO mistakes. See CHECKLISTS.md for step-by-step audit checklists. See EXAMPLES.md for before/after optimization examples.