On-Page SEO Optimization

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Title Tag

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

Rules

Rule	Value
Length	50-60 characters (Google truncates at ~580px)
Primary keyword	Place within first 60 chars, ideally near the start
Brand	Append at end with separator: Primary Keyword - Brand
Uniqueness	Every page must have a unique title
Format	`Primary Keyword - Secondary Keyword

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.

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Meta Description

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

Rules

Rule	Value
Length	150-160 characters (Google truncates at ~920px)
Primary keyword	Include naturally — Google bolds matching query terms
CTA	Include a call-to-action (Learn, Discover, Shop, Get)
Uniqueness	Every page must have a unique description
No quotes	Avoid double quotes — Google truncates at "

Pattern

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

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

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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.

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Content Optimization

Keyword placement signals

Location	Priority	Notes
Title tag	Critical	First 60 chars
H1	Critical	Primary keyword
First 100 words	High	Natural mention early
H2/H3 headings	High	Secondary/related keywords
URL slug	High	Hyphenated, concise
Meta description	Medium	For CTR, not ranking
Image alt text	Medium	Describe image with keyword if relevant
Last paragraph	Low	Natural mention

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.

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Image SEO

Rules

Element	Best Practice
Alt text	Descriptive, 125 chars max, include keyword where relevant. Decorative images: alt=""
File name	Descriptive with hyphens: blue-running-shoes.webp not IMG_4532.jpg
Format	WebP or AVIF preferred, JPEG for photos, PNG for transparency, SVG for icons
File size	Under 200KB per image, use compression tools
Dimensions	Specify width and height attributes to prevent CLS
Lazy loading	Add loading="lazy" to below-the-fold images
Responsive	Use srcset and sizes for responsive images

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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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Quick Reference: On-Page Audit Checklist

Element	Check	Pass Criteria
Title tag	Present, unique, correct length	50-60 chars, contains keyword
Meta description	Present, unique, correct length	150-160 chars, includes CTA
H1	Present, single, contains keyword	Exactly one H1 with primary keyword
Heading hierarchy	No skipped levels	H1 > H2 > H3 (no jumps)
Images	Alt text present	All non-decorative images have descriptive alt
Internal links	Descriptive anchors	No "click here", relevant anchors
Canonical	Present, self-referencing	Absolute HTTPS URL
OG tags	Present	og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url
URL	Clean, keyword-rich	Hyphens, lowercase, concise
Content	Sufficient, original	Meets word count for page type

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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

Tool	Use For
analyze_page	Comprehensive on-page analysis with scoring
analyze_headings	Heading structure validation
analyze_images	Image alt text and optimization audit
analyze_internal_links	Link mapping and anchor text analysis
generate_meta_suggestions	AI-powered meta tag improvement suggestions

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.