The Beginner's Guide to On-Page SEO Optimisation

Give your website the best chance of ranking highly by implementing on-page SEO optimisation

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Why On-page SEO Matters

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% of online experiences begin with a search engine
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% of users never scroll past the first page
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% of mobile users abandon sites that take over 3 seconds to load

Unlike paid listings at the top of search results, SEO listings are chosen based on ranking signals. Whilst many of these signals are unknown, there are proven best practices that maximise your chances of appearing higher in organic listings.

What You'll Learn

Code-level elements for effective optimisation
How to optimise content for search engines
Image optimisation techniques
Site speed maximisation strategies
Mobile-friendly best practices

Meta Tags

Although not as significant a ranking factor as they once were, meta tags remain an important signpost to search engines about your web page content.

Meta Title

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The meta title is the most important piece of metadata. It appears as the headline of your listing in the SERPs.

<title>The Beginner's Guide to On-page Optimisation | SpotDev</title>

Title Tag Best Practices:

  • Keep titles under 60 characters (or 512 pixels)
  • Include your target keyword near the beginning
  • Make it compelling and clickable
  • Include your brand name at the end

Check your title pixel width with this interactive demo:

0 pixels used

Meta Description

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The meta description provides an explanation of webpage contents. Whilst it doesn't directly impact rankings, it can improve click-through rates.

<meta name="description" content="Your compelling description here, between 11 words and 150 characters for optimal display.">

Pro tip: Include a call-to-action and your primary keyword naturally within the description.

Meta Robots

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This tag tells search engines how to handle your page:

Index, Follow
Noindex, Follow
Index, Nofollow
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">

Default behaviour - page is indexed and links pass authority.

<meta name="robots" content="noindex, follow">

Page won't appear in search results but links still pass authority.

<meta name="robots" content="index, nofollow">

Page is indexed but links don't pass authority.

On-page Content

There is nothing more important to your SEO than your content. It's from here that search engines gauge what your page is about.

The H1 Tag

Your H1 is the clearest indicator to search engines of what your web page is about. It should:

  • Include your target keyword (preferably near the beginning)
  • Be clear and relevant for service/product pages
  • Be compelling for blog posts
  • Only appear once per page

Content Length Matters

Studies show that longer content tends to rank better:

Position #1

2,416

Average words

Position #10

2,032

Average words

Remember: Quality over quantity. Only write long-form content when it adds value.

Keyword Usage

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Modern SEO is about creating content with the user in mind. Keywords should occur naturally:

  • Include your primary keyword in the first 100-150 words
  • Use synonyms and related terms throughout
  • Avoid keyword stuffing - write naturally
  • Focus on user intent, not exact matches

Logical Site Architecture

For search engines to understand how your site fits together, you need a logical content structure with clear navigation.

Key Elements

HTML sitemap for users
XML sitemap for search engines
Clear navigation structure
Siloed content organisation
Fixed crawl errors

Note: If your site has over 50,000 URLs or is larger than 50MB, you'll need multiple XML sitemaps.

Image Optimisation

Images account for most webpage bytes but are essential for engagement. Proper optimisation ensures fast loading without sacrificing quality.

Image Optimisation Checklist

File Names
Alt Text
Compression
Formats

Use descriptive file names:

  • ❌ Bad: DCM000121.jpg
  • ✅ Good: eiffel-tower-night.jpg

Think about how customers search and use those patterns in your file names.

<img src="image.jpg" alt="Descriptive text about the image">

Alt text helps search engines understand images and improves accessibility. Keep it descriptive but concise.

Compression tools:

  • Optimizilla - For manual optimisation
  • WP Smush - WordPress plugin
  • TinyPNG - Online compression

Aim to reduce file size by 60-80% without visible quality loss.

Choose the right format:

  • JPEG: Photos and complex images
  • PNG: Images with transparency
  • SVG: Logos and icons (scalable)
  • WebP: Modern format with better compression

Maximise Site Speed

Site speed is a crucial ranking factor that directly impacts user experience and conversions.

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% of users abandon sites that take over 3 seconds to load
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% drop in conversions for each 1-second delay

Common Speed Issues

  1. Unoptimised images - Compress and use appropriate formats
  2. Too many CSS requests - Use sprites and combine files
  3. No HTTP compression - Enable GZIP compression
  4. No caching - Implement browser caching policies

Speed Testing Tools

Use these tools to test your site speed:

  • Google PageSpeed InsightsAim for a score above 80/100
  • GTmetrix (combines PageSpeed and YSlow)
  • WebPageTest

Mobile-Friendly Design

Mobile usage has overtaken desktop - ensuring your site works perfectly on mobile devices is no longer optional.

Desktop View

Your site should be responsive and adapt to different screen sizes automatically.

Mobile Optimisation Checklist

Responsive design that adapts to screen size
Touch-friendly buttons and links (44px minimum)
Readable text without zooming
Fast loading times on mobile networks
No horizontal scrolling

Transform Your HubSpot Website's Search Rankings

Whilst this guide covers the fundamentals, SpotDev's SEO specialists deliver enterprise-grade optimisation for HubSpot-hosted websites. We've perfected the technical implementation, understand HubSpot's unique capabilities, and have driven millions in revenue through organic search.

Stop leaving money on the table. Maximise your HubSpot SEO with SpotDev®.

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