73 Onpage SEO Checklist for Ecommerce Website

Onpage SEO checklist is an essential part when starting any SEO project. A well-optimized onpage website is beneficial for user experience and helps Google bots easily understand the content on the website.

The essential knowledge and checklist for onpage SEO have been gathered through a long period of working on large projects, and the importance of each checklist is considered equal.

Onpage SEO checklist should be set up from the moment you receive the project, including website structure, HTTPS, sitemap, writing SEO-friendly content, content auditing, and optimizing page loading speed. The importance lies in completing the onpage SEO thoroughly and meticulously, following the checklist provided below.

Let’s get started!

What is Onpage SEO?

Onpage SEO is the process of optimizing a website directly on the web page itself, including all the subpages within the website, for search engines and users, with the aim of achieving high rankings on search engines.

The ranking factors for onpage SEO focus on URL structure, title tags, meta tags, keywords, content, page loading speed, and sitemap. All onpage factors can be summarized into two main concepts: technical SEO optimization and content optimization.

The benefits of onpage SEO for ecommerce websites

Onpage SEO is important because you have full control over your website (in contrast to off-page SEO).

To differentiate between onpage and off-page SEO, it’s necessary to understand what off-page SEO is.

Furthermore, onpage SEO helps search engines understand the website and the content of the articles, as well as determine their relevance to the search queries.

Lastly, onpage optimization helps improve search rankings, thereby increasing website traffic.

The tools and resources that you can use to help you with onpage SEO

To optimize onpage elements for a website, you need tools to perform onpage checks. Here are six tools recommended by EverRanks:

• SEOquake: SEOquake is a free tool that helps with onpage website diagnostics. It evaluates PageRank, the number of indexed pages on Google, domain age, backlink analysis, external and internal links, keyword density, and more.
• Website Auditor: Website Auditor is an SEO software that helps users optimize their websites. It assists in analyzing website structure, checking individual pages using various structures, and related factors concerning HTML coding. It also alerts users of broken links and helps control page title issues.
• Screaming Frog: Screaming Frog is an application that can be installed on computers running Windows, Linux, or macOS. It helps check URL structure, titles, meta descriptions on web pages, headings on a page, and external links.
• Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO is a plugin available in the list of WordPress website development tools that aid in optimizing SEO tasks for websites. It includes keyword optimization, related keywords, and synonyms and checks information on sitemaps, robots.txt files, .htaccess, and permanent links.
• Schema Pro: Schema Pro is one of the plugins that automatically generates schemas on the WordPress platform. It facilitates schema creation with easy settings for each post/page.

List of 30 Onpage SEO Checklist for 2023

1. Domain

The domain plays a crucial role in the success of onpage SEO efforts. It serves as the foundation for a website’s online presence and can significantly impact its visibility in search engine results. A well-chosen and optimized domain name can contribute to better search rankings and improve user experience. Including the domain in an onpage SEO checklist ensures that it is properly set up, relevant to the website’s content, and optimized for search engines, ultimately helping to enhance overall SEO performance.

1.1. HTTP and HTTPS

• In the past, SSL certificates were only required for e-commerce websites where users input payment information, including names, phone numbers, ID cards, and especially credit card details. Installing SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates helps encrypt all provided data and information.
• Currently, it is recommended to install SSL certificates for all websites when starting SEO implementation.

There are three types of SSL certificates:

• Domain Validation SSL: Certificates verified based on domain ownership. This basic certificate is suitable for both individuals and businesses.
• Organization Validation SSL (OV): Certificates for businesses verified based on business information.
• Extended Validation SSL (EV): These certificates display the business name in the browser address bar.

Important note: After installing an SSL certificate, you need to redirect all HTTP URLs to HTTPS.

1.2. www and non-www

• In essence, whether a website uses the www or non-www version does not affect the SEO results of a project.
• In this part, you need to check which version (www or non-www) the website is running on the browser, and the other version should be redirected to the primary version.

You can also use the .htaccess file to assist with this task.

2. Robots.txt

The robots.txt file informs search engine crawlers about the pages or files that the crawler can or cannot request from your website. This file is primarily used to prevent crawlers from sending too many requests to your website; it is not a mechanism to hide a website from Google. To hide a website from Google, you should use the “noindex” directive (to prevent indexing) or protect the page with a password (by Google Support).

2.1. Parameters in the Robots.txt File

• User-agent: Specifies the type of search engine bot that can access, for example, Googlebot.
• Disallow: Specifies the areas you do not want the crawler to access or index. Example:

User-agent: *

Disallow: /wp-admin/

This means allowing all types of bots to crawl except for the wp-admin directory.

2.2. How to check Robots.txt during onpage SEO optimization?

• The simplest way to check Robots.txt is by using the SEOquake tool.
• Click on SEOquake, select Diagnosis, and look for Robots.txt at the bottom.

3. Sitemap

A sitemap is created to help search engines navigate through a website. It can be a hierarchical list of linked pages organized by topic, provided in XML format, serving as a guide for search engines to gather information from your website. There are three main types of sitemaps: XML sitemap, image sitemap, and user sitemap.

3.1. Two main types of sitemaps

• Sitemap for bots: XML sitemap has two types, URL and image (XML URL type, XML image type).
• User sitemap: You can refer to Apple’s sitemap here.

3.2. How to create a sitemap

In this onpage SEO guide, EverRanks doesn’t go into detail about this part, as we have written a separate, comprehensive guide for each type of sitemap. Readers can refer to it here to create a sitemap for their website.

3.3. Submitting a sitemap in the Search Console

4. URL

• URLs should be brief, easy to read and understand.
• URLs should contain the primary keywords, be written without accents, and should not have special characters.
• URLs containing the primary keywords should be arranged in priority order from left to right.
• URLs should have a hierarchical category structure, separated by hyphens (-), for example: domain.com/main-category/sub-category/article.html.

5. Heading

Headings represent the structure of a text, whether it’s an article or a page. Heading tags are used to indicate the prominence of text within a web page. There are six levels of heading tags (H1 to H6) corresponding to different sizes. In terms of priority, the importance of the tags decreases. Typically, the most commonly used tags are H1, H2, and H3. These are the three tags used most frequently in website optimization.

5.1. Why should we use HEADING tags for Websites?

• For users: Heading tags help users differentiate between the main content and sub-content on a website, making the article easier to read.
• For search engines: Google uses heading tags to better understand the text structure on a page. It serves as a priority signal for Google to determine and index the content structure of the website.

5.2. Principles of correctly adjusting HEADING during onpage SEO optimization?

• Heading tag H1: Only one H1 tag should be used, and it should represent the article’s title, category title, tag, or homepage (placed in the logo).
• Heading tags should contain primary keywords and related keywords, placed naturally without excessive keyword stuffing.

5.3. HEADING checking tools

There are two main tools to check HEADING: Web Developer and SEOquake.

Tool 1: Web Developer

Check heading using the Web Developer extension:

• On any webpage, click on the Web Developer icon → Outline → Outline Headings → Show Element Tag Name.
• To get a more comprehensive overview of the Outline Headings, you can check as follows:
• Web Developer → Information → View Document Outline.
• Overall heading check results in Web Developer.

Tool 2: SEOquake

Check heading using the SEOquake extension:

• On any article, click on the SEOQuake icon and follow these instructions: SEOquake → DIAGNOSIS → Headings → View others.

6. Page loading speed

Page loading speed refers to the amount of time it takes for a web page to load. The page loading speed is determined by various factors, including the website’s server, file size, and image compression.

6.1. The importance of page loading speed in onpage SEO

• Page loading speed is one of the factors that Google considers when ranking a page because loading speed impacts user experience. Therefore, optimizing page loading speed in onpage SEO is crucial.
• If a page loads slowly, the bounce rate of users will be high. On the other hand, if your website has a fast loading speed, users can explore more websites and access more content at the same time.

6.2. Checking with Google PageSpeed Insights

• Visit https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights.
• Enter your website URL and click on the “Analyze” button.
• Then, the analysis results will be displayed as shown in the image below:
• Analysis results in Google PageSpeed Insights.

6.3. Optimization suggestions for WordPress websites

• Remove unnecessary plugins and additional utilities.
• Optimize and reduce the size of your images.

*Update: As of May 2021, page loading speed will be even more crucial in evaluating the ranking of your website as Google will officially update the Core Web Vitals criteria – criteria that assess the user experience on the page.

7. Mobile Friendly

As more people use mobile devices to search for information, Google has also changed its search algorithm to prioritize websites that are compatible with mobile devices. This means that when Google returns search results on mobile devices, it considers whether a website is suitable for displaying content on mobile devices.

7.1. Instructions for testing

• Step 1: Access the website: https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly
• Step 2: Enter the website address in the “Enter URL to test” box
• Step 3: Wait for the website to process
• Step 4: View the results

After viewing the results, you can also find additional information to understand your website better.

7.2. Tips for improving mobile-friendliness

• Avoid using Flash
• Ensure text is easily readable on mobile devices.
• Adjust the layout to be responsive and suitable for the website’s interface.
• The website should automatically adjust when used on a mobile device and integrate phone numbers.

8. Breadcrumb

A breadcrumb on a page indicates the position of the page within a website. A user can navigate back to higher-level pages in the hierarchical website structure by starting from the current page.

8.1. Role of Breadcrumb for Users

• Breadcrumb often collects links to pages with the same topic or within the same category.
• Therefore, when users are searching for information within a website and want to explore related topics, they can directly access them through the breadcrumb. This method allows for much faster information retrieval compared to other methods.
• The purpose of this is to optimize user interaction on a website by indicating which page the user is on and which pages they can navigate to within that website.

8.2. Is Breadcrumb good for SEO?

Breadcrumb is an essential element when optimizing onpage SEO because:

• Breadcrumb is good for SEO as it meets the user’s information search needs within the same topic. Users can easily see which part of the information they are currently reading and can easily navigate back to parent categories or the homepage with just one click.
• It helps Googlebot recognize the category and topic the website is addressing.
• The longer the user stays on the website, the more it indicates that the website provides benefits to the user, and Google will evaluate it more positively.

8.3. Three common types of breadcrumbs

• Location Breadcrumbs – display the current location of the user on the web. This is the most common type of breadcrumb today and is often used for websites with content organized by topics.
• Attribute Breadcrumbs – Breadcrumbs are based on attributes and are widely used by e-commerce websites.
• Path Breadcrumbs – Display the path history that the user has traversed.

9. Structured Data

Schema is a piece of HTML code, or JavaScript declaration used to mark structured data. Schema is created in collaboration with four popular search engines: Google, Yandex, Bing, and Yahoo.

The structured data testing tool is here

9.1. Common Types of Schema

Currently, there are many different types of schema available to support websites, and each schema type has its own purpose. Here are a few popular schema types you can consider:

• Recipe: Displays important information about a cooking article or culinary topic, such as dish name, completion time, calorie count, ratings, etc.
• Organization: Displays information related to the organization that owns the website, such as name, address, phone number, website URL, etc.
• Event: Displays important information about an event, such as event name, time, location, etc.
• Product: Displays product information such as product name, price, ratings, etc.
• Review: Displays review information and ratings for any given product. This schema type is often suitable for marketing or affiliate blog pages.

See more types of Schema here.

9.2. Plugin for WordPress websites

• Schema Pro: Currently, we are using this plugin for SEO projects on WordPress websites.

10. Images

10.1. Before publishing a post

• Optimize image size and file size to the lowest possible level.
• Add a logo to each image before uploading it to the article.
• Create clean image URLs without accents or special characters, separated by dashes (-).
• Geotag images: To provide geographical location information to Google about the image. You can use the tool https://geotag.online/.

10.2. After publishing a post

In this onpage SEO guide, EverRanks needs to provide detailed instructions, as there is already a comprehensive guide available on the support page. You can refer to additional information from Google: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/139066?hl=en

11. Canonical

The canonical tag is an attribute in HTML code that allows website administrators to prevent content duplication by specifying the canonical or preferred tag. It informs search engines which content is the original and of higher quality on the website.

11.1. Syntax for setting the Canonical tag

Suppose you want to set https://everranks.com/what-is-seo-a-beginners-guide-to-on-site-optimization/ as the canonical URL, even though there are other URLs that can access the same content. Follow these steps to specify this URL as the canonical URL:

• Mark all duplicate pages with the rel=”canonical” link element. Add a <link> element with the rel=”canonical” attribute to the <head> section of the duplicate pages and point it to the canonical page, as shown in the example below:

<link rel=”canonical”

href=”https://everranks.com/what-is-seo-a-beginners-guide-to-on-site-optimization/” />

• If the canonical page has a mobile version, add a rel=”alternate” link to that page and point it to the mobile version of the page:

<link rel=”alternate” media=”only screen and (max-width: 640px)” href=”https://everranks.com/what-is-seo-a-beginners-guide-to-on-site-optimization/”>

• Refer to Google for more information: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/139066?hl=en

11.2. Use cases for Canonical

• For paginated categories, you need to declare canonical for the paginated pages (e.g., https://everranks.com/category/seo-service/page/2/) to the original category page (https://everranks.com/category/seo-service/page/2/)
• Declare canonical for multi-part articles, e.g., set the canonical of the article (https://everranks.com/category/seo-service/page/2/) to the original article (https://everranks.com/category/seo-service/)

11.3. Checking with SEOquake tool

12. Favicon

Favicon is the icon of a website, displayed in the top corner of the browser tab. When users want to access your website, they will see this icon as a representation of your website’s logo.

12.1. Purpose of Favicon

• Build and establish brand identity.
• Stand out and differentiate from other websites.
• Facilitate brand recognition and memorability.
• Help Google’s crawler rank the website easily.

12.2. Onpage SEO optimization standards for Favicon

• Your favicon should visually represent your website’s brand, helping users quickly identify your website when scanning search results.
• Your favicon should be multiple of a square image, such as 48 x 48px, 96 x 96px, 144 x 144px, etc. Of course, SVG files do not have specific dimensions. Any valid favicon format is supported. Google will resize your image to 16x16px for use in search results, so make sure it looks good at that resolution. Note: Do not provide a 16x16px favicon.
• The favicon URL must be stable (not frequently changed).
• Google will not display any favicon they deem inappropriate, including explicit or hate symbols (e.g., swastika). If such an image is detected in a favicon, Google will replace it with a default icon.

See more at Google: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/favicon-in-search?hl=en&visit_id=638199822059304444-3332857171&rd=1

13. Comment

13.1. What is the importance of comments in onpage SEO?

• Increase interaction between users and website owners: No matter how good the content is, it may only partially meet the needs of users. Therefore, users will raise questions about the article/website. As a website owner, you will know what your users need, and you can answer their questions and add missing content accordingly.
• Engage customers: In an article, when you present it to readers, the comment section is not only a place for you and commenters to exchange ideas but also where other readers will be interested in finding additional opinions from previous users or seeing how their concerns have been addressed. This will keep users on your page longer. Therefore, it is advisable to provide specific information that meets the users’ needs in this section.
• Increase keyword density: For SEO practitioners, this is where we can cleverly add primary and secondary keywords, as well as semantic keywords.

13.2. Advice for using comments

• For websites, it is recommended to have the default comment feature of the source code because if you use Facebook’s comment feature, Google bots cannot read all the comments.
• It would be best if you proactively created conditions for users to leave comments, such as asking a simple question at the end of the article to stimulate users to give their opinions and comments.

14. Hreflang Language Tag

“The hreflang tag” is “a quite important tag in onpage SEO that most SEO practitioners overlook or forget.” The hreflang tag helps Google understand which language your website serves to users. This can result in higher rankings in countries that match the declared language. (According to Google Support)

How to check the hreflang tag:

• You can check it on the website by right-clicking and selecting “Inspect.” The interface shown below will appear, and you can find information related to Hreflang to see the language of the displayed webpage.
• Check on the website by right-clicking.
• Alternatively, you can use the SEOquake tool: select “DIAGNOSIS” and view the language information of the page under the “Language” section.
• Use SEOquake tool to check the language of the page.
• The language of the webpage is displayed under the Language section.

15. Text Editor

One of the most important tasks for an SEO practitioner is content management on the website. You always have to work with the text editor for articles, pages, products, etc., on the website daily. Therefore, it is easy to understand that the content management function of the website is highly important in the SEO process of any project. This checklist is indispensable in onpage SEO.

15.1. Thoroughly check the text editor

The most important functions that a text editor should have to support SEO are:

• Set heading tags (H1, H2, H3, H4…)
• Adjust font, font size, font color, background color…
• Bold, italicize, and underline text
• Align text left, center, right, and justify
• Create unordered and ordered lists (<ul>, <ol>)
• Control link insertion and anchor text
• Add images and videos to articles
• Create tables

Make sure that your website’s text editor has these functions to make content management easier for you.

15.2. 3 WordPress plugins supporting text editors

• TinyMCE Advanced (download here)
• WP Edit (download here)
• CKEditor for WordPress (download here)

16. Social on the website

• In SEO, you must recognize the use of social media. Creating tools to help social media users interact with the website is extremely important in the onpage process.
• Users can easily find the business’s or website owner’s social media accounts through social links, which can be linked to Facebook fan pages, Twitter accounts, Instagram accounts, etc.
• Adding links to social media platforms on the website is almost mandatory nowadays because it helps users recognize the website and the business’s available social media channels for communication.
• Furthermore, social interaction by users while experiencing content on the website is also crucial. When the content is good, users will want to share it on social media. Please provide them with tools to do so easily and straightforwardly.
• The placement of share buttons should focus on user experience, providing convenience for interaction without making users feel inconvenienced while reading.

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Buttons that are too large, affecting the overall aesthetic of the article interface
• Sticky share buttons on mobile interfaces that cover the content of the article
• Inconspicuous button colors that make it difficult for users to recognize

17. Broken Link

A broken link refers to a link from one website to another website, server, or other online resource that no longer exists on the internet.

17.1. Consequences of Broken Links

• Broken links prevent bots from accessing the intended destination page, thereby hindering Google bots from collecting data from the website.
• Users who encounter broken links and need access to the correct destination page will immediately bounce, resulting in decreased time on site and impacting the trustworthiness of the website in Google’s eyes, leading to lower rankings in search engines.
• If broken links are not detected and fixed promptly, the website will lose the link equity that Google has attributed to it, which can impact keyword rankings in search engines.
• The number of visitors to the website will significantly decrease if the number of broken links increases. This can affect business operations and revenue.

17.2. Tools for Checking Broken Links

• Plugin: Broken Link Checker (download here)
• Screaming Frog tool (download here)
• WebSite Auditor – SEO PowerSuite (download here)
• Online check tool: brokenlinkcheck.com

17.3. How to Fix Broken Links

To fix broken links, you need to check each link and decide on the appropriate action. Here are some possible solutions:

• Create a new landing page for the broken link.
• Redirect the link to another destination page (e.g., the homepage).
• Create a shared 404 page for missing links.
• Remove the link from search engine indexes (rarely used).

18. W3C HTML

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) is an international official HTML standard for websites created by Tim Berners-Lee. This standard ensures the highest level of consistency in displaying web pages across different HTML versions and by different providers.

Currently, W3C has more than 90 standards that help websites display and function properly everywhere.

18.1. The Purpose of Designing Websites According to W3C Standards:

• W3C standards for XML and CSS ensure that all web pages will display and function consistently across all browsers.
• Using XML and CSS encoding that adheres to W3C standards also improves search engine optimization, allowing search engine robots to crawl web pages more quickly and effectively.
• Furthermore, complying with W3C standards helps websites load faster, enhances security, and enables compatibility across multiple platforms, such as mobile phones, TVs, and other devices.

Readers can refer to W3C standards for web pages at this link: https://www.w3schools.com/html/

18.2. Checking a Website for W3C Compliance:

You can visit the website https://validator.w3.org/ to check a website. Specifically:

• Step 1: Paste the website link in the search box for verification.
• Step 2: Click the “Check” button below to perform the check. Wait for a moment, and the website will return results indicating any warnings and errors regarding HTML non-compliance with W3C standards.

These warnings and errors represent non-compliant code that needs to be addressed and fixed.

19. Meta Title

A meta Title is a tag that describes the name of a website, page, or post. It appears as a clickable headline in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for a specific search result.

The Title tag in HTML code typically takes the following form:

<Title>Title</Title>

<title>Comprehensive SEO Services by EverRanks. Help You Lead the Market</title>

The title tag of a web page accurately and concisely describes the content on the page. The Title tag is crucial for usability, SEO, and social sharing.

19.1. Common Errors with Title Tags

• Blank or missing title: This is a serious error. Search engines and users will need help understanding the summary of the content you intend to convey.
• Title tag too long: Writing an excessively long title tag affects its display on search engines and impacts the user experience. Google does not appreciate it.
• Duplicate title content: Having a title that is the same as another page on the website. Search engines cannot determine which content is correct and unique.

19.2. Tips for Writing Meta Titles

• Include important keywords in the title, but avoid keyword stuffing.
• Prioritize keywords at the beginning of the title.
• Keep the title concise, ideally around 65-70 characters (approximately 512 pixels).
• Highlight and summarize the content of the post, page, or website.
• Ensure the title is unique and does not duplicate other pages.
• Write for users and customers, and provide valuable content.
• Leverage the brand within the title.

19.3. 5 Best WordPress Plugins for Writing Titles

• Yoast SEO (free and premium)
• All-in-One SEO Pack (free and premium)
• Rank Math
• SEOPress
• SEOPressor (premium)

19.4. Tools to Check Meta Titles

There are various ways to check whether a website has well-optimized title tags. You can use browser add-ons/extensions to check, such as:

• SEOquake
• Mozbar
• SEO Analysis & Website Review by WooRank
• META SEO inspector
• SEO META in 1 CLICK

In addition, you can use websites or software to comprehensively and in detail check the Title tags. Some examples include Screaming Frog and Website Auditor.

19.5. 12 Most Interesting Headline Types

• “How-to” Headlines: How to, ways to.
• “Warning” Headlines: danger, warning, risk provide solutions.
• “List” Headlines: numbers, lists, quantities.
• “Humorous” Headlines: entertainment, arouse curiosity, create shock.
• “Mysterious Solution” Headlines: mystery, never before, unexpected… to solve a certain problem.
• “Social Proof” Headlines: success and results experienced by others.
• “Customer Feedback” Headlines: comments and feedback from customers, users… about services or products.
• “Question” Headlines: pose a question, evoke curiosity and thoughts from the reader, then provide a solution.
• “Reluctant” Headlines: state goals and benefits but end with difficulties or reasons.
• “News” Headlines: reporting, updating new information.
• “Time-Sensitive” Headlines: effective within a short period.
• “Command” Headlines: call to action.

20. Meta Description

Meta Description is a brief summary of the content displayed on search engine pages. It is an HTML code snippet with a maximum length of about 150-170 characters (920 pixels). Search engines often gather information from the Meta Description tag to display in search results. This helps visitors understand the content of a post, page, or website before clicking to access it. It is an important aspect of optimizing onpage SEO for a website.

20.1. 3 Common Meta Description Errors

• Empty or missing Meta Description tag on the website.
• Description tag duplicating content from another page.
• Excessive length of the Description tag.

20.2. 9 Tips for Creating a Good Meta Description

• Include keywords: Ensure that the most important keywords are displayed in the description.
• Optimal length: A description should be at most 155 characters, preferably shorter.
• Avoid duplicate meta descriptions: Like the Title tag, the description tag should be unique for each page. Excessive duplication may result in penalties from Google.
• Write for readability and conciseness: Avoid keyword stuffing and write for user readability.
• Apply a call to action: A call to action helps direct user actions within the content.
• Summarize the page content: The description should accurately relate to the content of the page or post. Avoid misleading or irrelevant descriptions.
• Check the display on different interfaces: Ensure that the description tag is appropriately displayed on mobile and desktop interfaces.
• Use compelling language: Utilize strong words, follow trends, or stimulate curiosity.
• Incorporate brand-related descriptions: You can add the brand and use the description tag as a promotional tool for your website.

20.3 SEO Tools for Meta Description:

Similar to the Title tag, you can use various tools to optimize and check the status of the Meta Description on your website.

• Optimization tools: Yoast SEO, Rank Math…
• Checking tools: Screaming Frog, SEOquake…

21. Meta Keyword

Google does not use the meta keyword tag for web ranking.

• Meta Keywords are a type of tag in web development that allows bots to read the keywords specified for SEO purposes on a specific target page. Users will not see Meta keywords displayed in the content because they are hidden within the page’s source code.
• In September 2009, Google officially announced what had been true for many years: “Google does not use the meta keywords tag in web ranking.”

Note: For Google, it no longer has any significance. However, for other search engines, such as Bing, CocCoc.

22. Redirect 301 and 302

You can use redirects for various reasons:

• The URL is broken.
• You have a new webpage or website.
• You are making changes to a webpage and want users to go to a different page while the old page is being built.

Using redirects on a website definitely affects the pages on the website where you apply them. Which redirect should you choose, 301 or 302?

22.1. 301 Redirect

A 301 redirect informs search engines that a webpage or website has been permanently redirected to another webpage or website.

When should you use a 301 redirect?

• Redirecting versions of a website to the preferred version.
• When you merge two websites together.
• When you want to change the old URL of a page to a new URL.

22.2. 302 Redirect

A 302 redirect indicates that a webpage or website has been temporarily moved.

You should use a 302 redirect in the following situations:

• When designing or updating a website.
• When you want to test a new page to get user feedback without affecting the ranking of the page.

22.3. How to check 301 and 302 redirects on a website for onpage SEO optimization?

Checking redirects on a website helps you determine whether the use of 301 and 302 redirects on the website is appropriate or not. To check, you can use the Screaming Frog tool under the “Status Code” section in the “URL” tab.

23. AMP

AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. It is a Google project that improves page loading speed on mobile devices. AMP-optimized pages are stored in Google’s AMP cache memory. When users click on a website that supports AMP, they experience an extremely fast loading speed.

23.1. Benefits of AMP

• Faster destination pages often result in higher conversions.
• Provides users with a significantly better page experience.
• Faster loading speed reduces bounce rate and exit rate, thereby increasing conversions and improving advertising performance.

23.2. Guide to checking AMP using Google’s tool

• Step 1: Go to the following link for Google’s AMP testing tool: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7320015?hl=en
• Step 2: Click on “RUN THE AMP TEST.”
• Step 3: Enter the URL of the website to be tested.
• Step 4: Wait a few minutes to find out if the website has an AMP version or not.

23.3. Guide to setting up AMP for WordPress websites

• Step 1: Download the AMP plugin from the following link: https://en.wordpress.org/plugins/amp/#installation
• Step 2: Upload the downloaded plugin to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
• Step 3: Activate the plugin through “Plugins” in WordPress.

24. Video

Video will continue to be a trend in online marketing in the coming years because Vietnam sees up to 100 million video views every day. The trend of transitioning from Google search to YouTube for searches increased by 70% from 2017 to 2018. Additionally, YouTube videos receive over 10 billion views each month. Do these numbers make you realize the importance of video?

24.1. Here’s a practical example:

• For the keyword “đánh giá apple watch” (apple watch reviews), the total Google search volume is 1,880.
• For the same keyword, the total search volume on YouTube is 8,860.

24.2. Benefits of Video

• It helps visually convey content, allowing readers to grasp information quickly and easily.
• Increases trust in a business website.
• Increases onsite time.
• Enriches the content of the website.
• It keeps users engaged for longer periods.
• Reduces bounce rate.
• Enhances user interaction.
• Videos are easily shareable and can go viral.

24.3. How to leverage videos for websites and businesses

• Embed videos on your homepage: These videos should be created by your own business. They can showcase your business through various media outlets or highlight your products and services.
• Incorporate different types of videos within articles: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) videos (which can include commonly asked questions or questions that should be asked), instructional videos on product usage or service demonstrations, videos introducing new products, etc.
• Include credible and relevant videos related to your products or services. You can search for illustrative videos from trusted sources.

Advice for you: Create your own YouTube channel for each SEO project to build your brand, promote your products, and connect with users.

25. Google Business

Google Business (or Google My Business) is a free tool provided by Google for businesses and organizations to manage their presence across all Google platforms, including Google Search and Google Maps. Google Business helps users find your business or organization along with relevant information.

25.1. Benefits of Google Business

When using Google Business, you gain the following benefits:

• Manage business information.
• Connect and interact with customers.
• Introduce your business with the displayed information.
• Enhance online visibility for your business.

25.2. Information needed to create Google Business

• Business name
• Accurate address for registration
• Phone number
• Website
• Business hours
• Products/services provided by the company
• Company logo/icon
• Photos of products/services
• Office photos
• Exterior photos of the company
• Video presents your business or products/services.

25.3. How to register?

• Access Google Business at this link: https://www.google.com/intl/en_in/business/
• Choose “Get started” and log in with the email account you want to use for managing Google Business.
• Enter your business name and select “Next.”
• Choose “Yes” if you have a business address and want it to appear on Google Maps and Search.
• Provide complete information about your business address.
• If your business serves customers outside the provided address, select “Yes.” If your business only serves customers at the provided address, select “No.”
• Add the areas where your business can serve customers. You can add multiple areas based on the actual coverage.
• Choose the appropriate “Business Category” for your business. Refer to additional guidance on selecting a “Business Category” here.
• Add detailed contact information for customers to reach your business through Google Business.
• Choose “Yes” if you want to receive optimization tips and suggestions for Google Business. If you don’t want to receive this information, you can select “No.”
• Select “Finish” to complete the registration and verification process for your business with Google.

25.4. Verifying your business

In order for your business to appear on Search and Google Maps, as well as to have full control and representation of your business, you need to verify the business you have newly registered as yours.

There are 5 methods for verifying your business:

• Verify by phone
• Verify by mail
• Verify by email
• Instant verification
• Bulk verification

You can learn about these business verification methods in the following article by Google: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242?hl=en

26. 404 Page

Many brands and businesses need to pay more attention to the importance of a 404 error page, which is a significant mistake. A 404 error is a standard response indicating that:

• The server is not functioning.
• The requested content cannot be found (due to file deletion or domain change).
• The requested URL is broken.

26.1. Significance of the 404 page

The 404 page is a tool to inform customers that the requested page is currently unavailable. A user-friendly and visually appealing 404 page demonstrates to customers that you care about them and are concerned about keeping them on your website. Therefore, a 404 page has the following practical significance:

• Retain users on the page
• Reduce bounce rate
• Increase time on page
• Increase the number of pages per session
• Help users find the information they need

26.2. Design requirements for the 404 page

• Visually appealing
• Include a back home button and search bar
• Provide attractive content suggestions

You can refer to the 404 page of Seongon.com for this section.

26.3. Attributes of the 404 page

• The 404 page should have the attribute “no-index, follow” (or “nofollow”).
• The 404 page does not have a specific URL.
• URLs of 404 pages on the website should remain unchanged when errors occur.

26.4. How to check and fix 404 errors on the website

• Check 404 errors using Search Console.
• Check 404 errors using the Screaming Frog tool.
• Fix 404 errors on the website.

27. Index

Index or Indexing refers to the database used by a search engine. The index contains information about all the web pages that Google (or any other search engine) can find. If a webpage is not included in the search engine’s index, users will not be able to find it.

27.1. 9 Factors affecting the indexing speed of a website on search engines

Why does it take a long time for your website to be indexed with new content on search engines? There are various reasons, but they can be summarized in the following 9 factors:

• Website Structure (Sitemap)
• Number of visits, organic users
• Website age
• Regularly updated content on the web
• Page loading speed
• Duplicate content
• Internal links
• Website popularity or ranking (brand)
• Notifying search engines to index articles

27.2. Guide to Checking index on the website

There is a simple way to check the index of a website as follows:

• Open the search tool interface (in this case, the search browser is Google)
• In the search bar, use the syntax site: {fill your domain}.
• The number and types of indexed links will appear in the search results.

27.3. Issues when indexing links on the website

Issues may arise when checking the indexing of links on the website. There may be unwanted links indexed, errors in web design leading to the indexing of many spam links, or even the website being hacked.

• 404 URL not found error: This result is returned when accessing a URL that no longer exists, either because it has been deleted or the URL has been modified without proper redirection (301 redirect) from the old URL to the new one.
• Indexing pagination: This can lead to duplicate content issues. You need to apply canonical tags to the main page, main posts, or the homepage.
• Unwanted media indexing: Attachments, headings, image URLs, tags, author information, and search results on the website’s search bar.
• Indexing unfamiliar URLs in foreign languages: This is a serious issue as it could indicate that your website has been hacked. It is necessary to change passwords immediately, contact hosting management for backups, and reinstall data as soon as possible.

27.4. Recommendations for index factors on the website

• Regularly monitor and control the index (quantity): Perform index checks daily to understand the status, whether the quantity of indexed links is increasing or decreasing, and assess the quality of the indexed links.
• Organize indexes by topic keyword groups: Grouping keywords by URL index helps evaluate whether the keywords are leading to the correct target page and provides an overview of keyword rankings.
• Does each index provide value to users?

28. Search bar

The search bar on a website is a tool for users to search for information within the website based on their needs, providing suggestions that match the user’s search query and directing them to the respective web page.

28.1. Role of the Search bar

The search bar within a web page helps users find information and articles within the website they are accessing, thereby prolonging the user’s time spent on the site.

28.2. Optimizing the Search bar on the web interface

The purpose of optimizing the search bar on the web interface is to draw users’ attention and encourage its usage.

• Placement of the search bar: Easily visible and accessible.
• Size of the search bar: Responsive for all devices – desktop, tablet, mobile.

Include a call to action: Prompting users to take action rather than using a generic phrase like “search.”

29. Keyword density

Keyword density refers to the percentage ratio of how many times a keyword or keyphrase appears on a web page compared to the total number of words on the page. In SEO, keyword density can be used to determine whether a web page is relevant to a specific keyword or keyphrase.

Some considerations when optimizing keyword density:

• Keyword density should be below 3%. You can use SEOquake to check.
• Important positions where keywords should appear.
• In permalinks.
• H1 tag – Article title.
• H2, H3 tags.
• Sapo paragraph (first 150 characters of the article).
• Conclusion paragraph (last 150 characters of the article).
• Alt tags for images.
• Article description (meta description tag).

30. TOC (Table Of Content)

Using a table of contents (TOC) in your article helps readers navigate more easily. You can create a table of contents in your article using headings from H1 to H6.

30.1. Benefits of TOC in SEO

• Allows users to jump to specific sections they want to read.
• It helps readers preview the main content of the article.
• It helps your website display prominent sitelinks on Google.

30.2. TOC Plugins for WordPress Websites

• Fixed TOC: We are currently using this premium plugin.
• Easy Table of Contents.

SUMMARY

These are the 73 most important onpage SEO checklist for e-commerce that we have successfully applied to over SEO projects. This article will be updated over time. If there are any important checklists missing from this article, please leave a comment below. We wish you success in implementing your projects.

If you need help with implementing onpage SEO for your business website, you can contact us to ask questions or hire EverRanks’s Website SEO services, and we will help you with that.