If you’ve built your website on WordPress and you’re wondering how to rank higher on Google, then you need to understand one thing clearly:
👉 On-Page SEO is your foundation.
It doesn’t matter if your website looks amazing — if Google can’t read it properly or doesn’t find it relevant, it won’t rank.
But here’s the good news:
You don’t need to be a technical expert to do On-Page SEO. In this post, we’ll explain it in plain English — the way you’d explain it to a friend.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-Page SEO means optimizing the content and elements on your website pages so search engines like Google can understand and rank them better.
It includes:
- Your content (headlines, keywords, structure)
- Meta tags (title, description)
- Images, links, and URLs
- User experience elements (mobile-friendly, speed, etc.)
Basically, it’s everything you control directly on your site — unlike Off-Page SEO (like backlinks), which depends on others.
Step-by-Step On-Page SEO Guide for WordPress
Let’s go through each part of On-Page SEO and how to apply it in WordPress.
1. Use an SEO Plugin (like Rank Math or Yoast)
Before anything else, install a reliable SEO plugin. Two popular ones:
- ✅ Rank Math (lightweight and modern)
- ✅ Yoast SEO (easy and beginner-friendly)
Both let you:
- Add meta titles/descriptions
- Generate sitemaps
- Control indexing
- Get on-page SEO suggestions
2. Set SEO-Friendly Titles and Meta Descriptions
Each page or blog post should have:
- A title tag (what shows up in search results)
- A meta description (short summary under the title)
📝 Example for a bakery website:
- Title: Best Custom Cakes in Delhi | SweetCrumbs
- Meta Description: Order delicious, made-to-order cakes with home delivery across Delhi. Eggless options available!
In WordPress:
Scroll down while editing a post/page → SEO plugin box → Fill in Title & Meta Description fields.
3. Use Focus Keywords Naturally
Pick a keyword for each page.
Don’t stuff it — use it naturally in:
- Page title
- First 100 words
- Headings (especially H1 and H2)
- Image alt tags
- URL slug
📝 Example keyword: custom birthday cakes in Delhi
4. Optimize URLs (Permalinks)
Keep your URLs short and clean.
❌ Bad: yourdomain.com/page?id=12345
✅ Good: yourdomain.com/birthday-cakes-delhi
In WordPress:
Settings → Permalinks → Choose “Post name”
You can also edit each URL before publishing a page/post.
5. Image Optimization
Images are important, but they can also slow down your site or confuse Google if not handled well.
✔️ What to do:
- Compress images before uploading (use TinyPNG or ShortPixel)
- Rename files properly (
chocolate-cake-delhi.jpg) - Add alt text (in WordPress image settings) to describe the image
Why it matters:
Google can’t “see” your images — but it reads alt text to understand them.
6. Make It Mobile-Friendly
More than half of your visitors come from mobile devices.
Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing now.
✅ Test using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
Tips:
- Use a responsive WordPress theme
- Make buttons easy to tap
- Avoid text that’s too small or overlaps
7. Improve Page Speed
Fast websites = better rankings.
Simple things you can do:
- Use caching plugins (like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache)
- Compress images
- Avoid too many heavy plugins
- Use a good hosting provider (LiteSpeed, Hostinger, SiteGround, etc.)
Check speed with PageSpeed Insights
8. Use Internal Linking
Link your blog posts and pages to each other.
✅ Example:
If you mention “wedding cakes” in a blog post, link it to your wedding cakes product page.
Why?
It keeps visitors on your site longer and helps Google crawl your site better.
9. Use Proper Heading Tags (H1, H2, H3)
Think of headings like a book outline:
- H1 = Main title (only once per page)
- H2 = Subheadings
- H3 = Points under subheadings
Avoid: Using H1 multiple times or skipping straight from H1 to H4
10. Create Quality Content
Last but not least — your content should help people, not just please Google.
Tips:
- Solve real problems
- Use clear, easy language
- Break long text into short paragraphs
- Add bullet points, images, or videos where useful
The better your content, the more likely people (and Google) are to trust you.
Quick On-Page SEO Checklist for WordPress
| ✅ Task | 💡 Tip |
|---|---|
| SEO plugin installed | Use Rank Math or Yoast |
| Meta titles & descriptions | Unique and relevant |
| Keyword optimization | Not stuffed, but natural |
| Clean URLs | Short and descriptive |
| Image alt text & compression | Improve speed & accessibility |
| Mobile-friendly design | Test with Google tools |
| Page speed optimized | Use caching + compression |
| Internal linking | Guide user flow |
| Proper heading structure | H1 > H2 > H3 |
| Quality, helpful content | Focus on humans, not just bots |
Final Thoughts
Doing On-Page SEO for your WordPress site isn’t rocket science — it’s mostly about following best practices and keeping your users in mind.
Start small. Fix one page at a time. Use tools that help.
And over time, you’ll notice more visibility, better traffic, and higher rankings.
“Google rewards websites that are fast, helpful, and user-friendly.”
Need Help Optimizing Your WordPress Website?
At Eco Web Craft, we specialize in:
- WordPress website SEO
- Speed optimization
- Local keyword strategy
- WooCommerce SEO
- Blog setup and more
