On-page SEO is the work done on the pages themselves: which search each page targets, how its title and headings are written, whether the copy answers that search, and how the page links to the rest of the site. I take the pages you already have, usually the ones that sell, and rework them so each has one clear search to win and a good reason for Google to rank it.
What on-page SEO changes
The usual problem is not that Google cannot find the site. The pages are indexed; they simply rank for the wrong things, or sit on page two for the searches that matter. A heating engineer in Leeds might appear for the company name and for a boiler model mentioned once in an old blog post, but not for “boiler repair Leeds”, because no page is plainly about repairing boilers in Leeds.
On-page work closes that gap. Each important page is given one target search that matches what a buyer actually types, and everything on the page is brought into line with it: the headline Google shows in results, the main heading, the order of the sections, the questions the copy answers and the links pointing to it from elsewhere on the site.
The visitor who lands then finds what they came for and an obvious way to get in touch. I cannot promise positions, because Google decides those, but I can remove the reasons a good business is being outranked by weaker pages.
Who it suits, and who it does not
It suits UK businesses whose website already has the pages it needs, but whose pages underperform: trades and local service firms, professional practices, online shops with category pages that ought to rank, and B2B companies with solution pages nobody finds. It also suits teams whose site has just been rebuilt and whose new pages were designed first and written second.
It is the wrong starting point in three situations. If pages are missing from Google altogether, the cause is usually technical, and technical SEO comes first, because no rewrite helps a page Google cannot index. If you cannot tell what is wrong, a full SEO audit sorts the problems by what they cost you before anyone edits a word. And if there is no page at all for a service you sell, the job is planning new content, which is what my content SEO and strategy work is for.
What the on-page work covers
Every page in scope is checked against the same components, but not every page needs all of them. A page with sound structure and a weak title gets a new title and nothing more.
One target search for each page
Before changing anything, I agree with you which search each page should win and check the search intent behind it: is the person trying to buy, compare or learn? A sales page will struggle to rank for a search where Google shows only guides. I also score each target against every other page on the site, because two pages chasing the same search, known as keyword cannibalisation, tend to hold each other back. If no keyword research exists yet, I research enough for the pages in scope; mapping the whole site is a separate job for my keyword research service.
Titles and meta descriptions
The title tag is one of the clearest signals of what a page covers, and usually the headline people see in Google. I write each one to lead with the target search, say something the competing results do not, and display in full on a phone. Meta descriptions are not used to rank pages, but a specific one that mentions where you work gives searchers a reason to pick your result. You can test your current wording with my free title tag and meta description checker.
Headings and page structure
One H1 that states what the page is, then H2 and H3 headings that follow the questions a buyer asks, in the order they ask them. Many themes use heading tags for styling, so the logo becomes the H1 or a footer label an H2; I flag those for your developer, because they blur what the page is about.
The copy
This is usually the largest part of the job. I rewrite or extend the copy so it answers the search fully: what the service involves, who it is for, what the price depends on, the areas you cover and what happens after someone gets in touch. I add the details a careful UK buyer checks before enquiring, such as membership of a trade or professional body and whether prices include VAT. I take out filler, repeated keywords and sentences that could describe any business in any town, and keep your voice.
Internal links
Links from your own pages help Google find a page and understand what it is about, and the link wording is part of that. I map which pages should link to each target, write descriptive link text and fix links pointing at old addresses. Planned internal linking also shows which of two similar pages is the main one.
Images, addresses and page-level checks
I give images descriptive file names and alt text, and confirm each page carries the right canonical tag and is not accidentally set to noindex. I only change an established URL when the gain is worth a redirect. Where a page could earn an enhanced listing, such as price and stock on a product page, I note it; structured data across a site is part of my schema markup service.
How I optimise a page
- Choose the pages. I start with the pages that sell, favouring those already appearing in Google Search Console for relevant searches without earning many clicks, which suggests Google already sees them as relevant to those searches.
- Record the baseline. For each page I save the searches it appears for, with impressions, clicks and average position over the previous three months, plus the enquiries it produces. Without this there is no honest way to say later what changed.
- Agree the target. One main search per page, with a few close variations, checked so no two pages compete.
- Read the results page. What Google shows for each target today, whether service pages, guides, local map listings or videos, tells me what kind of page has a chance and what it must cover.
- Write the changes. Each page gets a change sheet with the current and proposed title, description, headings, copy, links and images. You approve it before anything goes live.
- Publish and ask Google to recrawl. I make the changes in your content management system, or your developer applies them, and I request recrawling in Search Console. Every change is dated so its effect can be read.
- Measure and adjust. Once the new versions have been recrawled and had time to settle, I compare the figures with the baseline, allowing for seasonal swings, and revise any page that has not moved.
Problems I see most often on UK sites
- A home page trying to rank for everything. Every service is crammed onto one page while each service page is a single paragraph, so Google has nothing specific to rank.
- Titles that say nothing. “Home | Smith & Co Ltd”, or the same title on every page because the theme never asked for one.
- Two pages for the same thing. A general “Services” page and an “Accountancy services” page aim at the same search, and Google alternates between them.
- Area pages made by swapping the town name. A dozen near-identical pages for Croydon, Bromley, Sutton and the rest. Google’s spam policies describe this pattern as doorway pages. One page for each area you genuinely serve, with something specific to say about it, is worth far more.
- Copy written for nowhere in particular. No mention of the areas covered, dollar prices left over from a theme demo, American terms such as “zip code”, and no sign of who is behind the business.
- Important pages with no links pointing to them. Pages reachable only from the menu or sitemap, with nothing in the related content sending readers there.
What you receive
| Deliverable | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Page map | Each page in scope with its target search, close variations and the intent it serves. |
| Change sheets | For every page: current and proposed title, meta description, H1 and heading outline, rewritten copy, internal links with their wording, and image fixes. |
| The changes, made | Published through a separate editor account you set up for me, so you never share your own login, or handed to your developer ready to apply. |
| Follow-up report | Search Console figures for each page before and after, with plain notes on what moved, what did not and what I would do next. |
| Issues outside on-page work | Anything technical or link-related found along the way, with who should deal with it. |
To see the shape I work towards, my article on how to write a service page that ranks and converts sets out the structure section by section.
Next step
Send me the addresses of the three to five pages that matter most to your business, and the searches you would like them to appear for. I will reply with what I would change first, and whether on-page work is the right place to start. If you would rather I looked at the whole site, request a free SEO audit, which checks whether each page makes its subject obvious.