Module 01 · Lesson 5 of 6
On-Page Optimisation
On-page optimisation is the practice of making a page's purpose unmistakable to a scanning reader and a crawler at the same time. Not keyword decoration: clarity engineering. The reader who understands the page in five seconds and the system that classifies it correctly are served by the same work.
The elements and their jobs
| Element | Its job | Common failure |
|---|---|---|
| Title tag | Convince a searcher to click and tell the engine what the page is | Brand-first padding, vague promises, duplicated titles |
| H1 | State the page's subject, once, visibly | Marketing slogan instead of subject, or three H1s |
| Headings (H2/H3) | Carry the page's structure so it can be read by scanning | Clever headings that mean nothing out of context |
| URL slug | Name the page briefly and readably | Dates, IDs, parameter soup |
| Images | Support the text with descriptive alt text | Missing alt, filenames like IMG_2041.jpg |
Notice what is not on the list: keyword density, exact-match repetition, hidden text. Those are either ignored or penalised. The page should use the words its audience uses, naturally and specifically, and stop.
Write the title last
A useful habit: draft the page, then write the title tag as if you had to sell the finished page in one line at around 50 to 60 characters. Front-load what the page is; add the differentiator after. "AI SEO Course: What to Learn in 2026" beats "Welcome to Our Learning Hub". The same discipline applies to the H1: state the subject, then let the lead paragraph earn the read.
People-first is the actual instruction
Google's own guidance for creators is to build helpful, reliable, people-first content: demonstrate experience, answer the question, make pages for readers rather than search engines. That is not a slogan bolted onto this lesson; it is the published evaluation frame your pages are judged against. On-page work is how a people-first page becomes legible to machines.
- Draft: "Our Services". Fails: says nothing, could belong to anyone.
- Better: "SEO Services for Ecommerce Brands". States subject and audience.
- Best for the page's real intent (comparison shoppers): "Ecommerce SEO Services: What We Do and What It Costs". Adds the information the searcher actually wants. Still under 60 characters.
Same page, three titles, very different promises. The third only works if the page honestly covers cost: never let the title write a cheque the content does not cash.
- Pick one page that matters. Record its current title, H1, first H2 and URL slug.
- Rewrite the title (subject first, differentiator second, under 60 characters) and the H1 (plain statement of subject).
- Rewrite any heading that only makes sense after reading the section beneath it.
- Check every image alt attribute on the page: describe what the image shows, not "image of chart".
- Keep the before and after. You will reuse it in Module 4.
Is on-page optimisation about repeating keywords?
Why write the title tag last?
What makes a heading useful for AI retrieval?
Sources used in this lesson
Google Search Central: helpful, reliable, people-first content
Google Search Central: SEO starter guide