Ahoy👋,
Hope your week’s been smooth so far! Last time, we looked at smarter keyword research and how understanding what your audience is already searching for can completely reshape the impact of your content. But discovering the right keywords is only half the game—what you do with them on the page is what makes search engines (and humans) actually notice.
This week, we’re focusing on the practical side: on-page SEO. Titles, meta descriptions, URLs, and even image optimization all send powerful signals about what your page is really about. The goal isn’t to check boxes—it’s to make your pages clearer, more compelling, and easier for both people and search engines to understand. Small refinements here can create big visibility wins.
Week #12 - On-Page SEO: Titles, Meta, URLs, Images
Weekly Picks
A detailed breakdown of why meta titles and descriptions still matter, how they influence rankings and click-through rates, and the mindset shift small sites need to build search visibility intentionally, not accidentally.
Explains why Google sometimes rewrites title tags and what site owners can do about it. Helpful for anyone frustrated that their carefully written titles don’t always appear exactly the way they intended.
A deep dive into how search engines interpret meaning, not just keywords. Perfect for readers ready to move beyond “keyword stuffing” and deliver content that aligns with user intent, context, relationships, and real topic authority.
A practical introduction to creating user-friendly, readable URLs that help search engines understand page content. Especially useful for WordPress users who want to organize site structure without technical overcomplication (or expensive tools).
Lists, Lists, & Lists
A solid list of foundational tactics anyone can apply to improve rankings, even on small or new websites. Think of it as a practical checklist you can work through over a few afternoons.
A collection of real-world meta description examples that show what good looks like in practice. Great for editors who feel stuck writing “yet another meta description” and want inspiration from proven patterns.
A refreshingly honest overview of the traps small websites fall into — not enough content, low-quality pages, weak keyword strategy, and more. A good “reality check” article for early-stage site owners.
A round-up of modern AI-powered SEO tools designed specifically for WordPress. Evaluates how they can help with tasks like content optimization, keyword research, and on-page improvements — if you choose wisely, of course.
A list of tools that help reduce file size, improve loading times, and boost image SEO performance. Great if visual-heavy sites need faster load times without sacrificing quality (we’ve all been there).
Smooth Operations
A hands-on guide to adding schema markup, helping search engines (and AI systems) better understand your content and improve visibility in enhanced search features.
A practical walkthrough of organizing WordPress tags and categories for better SEO, stronger site architecture, and improved user experience.
Extra Boost
A great explainer of search intent, offering real examples of how to match content to what users actually want. Ideal for anyone unsure why “good content” sometimes still doesn’t rank.
A comprehensive and structured list of on-page tasks, from basic optimizations to more advanced improvements. Perfect for busy site owners who want a trusted reference they can follow without overthinking.
Case Studies | 18 SEO Case Studies from First-Person Accounts
A collection of real-world SEO results shared by practitioners, not theory-speakers. It’s a valuable look at strategies that worked in real businesses — including the messy middle no one usually admits. (Nice.)
An accessible walkthrough covering everything from compression to file naming and structured metadata. Excellent for anyone who wants better rankings and faster performance without changing how they design images.
Free Course | On-Page SEO Essentials with Semrush
A structured introductory course that teaches the fundamentals of on-page SEO in a step-by-step format. Great for beginners who want a guided learning experience rather than piecing knowledge together from scattered articles.
Weekly Tip | How to Use Internal Links to Strengthen On-Page Relevance
When people think about SEO, they usually jump straight to keywords, meta tags, or backlinks. But there’s one powerful on-page ranking lever that many WordPress site owners overlook: internal linking. A smart internal linking strategy helps search engines understand what your pages are about, distributes authority throughout your site, and reinforces which pages are the most important. Best of all, it’s something small and growing websites can use to compete effectively — without needing external links or big budgets.
Why Internal Linking Matters for Small Sites
Search engines are heavily shaped by clarity. If Google can understand what your site structure looks like, which pages are central, and how content relates to each other, it becomes much easier for your pages to rank. A strong internal link setup helps:
guide users deeper into your site
reinforce which pages deserve to rank
help Google understand topical relationships
prevent valuable pages from becoming isolated
For new or smaller websites that don’t yet have hundreds of backlinks, strong internal links can create immediate, measurable improvement in how search engines interpret content relevance.
Step 1 — Choose Relevant Anchor Text
Internal links only work if the anchor text actually describes the thing you’re linking to. Instead of vague text like “click here,” use short, descriptive language that reflects the topic of the target page. For example, if you’re linking to a guide about writing SEO titles, the anchor might be “how to write SEO titles that improve CTR.” This helps both users and search engines understand context instantly.
Step 2 — Link from High-Visibility Pages
Not all internal links have the same impact. Links from strong pages — ones that already receive traffic, rank well, or have many internal links pointing to them — carry more weight. If you’re publishing a new article or service page, adding internal links from established pages gives it a head start. This is especially useful for smaller sites still building external authority.
Step 3 — Keep Links Topically Tight
A common mistake is linking pages just because you “can.” But if the topic relevance is weak, the benefit is minimal. Search engines reward clusters of related content that reinforce each other. If you’re writing a blog post about optimizing image alt text, link to related content like compression guides, accessibility best practices, or media SEO tutorials. This creates a topical footprint Google can clearly understand.
Step 4 — Use Internal Links to Define Page Importance
If every page receives only one or two links, Google has no way of knowing which content really matters. Instead, prioritize. If you have cornerstone pages — product landing pages, ultimate guides, category hubs, service pages — make sure many related articles link to them. Repeated internal signals tell search engines: “This page is a key resource on this topic.”
Step 5 — Don’t Let Pages Live in Isolation
One of the biggest silent ranking killers is the “orphan page” — a page with no internal links pointing to it. Google may struggle to crawl or evaluate it, making it far less likely to rank. Every page (new and old) deserves at least one meaningful internal link from somewhere relevant. If you have a larger site, periodically auditing for orphan pages in Search Console or a free crawler can help recover hidden opportunities.
Takeaway
Internal linking is one of the simplest, fastest ways to improve on-page SEO without waiting months for external backlinks. By choosing clear anchor text, linking from strong pages, keeping links tightly topically aligned, reinforcing your most important content, and avoiding orphan pages, you create a structure search engines immediately understand. For smaller WordPress sites, a thoughtful internal linking strategy can be the difference between great content that gets ignored — and great content that competes successfully in search.
That’s a Wrap
Edition #12 wraps up - and you’ve just taken a major step toward making your pages clearer, more focused, and easier for both humans and Google to understand.
Titles, meta tags, URLs, images — they all came together this week in a way that turns ordinary pages into meaningful, search-friendly assets. It’s the kind of progress that compounds quietly in the background while you sleep (the best kind). Next week, we shift gears into Technical SEO: Speed, Security, Mobile Optimization — the behind-the-scenes upgrades that make your site faster, safer, and better for every visitor.
Bit by bit, your site is becoming something stronger and more polished. Keep at it.
See you in the next issue! 📬
Gabor, for WP Growth Weekly