# On-page SEO

Category: [Basics & Search Engines](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/basics-search-engines/) › [SEO basics](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/basics-search-engines/seo-basics/)

**On-page SEO** covers all optimizations made directly on the pages of your own website, including content, HTML elements, structure and internal links. The goal is that search engines understand the pages and visitors find what they came for. The counterpart is off-page SEO, which deals with signals from outside the site.

## What belongs to on-page SEO?

Google's SEO Starter Guide covers most on-page topics:

- **Content.** Helpful, reliable, readable text that matches what people search for. Google says there is no magical word count target.
- **Titles and meta descriptions.** A good title is unique to the page, clear and concise. A good meta description is short and unique to the page.
- **URLs.** Words in the URL that are useful to visitors.
- **Images.** Descriptive alt text.
- **Internal links.** Links that connect users and search engines to relevant pages.

Semrush separates on-page SEO from technical SEO. On-page work targets elements of individual pages, while technical SEO covers site-wide infrastructure such as speed and security. Other sources count technical factors as part of on-page.

## Where are the limits?

Keyword stuffing falls under Google's spam policies. Google also notes that some changes take effect within hours and others only after several months.

## Example

An online shop uses the same title, "Shop – Brand X", on every category. After the rework, each title names its category, the headline repeats the term and the images have fitting alt text.

```html
<title>Women's Running Shoes – Brand X</title>
<meta name="description" content="Cushioning, weight, terrain: how to choose the right running shoe.">
```

## FAQ

**What is the difference between on-page and off-page SEO?**
On-page SEO happens on your own pages. Off-page SEO covers external signals such as backlinks.

**Is on-page SEO still relevant with AI search?**
Semrush and Backlinko both extend the definition to AI search. Google's guide makes no separate statement on this.

## Related terms

- [Off-page SEO](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/off-page-seo/index.md)
- [SERP (search engine results page)](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/serp/index.md)

## Sources

- [SEO Starter Guide – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide)
- [Spam policies for Google web search – Google Search Central (updated 2026-08-28)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies)
- [On-Page SEO – Semrush (secondary)](https://www.semrush.com/blog/on-page-seo/)
- [On-Page SEO – Backlinko (secondary)](https://backlinko.com/on-page-seo)

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Last updated: October 7, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/on-page-seo/