What are the major on-page SEO checks I should regularly make?
Once you've taken care of the creation of your website and implemented all of those basic on-page SEO components, you can't simply leave it alone. To help enable your website to succeed, you need to make certain on-page SEO checks on a regular basis.
There are two main aspects to on-page SEO that you need to keep in mind: adding new pages and content, and traffic fluctuations.
Here are some of the on-page factors you need to check from time to time to optimize website performance.
Indexation
First, you need to make sure your pages are appearing in Google search results. The best way to check this is to go onto Google and type "site:yourwebsiteURL" into the Google search. All of the pages that appear have been ranked.
Keywords
After checking to see if your pages are indexed, take a closer look at recently added or revised pages on your site. Determine whether or not they're properly optimized with target keywords. Then track each keyword or perform manual searches for them to see where your pages rank. If they're not ranking well, continue to expand and optimize.
URLs
You can use tools such as Screaming Frog to pull all of your website's URLs and check their status. If you have any 404s, be sure to fix them. Duplicate content or URLs should also have 301s redirecting them to dominant pages.
XML Sitemap
To further help your website, submit an XML sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools. This is particularly helpful if you have a lot of new pages added in a short amount of time.
Navigation
Perform a quick scan to ensure that new pages aren't disrupting your navigation hierarchy at all. Simply go through menus to make sure everything is well-connected with internal links. You want your visitors to be able to find all of your content easily.
Site Speed
The slower your website, the less people are likely to stay. Whenever you add content, it's a good practice to check loading speeds and optimize accordingly.
Brand Awareness
Any brand changes could result in necessary changes to content to reflect your brand goals. Check text and images on the homepage, services/product pages, and CTAs as well as meta data.
Performing these regular on-page SEO checks can significantly help your website stay ahead of the competition, while attracting new prospects.