On-page SEO is often described as “the basics”, but that description does it a disservice. In reality, on-page SEO is where strategy, content, user experience and commercial intent collide. It is also where many UK SMEs quietly lose ground, not because they are doing anything dramatically wrong, but because they are relying on outdated assumptions about how search engines work.

Tody, on-page SEO is no longer about placing keywords in the right spots and hoping for the best. It is about clarity, intent, trust and usefulness. Done properly, it helps search engines understand your site and allows users to feel confident enough to take action.

We want to understand  what on-page SEO really means today for UK businesses, what best practice looks like, how it has evolved in recent years, and where SMEs most commonly go wrong.

What Is On-Page SEO (and Why It Still Matters)

On-page SEO refers to everything you control on your website itself to help search engines understand and rank your pages. This includes content, headings, internal linking, metadata, page structure and how information is presented to users.

Unlike off-page SEO (links and external signals), on-page SEO is entirely within your control. That makes it both powerful and easy to underestimate.

Google has become exceptionally good at interpreting language, context, semantics and intent, but it still relies on clear signals. On-page SEO provides those signals. When done well, it reduces ambiguity and increases confidence for both search engines and users.

Search Intent: The Foundation of Modern On-Page SEO

The single biggest shift in on-page SEO over the last decade has been the move away from keywords towards search intent.

Search intent answers the question: What is the user actually trying to achieve with this search? Informational, commercial, transactional and navigational queries all require different types of content.

Google’s Hummingbird update (2013) and later BERT (2019) fundamentally improved its ability to understand intent and semantincs rather than just words. More recently, helpful content updates have reinforced the importance of meeting user needs clearly and honestly (Google Search Central, 2024).

For UK businesses, this means on-page SEO starts long before content is written. Every page should have a clear purpose, a defined audience and a reason to exist. Pages that try to serve multiple intents usually fail at all of them.

Page Structure: Helping Users and Search Engines Navigate

Strong page structure is one of the most overlooked elements of on-page SEO. Headings are not just formatting tools; they are semantic signals that help search engines understand hierarchy and meaning.

A well-structured page:

• Uses one clear H1 that reflects the page’s primary purpose
• Breaks content into logical H2 and H3 sections
• Guides users naturally through the topic

From a user perspective, structure improves readability and reduces friction. From an SEO perspective, it improves crawlability and content comprehension. In most instances, simple header changes in the HTML can be made with no disruption to the formatting of your page.

At Hatch, we often see ranking improvements simply from restructuring pages that already contain good content but present it poorly. This kind of optimisation is a core part of our SEO services.

Content Quality: Depth, Experience and Relevance

Content remains the heart of on-page SEO, but the definition of “good content” has evolved significantly.

High-performing content:

1. Demonstrates real experience and expertise
2. Answers questions fully, not superficially
3. Reflects UK-specific context where relevant
4. Avoids filler, repetition and generic statements

Google’s emphasis on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust) has made it clear that content should feel credible and grounded, particularly for business advice (Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines, updated 2024).

For SMEs, this often means resisting the temptation to publish large volumes of thin content. Fewer, better pages that genuinely help users tend to outperform broad, unfocused blogs. It’s also worth remembering that not all content needs to attract traffic from search. However, all content does need to be understood by search engines, so the right context, audience, relevance, and brand are accurately reflected in how your website appears in search results.

Metadata: Still Important, Just Not How It Used to Be

Title tags and meta descriptions no longer work as ranking levers in isolation, but they remain crucial for click-through rate and relevance signalling.

A strong title tag should:

• Clearly reflect the page’s intent
• Include primary terms naturally
• Make sense to a human reader

Meta descriptions should support the title by setting expectations, not cramming in keywords. Google may rewrite them, but well-written descriptions still influence user behaviour.

On-page SEO is not just about ranking it is about attracting the right clicks.

Meta data is no longer the ranking lever it once was, but it shouldn’t be ignored. Meta descriptions still play an important supporting role by influencing click-through rate. When more users choose your result over a competitor’s, that engagement can help you move ahead in search. As AI becomes more prominent in search results, meta data may also continue to play a role in helping less mature language models understand page context. - Tegan Ireland - Head of SEO, Hatch

Internal Linking: Context, Authority and Flow

Internal linking is one of the most powerful and underused on-page SEO tools available to UK businesses.

Effective internal linking:

• Helps search engines understand relationships between pages
• Distributes authority across the site
• Guides users towards relevant next steps

Internal links should feel natural and contextual, not forced. They should support both user journeys and SEO objectives.

This is why an internal linking strategy is closely aligned with wider site architecture and digital marketing strategy, rather than being added as an afterthought.

UX, Accessibility and Compliance: The Quiet Ranking Influencers

User experience (UX) has become inseparable from on-page SEO. Page speed, mobile usability and accessibility all influence how users interact with content and how search engines interpret those interactions.

For UK businesses, this also intersects with:

• Accessibility standards
• Clear navigation and readability
• Transparent data handling

Pages that confuse, frustrate, or mislead users rarely perform well in search over the long term. A simple test is to review your key landing pages and ask: if I knew nothing about this business, would this page answer my questions clearly? Search algorithms work in a similar way, they approach your page without context. If your content helps them understand what you do and why you can be trusted, it’s far more likely to perform well.

Common On-Page SEO Mistakes We See UK SMEs Make

Despite increased awareness, certain issues persist:

1. Writing content around keywords rather than intent
2. Over-optimising headings and copy
3. Publishing pages with no clear purpose
4. Ignoring internal linking
5. Treating on-page SEO as a one-off task
6. Writing to hit a spurious word count in the name of SEO

These mistakes are rarely malicious. They usually stem from outdated advice or a lack of strategic oversight.

How On-Page SEO Fits Into the Bigger Picture

On-page SEO does not operate in isolation. It works best when aligned with technical SEO, content strategy, local SEO and conversion optimisation.

Strong on-page foundations make everything else more effective. Weak foundations limit even the best off-page or paid strategies.

This integrated thinking is central to how we approach SEO at Hatch, focusing on sustainable growth rather than short-term wins. Matching a technically healthy website with well-optimised on-page SEO can support quicker small wins whilst building a foundation for the bigger, more competitive wins

The Hatch Approach

At Hatch, on-page SEO is never reduced to a checklist. We start with user intent, commercial objectives and real search behaviour, then build pages that serve both users and search engines.

Our approach includes:

1. Intent-led page planning
2. Content optimisation grounded in experience
3. Structural and internal linking improvements
4. Clear explanation of changes and impact
5. Technical health

Clients benefit from a customer-service-led model where decisions are transparent, measurable and aligned to business goals not vanity metrics. We work with you or your content writer to develop content that is SEO optimised - not SEO content with no user benefit.

On-Page SEO Is Where SEO Becomes Marketing

On-page SEO is no longer a technical exercise. It is where SEO becomes genuinely user-focused and commercially meaningful. For UK SMEs, investing in strong on-page foundations is one of the most reliable ways to improve visibility, engagement and conversion over time. If you want to understand whether your current pages are helping or holding you back, a structured review is often the most effective place to start.

If you would like an honest, jargon-free conversation about on-page SEO and how it fits into your wider SEO strategy, the Hatch team is here to help.