I’m Danielle Birriel, Founder and CEO of D&D SEO Services. For over ten years, I’ve dedicated my career to helping local businesses steer the complexities of SEO to boost their visibility and connect with their community. My expertise ensures your business can efficiently tackle the challenge of understanding Google search variations by location.

What is On-Page SEO? (And Why It’s Different from Off-Page)

Let’s start with a clear definition.

On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual elements on your website to improve rankings and visibility in search results. This includes everything from the content you write to the code behind the scenes.

Off-page SEO, by contrast, is what happens outside your website—backlinks, citations, reviews, social signals, and brand mentions across the web.

Both matter. But here’s what most businesses get wrong: they focus heavily on backlinks and citations while neglecting on-page basics. Then they wonder why they’re not ranking.

The reality is this: you can’t build your way to rankings with links alone. Google first needs to understand what your page is about. It needs to see that your page is fast, mobile-friendly, and trustworthy. It needs clear signals about your content quality and relevance.

That’s on-page SEO.

Think of it this way: on-page SEO is the foundation. Off-page SEO amplifies it. Without a solid foundation, amplification doesn’t matter.

Why Google’s Algorithm Cares About On-Page SEO

Google’s ranking algorithm considers over 200 different factors. While the exact weighting of each factor is a closely guarded secret, we know from years of SEO research that on-page elements are critical.

Here’s why:

Relevance Signals

When someone searches “plumber in Naples,” Google needs to understand: Does this website have content about plumbing? Does it target Naples specifically? Or is it a national site that happens to mention plumbing?

On-page SEO sends these signals through keyword placement, content structure, and metadata. A page optimized for “plumber in Naples” will have that phrase in the title, in headers, throughout the content, and in schema markup. Google sees this and thinks: “This page is clearly relevant to this search.”

User Experience Metrics

Google now measures how people interact with your pages. Do they bounce immediately? Do they stay and read? Do they click to other pages? Do they convert?

Fast page speed, mobile-friendliness, clear navigation, and readable formatting all contribute to better user experience—and better rankings. Sites that load quickly and display beautifully on mobile devices rank higher than slow, poorly-formatted sites.

Trust and Authority Signals

Google wants to rank trustworthy, authoritative content. On-page signals that contribute to trust include:

• Author expertise and credentials
• E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) demonstrations
• Testimonials and reviews
• Clear About Us and Contact information
• SSL certificates (HTTPS)
• Content freshness and updates

Crawlability and Indexation

Before Google can rank your page, it needs to find it, crawl it, and understand it. Poor on-page technical setup—broken links, missing sitemaps, duplicate content, poor URL structure—prevents Google from doing this effectively.

Local On-Page SEO: Bringing It Together

For local businesses, several on-page elements specifically support local rankings:

Local keywords

Use location-specific keywords naturally throughout your page (“plumber in Naples,” “Naples drain cleaning,” etc.).

NAP consistency

Ensure your Name, Address, and Phone number are consistent across all pages and match your Google Business Profile.

Local schema

Use LocalBusiness schema with your complete address, phone number, and service area.

Local content

Create content about local topics, neighborhoods, events, and challenges. Demonstrate local knowledge.

Localized pages

Create separate, unique pages for each location you serve. Don’t try to serve all locations with one generic page.

Common On-Page SEO Mistakes

Mistake #1: Keyword Stuffing Using keywords so much that content reads unnaturally. Google penalizes this. Solution: Write naturally for humans. Keywords should flow with the content.

Mistake #2: Thin, Shallow Content 500-word pages competing for competitive keywords won’t win. Solution: Write comprehensive, in-depth content (1,500+ words).

Mistake #3: Ignoring Mobile Optimization Mobile is now primary for Google. Ignoring mobile is a major mistake. Solution: Test on mobile devices. Use responsive design.

Mistake #4: No Internal Linking Pages that don’t link to related pages waste the opportunity to pass authority. Solution: Link strategically from high-authority to lower-authority pages.

Mistake #5: Slow Page Speed Slow pages rank worse and convert worse. There’s no excuse. Solution: Compress images, minimize code, use CDN, fast hosting.

Mistake #6: Missing Schema Markup No schema markup means missing rich snippets and local signals. Solution: Implement LocalBusiness schema at minimum. Add Service and FAQ schemas.

Mistake #7: Poor Mobile UX Confusing navigation, tiny text, unreadable fonts on mobile frustrate users. Solution: Test mobile UX thoroughly. Make it easy to navigate and convert.

On-Page SEO for AI Overviews and Voice Search

As search evolves, on-page SEO must adapt too.

AI Overviews

Google’s AI Overviews pull content from pages to generate AI-powered answers. To appear in AI Overviews:

• Create content that directly answers common questions
• Use clear, concise language
• Structure content with headers and lists
• Use schema markup to help Google understand your content
• Update content regularly to stay fresh

Voice Search

58% of consumers use voice search for local businesses. Voice queries are often conversational and question-based.

To optimize for voice search:

• Include question-based content (“What is…?” “How do I…?”)
• Create FAQ pages with natural language Q&A
• Use conversational keywords
• Feature snippets (position 0) are critical for voice results
• Local optimization helps voice results