On-page SEO refers to the practice of optimising the visible content and HTML source code of a web page to rank higher in search engine results. Unlike off-page SEO (which involves links from other websites), on-page SEO is entirely within your control.
For AEC firms, on-page SEO covers a wide range of elements: meta titles and descriptions, heading hierarchy (H1 through H6), image alt text, internal linking, keyword usage in body copy, page URL structure, and structured data markup.
A well-optimised project page for an architecture or engineering firm should include the project name in the H1, descriptive alt text on every project image, a clear written description of the project scope and approach, and links to related projects or service pages. These elements collectively signal to search engines what the page is about.
Page URL structure is often overlooked. A URL like /projects/childrens-hospital-houston is far more SEO-friendly than /projects/proj-4821. Clean, descriptive URLs help both search engines and users understand the page before they even visit it.