How to Find On-Page Optimisation Opportunities on a Website

Open Ahrefs → Site Explorer → Enter the website domain. In the left sidebar: click 'Best by backlinks'. Filter: • HTTP code: 200 OK (live pages only — no 404s or redirects) Sort results by: Dofollow (highest first). This shows you which pages have the most do-follow backlinks pointing to them — these are your highest-authority pages. For each page with 10 or more do-follow backlinks: open the page in a new tab and copy the URL into the 80/20 Worksheet.

For each URL in your worksheet, click the arrow next to it in Ahrefs → Open 'Organic keywords' in a new tab. Answer these 3 questions: 1. Is it ranking for high-volume keywords relevant to the business? • Yes = this page already attracts relevant traffic • No = it has links but no keyword alignment — needs a target keyword 2. Is it already optimised for its primary keyword? • Check the title tag, H1, and content for keyword presence • Yes = minor improvements needed • No = significant optimisation opportunity 3. Does it rank in the top 5 positions for its target keyword? • Yes = leave it alone (it is already winning) • No = optimising it could push it into page 1 or top 3 Record your answers in the Analyse URLs tab of the worksheet.

Based on your 3-question answers, assign each page a Next Step: 🔴 Optimise Now: • Ranks for relevant keywords + Not optimised + Not in top 5 • This is your highest-ROI opportunity — authority + keyword alignment + room to improve 🟡 Optimise Later: • Has links but doesn't rank for relevant keywords (needs a target keyword assigned) • Already partially optimised but not top 5 🟢 Leave As-Is: • Already in top 3 for its primary keyword • Has links but no relevant search queries (often navigational pages — no optimisation value) Focus your time on the 🔴 Optimise Now pages first. This is the 80/20 of on-page SEO.

In the 80/20 Worksheet, switch to the 'Pages to Optimise' tab. For each 🔴 priority page: • Add the page URL • Assign a target keyword (from your keyword research if not already known) • Assign to a team member or yourself • Set status: Not Started Work through them in order — highest-priority first. For each page: follow SOP 014 (Yoast Optimisation) to systematically optimise the title, meta description, headings, content, and internal links. After optimising: update status to 'Done' and note the date. Check Google Search Console in 4–6 weeks to measure ranking movement.