Web promotion has become more complicated than ever. It is not enough to follow some elementary outdated strategies to get TOP positions.
As SEO is an integral part of digital marketing, it must be a priority in site creation and advancement. Previously we have answered basic search engine optimization questions, so now let’s have a look at what is On-Page SEO and briefly overview some basic techniques.
What is On-Page SEO
On-Page SEO (sometimes on-site SEO) is a part of search engine marketing. The essence is in internal optimization rather than outside a site. It includes a set of methods for enhancing website performance that you can do directly on a page so that it has a higher ranking. Here is a checklist of the best On-Page SEO techniques for your site.
Key On-Page SEO factors
Title: keywords and modifiers
Without doubts, using keywords in titles is vital as titling is a powerful SEO tool. A title tag is the first impression of your website. It is the first thing not only your users, but also a search engine sees.
That is why the title of a page has to be alluring and engaging. It should contain keywords. One more point is accuracy — the page title has to coincide with the content of a page. It provides a general outlook on what to expect from visiting this webpage.
Adding modifiers into the title may also boost your page conversion. There are several types, depending on what you want to emphasize. For instance, whether you want to stress urgency (“24 hour,” “Fastest,” “Quickest”) or quality (“Brand New,” “Highly Rated,” “Best Quality,” “Top of The Line”).
Seo-friendly URL
Creating SEO-friendly links is essential if you want to have your website at the top of the rankings. Here there are some practical tips on how to do it.
- Make your URL brief and tasty. It will intrigue your potential visitor and encourage clicks. The most favorable number of words in a link is no more than 5 as the first 3-5 words are of the highest value for Google.
- Always put keywords at the beginning of your URL. This will help your page to get a top ranking.
- Make sure it is readable by humans and contains only words related to the topic.
Meta description
Meta description is of a great importance for SEO On Page. It is a concise depiction of what you are going to read after visiting the page. As a rule, it is up to 160 characters long and provides a general overview of what is offered.
How to write a good meta description?
- Show the most important keywords of your page in its meta description.
- Write in simple sentences and avoid passive voice.
- It has to be unique and match the content.
- If it doesn’t call to action — you’ve done it wrong.
Content and keywords
There is no need to remind you that content on your page must be unique and relevant. Provide your readers with useful information that they want to find out. Make your sentences meaty and imposing but do not overload them with terms. Be user-driven — give them what they want to get.
One more thing that matters is the size of the publication. Although search engines consider longer content as more detailed (that is an advantage or your website SEO), it doesn’t always work. Of course, longer posts rank better, but are your readers ready to scroll through huge amount of text to find an answer to a simple question? While writing, you should take into consideration users’ intention, not statistics.
By the way, applying keywords in the first 100-150 words of your article will help search engine to understand what it is about. In order to generate alternative ones related to your topic, you may use LSI — furtherance synonyms offered by Google to determine the validity of the page.
Headline tags
Among other important SEO tools are headings that are defined by <h1> - <h6> tags.
Placing them is necessary to make your content structured and more clear. Headline tagging is a big advantage as it eases webpage indexing for search engines. It is preferable to use <h1> tags for the main title.
Employ tags <h2> - <h6> for headings of less weight.
Internal/external linking strategy
Include links to other pages from your website and make user stay longer with you. It’s a win-win situation — your visitors will be provided with additional information and your web page will be considered relevant due to user behavior.
Getting external links can be proof that you put forward high-quality content. It shows the reliability of your resource and this SEO strategy will definitely boost your site ranking.
Visualization
Publish your content with multimedia. Add diagrams, pictures or video to increase conversion or to dilute strings of text. Make your content more vivid and interactive and your visitors will spend much more time on your page. Visual information is easier to perceive, and that is why people are more likely to share it.
Image optimization
The first and the most important thing about images in SEO is to respect your business and use unique, not stock, photos. Downloaded photos won’t give your resource much credibility.
The next step is providing original and high quality images. Nobody is impressed by ordinary stuff. Stand out and show something great.
Resize pictures to improve site speed and be appropriate for mobile version.
Supply pictures with description applying keywords. It is not only for representing what is on an image but also to discover the subject matter of neighboring content. Alt text is a rather beneficial tool for SEO. Just give search engine one more opportunity to find you!
Social sharing buttons and comments
You certainly should include social sharing buttons. Enable people to share your content via social networks and broaden your audience. The more shares you get, the more people see your link. Do not miss a chance to remind them about your resource once more.
Stimulate users’ interest in what you are posting and encourage them to leave comments and feedbacks. This may also be helpful to track who mentions you and when they shared your content in social media, so you can respond to them at all at once.
Improve site speed
Page loading speed is what everyone is rather impatient for. It has been proven that people are unwilling to wait. Due to this fact, your On-Page SEO success depends directly on website loading speed. Make your site load immediately not to lose your audience. To boost it, try to optimize images or server response time. If you have a site on WordPress, it may be useful for you to find out about a WordPress website performance audit. It would also be useful to change hosting to something more reliable and quick. You should also start using CDN and delete all unnecessary plugins or modules.
Web design
Appearance is something we judge by. That is why it is essential to meet all the expectations that your visitors have. Make your web page good-looking and easy to use via responsive design and content organization.
Mobile friendly website
There is no need to dwell on the fact that without being mobile friendly your website is doomed to occupy the final position in search results. Taking into consideration users’ needs, it is crucial nowadays to apply responsive design. Being mobile-friendly means that your web page is accessible on various gadgets, smartphones primarily.
So, how do you do it? The main point is design. Keep mobile users in mind and take care to insure your site is designed for smartphones and tablets too. Don’t forget to simplify navigation and optimize images. This will allow for fast loading over mobile connections.
Structuring
Well-structured content is easy to use. Organize your page in a simple and predictable way so that your visitors find what they are searching for as soon as possible. Working with clearly structured content where main ideas are emphasized and visible is pleasure. Your users will appreciate it!
Furthermore, it affects behavioral factors. The more visitors are interested in your content, the longer they stay on site. The longer users stay on site, the higher ranking it has.
It is impossible nowadays to have a successful website without running search engine marketing or applying search engine optimization tools. However, providing SEO is not easy. For further information or help, you can contact our professional SEO experts. If you need to optimize or analyze your page, SEO specialists are always available.
