On-page SEO is essential for search engine optimization because it helps Google understand the content on your website. If Google understands your content better, you will rank higher in search results, which means more organic traffic, conversions, and revenue. On-page SEO also improves user experience if it is done correctly.
What is on-page SEO
On-page SEO is the process of optimizing a web page’s content, tags, and internal links in order to improve its search visibility and increase traffic.
This means that your website will be easier for search engines to find and understand. As a result, you will experience a range of benefits.
URLs help on-page SEO
According to Google, optimizing your URLs can help the search engine better understand what your page is about.
- Include a keyword: Include your primary keyword in your URL to help search engines and users understand page content.
- Consider intent: In addition to main keywords, use descriptive words to help convey the purpose or intent of a page.
- Use real words: Use real words in your URL instead of the numbers and characters that some content management systems pump out.
- Be succinct: Keep your URL structure short and easy for search engines to understand. Also, Google often shows URLs in search results. If a page URL is a long string of random letters and numbers, that doesn’t help users understand your page.
- Use hyphens between words: Hyphens make URLs more readable. For example, if a page is about coffee bean grinders, use the URL www.yourcompany.com/coffee-bean-grinders.
- Avoid session IDs: When possible, avoid the inclusion of session IDs in your URLs, as they produce an avalanche of URLs for the same page. Google advises that you use first-party cookies instead.
Title tags and meta descriptions
Meta tags are one of the most important on-page SEO factors. Page titles are the most important part of a meta tag. They appear in search results as a headline. The meta description is a short summary of the page that appears under the title on search results. Both the page title and meta description are important to help search engines and users understand the purpose of a page.
The title tag is an important on-page SEO ranking factor, while meta descriptions are not as important.
The title and meta description are both important in determining whether someone will click on a given listing in the search results. Having both optimized increases the Click-Through Rate, which means more traffic.
On-page SEO for meta tags
The first step in your on-page SEO analysis should be to look at your title and meta description. follow these steps:
- Place your primary keyword near the beginning of the title.
- Keep the title around 55 or 60 characters so it doesn’t get cut off in search results. WordPress plugins like Yoast can tell you if your meta tags are too long.
- Avoid all caps in your title tags.
- Give each page a unique title so that Google doesn’t think you have duplicate pages.
- Write clear, compelling titles that users will want to click on.
- Include your primary keyword in your meta description. When someone searches for that keyword, Google will bold it in the search results.
- Keep the meta description to 155 characters.
- Craft your meta description so that it accurately describes the page. Treat it like an advertisement, and wordsmith it so that people are compelled to click.
Structured data (schema)
That’s a lot of important data that search engines can use to understand what your page is about, and return relevant results for searchers. Schema can be very beneficial for your on-page SEO audit because it allows Google to better understand your content. For example, if you have a product page with elements such as prices, availability, and ratings, search engines can use this data to understand the purpose of your page and return relevant results to searchers.
Types of Structured Data
The code helps Google understand the content on the pages.
- Books
- Articles
- Movies
- Courses
- Ratings
- Events
- Local business info
- Star ratings
- Recipes
- Job postings
Structured Data Tools
Tools like Semrush and Ahrefs analyze the Google search engine results pages and display all the SERP features for a target keyword.
One way to incorporate structured data into your website is by using Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper. This helper will take you through the process of adding structured data to a page on your website. You can then test to see if the structured data was added correctly by using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.
Headers improve on-page SEO
Headers help with SEO in several ways. First, they make it easier for users to read the content. Second, they help Google understand the contents of a page. When crafting headers, use your primary keyword in at least one or two H2 headers. If it makes sense contextually, include the primary keyword in the H3 or other headers.
SEO copywriting
Quality content also creates a better user experience and helps people understand your products or services better. If you want to improve your on-page SEO, invest in quality content for your landing pages. This will keep users engaged and coming back for more. Not to mention, following SEO copywriting best practices benefits both you and the user. Everyone wins!
Content that satisfies search intent
Google wants to show users content that is high quality and meets their needs. In other words, it solves a searcher’s problem completely and efficiently.
At a high level, there are four types of search intent:
- Informational: Searchers are looking for information.
- Navigational: Users want to visit a specific website or page.
- Commercial: Searchers want to compare products or services before they make a purchase.
- Transactional: Users actively want to buy something.
Write readable text
Readability is not a direct ranking factor for SEO, but it should still be part of your on-page SEO process. This is because readable text is easier for both Google and users to understand, which is good for your SEO in the long run.
To make your text readable:
- Make the page skimmable. Break up your content into easily digestible chunks.
- Use multiple headers and subheadings.
- Utilize plenty of paragraph breaks so that you avoid large walls of text.
- Break down lists into bullet points.
- Incorporate supporting images and other visuals.
- Use clear, actionable sentences.
Internal linking
If you want your website to rank well on search engines, it’s important to have a good internal linking structure. This means linking to related pages on your own site, which helps Google understand the context and relevance of your content. It also shows that you have a lot of content on a given topic, which can help improve your ranking.
External links
External links do not have a direct impact on your on-page SEO rankings, but including them when you are referencing a source or quoting someone builds trust, which is important to users. Therefore, it is considered best practice to add external links when necessary.
Image optimization
Marketing your website will be more successful if you optimize your images for search engine crawling. This means giving them descriptive file names with words separated by hyphens, and also making sure the file size is small enough to load quickly without sacrificing quality. If your site’s images are always loading slowly, this will make it harder for your website to show up in search engine results.
Essential on-page SEO factors
Content
You’ve heard it before: Content is king.
1. E-A-T
How Google rates your website’s significance is partly based on how trustworthy, authoritative, and expert your site is considered to be.
Google’s search quality guidelines make clear that content is a top priority for the company’s algorithms. The guidelines are full of advice on how to produce quality content, and they cite content 135 times.
Google has confirmed that two of the elements it uses to evaluate a page, PageRank and links, are part of E-A-T. While it’s generally accepted that on-page signals are also important, Google hasn’t confirmed this.
2. Keywords
You can tell Google that your website’s content is relevant to a user’s query by using the same keywords on your pages, in your headings, or both.
You should find out what terms your target customers are searching for, and then create content that includes those terms. It’s a good idea to do research to make sure you’re not missing any opportunities.
3. SEO Writing
Creating this type of content requires a bit of expertise. Creating content that both appeals to search engines and converts human visitors requires a certain level of expertise.
We have an entire piece dedicated to helping you master the art, but some of the key takeaways include:
- Emphasize readability: Your content should be easily scannable, so users can quickly find the information they’re looking for.
- Don’t overuse keywords: Also known as keyword stuffing, this technique was used in the past by unscrupulous SEO professionals to game the system, Google takes a dim view of sites that overuse keywords.
- Keep sentences and paragraphs brief: If you’ve ever clicked on a webpage only to be assaulted by an unbroken wall of text, you know how hard it is to read lengthy pieces of copy. Avoid driving users away by keeping your sentences and paragraphs short.
- Use subheadings: Subheads stand out because of their size, attracting attention from people who are scanning your page. Use an ample amount in your content to guide readers down the page.
- Use bulleted lists: This may feel very meta, but bulleted lists are a good way to break information down into easily digestible chunks. Use them whenever they make sense.
4. Visual Assets
Images, videos, and infographics can help make your page more visually appealing to visitors, as well as providing additional opportunities to improve your SEO.
HTML
HTML is the code used to structure your webpages and their content.
HTML tags are used to tell the browser what to show and where to show it. They also tell search engines what your page is about and where to rank you.
5. Title Tags
This code snippet, which allows you to assign a title to a web page, is not likely to improve your search engine ranking on its own. However, when used in conjunction with other on-page elements, it can help you provide context and demonstrate the relevance of your site.
6. Meta Description
It is beneficial to have good meta descriptions as they provide searchers with a clearer understanding of what your page is about. This then leads to more people clicking on your page. Therefore, do not forget to include meta descriptions.
7. Image Optimization
We already briefly discussed the importance of visual assets on your page, but now it’s time to look more closely at their technical aspects.
Here are some tips to help optimize yours:
- Include SEO-friendly alt tags.
- Choose the right format and file size for fast loading.
- Customize file names instead of using something like IMG_08759.
- Ensure your images are mobile-friendly.
8. Geotagging (For Local Search)
Most businesses are still done on a local level, although the economy may be global. Optimizing your on-page local SEO will help you connect with people in your area.
There are three main SEO tactics to consider when focusing on local traffic:
- Optimizing local listings and citations including name, address, and phone number (NAP), website URL, and business descriptions, using third-party apps, and getting reviews.
- Optimizing your local content, including accommodating for “near me” searches, providing location-based content, or buying a local website or blog.
- Optimizing and building links with other local businesses and organizations.
Website Architecture
A well-structured website is important for two reasons: 1. A website laid out in a logical manner will be crawled more effectively by search engines. 2. It will create richer user experiences.
9. Site Speed
A poorly designed website that is slow to load will not only frustrate visitors, but will also negatively impact your search engine ranking.
Search Engine Journal investigated how a page’s loading time affects SEO and found that page speed is a ranking factor in search results.
It can currently be met by meeting Google’s Core Web Vitals minimum threshold. If your site isn’t currently meeting these standards, there are several steps you can take, including:
- Enabling compression.
- Reducing redirects.
- Optimizing images.
- Leveraging browser caches.
10. Responsive Design
In 2016, mobile search volume surpassed desktop for the very first time. And in the years following, that number has only grown. Mobile devices now account for more than 56% of all internet usage, with tablets contributing another 2.4%.
Google began to prioritize responsive design in mobile search rankings because more users are on mobile devices.
Google recommends that sites have a mobile version, but it is still possible to rank without responsive design.
11. URL Structure
There was a time when having keywords in URLs played a large role in SEO. Professionals would make sure their keywords were included in web addresses to help them rank higher. However, this is no longer the case.
Google, as it typically does, changed its algorithm, resulting in a change of importance for what was once crucial to rankings.
Just because prominence is not given to URL’s in search engines as much as it used to be, it does not mean that it is not important. URL’s are still being included in an overall score.
12. Links
If you want to make your website look more reputable, one of the best things you can do is to get links from other well-respected sites.
There are three main types you need to know about for SEO:
- Internal links – or ones that direct to another page on your website like this one.
- Outbound links – also known as external links, these are the links that point to a site on a different domain, like this one pointing to Google’s SEO page.
- Inbound links – sometimes called backlinks, these are links from other websites pointing to your page.
Inbound links are the most difficult to come by but also offer the greatest SEO rewards.
On-Page SEO Is An Ongoing Process
In the end, all search engine optimization strategies aim to improve a website’s position in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can be done by providing valuable content to searchers and making sure the website appears high up in results for relevant searches.