What is On-Page SEO exactly?
On-page SEO (also known as “on-site SEO”) is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to links and other external signals.
On-site SEO is the practice of optimizing web pages to earn organic traffic and improve a website’s rankings in the SERP (search engine results pages). This includes optimizing a page’s HTML, internal links, and metadata (meta title, meta description, and keyword density) along with posting high-quality, relevant content and images. When you add all these aspects of a webpage together, you are left with an improved webpage, thanks to on-page SEO.
For those new to SEO, we highly recommend reading our Why is SEO important for business?
Why is On-Page SEO most Important?
On-page SEO helps search engines analyze your website and the content connected to it so that it can identify if a searcher’s query is relevant to your site. Google is constantly updating their algorithm so that it can better understand a searcher’s intent and deliver search results that meet that user’s needs. As Google’s algorithm develops, so should your website.
It is essential that your website and its content, including what is visible to users (i.e. media, content, images) and what is visible to search engines (i.e. meta data, HTML), are optimized to the latest practices used by companies like Google and Bing. This way search engines can understand your site and how to rank it.
Whether you have a big or small business, it is important to optimize a website’s on-page SEO. SEO represents one of the most common digital marketing strategies, and it remains super popular because of its reliable return-on-investment. In fact on-page SEO offers the best ROI out of nearly any digital marketing strategy with its relatively low-cost and long-term benefits that can help websites grow and bring in passive traffic for years.
Strategic Considerations: Hiring an SEO Agency
As much as half of all website traffic comes from search engine like Google or Bing, this means that close to 40% of online revenue comes from search traffic as well. Here’s something else to think about: The top 1st result on Google gets more than 32% of keyword traffic, and the first page of search results grab as much as 91.5% of traffic.
This is why on-page SEO is important. Without it your site could be seriously missing out on opportunities to rank for search queries specific to your business. Without an SEO strategy then your site might get pushed down search results by competitors. This is a big part of why many companies hire an SEO agency, because the world of search marketing has grown to represent approximately $79 billion.
The Golden Rule of On-Site Optimization
Before we get started, one thing you want to keep in mind when using any of the following SEO elements is not to overdo it. You might be tempted to shove a lot of keywords onto your pages, but that is not the goal. In fact, Google has unleashed an over-optimization penalty that targets websites that have too many keywords stuffed onto one page. So when it comes to keyword optimization, keep it simple – think of up to five keywords or keyword phrases for each page on your website and optimize for those. And the most important thing is good content leads with or without SEO.
Step by Step process for On-page SEO:
Improve the Title Tag and Description Meta Tag.
Title tag and Description Meta Tags are some of the most critical On-page SEO elements. A well-written Title Tag or page title greatly increases organic Google search results click-through rates delivering more website traffic as long as the corresponding page conveys genuine value supporting the title tag which if done correctly results in a lower bounce rate. Avoid duplicate title tags and stay within the recommended character limits – title tags under 60 characters, meta descriptions under 300 characters. Writing title tags is a skill worth the effort and is a competitive advantage in online marketing.
Keyword Research and Analysis.
Launch keyword research software tool. Generate keywords, sort, and analyze keywords. Search for 10+ phrases that have good monthly USA search volume with lower competition, that include variations of keyword order arrangement, versus depending upon outdated On Page Optimization Steps such as exact keyword repetition and keyword density analysis. Keyword research that returns valued long-tailed keywords is the best market intelligence to give you a niche competitive advantage
Integrate Essential On-page SEO Mechanical Elements.
Title tag and header tags for paragraph subheadings (eg. H1, H2, H3), increase user experience benefits by parsing page content into distinct sections, add structured markup, add image alt tags and image title tags, use user-friendly URLs, integrate keywords and long-tail keywords, add internal linking.
Add Cornerstone Content.
Beef-up your content writing and web page optimization by greatly expanding in-depth on a specific topic on one or two pages on your website, through cornerstone content. Make sure your web page is 1000-1500 words in length and include all on-page SEO steps. You can also add in frequently asked questions (FAQs) which can generate huge amounts of qualified traffic from people asking questions. Group content into related sections with themed paragraphs.
Write Effective Headlines, Sub-headings, Headings Tags.
Improve H1, H2, H3, H4 tags or heading tags on all web pages including different variations of the head keyword topic found in the web page title tag improves SERP click-throughs. Add useful heading tags above paragraphs. In addition, for images on the page use descriptive alt-image and alt-tags accurately describing visual content elements.
Keyword Choice and Keyword Selection Strategies – Pick Your Battles.
Select individual keyword phrases, supporting semantic keywords, long-tailed keyword phrases, and LSI keywords that will provide more depth of coverage towards the overall page topic or paragraph subtopic and are also achievable based upon your current domain authority. Goal is to target the sweet-spot between too-competitive unachievable and no-traffic volume thus easy-to-rank-for .
Judiciously Integrate Different Keyword Types.
Advance the subject by adding value in your area of expertise. To get all the benefits of On Page SEO steps place head keywords early and prominently in the body copy above-the-fold thoroughly covering keyword topics which can be a crucial component in the On Page SEO process. Usually ten or more keyword phrase variations supporting the head topic can be integrated into web page content with a total word count of 350 to 500+ words. Strive to make content more interesting web content by publishing more sophisticated vocabulary topics, increase complex words usage and reading level, yet keep it legible in a natural human conversation sounding way, plus include semantic keywords for improved Google quality signals.
Add-in Geo-targeted keywords for your city, keyword phrase variants, and both branded keywords and transactional keywords. Avoid a lot of stop words like “you” “I” and “our”. The idea is to communicate a useful and informative never-before-seen message getting to the point. For added search engine rankings value, organize your brand messaging into hierarchical content silos which leads to the best website structure and logical information architecture to enhance user experience (UX).
Additional SEO Copywriting.
Adding more SEO Copywriting content could be necessary in order to increase the content topical coverage, or to support the integration of 10+ keyword additions. Longer in-depth content with more words per page, say 500+ to 1500+ words (see cornerstone content above) in content length develops the topic more thoroughly and increases the probability of ranking on multiple keywords. Oftentimes you’ll get more benefit from improving the quality and depth of topic coverage on existing website pages versus publishing new blog posts or web pages. Generally, web pages have more strength to rank compared with blog posts depending upon how the article is distributed, promoted, and linked-to internally.
Focus On High-Commerciality Keywords
Focus upon ranking for keyword phrases with high commercial intent (i.e.. sales transactions) versus generic information. You want keyword traffic that increases sales from real buyers! The ultimate keyword portfolio possesses high monthly USA search volume, low competition, and high cost per click dollar or pay-per-click dollar amounts in Google AdWords, which means you have to focus upon a specific marketing niche. Work on ranking high commercial intent keywords using publicly available historical data gathered from others’ paid search campaigns using free online website analysis tools such as Semrush.com, Keywordspy.com, and Seorch.eu.
Understand Differences Between Organic SEO – Local SEO – and Technical SEO.
In Organic SEO your site is competing nationally against ALL websites on your business topic in your country i.e. USA. In local SEO you’re competing in your chosen geographical area as acknowledged in your Google My Business profile (without sound organic SEO you have no chance at Local SEO Rankings), Technical SEO refers to technological issues present that are holding you back from rankings eg. broken links, duplicate content, inappropriate header response codes, spam incoming links etc. For your local market add local search marketing content including local business schema markup and NAP consistency.
If you want to know more about different types of SEO. Read this article on Different types of SEO..
Stylize The Content.
Make web pages easier on the eye by integrating attractive design elements and making content scannable and readable through bolding text for emphasis, adding italics, adding visual space, complementary color schemes and color palettes, or adding different colored text, weighted text, and relevant blue links to make the page more interesting looking aesthetically, insert fast-loading images, use attractive font combinations and correct spacing dimensions.
Add Visual Content.
Visual content includes anything Multimedia, Infographics, Widgets, Apps, Annotated Screenshots for Proof, Statistics and Primary or Secondary Research, Social Media Icons, Slide Shows, links to E-Books, Gifs, Images, Embed Videos. Videos are extremely powerful to enhance user experience and improve website performance and website dwell time. Add photos with captions, useful diagrams or charts or graphs, embed YouTube videos or Vimeo.com videos to increase customer engagement for ways to reduce bounce rates. Take image optimization steps to minimize file size and maintain quality image displaying.
Responsive Web Design + Secure Web Sites, SSL Certificates.
You should make sure that your website is responsive for all devices. Be sure to convert or migrate your website to a Secure Website Design for added encryption and security by adding SSL Certificate (Secure Socket Layer) credentials which means converting to https:// versus http:// protocol because it’s reported that 70% of Google’s Page #1 search results are https:// protocols. The https:// protocol does require a web hosting upgrade and SSL certificate which are an increased cost, but worth it. Also make sure your web host keeps server speed or web page load speed under 2 seconds for home page speed rendering.
Conduct Internal Linking to Distribute Link Equity.
Drive internal links to the most important pages directing internal page rank flow from the homepage into key internal pages. Add deep linking or deep links between blog posts and related web pages. Interlink web content using natural sounding link anchor text, avoiding link anchor text over-optimization. Fix broken links
Conduct Blogger or Influencer Outreach, Content Promotion, or Link Building.
Distribute and promote the finished product. Use social media sharing. Distribute the content to your email subscription list. If your site has good web visibility and domain authority the page can immediately begin attaining rankings from search queries. With good user experience and low bounce rates Google will deliver even more future natural search engine traffic to the page.
Bottom Line:
SEO is an ongoing process. Keep making the web page or blog post better – measure and refine. Give more effort on proofreading and expanding on the theme in detail and in overview can increase web conversions.
Choose Rizaorsolutions as your SEO partner.
If you’re looking for a company to help you get to the top of the search engine rankings, why not give Rizaorsolutions a chance? Rizaorsolutions is a web design and development agency based in Tampa, Florida. Rizaorsolutions helps small-medium businesses scale up their business. Our services are web development and designing, SEO, PPC ads, social media marketing and email marketing and many more. Have doubts about us? Check our testimonials.
