Numerous elements on a website that help you get traffic and ranking. However, that does not mean that your website is optimized. There are various on-page factors that you must follow to improve your website’s health, therefore, optimizing it along the way.
On-page SEO is a basic part of SEO, and different factors that help make or break the success of an SEO. However, before we delve deep into the topic, we should clearly understand what on-page SEO is.
On-page SEO or on-site SEO is actually the process of optimizing the web pages and the content for users and search engines. It helps you get a better Google ranking and more organic traffic.
Along with publishing relevant and high-quality content, on-page SEO includes optimizing for search intent, internal links, title tags, and URLs. The main motive is to enhance the individual page’s relevance and visibility.
On-page optimization is a continuous process. It is one of the most fundamental parts of ensuring that content exists on the search engine results pages. However, the process does not just end here. You must continuously review and edit the content to ensure that it is the quality of the content is good, relevant, user-friendly, and up-to-date.
Search engines use various keywords and other on-page SEO elements to ensure that the page matches the user’s search engine. If they find the page useful and relevant, Google will promote it to its users.
In simple terms, Google pays attention to all the on-page SEO signals when ranking pages. Even though the Google algorithm is constantly changing, it always prioritizes user experience. Google always recommends focusing on “people-first content.” This means creating valuable content that aligns with the user’s intent is of the utmost importance.
Overall, this is a way of optimizing the website to help search engines understand your website better. The first is that it gets a lot of traffic. The initial five organic search results get 67.60% off all the clicks. The next five get only 3.73% clicks. After that, it drastically drops. So, if you need traffic, you must reach the top of the list.
The second advantage is that high-ranking websites have better CTR or click-through rates. The first mobile search result on Google has a 26.9% CTR on average. Now, think of the 92.4% of internet users who look for things on their mobile phones for something and visit those businesses that same day.
You can check the impact of organic SEO there and how important a ranking factor is. Now, let’s get into the on-page SEO checklist you should follow to ensure you are optimizing the content.
If you think objectively, you can broadly divide on-page SEO into three categories: content, HTML, and website architecture. Let’s dissect these broad categories to better understand and find out the best ways to optimize content for on-page SEO.
We all know “content is king.” However, it is not just the content that can go anywhere. It would help if you had SEO to brush it up and optimize it. There are some factors you must consider maximizing the on-site SEO.
Google weighs your site in one way, and that depends on E-E-A-T, or experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. The Google Search Quality Guidelines are around 175 pages long, and have mentioned it almost 135 times.
You can understand how much they emphasize the E-E-A-T score. Even though Google has just confirmed a few elements of E-E-A-T, the SEO field has accepted that this plays a huge role in on-page SEO.
The simple way to let them know that your website answers the question the user is looking for is in the language you use. Pages that contain those keywords in the questions, the headings, and the body are more relevant to the search.
You must know what your customer is looking for and form the content where you include those words. It is better to do intensive research to avoid missing out on anything.
You must create the content in a way that prioritizes search engines and is pleasing to the readers as well. You must create something that reads well and abides by the best SEO practices.
Take care of readability; the paragraphs should not be long. You must use the keywords adequately, and you should not overuse them. Use subheadings and make it crisp.
Use infographics, videos, and images. This not only makes the page visually interesting and attractive to the visitors but also boosts the SEO. Ensure to optimize the accompanying text whenever you can.
Make sure that the images are not too big, as this can reduce the loading speed. The images should be shareable to identify opportunities for backlinking, which can also boost the E-E-A-T score.
HTML or HyperText Markup Language is a code used to structure the content and the webpage. It lets the user know where to show and what to show. It tells the search engines where they can rank the page and what it is about.
This is where you must focus on the details. The snippet code that lets you give a webpage a title most probably won’t shoot up the SERP rankings. However, the content of the other elements in on-page rankings helps demonstrate and build context for your site’s relevancy.
There has been much evidence against the fact that meta descriptions add to the ranking factor. However, do not let that stop you from adding one to your website. It helps Google understand what your web page is about, and they get an outsized influence on the CTRs.
Ensure that you optimize the images as well. You must include SEO-friendly alt tags, choose the right size and format for fast loading, customize the file name, and ensure that the images are mobile-friendly.
Even though it is a global economy, most of the businesses are conducted at a local level. You can connect with the local people through on-page local SEO optimization. This is not very important for mega companies; however, it is essential for small enterprises.
Your website needs to be well-structured. A website is laid out in a logical way will be crawled better by search engines, and create a better user experience. Here are a few factors that you should consider.
When the loading speed of the site is low, it not only drives the visitors away, it is also bad for its search ranking. Loading slides is also an important ranking factor.
2016 mobile search volume crossed desktop for the first time. After that, the number kept growing. Currently, mobile accounts for more than 56% of internet usage, and tablets contribute to 2.4%.
This is happening because users are using their mobiles more. Google has chosen the logical path, and it is now prioritizing sites with responsive designs in mobile search rankings.
URLs played a huge role in SEO, even a few years back. Professionals ensured that they include keywords in the web address for better ranking. However, Google has changed its algorithm, and what used to be an important part of ranking is no longer.
But it does matter. Search engines still include URLs in the score; it’s just that they do not have the same prominence they used to have. However, there is evidence that they play an important role in the site’s initial ranking.
One of the simplest ways for your website to get E-E-A-T is through the likes of other authoritative sites. to optimize your content, Internal links, inbound links, and outbound links should be included.
As we have discussed the aspects of on-page SEO, it is also important to know about off-page SEO. A few factors that differentiate the two, but the major one is quite clear from their name itself.
On-page SEO – This is something that you can do internally or from the back end to improve the article’s rankings, for instance, by including meta descriptions, keyword optimization, alt text, title tags, and website structure.
Off-page SEO – This includes all external efforts that impact the site’s ranking. It includes local SEO, E-E-A-T, backlinks, pay-per-click, and social media mentions.
Obviously, you have a lot more control over on-page SEO, so it is wise to keep off-page SEO in mind. You are going to need both to get where you want. However, initially, you should focus more on creating a relevant webpage completely optimized for search engines. After that, you can start thinking about investing resources to promote your sites and build links.
Last but not least, SEO comes down to finding the best way to serve valuable information to visitors and ensuring that your website is at the top of the SRPs.
Your motive is to provide a rich experience and demonstrate that you are valuable to search engines.
And these two go hand-in-hand, and they begin with on-page optimization. Begin with what you have under your control and then evaluate your site’s weaknesses and opportunities
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A self-proclaimed Swiftian, Instagram-holic, and blogger, Subhasree eats, breathes, and sleeps pop culture. When she is not imagining dates with Iron Man on Stark Tower (yes, she has the biggest crush on RDJ, which she won’t admit), she can be seen tweeting about the latest trends. Always the first one to break viral news, Subhasree is addicted to social media, and leaves out no opportunity of blogging about the same. She is our go-to source for the latest algorithm updates and our resident editor.
