What is On-Page SEO?
On-Page SEO involves optimizing your webpage content to improve your rank on search engines and gain organic traffic.
This is different from Off-Page SEO that involves actions taken outside your website to contribute to your SEO rank such as backlinks from other sites.
To optimize your web page content for SEO, you must consider the following:
- URL Structure
- Keywords- Short tail and Longtail
- Title Tags
- Heading Tags
- Alt Tags
- Meta Description
- Image Optimization
- Internal Linking
- Backlinks
- Quality Content
Each of these plays an important role in the SEO of your site and when done properly, the outcome is a brilliant piece of content that Google finds appealing.
What SEO is NOT
SEO is probably that buzzword you hear almost every day when it comes to creating content and appearing on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). While Search Engine Optimization might be a popular phrase, not everyone is familiar with how it works, hence the misconstrued idea of what SEO might be.
SEO is NOT:
- Slapping keywords on an article and calling it a day.
- Trying to force a link into an article, hoping it creates magic.
- Creating a single 500-word piece and waiting for your site to be on the first page of Google.
- Something you create on a whim without having a solid understanding of what it is and how it works.
What then does SEO entail?
There’s more to SEO than all of those things I just listed. Google has gotten smarter over the years as they continue to upgrade their algorithm at every chance they get. To optimize your site for SEO, you must also be smart and follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines.
In simple terms, this is what On-Page SEO entails:
- Optimizing all the relevant factors that will help your content rank and this includes the URL, Title Tag, Meta Description, Heading Tags, Keywords, Content, Links, and Images.
- Proper keyword research must be done to target your specific audience. These keywords must be placed organically into the content.
- Your content must be easily accessible and readable by search engine crawlers. The best way to do this is to optimize the content the way Google understands.
- The content should be written with in-depth research, containing accurate information and links to authoritative sources. This will help Google understand that your site is a valuable resource for visitors and will recommend it to more people, thereby improving your SEO.
- Use attractive Heading and Title tags to provide structure and context to your content. It also makes it more appealing and readable to your audience.
- Insert meta description, tags, and images in the right places on your site to help site crawlers read them properly.
Why is On-Page SEO Important?
The end goal for every business or brand on the internet is to be able to connect with its audience and increase its lead conversion rate.
On-page SEO helps search engines understand your website and present it to the audience it was originally tailored for.
Rather than writing something random and hoping it hits your target, you can be more deliberate. Teach search engines to read and understand your website to help you out.