You may have already heard the term “On-Page SEO” if you are not even an SEO expert. On-Page SEO provides eligibility to the web pages to be included in the search engines. You will find everything you need to know about On-Page SEO as a beginner learner of SEO throughout the following content.
What is On-Page SEO?
Why On-Page SEO is Important?
You should know that SEO is a dynamic context
where algorithms of search engines for example Google Algorithm change more
frequently. In this regard, some may think that the old school stuff for
example On-Page SEO may not be valued in 2022. But it's absolutely wrong
because the most used search engine, Google (with more than 91.88% market share)
is considering the factors of On-Page SEO in terms of showing them to the
users. In 2021, Google has experimented 800,000 times and has changed its
algorithm more than 5000 times where On-Page SEO factors for example keyword is
still a top priority of this popular search engine in terms of listing a page
on the top of the search list. In addition to this, On-Page SEO is also
important to meet the quarry of the users. Further effective On-Page SEO can increase
the organic traffic to the page by up to 40% which can also increase the
conversion rate along with increasing sales and revenue. Effective On-Page SEO provides signals to the
search engines by demonstrating that the page is containing information that is
looked for by the users. Followings are some important benefits of On-Page SEO:
-
Getting a higher SERP ranking
- Increasing traffic to the web
pages
- Better local presence
- Getting higher engagement
potentiality
- Improving brand recall and
- Getting more credibility and trust of search engine
Essential On-Page SEO Factors
On-Page SEO is particularly divided into
three key aspects and these are content, HTML and architecture of the site.
On-Page SEO factors are discussed here with these three key divisions:
Content
In terms of SEO content is considered the
king when it is compared to the engine of a car. It may look SEO without
content as the car may look like without an engine. SEO can enhance the beauty
of the site but without content, it will end with nothing. Some of the content
factors considered by search engines in terms of valuing websites are:
1. Expertise-Authoritativeness-Trustworthiness (E-A-T)
While Google considers your site for
ranking, Expertise-Authoritativeness-Trustworthiness can add a big value. It
provides on-page signals to the search engine for example Google to rank it on
the top list based on the content it has.
2. Keywords
Search engines update their algorithms frequently but for a long period of time keywords are a top valued content for them to consider a site. It provides an understanding to the search engines regarding the contents a site is holding. People search with keywords, for example, searchers may search about furniture and a website selling furniture must include a keyword related to furniture for example dining, bed, sofa and table. This will increase the visibility of relevant visitors to the site. Hope you understand the role of keywords in On-Page SEO.
3. SEO writing
Another content-related factor that
influences On-Page SEO is SEO writing. It should be written in a way that
satisfies both visitors and search engines. However, it’s a critical task to write
SEO content where the following factors can help to improve your SEO writing:
- Readability of the contents: Key focus
should be on the readability of the users to meet their desired contents of the
page.
- Avoid keyword overuse: Standard use of keywords to avoid keyword stuffing (a technique used in the past to rank a site) that can demote the page on SERP because now search engines for example Google considers it as unethical SEO practices.
- Use a brief paragraph with a short sentence: You must know one thing SEO contents are not academic books that visitors must read. Here, you must engage your reader and must hold their interest to read them. Short sentences and brief paragraphs help visitors or readers of the content of the page to hold their interest. On the other hand, using long sentences and large paragraphs can lead readers to skip reading.
- Use subheadings and bullet lists: Another effective measure of improving SEO writing is to use subheadings to provide a better understanding to the visitors along with short bullet points to break long information into easily understandable contents.
HTML
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the
standard language for creating web pages. It is used to structure web pages by
defining specific heading, colours, fonts, hyperlinks and graphics of the
pages. In addition to this, HTML is used to define the web page to the search
engine in terms of its contents and its preferred rank category. Followings are
the HTML-related factors that need to be considered in On-Page SEO:
4. Title Tags
It is the HTML code that is used to provide
a specific title to a web page. Visitors can identify the title on the title
bar. It is a must for On-Page SEO to include a title tag on the page so that
search engines can understand what the pages are containing. Moreover, title
tags in HTML demonstrate the relevancy of the search with the desired search
items of the visitors.
5. Meta Description
It is a short brief of a web page that
demonstrates the content a page an actually offering to the visitors. Visitors
can get a brief overview of the page without even entering the page. Although
there are controversies regarding the use of Meta description in terms of
ranking web pages, it can still provide major benefits to web pages. The first
benefit of using meta description is to provide a clear understanding to the
visitors about the page that can trigger their interest to visit the page. In
addition to this, it can play a significant role in CTRs. For these reasons, it
is not a wise decision to avoid Meta descriptions on your site.
6. Image Optimisation
There is a popular saying that an image can
describe a hundred words that can improve the visual representation of web
pages to visitors. More than 17% of organic traffic on a web page is generated
from image optimisation. On the first page, Google offers a dedicated section
of images where visitors frequently search for their desired results. In this
regard, it has become an imperative task for web pages to optimise images so
that they can generate more organic traffic to the site. In today's SEO
practices image optimisation has become an imperative On-Page SEO context.
Here, some tips are demonstrated to improve your knowledge and understanding of
useful image optimisation strategies:
- Use SEO-friendly tags (alt tags)
- Ensure that file size and file format are highly supportive for quick loading
- Use meaningful file names instead of random file names for example IMG_0133
- Must ensure images and image formats for mobile users
7. Geo-Tagging for Local Search Optimisation
It's a process of adding geographical
identification to the web page contents to make it visible and valuable for a
specific region. Although businesses are involved in the global economy, most
of the transactions are done in the local context. In this regard, it is an
important task for businesses to optimise their web pages for local targeted
users. Although MNCs have less concern about geo-tagging as they are not
particularly focusing on a specific region for business operation, it’s a must
for the SMEs where the major customers group are from the local areas. The
followings are some valuable tactics for you to improve your geo-tagging
knowledge and understanding:
- Optimisation of the local elements for example address, signs, business description and name with the application of third-party media
- Optimisation of local content to the web page including "near me" search along with adding location-specified content to the visitors
- Optimisation as well as creating links with related or supportive businesses from the local areas
Web Architecture
It includes the process of creating,
designing and implementing programs that are supported by the internet and
computer, particularly by search engines. It works as a box or showcase where
the contents of a web page are included. However, in terms of On-Page SEO,
there are two major benefits of the importance of web architecture. First of
all, it can provide a smooth and rich user experience to the visitors of the
page. Secondly, it can help search engines to identify the page as an efficient
and well-structured site to display to the searchers. Some of the key factors
that must be considered in On-Page SEO regarding web architecture are:
8. Speed of the site
Page speed indicates the time required for loading
the contents after the click of the searchers. According to Search Engine
Journal site speed is considered a significant factor valued by search engines
in terms of ranking the page. Here, the slow speed of the page can demote the
visitors and can drive them away the visitors from the page. In addition to
this, it can also damage the search ranking of the page. If you find that your
site is not up to the market as per the standard of the search engine, you may
consider the following to improve your site speed:
- Enable compression
- Reduce redirects of the page
- Optimise the images on the page
- Leverage the caches of the site
9. Responsive design
The term “responsive design” in web design
indicates user friendliness for both mobile and desktop users. Before 2010
there wasn't any mentionable focus on responsive design as more than 87% of
users were from the desktop. However, the advancement of mobile technologies
has changed the context. In 2016, mobile searches surpassed desktop searches
for the first time. Now, more than 56% of Google searches are from mobile
devices which indicates the importance of the responsive design of your site. It
also shapes the ranking of the website where a search engine ranks
mobile-friendly sites for mobile searches.
10. Structure of URLs
URLs were one of the most significant
factors for ranking pages on the search engine in the past where owners of the
site ensured that their keywords are on the URLs. However, the scenario has
changed now because search engines, for example, Google have changed its
algorithm but still there are roles of URLs for ranking the web page. The fact
is that you should not put this as your first priority like in the past; you
must not ignore your site's URLs as a part of On-Page SEO practices.
11. Links
The final factor of web architecture in
terms of On-Page SEO we are going to discuss today is links that is also
related to the first E-A-T factors that we discussed at the very beginning of
the article. Links indicate the Expertise-Authoritativeness-Trustworthiness of
your site to the search engine. It works the same way as you trust banks more
than you even trust your own pocket. In addition to this, links create signals
that are sent to the search engines to represent them at the top of the search
list. Here you can follow three key types of links to your On-Page SEO
practices:
- Internal links: Direct towards another page
of your site
- Outbound links: Include external links
directed towards another domain
- Inbound links: Links from another domain
direct towards your web page
