On-page SEO, usually called on-site SEO, allows Google and other search engines to understand your page’s content better, improving the page’s ranking and relevant page traffic.
If your business has a website, it is crucial to understand these basic concepts of SEO, or search engine optimization, because it will support your website’s ranking in search results. Then what Is SEO on-page? This article explains the definition, its importance, ways to optimize, and advanced tactics in 2023 surrounding on-page SEO.
What Is SEO On-Page?
On-page SEO is optimizing variables in content such as title tags, URLs, page speed, and keywords or off-site factors like external links. As a result, this strategy gives Google and major search engines authority to observe your page content better.
Why Does SEO On-Page Matter?
Despite the massive expansion of new websites and the ongoing evolution of Google’s search algorithm, this major search engine still needs support processing new content. In this situation, on-page SEO is the best solution.
In addition to assisting search engines in understanding page content, effective on-site SEO also benefits users in quickly and effectively determining a page’s subject matter and if it corresponds to their search query. Simply put, a successful on-site SEO guides search engines to understand the perspective of users, their search intent, and expectations after reading a page. This progress enables them to consistently get back and look for the site which provides the most precise information through a given keyword.
The primary concept of on-page SEO is to simplify for users and search engines the process of:
- Comprehend the purpose of a website;
- Determine whether or if that page is relevant to particular search queries (for example, a specific keyword or group of keywords)
- Consider the page beneficial and suitable for higher ranking on SERP.
How To Optimize For On-Page SEO?
When optimizing on-site SEO, you need to use various on-page ranking components to maximize the benefit of each element. Once you focus on developing these elements, your website will rank higher in search results. In consequence, the page becomes more competitive and challenging to overtake.
The following on-page SEO variables need to prioritize:
- URL
- Title tag
- Meta description
- Heading tags
- Alt tags
- Keywords
- Content
- Speed
- Internal linking
- Images
- Mobile-friendliness
The process of optimizing on-page SEO is complex. However, these basic guidelines will support improving this strategy:
- Put your page title in an H1 tag.
- Use H2 to H6 tags for subheadings
- Create a convincing title tag
- Create a clear meta description
- Determine effective SEO URLs
- Improve your images
- Use internal links
- Display your expertise
- Optimize for featured snippets
- Get rich snippets with structured data
1. Put your page title in an H1 tag
Regarding evaluating page ranking, Google must be aware of the on-page SEO content. It is simpler for search engine crawlers to acknowledge your website when you use particular keywords in the title H1 tag for each separate page.
The H1 element is often included manually by WordPress. In such cases, the arrangement of content is always available for you to check. However, this case is different. To ensure that you have included the title in an H1 of an on-page SEO, verify the source code and the H1 tag containing your keyword.
2. Use H2 to H6 tags for subheadings
When mentioning heading tags in on-page SEO, you should use them to enhance your content’s visual structure to benefit users and search engines. Consequently, splitting the content into different headings, H2s to H6s, will make the information easier to read and summarize.
Remember to target the main keyword in your H1 tag when composing your heading tags. Or to provide the website additional context to search engines by including relevant keywords on on-page SEO.
3. Create a convincing title tag
Title tags are the most prominent aspect of on-page SEO since it provides search engines with a high-level summary of the content of your page.
Depending on how close the keyword places to the beginning of the title tags, their weight will vary with search engines. Therefore, it is vital to create convincing title tags. These are some recommended tips:
- Make title tags brief. The ideal character limit to prevent truncation is 70.
- Define the purpose of the search, then highlight the content the readers expect to have.
- Provide details. Avoid being vague or general.
- Avoid click-bait. Ensure they complement your content.
- Specify the keyword in title tags. Choose the one that makes the most sense.
- Specify the year, especially for high-demand topics.
4. Create a clear meta description
A meta description has a limited direct impact on your on-page SEO. Instead, it is a practical SEO component that allows people to acknowledge more about your page. Another purpose for optimizing your meta description for on-page SEO is that Google will highlight user search keywords in your meta description. Therefore, it is a requirement for you to understand how to write a meta description to utilize the benefits best.
You must include primary and relevant keywords in your meta description for the best outcomes. Following are some suggestions when creating them:
- Make them brief. The ideal character limit to prevent truncation is 160.
- Create in-depth title tags or unique selling points for your business.
- Match the purpose of the search. Focus on what users expect.
- Prioritize active voice. Include d direct message to the searcher.
- Include keywords for Google to highlight in the results.
5. Determine effective SEO URLs
If you have optimized your on-page SEO, URL is a highly influential component. The best approach is to include a short summary of the page’s main content. Additionally, considering using your keyword rather than numbers or a long wordy URL makes your site easier to browse and helps readers approach your page’s primary content better.
In short, use clear, well-organized URLs to enhance the structure of your on-page SEO and boost your ranking in relevant search results. However, each pa e still requires an informative title. Google recommends using phrases that are appropriate to your content. Prioritizing the quantity by using your main keyword is frequently the most straightforward technique to achieve it.
6. Improve your images
Both users and SEO value images in your on-page SEO. You may divide your material with images. It suggests using images to visualize complex procedures or unfamiliar features. These images can be screenshots, customized graphics, and stock photographs.
Images increase your on-page SEO chances to appear in Google image search results, increasing traffic to your site. When optimizing them, three things need to apply:
- Detailed filenames
- Detailed alternative text
- Compress the file
Detailed filenames
According to Google, filenames can provide information about the subject matter of a picture. Give details. The filenames should be clear and precise, avoid overusing keywords, and put a dash between each word.
Detailed alternative text
To comprehend the subject matter of an image, Google also implements alt text (alternative text). The key purpose of this HTML property is to describe the image on tags.
Alt text’s primary goal is to provide accessibility for users of screen readers. These convert the text and visuals on a page into audio. Similar to filenames, ensure to give details clearly and precisely, avoid overusing keywords, and do not have misconceptions between the alt text and an image.
Compress the file
Remember to compress your images before uploading them to your website. Large-file multimedia can make your page load more slowly, which could negatively impact your ranking.
7. Use internal links
In terms of on-page SEO, internal linking is frequently underestimated. However, it’s crucial to establish an internal link strategy as your website expands. It is because internal linking enables crawlers to explore better across your website, find new content, and properly understand the relationships between various pages.
The user’s ability to obtain useful material on your site will be severely affected when there is little internal linking on your pages. In addition, your conversion rate will only increase if they can not access it.
8. Display your expertise
Although having experience is a plus, Google prefers information from experts. It is vital to assure readers are quickly aware of your level of experience with your on-page SEO. Here are a few methods Google suggests you try:
- Verify your knowledge of the subject.
- Clearly state the information’s references.
- Describe the author’s background by including a backlink to their “author” page.
- Make sure the information is clear of easily noticed misstatements.
9. Optimize for featured snippets
A highlighted snippet delivers a concise response to the searcher’s query. Google retrieves them from online search results, most of which originate from one of the top 10 pages. Winning the snippet may accelerate your path to the leading position of on-page SEO.
The highest chances for prominent snippets often dedicate to keywords that:
- You are now in the top 10.
- Google already displays the feat red snippet.
- The snippet still needs to be yours.
See more: How to optimize featured snippets?
10. Get rich snippets with structured data
Rich snippets are search results of structured data that can be implemented into the on-page SEO. Their purpose is to summarize the information for searchers efficiently.
Although structured data is not a ranking criterion, it helps improve Google’s understanding of the content on your sites. As a result, understanding how to optimize feature snippets and sufficiently implement them will enable your website to stand out more in the search results and lead to additional clicks.
3 Advanced SEO On-Page Tactics
Once you understand the fundamentals, you may experiment with more advanced on-page SEO optimization strategies, which are:
- Improve Page Speed
- Focus on Featured Snippets
- Include Schema Markup
1. Improve Page Speed
We might never fully observe all Google ranking factors. However, it is necessary to know the page speed is a legitimate ranking component of on-page SEO. In consequence, improving page speed is more advantageous than ever.
With Google’s free Page Speed Insights tool, you can obtain a general performance score for desktop and mobile devices and specific recommendations for improvement. This tool evaluates the Google Core Web Vitals, which are elements that affect the user experience on a website.
There are three Core Web Vitals of an on-page SEO, consists of:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): duration of time necessary for the main content to load.
- First Input Delay (FID): how long it takes for your website to reply to a user’s first interaction.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): the quantity of material on your website adjusts (or “moves down”) when new content (e.g., banners, photos) loads.
2. Focus on Featured Snippets
Featured snippets can increase your click-through rate since they are shown in “position zero” above other organic results (CTR). These components come in a variety of formats, including:
- Definitions
- Tables
- Lists
- Videos
To lead the ranking, update your page using the on-page SEO strategy. Multiple methods to target a featured snippet include:
- Providing a clear and friendly response to the question
- Identifying the search intent of the user
- Answering in the appropriate format might be a brief one or two-sentence, a table, a video, etc.
3. Include Schema Markup
Search engines can quickly analyze the content of your on-site SEO on your website with the help of schema markup. This technique can enhance the topic communication of a page by adding code.
Rich snippets may appear in the SERP by using schema. Schema markup consumes more valuable space on the SERP and may also increase your page’s CTR. In addition, there are many typical schema types, which are:
- Reviews
- Products
- Events
- People Local businesses
- And more
Frequently Asked Questions
What are SEO on-page and off-page?
You have likely come across the terms on-page SEO and off-page SEO when attempting to improve your web rankings.
- On-page SEO: refers to improvements made on your website, such as content optimization and navigational streamlining, to improve your search ranks.
- Off-page SEO: describes strategies used to enhance your search engine rankings that don’t involve your website, such as obtaining backlinks from other authoritative websites.
What are two examples of on-page SEO?
On-site SEO refers to the SEO components placed within your direct control of the HTML code of the webpage. Content, headlines and headers, image optimization, title tags, meta descriptions, structured data, and other elements are examples of on-page SEO.
What are the three most important on-page SEO factors?
Depending on your business circumstances, you will define the importance of on-page SEO factors at different levels. However, these are common three most essential elements:
- URLs
- Keyword
- Title tags
Conclusion
To conclude all the information discussed above, on-page SEO is the progress of implementing key SEO factors in content, including URLs, page speed, keywords, title tags, and many others. In addition, there are ten steps in optimizing this strategy which mainly consists of headings, subheadings, internal links, URLs, snippets, and images to make the content more direct and easier to comprehend.
Depending on the qualification for creating an effective on-page SEO to improve page ranking, your business should consider hiring an on-page SEO service. Their expertise will help the business to smoothen the process and suggest new strategies that are highly suitable to enhance the company’s online presence.
Co-Founder & General Manager @ ROI Digitally
3 Common Customer Behaviors & 4 Key Customer Personas