On-page and SEO, what do these terms mean?
If you are new to the field of website development and design, you may have less insight on this matter. But you do not have to worry, this article is going to talk about basic details on create search engine and user-friendly Web pages.
So, without further ado, let us start rolling.
First, let us look into the terms:
- On-page – It generally involves your site’s content.
- SEO – It means search engine optimisation, which encompasses strategies that put your site or any of its pages in search engine result pages (SERPs).
Next, let us discuss the application of SEO to your website content.
Before anything else, you have to know that when Google rolled out its Panda and Penguin updates (algorithm modifications) within 2011-2012, the search engine giant has given much emphasis on relevant and authoritative content.
With that said, you need to optimise every page on your site to get the top spot in SERPs. This is imperative given that various studies have come upon the following discoveries:
- Approximately 70-80% of Web users does not pay attention to paid adverts and instead focus on organic search results.
- An estimated 75% of these people only check the first page for relevant results.
- Search drives more traffic to websites by around 300% more than social media.
- Around 93% of Internet experiences start with a search engine.
- Furthermore, there are more than 100 billion global queries performed every month.
- Approximately 82.6% of online users conduct queries.
As you can see from these numbers, it pays to have a high ranking. You would not want to be on the second or third page whenever your target audience looks for information. While around 20% of individuals still scroll to these pages, you have a higher chance of getting traffic when you are on number 1.
So, how exactly can you land on the first page?
The answer is to apply on-page optimisation tips.
1. Use keywords
It will be impossible for the spiders to index and crawl your webpage if it does not contain proper key phrases. Therefore, you must not forget this element when creating content. At the same time, you must remember these pointers too.
- Avoid overstuffing the page with keywords unless you want algorithms to think of it as spam.
- Substitute the terms with modifiers and synonyms to prevent being repetitive.
- Ensure that there is a natural flow of ideas and words.
- Put the main keyword in the title that consists of not more than 12 words or 65 characters.
- Make a descriptive URL with the main keyword too.
2. Place images
While spiders cannot decipher the text found on images, such as the “SEO” and “Search” on the image above, they can read codes. So, if you want to make your content look more appealing by adding pictures, you have to take note of these reminders.
- Create image filenames must contain the main keyword.
- Make alt tags using the keywords.
- Write image descriptions.
3. Consider internal linking
Through this method, the users can navigate through your website conveniently because you are making it easy for them to view a certain page and transfer to another. Now, there are a handful of ways you can create internal links and the following are the most basic.
- Place anchor texts – This are words, which you hyperlink to another page on your site.
- Make a sitemap – This is a formatted file, which helps algorithms search for relevant webpages.
- Put a breadcrumb trail – This is a text-based navigation, which shows the users a tread of the pages they have viewed.
4. Produce content
This is, perhaps, the most vital element of on-page SEO since it provides you with high traffic and low bounce rate, that is, if you have compelling information or data to present. Hence, you have to integrate these ideas whenever you come up with content.
- Focus on fresh and trending topics.
- Ensure that your articles are unique and original.
- Appeal to the readers’ interest by adding images or videos.
- Highlight important points and use bulleted or numbered lists since long paragraphs can seem boring.
- Always update your content, especially if there are developments or changes with some of the subjects you have written.
- Place social media buttons to make sharing easy.
- Prevent other webmasters from duplicating your posts by using canonicalization.
You will know that the users are satisfied with your content if your bounce rate is low because this means that they stay long on website. Additionally, they are click on your buttons to follow you on your social pages or share your content to their network.
5. Avoid 404 error pages
While working on your website, there is a risk of broken links, leading to error pages. These can hurt search engine crawling, which in turn can affect your ranking. Therefore, you have to minimize “404” risks by applying the following strategies:
- Use 301 Redirect to an updated webpage, especially one that has ranked well in SERPs.
- Publish your sitemap to any webmaster tool regularly for better content management.
- Use a crawler that provides you with alerts whenever there are broken links.
- Integrate a custom 404 page to redirect the users to another webpage, which prompts them to search for related information.
So, what do you think? Are you ready to work on a high-ranking website?
To conclude this article, you have to know that landing in the first page of search results is not instantaneous; you have to work hard to earn it. Therefore, have patience and dedication as you stay on top of these on-page SEO techniques.
Also Read:
- 5 Top SEO Tips to Improve Your Google Ranking
- Ethical Ways to generate backlinks without using Black Hat SEO
About the Author: Emma Tomlinson is the Head of Retail at Smart Traffic, a leading search agency consisting of on-page SEO specialists who are ready to work with clients from different countries worldwide.
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