On Page Optimization: The Beginner's Guide

 

Hope you’ve already gone through my previous chapter – SEO for Beginners. If not, I recommend reading it first. If you’re a beginner in web marketing, you might be wondering, “What is On-Page Optimization?” By definition, on-page optimization refers to factors that affect your website or web page’s ranking in natural (organic) search results. Also called on-page SEO, it involves activities performed directly on the website to improve visibility and ranking.

In simple terms, it includes all measures taken within the website to enhance its position in search engine results. These activities include, but are not limited to, content optimization, HTML code improvements, meta descriptions, and title tags.

With each passing day, search engines are becoming smarter and more sophisticated. You need to put in much more effort to stay ahead of your competitors. I often say that “SEO is dynamic”—meaning search engines continuously update their algorithms to deliver the most relevant and genuine information to users. In this scenario, proper on-page optimization not only helps you rank better in search engines but also improves your website’s readability for visitors.

Through this blog, I’ve summarized some of the most important on-page optimization techniques for you. Even if you can’t implement all of them, applying a few can significantly increase your site’s exposure in search engines and boost your overall CTR (Click-Through Rate).

Title Tag

Title here refers to title of the post and not page title. Title tag is considered as the most important on-page SEO factor. It is recommended you should contain the keyword in this. For example, I am using title “On Page Optimization – All You Need To Know”.

My keyword is “On Page Optimization” and I have covered that in the title. Title tag should be short but descriptive enough for your visitors to identify what information should they got in the content. It is the first thing that is shown & indexed by the search engines. Further, your title has to be appealing enough so that visitors should click when it is shown in the SERP.

Page Title

Page Title is for the bots or spiders. It provides information to search engine bots about the content of the website. In most of the cases, most of the SEO professionals take “Title Tag” of the post or page to “Page Title”. There is nothing wrong in that however, you can make “keyword” as page title, if you want to. While writing “Page Title”, it is recommended that you should take keyword along with Your Name/ Business Name / Site Name.

The reason being “Page Title” represents the whole flavor & content of your website, making it easier for the bots to recognize it. While having business name or site name helps in branding as some visitors may be searching you by your brand name. It is recommended that you should use “Title Tag Separator Site Title/ Brand Name”.

Meta Description

It is HTML attributes that provide concise summaries of webpages and appear underneath the blue clickable links in a search engine results page (SERP). It is a snippet of about 155 – 160 characters which conveys what users will find on the page and further helping the search engines to determine the page’s topic and the audience that will find value. Whenever user puts a query, Google pulls meta description text of your page in an attempt to better answer the searcher's query. While writing the meta description, it is recommended to use keyword in order to get better ranking in SERP. A well-written description can generate a competitive advantage in the search results, creating a higher click-through rate (CTR) with a greater chance of conversions.

Content Optimization

There is a famous saying that “Content is the King”. So, to get on the top of ranking you need User-Friendly, Authoritative and optimized content. Content involves the use of words—keywords—and writing for human value while still appeasing the search engines. An optimized content is one which maintains “Keyword Density”. It is recommended that you should maintain keyword density to 1-2 percent.

It is also recommended that you should avoid using copy paste content. Another thing which you should keep in mind is that you should use your “Focus Keyword” in 1st para or 1st 100 words. Avoid keyword stuffing. However, if you use meta keywords and Long Tail Keywords then this will make your content more relevant and SEO friendly without violating any of the Google Algorithm/ guideline. You should also check the readability test. If you avoid writing complex sentences then there is good probability of getting high ranking in the searches.

Bonus Tips: Creating SEO optimized content can be a complex and time-consuming process. If you're struggling, it is recommended that you should outsource content writing. 

SEO URL

Avoid using page/ post IDs in the URL. A URL containing the keyword is good. Try to keep them as short as you can. However, you should avoid using numbers or IDS.

Image Optimization

Image Optimization is also important owing to the fact that Google Query Page also depicts results as the images. It is very easy for a human reader to interpret the image into its meaning but the case is different for Bots/ Web crawlers. Search Engine spiders can only read some special tags for your images in order to give them some meaning. One such tag is ALT text or Alternate Text. It describes your image when your mouse moves over an image on your web page.

In case, your browser can’t display the image for some reason, the alt text is used in place of that particular image. This text gives information about the image to reader in case it is not loaded. Make sure you are using keyword in the Alt Tag. Further, this tag provides your image ranking when query is based on image. In that case, there are chances that user can navigate to your website looking for the image source.

Important HTML Tags

The header tags [h1] [h2] [h3], Bold [strong] etc have their own significance. The text inside these tags is given very high importance by the search engine bots. You need to use these. If you are developing custom website, then it is recommended that you should use these tags in the HTML.

Internal and External Links

Linking to external source is loved by search engines. So, it is recommended that you should link the text to original source or to reference. However, putting link on the right words is also important. Internally connecting to previous posts is also a good practice.

SiteMap

A site map is a model of a website's content designed to help both users and search engines navigate the site. It is a file where you can list the web pages of your site to tell Google and other search engines about the organization of your site content. Search engine web crawlers like Googlebot read this file to more intelligently crawl your site.

Pro Tip: To Submit Guest Posts on authority websites is the most critical way to increase your authority and ranking.