.png){kind=small}
No business can succeed in today’s internet-drive marketplace without a strong presence online. This is challenging when it is so competitive online, which is why search engine optimisation (SEO) remains such a critical digital marketing strategy for businesses of all sizes and in all industries. This digital marketing strategy improves your search engine ranking, which will make it easier for your target audience to find you and increase organic traffic to your website.
On-page SEO is the process of optimising the elements on your website to improve search engine ranking while improving the user experience. This guide will tell you all you need to know about on-page SEO so that you can optimise your website for success.
Crafting Effective Meta Titles & Descriptions
First, you should start with your meta titles and descriptions. These are what web users will see about your website on search engine results lists (SERPs), so you want to make them compelling to attract clicks.
Meta Titles
Meta titles should be under 60 characters and summarise what users can expect on the page. You should use engaging language and naturally integrate the primary keyword into the title. This will improve the click-through-rate (CTR), which will also improve your search engine ranking.
Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions will provide more information than the title but should still be concise (less than 160 characters). It is smart to include the main keyword and a call-to-action to encourage the reader to click the link. Again, this will boost your CTR and, in turn, improve your search engine ranking.
Useful Tools
There are also a couple of handy tools to use when crafting effective meta titles and descriptions. Yoast SEO is useful for previewing and refining your meta tags, while SERP Simulator allows you to see how they will appear on Google.
Optimising Heading Structures (H1, H2, H3)
You can use heading structures to help search engine algorithms better understand how your content is structured. In addition to this, headings will improve the user experience by making the content easier to digest.
H1 tag: This is the main title of the page and should contain the primary keyword.
H2 tag: H2 can be used for your main subheadings throughout the content and should include secondary keywords.
H3 tag: H3 is used for subsections within H2 headers. This often includes lists or bullet points.
Useful Tools
Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool is handy for optimising heading structures as you can make sure that the structure is easy to read by search engines.
Using Alt Text for Images
Alt text (alternative text) is important for a few reasons. Essentially, this is text used to describe any images that you have on your website. First and foremost, this is important from an accessibility standpoint. 1 in 6 people have some kind of disability, so it is vital that you take steps to create a website that is accessible and useable by as many people as possible. Alt text is also important from an SEO standpoint as this allows search engines to better understand the content you have on your site.
Much like your meta description, alt text should be descriptive yet concise. You must describe exactly what is in the image and include relevant keywords without keyword stuffing. It is helpful to imagine that you are describing the image to someone who is unable to see it.
In addition to optimising the image description, you should use file names that describe the image as opposed to unintelligible file names. This is helpful for on-page SEO as well as keeping your files organised.
Useful Tools
Google Lighthouse is a handy tool that will check your alt text for any issues. Screaming Frog is another tool that will ensure every image has been optimised.
Keyword Density & Natural Integration
One of the most challenging aspects of on-page SEO is naturally integrating keywords into your content. Keywords that have been shoehorned in and/or overused can harm the user experience and result in SEO penalties - keyword stuffing is an area that search engines are cracking down on.
For your primary keyword, you should naturally include this within the first 100 words and in the H1 and H2 tags. It is helpful to include the primary keyword throughout the content naturally, but only when it is relevant. Ideally, you want a density of around 1-2%.
Secondary keywords should be naturally integrated throughout the content used in the subheadings where relevant. Synonyms and related phrases can also be used and help to improve your search engine ranking.
Useful Tools
SEMRush and Ahrefs are both handy SEO tools that can help you identify high-performing keywords and allow you to check keywords density. Yoast SEO is another useful tool for tracking keyword density as you write your content.
Content Structure
Content structure is another important consideration both in terms of user experience and SEO. Nobody wants to read a wall of text, which is why it is best to create short paragraphs of 2-3 sentences. You can also break down information into bullet points to make it easier to digest.
Of course, images and other visual content can bring your website to life and keep visitors engaged - just make sure that you compress file sizes to improve loading times.
Useful Tools
Grammarly is a handy tool for content creation that can check your grammar and improve readability.
Internal Linking
Finally, you should use internal linking to make your website easier to navigate while also making it easier for search engines to crawl and understand the structure of your website. Internal linking can improve ranking by distributing link equity while improving the user experience.
In today’s fiercely competitive online marketplace, SEO remains a powerful tool for businesses looking to improve their visibility online. On-page SEO is key for improving your website’s visibility on SERPs and the information in this guide should help you optimise your website so that it will climb the rankings while also improving the experience for users. Keep in mind that SEO is constantly evolving, which is why you must make an effort to keep up with the latest trends and algorithm changes.
Comments