On Page SEO

One way for companies to achieve higher search engine rankings is through on-page SEO, which entails optimising both the content and HTML code. It's worth noting that off-page optimisation, which involves links and signals from other websites, is also essential.

Numerous studies and professionals have confirmed the efficacy of on-page SEO for small business owners who aspire to rank on Google's first pages and see a growth in their revenue. While off-page optimisations like acquiring backlinks through social media or internal linking affect your search engine ranking, the impact is insignificant without proper matching of the search query and the relevant keywords used on your website.

Why Is On-Page SEO Important?

On-page SEO is an important aspect of website optimisation for both human traffic and search engines. Tweaks made to optimize a website can be seen by visitors on the page, enhancing their browsing experience. The term "on-page" SEO refers to visible elements that can be tweaked, in contrast to technical or off-page SEO that may not always affect user experience. The on-page SEO strategy should be executed correctly to maximize benefits. The succeeding discussion will enumerate the elements of a successful on-page SEO strategy.

Here's what you should know about on-page optimisation:

Search engines strive to offer their users pertinent information. Writing high-quality content helps search engines and web visitors comprehend your website's focus and your business. To produce exceptional content, begin by selecting keywords with the appropriate relevance or competition level. This approach will ensure that your website speaks directly to those searching for similar items on Google or other search engines. Also, conduct keyword research by performing basic searches including "keyword" and "competitor" or by using various tools such as Ahrefs, AnswerthePublic, and UberSuggest that best fit your needs. Additional instruments for on-page optimisation include Pop-optimizer, SEO-surfer, and Cora.

Are you in the process of creating page content or reviewing it for SEO purposes?

In the digital age where almost everything is online, high-quality writing is an essential skill to have. However, it's not just about writing engaging content, but also about optimising it for search engines. Incorporating both short and long-tail keywords into your writing can help drive traffic to your website and make it easier for your audience to find you. But don't just stop there. Adding relevant visual content can take your writing to the next level, creating a more immersive experience for your readers. And don't forget to tailor your content to each of your buyer personas. By solving their problems and making them feel understood, you're more likely to keep them coming back for more. Adding strategic CTAs throughout your piece can also help increase readership and drive conversions. Remember, improving your writing goes beyond just the words on the page. It's about optimising every aspect to create the best possible experience for your audience.

HTML Elements:

Programmers use HTML elements for crafting web pages. Viewing a page's source code via 'View > Developer > View Source' shows all the HTML elements.

Page Titles:

Whether you're a web designer or simply a curious user, it's critical to have title tags on your website. These tags inform search engines and visitors what the pages are about. To enhance your website's ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs), add a focus keyword to each page's title tag. Incorporating keywords naturally into the titles benefits not only Google but also users searching for those specific words.

When creating a page title, follow these best practices:

- Limit the title to under 70 characters, even though mobile search results can display up to 78 characters.

- Avoid using excessive keywords in the title to boost SEO. Instead, ensure the header text relates to what users can expect to find on the page. You can also include an "about" section on the page to inform users about the site's owner. Additionally, prefer lowercase letters over uppercase to give a more friendly and welcoming appearance.

Headers

Headers in SEO are HTML elements that aid content organisation. They assist users in understanding which part of the title is most relevant to their search intent. To distinguish headers, it's essential to use unique keywords and avoid repetition. This will help educate readers on the specificity of SEO headers and reinforce their importance.

Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are brief summaries that appear below your title in search results. They can heavily influence what people choose to read, so it's important to craft compelling ones. Moreover, these short blurbs can also impact social media shares, as they can be copied over automatically with a particular markup language. A well-crafted meta description should grab the reader's attention and provide useful information about the content. Additionally, including your keyword can signal to Google that your page is relevant to the user's search query. Keep in mind that the ideal length is under 160 characters, although Google may allow up to 220 characters in some cases, and mobile devices display only the first 120 characters. Avoid using symbols like '-', '&' and numbers in your sentence.

Alternative text for images

Alt-text for images is comparable to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for photos. It provides Google and other search engines context about the image's content, which is increasingly important as search engines now show nearly as many image results as text-based ones. You should use descriptive and apt tags that are relevant to the overall webpage, but don't excessively incorporate keywords.

Structured Markup

Additionally, structured markup refers to the act of structuring your website's source code to aid search engines in finding and comprehending distinct elements of your content, such as metadata like titles and descriptions. While optimising structured data is considered technical SEO, it is beneficial for creating a more effective on-page experience for those viewing social media shares or featured snippets from search engines.

Page URLs 

Below are some suggestions to create SEO-friendly URLs. Keep your links concise and avoid adding any redundant words or phrases that create confusion for readers and search engines. Instead of writing "my new blog post," opt for a clear label such as "blogpost." Be mindful that each word should correspond to a single keyword without mixing up topics. Finally, consider converting from HTTP to HTTPS for better rankings on Google, although be aware of potential risks.

Internal Linking 

Internal linking is a crucial aspect of on-page SEO. In addition to bolstering your Google ranking, internal links also guide visitors to pages that might be more pertinent than the current one. This helps retain reader interest and offers them fresh content, while also informing Google's crawler about the abundance of valuable information present on your site, which is facilitated by useful internal links.

Mobile Responsiveness

In today's digital landscape, it's crucial to ensure that your website loads quickly and is optimised for mobile devices as this can affect your website's search rankings, even for desktop searches. Your site should be easily readable and user-friendly on all devices including phones, computers and tablets. To check whether your website is mobile-friendly, you can use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool which measures page loading speed within 500 milliseconds from click to content appearance. Fast loading times are now favoured by Google's new algorithm, which rewards websites with responsive design and penalises those that use outdated techniques like popups or full-page ads.

Speed of the website.

It's important that your website loads quickly on both mobile devices and desktop computers, as Google recognises that slow loading sites can lead to unhappy visitors and decreased conversions and return on investment. To gauge your website's speed, check it using the free tool available on PageSpeed Insights. If necessary, you can use these 5 straightforward methods to decrease page-loading times on your website: 1) Reduce the amount of JavaScript and CSS that block rendering, 2) Use image sprites with lazyload techniques, 3) Serve font families dynamically based on the type of browser, 4) Avoid inline script tags when possible, and 5) Use links instead of graphics.

Elevate your business with local SEO and don't settle for less. By leveraging different tools, such as localized websites, citation growth, Google My Business listings, and monitoring inclusion in local packs, you can take keyword research and audience targeting to the next level.