On-page SEO optimisation involves optimising web content to improve a website’s search engine ranking and direct more organic traffic towards it. On-page optimisation is important as it makes your website visible online and improves your conversion rate.
Here are 6 key areas you must focus on for a better online presence:
1. URL Structure
Uniform Resource Locator or URL refers to the address or location of a specific web content. It is always displayed on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), when you type in the search bar to look for something online.
The name and format of the URLs have a significant impact on click-through rates. Web users are more likely to click on a link with a URL that clearly mentions the subject. Search engines also use URLs to evaluate and rank web pages.
When it comes to URLs, here are some important things to keep in mind:
- Keep the URL short and simple.
- Use hyphens to separate words.
- Avoid using digits, symbols and special characters to make the URL more readable.
- Do not use case-sensitive URLs.
- If you own a local business, it is a good idea to include the city name, neighbourhood name, or any other regional descriptor.
- Nest pages under relevant folders: Users are likely to click on links that have URLs indicating good page organisation
- Avoid using dates in the URLs so that the information does not appear to be stale.
- HTTPS protocol: Make sure that your URL is not missing the “s” at the end of HTTPS. This indicates a secure website by ensuring that the data shared between the user’s browser and the web server remains confidential.
2. Title Tag
This is the HTML tag that is present in the head section of every webpage. It appears on the search engine results page and provides basic information about the subject matter of the page.
It is important to use relevant keywords in the title tags to make it easy for the search engine to know what it is about. Search engine crawlers look for specific keywords in your title tags to display them in SERPs.
Ideally, the title tag should be 70 characters or less, and only include keywords pertinent to the specific page. Title tags do not usually impact organic rankings, and are therefore sometimes not paid enough attention. However, remember that poorly-written title tags can have a negative impact on your SEO results so make sure to optimise them.
3. Meta Descriptions
Meta description is the text informing online users about the contents of a webpage. It usually appears right underneath the title tag in the SERP.
Google claims that meta descriptions do not have an impact on the rankings, but experts hint that having proper descriptions is indeed important. Meta descriptions should offer a gist of your webpage.
A good meta description is essential for letting online searchers know that your page contains the answers they are looking for. Make sure you do not give out too much information and make the searcher curious enough to click on your link.
Try to focus on keywords when writing meta descriptions. Google bolds words in meta descriptions that are searched by the user.
It is recommended to write meta descriptions containing 150-300 characters. However, search engines usually tend to cut off descriptions to 155 words. There is evidence that Google often replaces meta descriptions with random text from the page if it finds that more relevant.
4. Content and Keywords
Using relevant keywords in your content is essential for on-page SEO optimisation. First, you need to do keyword research regarding your topic in order to figure out the keywords people are interested in. It will help you find phrases that are popular among searchers and rank higher in search engine results.
Keyword research also enables you to discover which questions are most frequently asked and which words are commonly used to find answers. This will help you produce content that fits search engine criteria for ranking higher and is most suited to users’ needs.
Here is what you need to keep in mind regarding content and keywords:
- Use keywords in headings and paragraphs.
- Divide your content into well-phrased headings.
- Quality content is important: Using the right keywords is important, but not if your content lacks substance.
- Include helpful images.
- Make sure your content has correct spellings and grammar.
- Make your content reliable and authoritative.
- Keep adding pages to your content so that search engines can see you are actively updating your website.
- Remove duplicate content to keep your site SEO optimised.
5. Internal Linking
Linking the pages within your website is important. The first thing a search engine crawler does is to explore the internal and external links on your website. If they will not be able to find any links within the text, they will simply read the page and leave.
Here is why internal linking is important:
- It is a way to make search engines discover the pages in your website
- A good number of internal links lets search engines know about the most important pages of your website.
- It is a means to increase the amount of time users spend on your website.
Make sure you do not:
- Use keywords only for internal links.
- Add links that are not relevant to the reader.
- Add links in the footer or sidebars instead of the main body of the webpage.
External links are also significant as they help search engines discover your webpage’s topic. An external link points to a page outside your website. Adding external links will not directly improve your website rankings, but it will also let search engines know that your webpage contains quality content.
6. User Engagement
It is not enough to bring users to your page, but it is also important to ensure that they do not bounce. The webpage should be optimised to make the users continue viewing your content, interacting with it and return for more.
Site speed is an important ranking factor. If your website takes too long to load, users are likely to click the back button and go for another link. If your website contains forms but they are too slow to submit, users will probably give up.
Optimising your website for conversions can significantly improve user engagement. This implies a higher number of visitors turning into customers.
On-page SEO optimisation covers a number of factors. It essentially emphasises having a well-developed website to improve organic traffic by having your webpage rank higher on the search engine results page. An optimised web page can increase user engagement and benefit your business in the long run.
