On-page SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is one of the key factors for attaining a good website ranking position and achieving success for any online marketing campaigns. It is also one of the most important processes to use in order to be recognized by search engines.
But what is SEO or Search Engine Optimization anyway?
Search Engine Optimization is a term that sums up all the necessary elements or factors that need to be worked-out in order to improve website’s ranking in different Search Engines.
There are two types of SEO;
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On-page SEO
– Focuses on the configuration settings that can be apply into a website.
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Off-page SEO
– Focuses on the techniques that can be used outside of a website.
On-page SEO is a practice of optimizing every page of a website – from its titles, descriptions, urls and contents in order to achieve higher rank in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS). The main goal of On-page SEO is to speak into “Search Engine Language”.
Off-page SEO is a practice of giving signals and convincing Search Engines about the quality and usefulness of a website. Link building strategy is the best example of an Off-page SEO.
Now that we have learned some basic introductions about SEO, let us now move on the main purpose of this article – 5 Tips to Boost Website Ranking with On-page SEO.
There are a lot of techniques that can be used for On-page SEO but, these five tips uncover the most basic but most important elements of On-page SEO. Considering these tips and applying these to your site is a MUST.
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CONTENT
Having a good content on your website will do great and it can become even better thru Search Engine Optimization.
The above image shows an example of a web page content.
But how content can be considered as good content anyway?
Your site’s content should be;
- Original – (Texts, Articles, Images, Videos etc.) It has to be original.
- Published first on your website – If the content is yours, but it was already published on another website then won’t help for your site’s improvement.
- Useful – Before pressing the publish button, make sure that your content is worth publishing and it should add value to your website.
- Well-researched – Reliable and well-prepared content is more likely to read by users and Search Engines.
See Also: 5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A CONTENT WRITER
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METADATA (Page Titles, Descriptions & Formatting)
A basic but very important element for On-page SEO. Among other thing, page titles, descriptions, headings and contents are the elements that Search Engines read or scan into websites. This process needs to be performed by Search Engines for them to understand a certain webpage.
The above image shows an example of Page Title & Description.
- Page titles – This helps both search engines and users understand a certain page. It is better that each and every page of your website has a unique page titles.
- Descriptions – These are what users see in every search results in search engines. It should also be unique for every page.
Take note: Page Descriptions should be descriptive and up to 150 characters. These will give you the opportunity to convince searchers to click on your website’s link rather than clicking others.
- Formatting – Every page of your site should be properly formatted. It needs to have a heading (h1) and sub-headings (2). It is also important to have bold, italic or underline text formats.
See Also: METADATA PROCESS & TRICKS
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URL STRUCTURE
Having a SEO-friendly URL structure is necessary for the indexation process of a website and it of course helps the site rank higher in the search results.
What are the elements of a URL?
The above image shows the URL Structure
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol – a protocol for distributed, collaborative, and hypermedia information systems used in the World Wide Web.
- Domain Name – Usually the name of the business or company that serves as the address on the World Wide Web. Technically, domain name is used to identify a specific IP address.
- Subdirectory – A directory below another directory that organize pages. Think of it as a subfolder that categorizes or organizes data.
- File/Page Name – Practically the name of a specific page on a website.
In order to have a good URL structure, you have to remember Google’s number one advice – “a site’s URL structure should be as simple as possible.” Meaning, the URL should be logical and readable for human being.
Example of a Good URL
https://www.example.com/blog
https://www.example.com/blog/example-of-good-url
Example of a Bad URL
https://www.example.com/index.php?id_sum=367&sid2j45311nn0onbs542asdjw04
Google also recommends hyphens (https://www.example.com/example-of-good-url) instead of underscores (_) when breaking up words in a URL.
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INTERNAL LINKING
Having Internal Links to pages within a website is also important for On-page SEO because:
- Internal linking is a technique of building links within your website. It is more like building your own web.
- Internal links serve as entrance for search engines to find other pages of your website they have not discovered yet.
- Internal links tell search engines which are your website’s most important pages.
- Internal linking increases the user’s spend-time on your website. If users are well-engaged to your website, there is a higher chance that they will click on the links within your page. This increases rate of both the time spent and the number of pages visited on your website.
The above image shows an example of internal links within page content.
Internal Linking Tips
- Add internal links that are useful for your target readers
- Don’t put too much internal links (just the necessaries)
- Add internal links on the main content of the page.
- Make sure that the page on which the link will redirect is working.
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ALT ATTRIBUTES (ALT TAGS OR ALT TEXT)
Alt attributes aka alt tags or alt texts provide description on the content of an image file on a website. They serve as an alternative text for visitors who can’t see images in their browsers. This also includes visitors using browsers that disabled or cannot display images, visually impaired visitors and visitors that use screen readers. Alt attributes also help when someone searches for images or photos in Google and other search engines.
The above image shows an example of image alt text.
Effective Alt Attributes Tips
- Keep alt attributes simple – Master the art of saying a lot with a little.
- Be descriptive yet concise – Be strategic with the descriptions.
- Think through the text within the image
- Optimize using keywords to help the site rank better in search.
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SPEED & MOBILE-FRIENDLINESS
SPEED – Google wants to make the web faster and they have invested a huge amount of money for it to be possible. That is why they have officially added speed as one of the ranking factors for On-page SEO.
Good thing, Google has recommendations in order for us to improve our website’s speed.
Mobile Friendliness – According to research, nowadays most of the searches in Google are coming from mobile devices. If your website is not mobile-friendly, this means that you are losing most of the potential traffic.
What to do?
First, make sure that your website is responsive or mobile-friendly. Second, consider Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). It is a new way of building fast and mobile-friendly pages.
See also: FREE SEO TOOLS FOR ON-PAGE & OFF-PAGE SEO ANALYSIS
For website owners that is new to SEO and for those who simply do not have the time dealing with website optimization, you can hire professional and trusted SEO Specialists to do the work for you.