Everything You Need To Know About On-page SEO

Get more visitors and better search engine rankings by making web pages that people and search engines can both use.

First things first when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and developing an SEO strategy: once you have a basic understanding of how search engines function, you need to determine which words and phrases consumers use to locate your business online. The core of your on-page optimization strategy is these keywords.

Applying keyword research to your website’s page content is known as on-page SEO. The goal is to make sure that the content of your pages fits the needs of your target audience by responding to their search queries. Additionally, search engines will have an easier time analyzing and matching your web pages with relevant search queries.

Keywords, when used appropriately, can improve a webpage’s visibility in search engine results, leading to an increase in visitors.

How does on-page SEO work?

When you optimize the elements of a web page, you are doing on-page SEO, which is also called on-page optimization or on-site SEO. These elements may be seen by both the person and the search engine.

As an example, on-page SEO involves improving meta descriptions, title tags, and other HTML elements that website visitors do not see but are used by search engines to figure out what a page is about and how to rank it in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

On-page SEO is part of a larger SEO strategy that includes on-page, off-page, and technical SEO.

How are on-page and off-page SEO different?

Everything, internal and external, that is on a web page is considered part of the on-page SEO.  On the other hand, off-page SEO includes things like “backlink building” that help your results without being on the page itself. A strong SEO strategy needs both on-page and off-page SEO. This tells search engines that your website is reliable, which helps it rank higher on SERPs.

To implement an on-page SEO strategy, you should focus on the following areas:

  • Content
  • Keywords
  • Internal and external linking
  • Images
  • Title tags and meta descriptions
  • Headers
  • Image alt tags
  • Site speed

While an off-page SEO strategy would focus on these things:

  • Link building and guest posting
  • Local SEO
  • Social media and public relations (PR)

Why should business websites use on-page SEO?

By improving your site’s visibility in search engine results, on-page SEO works to boost organic traffic. A more robust on-page SEO strategy considers search intent, keywords, internal links, and quality content.

Put another way, investing in on-page SEO to increase search visibility is a must if you want your website to compete on Google and other search engines. For business websites, on-page SEO has several advantages, such as:

1. Rank higher in SERPs

The main goal of on-page SEO is to improve the rank of each page of a website in search results. Raising your Google rankings will bring a lot more organic traffic to your website, which means you have more chances to convert those visitors.

2. Improve local search

Local search can be made better with on-site SEO that helps you rank for a focused keyword based on what the user is looking for. Entering the query “mayonnaise” would return local results for someone seeking a mayonnaise, for instance.

3. Increase organic traffic

As previously said, on-page SEO can boost organic traffic by helping a certain page on your website rank higher in SERPs. Focusing on your page’s title and writing clear meta descriptions will help search engine users find what they are looking for and bring you more visitors.

Applying keywords

Find at least one relevant keyword for every page of your website before you start on-page SEO.

With on-page SEO, you target just one page at a time and fill it with keyword-rich content. This is not the same as being overly repetitive with the keyword, which is known as “keyword stuffing” and can get your site penalized by Google.

Keyword stuffing involves excessive keyword density across-page elements. Also, using the same word too many times in your website’s content or in URLs when it does not make sense is all part of keyword stuffing.

Instead, write content with keywords in mind, looking for natural ways to include a target keyword or its variations and synonyms. There are some places on a website where using keywords is considered SEO best practice because it corresponds with higher ranks.

Web Page Structure

All webpages should have these HTML elements:

  • URL: The web address of the page
  • Title tag: The most important on-page factor; it displays on SERPs as the headline of a page, telling people and search engines what the page is about.
  • Meta description: An 160-characters summary of the page that lives in the code and shows up on the SERPs.
  • Supplemental title tags: Subheads that provide a further description of what’s in that part of the page content.
  • Body copy: Most of the copy that shows up on a page.
  • Alt text: A description of an image that appears in the page code and is accessible to screen readers.

These page features all have an impact on how readers understand the content, and they are all used to determine rankings. This implies that Google takes them into account when determining the most relevant search results for every particular query. Optimizing each element with keywords helps visitors and Google understand how your page answers a query.

By including relevant keywords in your metadata, you can increase SERP traffic.

Come up with a keyword-driven URL

Website addresses, or URLs, can be entered into a browser by users directly or accessed through links on other websites, such as SERPs. It is still a good idea to make sure your URLs are keyword-rich, even though the URL is not seen as a strongly ranking factor.

The addition of keywords to a URL makes it more memorable and simpler to type. It conveys meaning by letting the user know what to expect from the page even before they land on it.

Whenever possible, use relevant keywords into a URL to describe your site’s structure. Take this page as an example: https://kuatiseptiani.me/seo/everything-you-need-to-know-about-on-page-seo/. It is part of SEO’s category and is dedicated to an article about on-page SEO. The URL becomes more meaningful when it reflects the hierarchical structure of the site.

In general, use descriptive, keyword-rich URLs with hyphens to separate words.

Include relevant keywords in the title tag

The title tag informs both humans and search engines about the page’s content and is visible in numerous crucial locations, such as:

  1. At the top of the tab when you are looking at the page.
  2. When people search for something online, they will see the URL.
  3. On social media, when someone shares the link.

You should take the time to optimize it because it is one of the most important on-page factors.

Consider plugging your keywords, phrases, and business details into one of these formats:

  • Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name
  • Product Name – Product Category | Brand Name
  • Primary Keyword – Current Month Current Year | Brand Name
  • Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name
  • Product Name – Product Category | Brand Name
  • Primary Keyword – Current Month Current Year | Brand Name