No matter what your website is about and how big or small it is -whether you have a personal blog, a big corporate site, or a modest e-commerce store- you need people to find you on search engines- mainly Google- and this is why SEO (search engine optimization) is important, as it helps you do just that. And the subject of this article, on-page SEO, is a crucial part of it. So let’s take a deep look at on-page SEO, and how it should be done…
What is On-Page SEO?
Before talking about on-page SEO, let’s do a quick recap of what SEO is.
Basically, search engine optimization is a kind of an umbrella term, which encompasses a series of operations with the aim of making a website more search engine friendly. It may include anything from technical modifications to URL optimizations and content revisions, all done so that search engine bots can better understand what your website is about, so you get better results at organic searches.
This is an important topic, so, to learn more about it, make sure you check out our extensive article on SEO (if you haven’t, we advise you to read that first before continuing as you will need the basics.)
Now, back to our main topic. On-page SEO is a term used for all kinds of optimizations that are performed on your actual website. Basically, almost anything that is a part of your website can be subject to on-page SEO operations– more on this in the next section.
Main On-Page SEO Elements
As we have previously stated, almost anything that is a part of your website can be modified within the scope of on-page search engine optimization. But to be more specific, here are the main on-page SEO elements that you should know:
URLs
URL is the complete address of a web page. It is the combination of protocol (https), domain (your website name and its extension, such as allineedformywebsite.com) and the path for the specific page.
Here is a sample URL:
http://allineedformywebsite.com/how-to-build-a-website/
Each time you are going to create a new page on your website, you will be able to name the page, and specify its URL, which plays a role in SEO.
Pro tip: Recommended practice would be to keep the page names as clear as they get with the necessary keywords- if your article is named “10 Movies You Should Really Watch This Summer”, ideally it should translate to this URL: “websitename.com/10-movies-to-watch-this-summer” They say URL structure is not as important as it used to be after all the Google algorithm changes, but it can still play a role, and visually it would just be better to keep your URL structure nice and clean.
Site Speed
Site speed is one of the most important factors when it comes to the success of a website- as it plays a crucial role in both the user experience and your SEO score. Users are not patient -and there is no reason why they should be on this day and age, to be honest- and they will most probably leave your site if it takes even a tad longer than three seconds. So, never overcrowd your website, and always test/optimize it for the best speed.
Pro tip: Regularly test your website speed to be sure you are always solid. Try to use smaller media files -more on this in the images section- and don’t keep installing plugins you don’t really need! For more information on this important subject, please take a look at our article on website speed.
Content
Content is arguably the most important part of your website. It is the main thing that will separate you from your competitors -which are many!- and quite probably what your visitors will remember your site with- or not! So it is no surprise that content is one of the most important on-page SEO factors.
Pro tip: Make sure your content is always unique and helpful. Do you keyword research well -so that you know what people are looking for- get to work, and don’t forget to be consistent! To know more about content and why it is important, you can check out our detailed article about website content.
Responsiveness
In this day and age, if your website is not mobile-friendly, you don’t stand much chance against your competitors- it is just what it is. A considerable amount of your target audience -obviously depending on the industry too- are mobile users, and to be able to show them your website as its best state, you need a responsive design. Basically, responsive design just means that your website’s looks and functionality will adapt to whatever device people are visiting it from -PC, laptop, mobile phone, iPad- to provide the best experience.
Pro tip: Nowadays, you really don’t need to be a master web programmer/designer to create websites with responsive designs. There are a lot of website templates for that, which you should definitely check out!
Internal Links
Internal links are those links on your pages that connect to the other pages on your own website. They can be really helpful for the users -for example, if you now wanted to know what a subdomain is for whatever reason, you could just click that link instead of searching it on the site!- and they increase your website’s SEO score as well- granted they are used properly.
Pro tip: Try not to overdo it. Giving links to your own website once every few sentences might hurt your website’s SEO score, and honestly, it is a turn-off for a lot of users, as you will be giving the impression of someone who’s in it just for the clicks, instead of actually trying to help people.
Images
Images on a website are a huge part of the user experience obviously, but they actually play an important role in search engine optimization as well. First of all, your website should include relevant, high-quality images as that is what users desire. What you should then consider is, first, their size- if your image sizes are too large, it will slow your website down, and that will hurt your SEO score, as no one loves a slow website.
The second thing you need to consider is your image names and descriptions. Image names should be plainly descriptive of the actual image/your subject, instead of a meaningless file name. And you should also create descriptive alt tags- which will tell the search engine what the image is all about. The alt text is also used to help visually impaired users, so don’t forget to cover that.
Pro tip: Try to use keywords on your image names & descriptions. And, if your image sizes are too big and you are unable to find a satisfying alternative, instead of just uploading them, just use an image compressing tool -tons of them are available online for free- which should easily solve your problem.
Title Tags
Title tag, technically, is a snippet of code that allows you to give a page an official title. It does not play a major role in on-page SEO, but it is nonetheless important, and should not be overlooked when creating a new page.
Pro tip: Try to keep it simple and to-the-point; a good rule of thumb will be just mentioning what the page is about -using keywords with high search volumes, if at all possible- then adding your website name.
Meta Descriptions
Meta description is the small part of content that is displayed under a webpage’s Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page) link, and it summarizes what a certain webpage is about. It looks like this:
It is a 160-character max piece of content, but quite important; as it not only tells the search engine(s) what your website is about, but it also gives the user valuable information, which might help them actually click the page.
Pro tip: Meta description should be informative and helpful first. Preferably it should be keyword rich too, but think of the users first, and don’t just stuff it with meaningless keywords just for search engine bots. And try to keep the character count between 145 – 160 (spaces included.)
How to do On-Page SEO?
As you can see above, on-page SEO includes a lot of different elements, all of which play some role –major or minor- on your website’s search engine rankings. They should all be dealt with separately, and a good place to start would be analyzing your website.
SEO analysis basically scans and checks your website to see how well it was optimized for search performance -based on the factors described above, and more- and what is there to improve. It should be the starting point before taking any actions, as it will tell you your website’s weak points, so you can focus on what’s more important. There are a variety of tools -free and paid- you can use to do this.
After analyzing your website and knowing your priorities, your first step should be addressing the issues, rather than jumping to make improvements. Is your URL structure is weak? Fix it! Are your images take up too much space on your server? OK, compress and reload them. Do you have duplicate content? Revise it! Things that might potentially hurt your site’s ranking should be taken care of first.
After that, it is an ongoing process, rather than a simple one-time task. Using SEO tools -such as SEMRush– you should always analyze/maintain your website, and make sure every page you open is created with SEO standards in mind.
For beginners, one rule of thumb to keep in mind is; as long as you optimize your website for best user experience, your search engine rankings should be fine too- the old days of websites stuffed with pointless keywords ranking high on search results is long gone, and search engines are now smart enough to understand which content actually benefits the users, which should be the first thing on your list as well.
Why On-Page SEO is Important?
If you are reading this far, you probably know the importance of search engine optimization for your organic traffic -and, of course, for the success of your website- by now. On-page SEO, is the most important part of the whole search engine optimization process, as it is what you do to tell the search engines about your website, so they understand it better, and serve it to those who search for what you are offering. And, as you have probably noticed, most of the time proper on-page SEO also makes your website more user-friendly as well.
FAQs About On Page Optimization for Websites
Q: What are the most common issues for on Page SEO of a website?
A: There are a number of common issues that can impact the effectiveness of on-page SEO. Here are some of the most common issues: 1. Poor keyword research – If you don’t target the right keywords, your content will not be optimised for search engines. As a result, your website will not rank as highly as it could in search engine results pages (SERPs). 2. Incorrect keyword placements – Keywords must be placed in specific places on your website in order for them to be effective. This includes the title tag, header tags, meta tags, and body content. 3. Lack of original content – Search engines favour websites that offer unique and relevant content. If your website consists mostly of duplicated or low-quality content, it is unlikely to rank well in SERPs. 4. Poor site structure – A well-structured website is easier for search engines to crawl and index. If your website’s structure is messy or confused, it could impact your ranking in SERPs.
Q: On-page or Off-page? Which one is more important for a website?
On-page optimization is the process of optimizing individual web pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. Off-page optimization is the process of optimizing a website’s off-page factors to improve its search engine rankings. So, which one is more important? The answer is both! You see, on-page optimization is important because it’s what helps you rank in the first place. But, once you’ve achieved a good ranking, off-page optimization is what will help you maintain and improve your position in the search results. Think of it this way: on-page optimization is the foundation that your house is built on, while off-page optimization are the finishing touches that make your house look its best. Both are essential for a well-optimized website.
Conclusion
On-page SEO -as you probably know by now- is a never-ending process that you should do as long as your website is online. It is quite easy to get lost in this broad subject, but just start with the basics -which should be easy enough to follow. For those that are new, we advise simple SEO tools and introductory courses, so they can grasp the basics and move further with solid steps.