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On Page SEO: Proven Strategies for Higher SERP Rankings

Julia McCoy

Sunday, 17th Mar 2024

Ever felt like the rules of on page SEO are written in some ancient, cryptic language? Well, you’re not alone.

Mastering search engine optimization (SEO) is like finding the treasure map to buried gold, and on-page SEO is your trusty compass leading the way to greater visibility and more clicks on your website.

This guide breaks down the ins and outs of on page SEO. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just dipping your toes into the digital waters, we’ve got you covered with all the latest tactics to spruce up your web pages and get noticed by search engines.

So, grab your magnifying glass and uncover the secrets of on-page SEO to boost your website’s visibility, captivate your audience, and set sail for success.

What is On Page SEO?

On page SEO, also known as on-site SEO, isn’t some mystical concept. It involves enhancing your site’s appeal and visibility to search engines through meticulous optimization.

Think of it as setting up your site for a grand date with Google. You want everything — from your content to those behind-the-scenes meta tags — looking spick-and-span.

This includes all the bits you have control over such as site accessibility, page speed, and optimized content. The goal of on page SEO is to ensure every part of your website sings in harmony so that when Google comes crawling, it can’t help but be impressed.

Why is On-Page SEO Important?

You might ask yourself: “Is on page SEO really worth my time?”

Oh yes, my friend, more than you know.

When done right, on-page optimization tells search engines exactly what they need to know. This helps them rank your page higher in their results pages (SERPs). And who doesn’t love being at the top?

High rankings mean more visibility, which leads to more traffic.

More importantly? The right kind of traffic that actually converts because they found exactly what they were searching for on your site.

Unlike off-page factors which rely heavily on others’ perceptions and backlinks from external sites, on page SEO factors are entirely within your control.

By focusing on elements like title tags and meta descriptions (a fancy way of saying ‘the first impression’) or how fast each page loads, you can significantly improve your site’s performance — to the delight of readers and search engines.

On-Page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO

On page SEO and off page SEO are two essential pillars of search engine optimization, each focusing on different aspects of improving a website’s ranking in SERPs.

On page SEO primarily involves optimizing content, meta tags, headers, and URLs, as well as improving site structure, internal linking, and mobile-friendliness. The goal of on-page SEO is to ensure that a website’s pages are well-structured, informative, and user-friendly, ultimately leading to higher rankings in search results for relevant keywords.

On the other hand, off page SEO activities take place outside of the website to improve its reputation, authority, and relevance in the eyes of search engines. This includes building backlinks from reputable and relevant websites, establishing a strong presence on social media platforms, and engaging in online communities and forums.

Off-page SEO signals to search engines that a website is credible, trustworthy, and valuable to users, ultimately boosting its rankings and organic traffic. While on-page SEO focuses on optimizing individual pages, off-page SEO works to enhance a website’s overall authority and reputation across the web.

In simple terms, on page SEO is like having a killer interior design while off page SEO gives you an attractive curb appeal for your website.

A winning strategy needs both on-point on-site elements (like those keyword-rich title tags), plus some strong outside endorsements (hello backlinks).

With a strong on-page and off-page SEO strategy:

Your site becomes more visible: Both tactics improve your chances of showing up on the SERP when people are searching.
You gain authority: Quality content keeps visitors coming back for more while solid references build trust with Google.
You can offer a better user experience: A combo of great content plus easy navigation means happy users— and search engines notice that too.

On-Page SEO Elements

Many on-page factors can impact your website visibility. I have categorized them into content elements, UX elements, and site architecture elements. Let’s unpack this, shall we?

Content Elements

The heart and soul of your website is its content. It’s not merely slapping text onto a webpage; it involves meticulously creating content that captivates and engages your viewers.

Keywords: The starting point of any SEO strategy is keyword research. Strategic placement of relevant keywords throughout the content, including in headings, paragraphs, and image alt attributes, can help improve the page’s visibility for those keywords.
Title Tag: The HTML title tag is the clickable headline in search engine results. It should accurately summarize the content of the page and include relevant keywords.
Meta Description: The meta description is a brief summary of the page’s content displayed below the title tag in search results. It should be persuasive and informative, enticing users to click through to the page.
Heading Tags (H1-H6): Heading tags are used to structure the content of a web page. The H1 tag represents the main heading, and subsequent headings (H2-H6) should be used to organize subsections. Proper use of heading tags helps search engines understand the hierarchy and importance of content on the page.
Content Quality: Google loves relevant, helpful, high-quality content because users love it too. Write not just for search engines but for real people searching for answers. BrandWell can help you generate well-written, informative, and engaging blog articles that match search intent and your target audience. Plus, it has an on-page SEO checklist to help you optimize different elements of your page while you are editing.
E-E-A-T Signals: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness are important ranking factors so make sure your blog posts are written from an expert’s point of view. If you’re using an AI SEO writer, you can add your personal experiences, anecdotes, and insights in the editing phase.
Image Optimization: Optimizing images by using descriptive filenames, alt tags, and captions can improve accessibility and help search engines understand the images on a page.

User Experience (UX) Elements:

Your website should be easy to navigate. If visitors enjoy their stay, so will Google’s algorithm.

Site Speed: Fast loading times contribute to a positive user experience and can indirectly impact search engine rankings. Optimizing images, minimizing HTTP requests, and using caching techniques can help improve page speed.
Internal Links: Linking to other relevant pages within your website through anchor texts helps distribute link equity and improve navigation for users and search engines.
Mobile-Friendliness: With the increasing use of mobile devices, ensuring that web pages are responsive and provide a seamless user experience across all devices is crucial for on-page SEO.

Site Architecture Elements

A strong foundation ensures everything above ground stands firm – the same goes for websites and their architecture.

Sitemaps: A map tells both users and search engines where things are located – don’t leave them guessing.
Schema Markup: Implementing structured data markup using schema.org vocabulary provides search engines with additional context about the content on the page, potentially leading to enhanced search result listings with rich snippets.
Clean URL Structure: A messy URL doesn’t tell anyone anything – especially not Google – so keep it short and sweet. A clear and descriptive URL helps both users and search engines understand the topic of the page.

Source: Mangools

Proven On-Page SEO Strategies

Now that you know which elements of your web pages may impact SEO performance, let’s start optimizing them.

Titles & Meta Description

The title tag and meta description are your first handshake with search engine crawlers and potential visitors. Ensuring your title tag and meta description deliver a strong first impression is vital.

Title Tags: Keep them under 60 characters. Make sure they’re descriptive yet concise, including target keywords towards the beginning.
Meta Descriptions: These have about 160 characters to play with. Use action-oriented language that includes relevant keywords and compels clicks without over-promising.

Here are some of the best types of titles that tend to perform well in terms of SEO:

How-To Titles: How-to titles are popular because they address specific questions or problems that users may have. For example, “How to Boost Your SEO Rankings in 5 Simple Steps” offers clear value and attracts clicks.
Top 10 Titles: Titles featuring lists, such as “Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Website’s SEO,” are attractive to users because they promise actionable advice in a structured format. They also tend to perform well in search results.
Question Titles: Titles that pose questions, such as “What Are the Best SEO Practices for 2024?” can capture users’ attention by addressing their curiosity or concerns directly.
Strong Adjectives or Superlatives: Titles that include strong adjectives or superlatives like “best,” “ultimate,” “essential,” or “effective” often indicate valuable content and encourage clicks.
Numbers and Data: Titles that include numbers, statistics, or data points tend to stand out in search results. For example, “Increase Your Website Traffic by 200% with These SEO Strategies” provides a clear benefit and attracts attention.
Localized Titles: If your business targets a specific geographic area, consider including location-based keywords in your titles to attract local search traffic. For example, “Best SEO Services in Los Angeles.” Check out our guide on local SEO techniques to learn more.

Remember, while optimizing titles for SEO is important, it’s equally essential to prioritize user experience and readability. A title that is overly keyword-stuffed or lacks clarity and relevance won’t attract clicks or engagement, which can ultimately harm your SEO efforts. Striking a balance between optimization and user appeal is key.

Now here are a few tips on how to write a killer meta description:

Keep it Concise: Since you’re only working with 150-160 characters, aim to deliver the main idea of your content in one to two sentences.
Include Relevant Keywords: Incorporate relevant keywords that users are likely to search for when looking for content like yours. Make sure these keywords naturally fit within the context of the description and accurately reflect the content of the page.
Highlight Unique Selling Points: Identify the key benefits of your content and highlight them in the meta description. This could include specific features, benefits, or solutions that make your content valuable to users.
Add a Call to Action (CTA): Encourage users to take action by including a compelling call to action in your meta description. Whether it’s prompting users to read more, learn something new, or explore further, a clear and relevant CTA can increase engagement.
Maintain Relevance: Ensure that your meta description accurately reflects the content of the page it’s describing. Misleading or irrelevant meta descriptions can lead to a negative user experience and may result in higher bounce rates.
Make it Unique: Avoid using duplicate meta descriptions across multiple pages of your website. Each meta description should be unique and tailored to the specific content of its corresponding page.
Consider Branding: If appropriate, include your brand name or website name in the meta description to reinforce brand identity and recognition.
Optimize for Clicks: Craft a meta description that entices users to click through to your website. Use persuasive language, offer valuable insights, or pose intriguing questions to capture users’ interest and compel them to learn more.

By following these guidelines and tailoring your meta descriptions to align with your content and target audience’s interests, you can improve your search engine visibility and attract more clicks to your website.

Further Reading: How to Do Keyword Research

Images and Videos

Videos can skyrocket engagement, while images break up text into digestible pieces. Optimizing images and videos for SEO is crucial for enhancing the overall user experience.

When working with multimedia elements in your content:

Add Descriptive File Names: Each visual element must have a descriptive file name to help Google understand exactly what the image or video is about. Avoid generic filenames like “image123.jpg” and instead use descriptive ones such as “seo-optimization-tips.jpg.”
Optimize Alt Tags: Alt text (alternative text) describes the image for search engines and assistive technologies. Include relevant keywords in alt tags while accurately describing the image’s content.
Reduce File Size: Large image files can slow down your website’s loading speed, which can negatively impact SEO. Use image compression tools to reduce file size without compromising quality.
Choose the Right File Format: Use the appropriate file format for your images. For photographs, use JPEG format, while PNG format is better suited for images with transparency. GIFs are ideal for animated images.
Add Captions and Image Titles: Including captions and image titles not only provides additional context for users but also presents opportunities to include relevant keywords.
Optimize Video Titles and Descriptions: Use descriptive titles and detailed descriptions that include relevant keywords. This helps search engines understand the content of your videos and improves their visibility in search results.
Transcribe Video Content: Providing a transcript of your video’s dialogue can improve accessibility and enable search engines to crawl and index the video’s content more effectively. Transcriptions also offer additional text for search engines to analyze for keywords.
Submit Video Sitemaps: Creating and submitting a video sitemap to search engines can help them discover and index your videos more efficiently, leading to better visibility in search results.
Host Videos on Your Website: Whenever possible, host videos on your website rather than relying solely on third-party platforms like YouTube or Vimeo. This allows search engines to index the video content directly on your site and can drive traffic to your domain.
Promote Sharing and Engagement: Encourage viewers to share your videos on social media and embed them on other websites. Increased sharing and engagement signals to search engines that your videos are valuable and relevant to users.

By incorporating image and video optimization techniques into your SEO strategy, you can draw more organic traffic to your website.

Technical Components

Diving into the nuts and bolts of on-page SEO can be overwhelming for non-techie marketers. So let’s untangle this web of HTML elements and URL structures.

Website Speed

Minimize HTTP Requests: Reduce the number of elements (such as images, scripts, and stylesheets) on your web pages to minimize HTTP requests, which can speed up page load times.
Enable Browser Caching: Configure your web server to utilize browser caching, allowing returning visitors to load your website more quickly by storing static resources locally.
Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML: Remove unnecessary whitespace, comments, and formatting from your CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files to reduce file size and improve loading speed.

Website Structure and Navigation

Clear Site Structure: Organize your website’s content into a logical hierarchy with clear navigation menus and internal linking to help search engines crawl and index your pages effectively.
URL Structure: A bad URL structure can hinder user experience and make it harder for search engines to crawl and index your site. It’s important to prioritize clarity, relevance, and usability when structuring URLs for your website. Avoid long, cryptic URLs with unnecessary parameters. Keywords can be included in the URL but it should remain concise and readable.
XML Sitemap: Create and submit an XML sitemap to search engines to help them discover and index all pages on your website efficiently.

Technical SEO

Canonicalization: Use canonical tags to specify the preferred version of a URL when duplicate or similar content exists across multiple pages.
Robots.txt and Robots Meta Tags: Use robots.txt files and robots meta tags to control how search engines crawl and index your website’s pages, particularly for sections you don’t want to be indexed.

Mobile-Friendly Design

Responsive Design: Ensure your website is responsive and adapts seamlessly to various screen sizes and devices, including smartphones and tablets.
Mobile Page Speed: Optimize your website’s mobile performance by addressing issues such as slow loading times, oversized elements, and intrusive interstitials.
Mobile-Friendly Testing: Use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to evaluate how well your website performs on mobile devices and identify areas for improvement.

By implementing these technical optimizations, you can improve your website’s performance in search engine rankings, enhance user experience, and attract more organic traffic. Regular monitoring and maintenance of these technical elements are essential to ensure ongoing SEO success.

Is On-Page SEO Better Than Off-Page SEO?

Both on-page and off-page SEO play critical roles in improving a website’s search engine visibility and driving organic traffic.

With on-page SEO, you have direct control over on-page SEO elements which allows you to make immediate changes to improve search visibility.

With off-page SEO, plenty of external factors can influence your website’s search engine rankings.

Both on-page and off-page SEO are integral parts of a comprehensive SEO strategy, and their effectiveness often depends on the specific goals, industry, and competitive landscape of a website. Rather than viewing them as competing strategies, it’s essential to recognize that they complement each other to improve your website’s overall performance. A well-rounded SEO approach should incorporate both on-page and off-page optimization techniques for the best results.

Conclusion

So, there you have it – a complete breakdown of how to optimize each element for on page SEO.

You’re now armed with knowledge that can transform your website’s performance online. Go ahead, make those tweaks, and polish every component of your page.

And when Google comes crawling, it will find valuable content and an optimized site structure – that’s when you know all your hard work has paid off.

Not enough time to go through all of the steps? BrandWell can help cut back a huge amount of time from your SEO efforts by generating long-form articles that are already optimized for search engines and readers alike. Discover the amazing features of this end-to-end publishing powerhouse today.

Written by Julia McCoy

See more from Julia McCoy

On Page SEO: Proven Strategies for Higher SERP Rankings

Julia McCoy

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