SEO… there is so much to say about this ever-changing process, whose strategies and techniques manage to improve a website’s visibility in search engine results. Or, put differently, which manages to bring customers closer to a business in a way that doesn’t shout “buy from me, now, hurry!”.
And yet, when we think about search engine optimization (and here we mainly mean Google, the largest and most popular search engine), external link building is what comes to mind. How important is it? Well, it is. But without the support of a well-designed and well-implemented on-page SEO strategy, its effectiveness is in doubt. That is why in this article we will talk only about on-page SEO, a topic that, we believe, deserves more attention.
Photo source: www.adstriangle.com
More specifically, below you will learn more about:
- What on-page SEO is
- The role of keyword research in your on-page SEO strategy
- What keyword mapping involves
- The role of meta tags in your on-page SEO strategy
- Internal link building strategy
- Content length as a ranking factor
- The essentials of an on-page SEO audit
What is on-page SEO?
Google’s updates, big or small, such as Panda, Penguin or Hummingbird, have had and still have a common goal: giving online users a memorable experience. As a result, they have put pressure on online store owners, challenging them to constantly improve their websites, both structurally and in terms of content.
Photo source: www.training.adzentrix.com
A website in 2020 has to be built so that its users are happy: satisfied with the information they find (which correctly answers their searches) and delighted by how easy it is to find. This is where an on-page SEO strategy comes in.
On-page SEO means optimizing a website’s pages to attract relevant traffic and, as a result, rank better in search engines.
As mentioned above, this practice covers technical aspects (such as site architecture, website speed, mobile friendliness, etc.) and content aspects (well-targeted content, keyword optimization, readability and UX, etc.).
When should you think about on-page SEO? The short answer is ALWAYS. Right from the start of building a website, certain elements need to be taken into account, such as page structure, HTTPS and website speed. Then the website needs to be analyzed regularly, especially after new content is published (for example, new blog articles) and after Google updates. This applies even if you are the proud holder of “rank #1” in the results, because SEO is an ongoing process whose methods must be constantly adapted and improved!
What is the role of keyword research in your on-page SEO strategy?
Everything has a beginning, and so does an on-page SEO strategy! Here, the starting point is keyword research, the stage of finding the keywords/key phrases relevant to the website’s users (the ones they will search for on Google).
Although it seems like a simple task, keyword research can be a headache for someone with too little experience in the field. The main reason is that both keywords and phrases need to be relevant to the website so that the search engine and users correctly understand what is on each of its pages. As for Google, if it understands “the page topic” and everything looks right, it will consider that the website deserves more attention (from users as well).
Photo source: www.ahrefs.com
If you choose keywords unrelated to the website’s focus or niche, the effects are not exactly pleasant. The strategy may deliver results in the short term, but in the long run traffic will be lost and users will not stay on the pages for long.
What does keyword mapping involve?
Once the keyword profile is set, attention needs to turn to keyword mapping. More precisely, the keywords have to be distributed correctly across the pages.
It is important to target service/product pages first. One of the big mistakes in on-page SEO is sending users to blog pages, a practice that does not help the campaign but does the opposite. Keywords must be distributed very carefully from the start to avoid cannibalization (a major enemy of any SEO campaign).
Photo source: www.imarkinfotech.com
What is SEO cannibalization? Cannibalization happens when several pages on a website, whether an online store or a business website, rank for the same keyword. The effect is harmful to the SEO campaign, because Google gets confused and cannot decide what to show users when they search for that keyword. As a result, it will consider the website “unreliable” and its position in the results will suffer.
What is the role of meta tags in your on-page SEO strategy?
In on-page SEO, the main meta tags that need the SEO specialist’s attention are the meta title (a web page’s title should be short, clear and descriptive) and the meta description (it should give concise information about what is on the page). Both meta tags must follow Google’s length recommendations. They also need to be tailored to the keyword profile, as in the example below.
Meta tags indirectly influence a website’s performance and play a very important role in click-through rate. Because they are shown on the results page, they also act as a CTA (call to action), so if they are written well, they have a good chance of attracting users through the text alone.
What does an internal link building strategy involve?
Link building is not just about external websites. A search engine can also learn more about a website and form an opinion about its structure through internal links, the ones that connect one page of the website to another (or others) on the same website. Internal links also matter for users, helping them navigate faster and easily find the content they want.
Besides the links on the homepage and in the menu, you can also add links within page content, called contextual links. These point users to similar content that is relevant to them and let search engines determine its value. Here is an example below!
You can see that there is an anchor “SEO” leading to the landing page that converts, namely the SEO services page. This way, a user interested in such services reaches the right page more easily, and Google better understands what that page is about.
How do you choose anchor text? Once you have decided which link belongs on a page, you need to choose the right anchor text. It is best to place it as naturally as possible, on a relevant keyword, because Google is smart enough to understand that the text around the anchor says even more than the anchor itself. It is also important not to overdo the number of links on a page, and to always vary the anchor text (not the same words every time).
What should you know about content length as a ranking factor?
First, every page on a website needs quality, 100% original content. Every text must be written according to the keyword plan, following specific rules, and it must be SEO Friendly (structured with H1, H2, H3, ordered and unordered lists, so that users have the best possible experience).
Photo source: www.sweor.com
There is a lot to say about content size (length), and specialists are currently debating this topic at length. When it comes to blog content, things are clearer: most recommend that a blog article exceed 1,000 words. An article of over 2,500 words has the best chance of getting more organic traffic, so if time allows, it is a good idea to invest in such content (Google looks more favorably on a longer article posted less often than on several short articles posted more often).
The rest of the website’s pages… this is where it gets more complicated! Specialists generally recommend longer content here too, but each page needs content suited to its purpose. If, for example, it is a page presenting a service, the recommendation is at least 500 words (although, after analyzing the competition, you may opt for a different length). What matters is that the text is well structured, coherent and easy to read, and accompanied by properly optimized images. If, on the other hand, it is a product page, it should be as clear as possible and answer the customer’s main questions (in which case it will be shorter).
“Longer content isn’t always better” says Ahrefs.com. To build customer loyalty and meet search engine requirements, it is important not to copy information or produce endless content that turns into a maze for users. We need useful information, presented logically and step by step, with shortcuts, and with the option for users to choose whether they want to learn everything or only part of the information presented.
What does an on-page SEO audit involve?
The purpose of an SEO audit is to analyze how a website ranks in search engines and identify its weak points. The audit evaluates content, domain, accessibility, the technology used, authority, etc., and includes several stages, among them: the on-page SEO audit, the off-page SEO audit and competitor analysis.
Since today we are focusing on the first stage, the on-page SEO audit, it makes no sense to bring up the other steps needed for a proper, overall analysis of a website. These topics have been and will be covered on the Admarks blog (here, for example, you can see all the steps needed for a complete SEO audit).
Photo source: www.seoclerk.com
What does an on-page SEO audit include? First, it includes a full scan of the website (SEO crawl: a scan carried out at Admarks with the Screaming Frog SEO Spider tool). It then includes an analysis of:
- Website accessibility: robots.txt; HTTP status codes (404 errors, for example); 301 redirect recommendations; XML sitemap; site architecture; website loading speed.
- Website indexability: checking indexing errors, the number of indexed pages and the indexability of duplicate pages; recommendations on indexing pages that generate duplicate content.
- On-page ranking factors: URL format and checking for SEO friendly URLs; customizing URLs to meet Google’s requirements; identifying URLs that generate duplicate content and offering solutions to fix these problems; analysis of the website’s content and recommendations for optimizing it (keyword density, optimal length for the page topic, grammatical accuracy, spam techniques, keyword cannibalization, etc.); page titles and their meta descriptions; the rel=”canonical” link; pagination elements; image optimization; internal linking and links pointing off the page (outlinks); structural tags.
Each element is particularly important for the success of an SEO campaign, so it must be carefully analyzed by a specialist. For example:
- The robots.txt file gives the search engine robot essential information about the website (it is the first file Google reads). It should also contain a link to the sitemap, so the website gets indexed better, and list, where applicable, all the pages that should not be indexed;
- Every image on the website should have an alt tag with a short descriptive text that gives information about the image. The alt tag should not be duplicated from one image to another. Not all images on the website are equally important: special attention should go to those showing products/services;
- When customizing URLs, Google’s requirements are taken into account: removing underscores and replacing them with hyphens (-), removing special parameters, creating clean, SEO friendly URLs, and including relevant keywords in the URLs;
- The rel =”canonical” link is important for preventing the indexing of pages that may generate duplicate content;
- Outlink analysis involves checking the authority of the websites being linked to, the topical relevance of the links, the quality of the anchor text, 404 outlinks, and dofollow or nofollow links;
- Analyzing structural tags involves checking the relevance of headings (H1, H2, H3), the order of structural tags on the page, structural tag optimization, keyword integration in tags, etc.
And the list of explanations could go on. Understanding on-page SEO and the whole on-page SEO audit process takes time and plenty of trial and error, as well as staying constantly informed about search engine requirements. That is why the audit should be left to an expert. So, if you have read this far because you are interested in SEO and want your website to benefit from a specialist’s expertise, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Sources:
- moz.com
- ahrefs.com
- searchenginejournal.com
- crunchify.com
- seoclerks.com
- mangools.com
- www.neilpatel.com
Specialists in SEO, GEO, performance marketing and web development, with 17 years of experience on projects in Romania and 23 other markets.
