SEO OnPage
In the continuously evolving world of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), OnPage Optimisation remains a cornerstone for success. This process involves fine-tuning all aspects of a webpage, from its content and images to its metadata and internal links, to make it appealing to both users and search engines. At Prospectz SEO Agency, we harness our expertise and cutting-edge techniques to provide top-notch SEO OnPage Optimisation services. Let’s unravel the concepts and significance of OnPage SEO.
Understanding OnPage SEO
OnPage SEO, often referred to as ‘on-site SEO’, is the practice of optimising a webpage’s content and HTML source code to gain higher search engine rankings and earn more relevant traffic. This process differs from OffPage SEO, where you optimise signals occurring off your website, like backlinks. OnPage SEO focuses on aspects like title tags, content quality, internal links, and URLs.
The Importance of OnPage SEO
In an ever-competitive online space, traditional OnPage SEO remains crucial even in 2023. Google’s “How Search Works” report asserts the continuing relevance of keyword usage and other traditional SEO practices. The search giant still crawls your site for keywords and employs various old-school techniques to understand your webpage better.
Modern Approaches to OnPage SEO
In today’s scenario, OnPage SEO is not limited to just including keywords in your HTML. For your content to rank in 2023, it needs to be optimised for user experience, search intent, page loading speed, and click-through-rate (CTR), among other things.
Optimising Content for SEO
When it comes to optimising your content, using your target keyword in the first 100 words, wrapping your blog post title in an H1 tag, including the target keyword in at least one subheading (H2 tag), and maintaining an appropriate keyword frequency are all effective strategies.
Enhancing User Experience
Focusing on user experience is crucial to OnPage SEO. This includes fast loading times, intuitive interfaces, and mobile-friendly designs. We can help optimise your online presence to offer an engaging and user-friendly experience.
SEO Friendly URLs
URLs are often an overlooked aspect of OnPage SEO. The structure of your URL is an important ranking factor and can impact how your webpage appears in search results. Creating SEO-friendly URLs involves making them short and incorporating a keyword in every URL.
Decoding OnPage SEO
OnPage SEO, often referred to as ‘on-site SEO,’ is the procedure of optimising a webpage’s content and underlying HTML code to secure a higher rank on search engines and attract relevant traffic. In contrast to OffPage SEO, which is about optimising off-website signals like backlinks, OnPage SEO involves optimising elements such as title tags, content quality, internal links, and URLs.
Why OnPage SEO Matters
As the digital competition intensifies, the role of traditional OnPage SEO continues to be vital in 2023. Google’s “How Search Works” report highlights the importance of keywords and other traditional SEO methods. Google still scans your site for keywords, employing a variety of classic techniques to understand your webpage more effectively.
Modern OnPage SEO Practices
In today’s digital landscape, OnPage SEO is not confined to merely inserting keywords in your HTML. For your content to rank in 2023, it should also be optimised for user experience, search intent, page loading speed, and click-through rate (CTR).
Effective Content Optimisation for SEO
When optimising your content, using your target keyword in the first 100 words, wrapping your blog post title in an H1 tag, including the target keyword in at least one subheading (H2 tag), and maintaining a suitable keyword frequency are all effective strategies.
Enhancing User Experience
Focusing on user experience is critical to OnPage SEO. This involves ensuring fast loading times, intuitive interfaces, and mobile-friendly designs. We can help optimise your online presence to offer an engaging and user-friendly experience.
SEO Friendly URLs
URLs are often an overlooked aspect of OnPage SEO. The structure of your URL is an important ranking factor and can impact how your webpage appears in search results. Creating SEO-friendly URLs involves making them short and incorporating a keyword in every URL.
Add the Current Year to Title and Description
Having the current year in your title and meta description may seem like a minor tweak, but it can have a significant impact on your CTR. Why? Because it demonstrates that your content is relevant and up-to-date. This is particularly important for topics that change frequently. For instance, someone looking up “best smartphones” would want to see a current list, not one from several years ago.
By adding the year to your title and description, you signal to users that your content is fresh, improving their chances of clicking on your page.
Master On-Page UX Signals
In this chapter, we will delve into how to optimize your content for on-page User Experience (UX) signals. In other words, how Google’s users interact with your content.
Does Google consider UX signals such as Dwell Time, Bounce Rate, and other user interaction signals?
The answer is a resounding yes. Google’s “How Search Works” report makes it clear that they use aggregated and anonymized interaction data to assess the relevance of search results to queries.
So, how can you ensure your content is engaging enough to keep Google searchers on your page?
Above The Fold
This is the most important part for SEO and conversions. Spend most of your effort on it.
Push Content Above the Fold
One of the ways to achieve this is by pushing your content above the fold. When a user lands on your site from Google, they want to find their answers quickly. Therefore, avoid having large images that push your content down the page.
Big image above the fold
Instead, make sure your headline and introduction are immediately visible.
Intro above the fold
It’s alright to have an image at the top of your post. However, if it pushes your content downwards, it could deter readers.
Words And Tags
The words and tagging will make or break your SEO.
Chunk Your Content
In an ideal world, your site visitors would read every single word on your page. But we know that’s not usually the case.
This is why it’s crucial to make your content easy to skim. How do we achieve this? By using H2 subheadings, bullet points, and images. This breaks up the text and makes it easier for the reader to scan through your content.
Create an Active Community
Having an active community on your blog can significantly decrease your bounce rate. A high-quality comments section provides additional reading material once users finish reading your post.
Advanced On-Page SEO Techniques
This chapter provides a rundown of my favorite advanced on-page SEO techniques. Once you’ve optimized your page’s title and H1 tags, these tips will help you elevate your on-page SEO.
Let’s dive right into these strategies.
Use Original Images
Do you use stock images in your content? Those stock images could be hurting your SEO.
Shai Aharony recently tested the effect of stock images on Google rankings. He created several new websites, using generic stock images on some and original images on others.
Stock image vs. unique image
The results were clear: websites with unique images ranked higher than those using stock photos.
Duplicate images vs. Unique images
If you’re using stock photos used by many other sites, it might be time to create custom images. This is something we do at Prospectz, and it seems to be beneficial for our rankings.
Internal Linking
Internal linking is essential for SEO. You should aim to link from high-authority pages on your site to pages that need a boost.
Internal link from high-authority pages to low-authority pages
Remember to use keyword-rich anchor text when you do this. For example:
Keyword-rich anchor text
To achieve this, use an SEO tool like Semrush to identify the pages on your site with the most link authority, then add a few internal links from those pages to a high-priority page on your site.
Semrush – Indexed pages report
For instance, if you want to improve your rankings for a guide, you could add an internal link from one of your most authoritative pages to that guide.
Write Comprehensive Content
Google aims to provide users with content that covers everything they need to know on a single page. In other words, comprehensive content. If your post covers an entire topic, it’s more likely to rank well.
Content topic authority (Marketmuse data)
One easy way to ensure that Google sees your content as comprehensive is to use LSI keywords. These are synonyms that Google uses to determine a page’s relevancy.
And if you want to be 100% sure you’re using LSI keywords, you can find them by searching for your keyword in Google and scrolling down to the “Searches Related to…” area at the bottom of the page:
Boost Your Page Speed
Google has stated that page loading speed is a ranking signal, and they’ve made PageSpeed even more crucial.
Based on our analysis of 5.2 million websites, you can enhance your site’s loading speed by switching to a faster host, minimizing third-party scripts, and reducing your page’s total size.
Third-party scripts negatively impact page load times
Factors that impact fully loaded on desktop & mobile
Image Optimization
Every image on your site should have a descriptive filename and alt text. This not only helps Google understand what the image depicts but also assists visually-impaired users.
Alt text
If possible, optimize one image around your target keyword by using a filename that includes the keyword (for example, on-page-seo-chart.png) and using that same keyword in your image alt tags.
Alt text on WordPress image
Another reason to optimize your images for SEO: it gives search engines another clue about what your page is about… which can improve its ranking.
Optimized images help search engines understand your content
Rank Your Content In Featured Snippets
Appearing in a Featured Snippet can significantly improve your CTR. However, according to an industry study, your page needs to already be on the first page of Google to get a Featured Snippet.
Where featured snippets tend to rank
You need to identify first-page results that have a Featured Snippet and you rank for. To do this, use SEMrush or your preferred SEO software to find pages from your site that rank on the first page of Google. Then, filter for keywords that already have a Featured Snippet.
Organic research – SERP features filter
After this, look at the Featured Snippet in Google for each of those terms and optimize your content to rank in the Featured Snippet.
Google SERP – Featured snippet
If the Featured Snippet is a “definition”, include a short definition in your content.
Bounce Rate definition in Prospectz post
If it’s a list of steps or tips, ensure that your page structure is consistent.
In Conclusion
Now that we’ve covered the basics and some advanced strategies of on-page SEO, we would love to hear your thoughts.
Which tip from today’s post are you keen on trying first?
Will you add your keyword at the beginning of your title tag?
Or perhaps you want to rank in the Featured Snippet spot.
FAQ for OnPage Optimisation
What is OnPage SEO?
OnPage SEO involves optimising the content and HTML source code of individual webpages to rank higher in search engine results and drive relevant traffic. It includes optimising title tags, content, internal links, and URLs.
Why is OnPage SEO important?
OnPage SEO is crucial for enhancing your website’s visibility in search engine results. It helps to make your site more user-friendly, improve click-through rates, and boost your site’s overall performance.
How can I optimise my content for OnPage SEO?
Content can be optimised for OnPage SEO by using your target keyword in the first 100 words, wrapping your blog post title in an H1 tag, including the target keyword in at least one subheading (H2 tag), and maintaining an appropriate keyword frequency.
What is the difference between OnPage and OffPage SEO?
OnPage SEO focuses on optimising elements on your website, such as content, title tags, URLs, and internal links. In contrast, OffPage SEO involves improving your site’s visibility and ranking through actions taken outside of your website, such as earning backlinks from other reputable sites.
How does URL structure impact SEO?
URL structure can significantly impact SEO. Search engines like Google consider URL structure when determining a page’s relevance to a search query. A well-structured URL is easy for both users and search engines to understand, leading to better search engine rankings.