Not sure how to create content that is easily read by search engines?
No problem! All you need to do is make sure you follow the best practices for on-page SEO.
When it comes to SEO editing, you’ll want to follow these on-page SEO tips to ensure every page is contributing to your overall strategy.
- What is On-Page SEO?
- Why Is On-Page SEO Important?
- On-Page SEO Tips
- 1. Put Your Keyword in the Title
- 2. Modify Your Title
- 3. Write Your Keyword in the First 100 Words
- 4. Don’t “Keyword Stuff”… But Use Your Keyword Often
- 5. Use Subheadings
- 6. Include Internal and Outbound Links
- 7. Optimize Your URLs
- 8. Utilize Meta-Descriptions
- 9. Use Images and Alt-Text
- 10. Create Useful and Unique Content
- Conclusion: Great On-Page SEO Is Key To Ranking In Search Engines
What is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing a single page to rank in search engines for your chosen keyword.
While creating awesome content for your readers is your primary goal, you also need to make sure Google can read your content.
By utilizing the best practices for on-page SEO, you ensure search engines can read, index, and serve your pages to searchers.
Why Is On-Page SEO Important?
On-Page SEO is important because it boosts your chances of ranking in search engines.
While SEO editing is a holistic practice, you need to make sure every element of that whole is perfect.
By utilizing the best SEO practices on each page, you ensure that your entire SEO strategy will be effective.
While it’s possible to rank without utilizing all of the tips in this post, implementing all of them makes your pages more likely to rank.
On-Page SEO Tips
The tips below are key to creating a search engine-friendly page.
They are simple to implement, but they will require critical thinking and attention to detail.
1. Put Your Keyword in the Title
If you want to rank for a particular keyword, then you’ll need to include it in your title.
This is one of the first things search engines, and users, will see.
It helps both of them understand what your page is about.
Another thing you’ll want to do is put the keyword or keyphrase at the beginning of your title.
This will allow Google to understand what your page is about as quickly as possible.
It will also help Google understand that it is the keyword you want your page to rank for.
Sometimes, it won’t make sense for your title to begin with your keyword, and that is fine.
As long as you make an effort to put it close to the beginning of your title, you’ll improve your SEO efforts.
2. Modify Your Title
It can be really difficult to rank for some keywords.
However, by adding modifiers to your title, you broaden your ability to rank for variations of your keyword.
Some keyword modifiers include words like “best,” “free,” and “guide.”
For example, if your target keyword is “running shoes,” you can improve your chances of ranking for that keyword when a user searches for the term “best running shoes.”
Your target keyword is still “running shoes,” but now you’ll be more likely to show up in a search for “best running shoes.”
You can also use modifiers like the year.
For example, you might make your page title “best running shoes 2021.”
If the user searches for this term, you’ll be more likely to rank for it.
Finally, even if the searcher doesn’t include the term “2021” in their search, they may be more likely to click on an article with the updated year in the title.
This is because the searcher will know your page is up to date and that you are providing them information that is up to date.
3. Write Your Keyword in the First 100 Words
Just like you want to place your keyword close to the beginning of your title, you also want to place your keyword at the start of your article.
This helps Google understand what your page is about and that you want to rank for that keyword.
For example, if you are trying to rank for the keyword “running shoes,” it makes sense that that word would show up very early in your article.
If the keyword doesn’t make its appearance until halfway down the article, then your article probably isn’t the authority on the subject.
Search engines may see that your article is related to running shoes, but they won’t believe that’s the main subject (and if your keyword isn’t showing up early on, the search engines are probably correct on their assessment!).
4. Don’t “Keyword Stuff”… But Use Your Keyword Often
Keyword stuffing is the practice of repeating your keyword over and over again in an attempt to signal to search engines that your article should rank for that keyword.
However, doing this does not read well and is not best for the user.
Since search engines want to show the best content, keyword stuffing is not a good practice.
Google may even penalize your page for trying to game its algorithm.
You want to maintain an appropriate keyword density.
Keyword density is the number of words in your copy divided by the number of times your keyword appears in the copy.
While there’s no magic number, a keyword density of 2% is considered best practice.
Your keyword should appear in your article naturally.
Your primary goal is to write useful information about that keyword for the user.
If you are truly writing an authoritative piece on your topic, you shouldn’t have to “force it.”
Be sure to use your keyword multiple times so Google knows what your page is about, but don’t overdo it.
5. Use Subheadings
Subheadings not only help break up your content and make your page more readable for the user, but they also help signal to Google what your page is about.
Put your subheadings in H2 tags so Google, and your users, know what the main sections of your page are.
You’ll also want to be sure to use your keyword in at least one of your subheadings.
This helps search engines know that the sections on your page are related to your chosen keyword.
When Google knows your sections are related to your topic, you’ll be more likely to rank higher.
6. Include Internal and Outbound Links
You want to utilize a number of different types of links for SEO.
When it comes to on-page SEO tips, you want to be sure to include internal and outbound links on every page.
Internal links, links pointing to another page on your site, help communicate to search engines what your most important content is.
They also help keep users on your site when they want to learn more about a topic you mention on your page.
The longer you can keep a user on your site, the better.
You should also include outbound links to other sites.
The SEO industry is undecided on whether outbound links truly affect your own SEO efforts, but they do provide additional context for the reader.
Whatever is best for the user is typically best for SEO, so be sure to cite your sources and provide any additional context the user may want.
7. Optimize Your URLs
Be sure you are including your keyword in your URL, but don’t feel obligated to match the URL to the title of your article.
While the URL should give the reader, and search engines, an idea of what your article is about, sometimes all the extra text is unnecessary.
Keep it simple and concise.
Do not use underscores or other special characters.
Whatever you do, don’t leave your URL title as something like the date or a page ID number.
You have an extra chance to communicate your page’s content to users and search engines, so use it!
8. Utilize Meta-Descriptions
Meta-descriptions are the text you see below page titles in Google’s search results.
These descriptions don’t impact your SEO because Google doesn’t consider them when ranking your page.
However, they can affect the click-through rate of your page.
By giving the user a short introduction of what your page is about, you increase the chance that they will click on your page and check out your content.
After all, getting users to visit your page is the whole point of SEO!
9. Use Images and Alt-Text
Using images on your pages is good for two reasons.
First, it’s good for the reader because it helps break up blocks of text.
This makes your page much easier on the eye and more engaging for the user.
Second, it’s good for search engines, because it gives you the opportunity to utilize alt-text.
Alt-text is a short, written description of an image.
Since Google cannot read images, it relies on alt-text to understand what an image is about.
By including your keyword in your description, you have a chance at ranking that image in Google images and giving Google another signal as to what your page is about.
Finally, alt-text improves your site’s accessibility, as it allows blind users on a screen reader to understand what the images on your site are about even though they can’t see them.
Making your site more accessible is good for users, so of course it is best for SEO.
10. Create Useful and Unique Content
This last tip is the most obvious, but also the most important.
If you want your site to rank in search engines, then you need to provide the content people are looking for.
If you can create the most useful content on the topics people are searching for, you’ll eventually be rewarded with a higher search engine ranking.
Conclusion: Great On-Page SEO Is Key To Ranking In Search Engines
Though creating great content is the most important aspect of SEO, you’ll need to utilize these on-page SEO tips if you hope to boost your search engine rankings.
By following these tips, you communicate a lot of information to Google about your content.
When Google can easily understand your content, you have a better chance of ranking.
If you’re already running your business, implementing all these tips may be a lot to handle.
This is why I suggest working with an SEO editor like myself to help you achieve your goals.