What is On-Page SEO and how to do it? Post-16
What is On-Page SEO and how to do it?
What is On Page SEO?
On Page SEO is a primary step or main foundation of search engine optimization, which initially determines how well a website will perform in search engine rankings. On Page SEO basically creates the infrastructure of a website. We know that a well-organized website can be crawled well by search engines and is also very convenient for visitors to understand. On Page SEO includes things like keyword placement, title tag, meta description, heading tag, URL structure, internal linking, content optimization, image optimization.
We usually know keyword research as the primary step of SEO, but after keyword research, the practical work of SEO begins, especially the work directly related to the website, and one of the things that is directly related to it is On Page SEO.
Importance of On-Page SEO in SEO
Let’s say your website is technically very good, has good domain authority and very good backlinks but there are weaknesses on the on-page, what will happen is that the search engine crawler will not be able to crawl the pages of your website properly, which will cause index issues. Again, when the visitor visits, if the website looks messy, a bad impression will be made, as a result, the bounce rate will increase a lot and the CTR will decrease, as a result of which your website will quickly lose rank.
All search engines, including Google, use very complex algorithms in website ranking. Among them, user experience is currently considered important. Whether a user feels comfortable entering a website or not is now a matter of consideration. If a webpage is optimized on-page, it is beneficial for both the visitor and the crawler, as a result, it becomes possible to improve overall SEO.
How On-Page SEO Plays a Role in User Experience (UX)
It is clear that On-Page SEO is not only done to crawl search engine crawlers well, but also to ensure user experience. But how can On-Page SEO improve user experience?
When the content of your website is easy to read or view or the website is easy to navigate and the webpages load quickly, the visitor feels comfortable. As a result, the bounce rate decreases and the website continues to perform well.
The main components of On-Page SEO
On-page SEO consists of several topics, some of which are discussed below.
Keyword Optimization
First of all, let me say that keyword research and keyword optimization are not the same. Keyword optimization refers to the use of keywords in a content. A keyword will be placed in the title, meta description, URL and body of the content in a regular manner. Again, keyword overload or in simple terms, keywords cannot be placed more than once. As a result of keyword overload, search engines often count those pages as spam and prevent them from ranking.
Again, we have to keep in mind that basically we rank a webpage based on keywords. Therefore, if keywords are not used correctly, it will not be possible to get a rank. Also, the use of LSI keywords must be ensured, as a result of which the main keyword will get proper support and it will be easy to get a rank.
Title Tag
The title tag tells the search engine what the webpage is about. Similarly, visitors can understand what the webpage is about and why they need to visit it by looking at the title tag. An optimized title tag should be short and must contain the focus keyword. In short, the content of a webpage should be guessed by looking at the title tag. If the title tag is of good quality and organized, the click-through rate CTR will increase and your website will do much better in search engine rankings. For example, an optimized title tag should be “What is on-page SEO and how to do it?”
Meta Description
After searching for a keyword, you will usually see many results. But you will visit 1 or 2 websites and you will get what you want within that time. The question here is why should you choose those 1 or 2 websites, there must be something special here.
Meta description is mainly used to attract the attention of the visitor. The few lines that we can see below the title are called meta description. An ideal meta description is 150-160 words and must contain the focus keyword. If the main topic of the page can be presented very briefly in the meta description, it attracts the visitors and as a result the click-through rate (CTR) increases.
Heading tags (H1, H2, H3…)
Heading tags help in structuring the content of the website, especially in organizing things like blog posts or product descriptions. There are basically 6 types of heading tags: H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6. Among them, the H1 tag is used as a title and the rest work as sub-headings in turn. By using heading tags correctly, visitors will be able to better understand the content of your website, and search engines and your webpage will be able to identify the main points of your webpage.
URL Structure
In SEO, you always have to think about 2 parties. (1) Search engines (2) Visitors. You can do well here only if you can ensure the comfort of these 2 parties.
Clear and descriptive URLs are important for doing well in SEO. For example, instead of “www.example.com/page?id=1234”, “www.example.com/on-page-seo-tips” can be used. This is satisfactory for both search engines and users.
Internal Linking
Internal links connect the webpages of a website and help visitors navigate. Internal links also help search engines crawl your site more effectively. By doing internal linking, you can improve SEO and keep your visitors on your website for longer. However, one thing to ensure is that the internal link must be relevant, for example, in a blog post on SEO tips, you can link to a blog post about using Google Search Console.
Content Optimization
Good quality relevant content is the basis of on-page SEO. That is, adding content that is related to the main topic of your website. If your website is about health advice, then you need to have some content for your visitors that your visitors are looking for or that your visitors need. If you can create and optimize the best quality content around the right keywords, it is considered possible to improve your SEO.
Image Optimization
We know that there is a section called Images on the SERP page. Images play an effective role in SEO. By optimizing the Alt Text and image in the image, you can reduce the size of the image file, which can reduce the loading time of the webpage. In addition, images make the interface of a webpage much easier and are also widely used in navigating for visitors. Therefore, it goes without saying that if you want to do well in overall SEO, you have to do well in image optimization.
Rules for tracking the performance of on-page SEO
SEO Metrics Monitoring
Usually, to track the performance of on-page SEO, you have to consider things like click-through rate (CTR), bounce rate, organic traffic. Basically, based on this information, you can determine which pages or content are doing well, which content is not doing well, and you can also get a good idea of how to improve the content that is not doing well.
Using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console
Google Analytics and Google Search Console are Google’s special tools for tracking on-page SEO performance. These tools help you know the behavior of visitors, where visitors are coming from, how visitors are coming, etc., and based on this information, it is possible to come up with new strategies.
Coming up with strategies based on data
To do well in SEO, you have to rely on data. What you do or don’t do will depend on the data. To improve, you need to analyze your weak points and consider how to improve them. Along with this, it is also possible to improve through competitor analysis.
Some common mistakes in on-page SEO that should be avoided
Knowingly or unknowingly, we usually make mistakes, some of which are listed below and their importance is discussed:
Not using meta tags
Keyword stuffing
Short content
Avoiding mobile users
What we can see on the SERP page after searching for a keyword is many results and the main thing there is the meta title or meta description, so we need to improve this area. Also, keyword stuffing is also very important, we all understand it more or less, but many times it is mistaken. Many times, the correct placement of keywords is not done, and many times, more or more keywords are placed than necessary, which leads to losses.
Also, there is a problem with the quality of the content or the content being small, which we do not give importance to. Again, most of the searches are done from mobile or tab, but without taking that into account, we only optimize for computer devices and leave it that way. As a result, we can see a bad effect in the long term.
What will be the future of on-page SEO
What will be the future of on-page SEO 3
A lot has been learned about on-page SEO, now the thing to think about is what kind of on-page SEO can be in the future! We know that due to the AI revolution, all sectors in IT are seeing this change and it is assumed that it will have a positive impact on on-page SEO. Many things can be done automatically by AI, one of which is the structure of the content, heading tags, etc.
On the other hand, if we think about it from another perspective, we are going to see a big impact of voice search in the future. As a result, we may have to give importance to the FAQ issue in on-page SEO in the future so that any visitor can get the answer through us if he asks a question. Finally, the way people search and their needs are constantly changing, which is why search engines are forced to change their algorithms, which will continuously change the way on-page SEO and we will have to keep up with the times and do better than everyone else.
