What’s on-page SEO?
Google’s algorithm considers three key factors when ranking your website: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO. On-page SEO involves optimising page elements that allow search engines to understand and index your content. Off-page SEO includes activities like social sharing and external linking, while Technical SEO encompasses elements like structured data, site speed, and mobile readiness, which are more technical aspects of SEO.
The importance of on-page SEO lies in its ability to communicate crucial information about your website to Google and other search engines. It also makes sure your site is optimised for both human users and search engine bots.
Simply creating and publishing a website isn’t sufficient; optimisation is necessary to attract new traffic and rank effectively. On-page SEO is called “on-page” because the changes made are visible to visitors on your page, unlike off-page and technical SEO elements, which are not always visible. Therefore, it’s crucial to get on-page SEO right, as soon as your new website or your new content goes live.
On-page SEO elements can be categorised into three main groups: Content Elements, HTML Elements, and Site Architecture Elements.
Content Elements:
1. Keyword Research:
Begin by selecting relevant keywords and topics through research. Tools like Ahrefs, Answer the Public, and Uber Suggest can be helpful. Consider the buyer’s journey and search intent when choosing keywords and planning your content.
2. Visual Content:
Incorporate images, graphics, and charts to enhance the visual appeal and engagement of your web pages. Optimising images with Alt Tags can drive traffic from image search results.
HTML Elements:
3. Page Titles:
Your page titles (title tags) play a crucial role in SEO. Include the focus keyword for each page in the title to ensure that both visitors and search engines understand the content.
4. Headers:
Headers (HTML elements <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, etc.) organize your content and help search engines determine the importance of different sections based on search intent.
5. Meta Descriptions:
While not an official ranking factor, meta descriptions influence click-through rates. They can also be shared on social media, encouraging more clicks.
6. Image Alt-text:
Image Alt-Text provides information about your images to search engines, helping them understand your content and potentially driving traffic from image-based searches.
7. Structured Markup:
Structured data markup makes it easier for Google to comprehend your content and display featured snippets and knowledge panels.
Site Architecture Elements:
8. Page URLs:
Ensure your page URLs are user-friendly and easily understood by both readers and search engines. Consistent hierarchy is essential as you create subpages and internal content.
9. Internal Linking:
Internal links guide visitors to other pages on your website, keeping them engaged and signalling to Google that your site is valuable. This also provides more time for Google to crawl and index your site.
10. Mobile Responsiveness:
Optimise your website for mobile devices, as Google favours sites with fast mobile speeds. Ensure your site layout is readable and navigable on mobile devices.
11. Site Speed:
Page speed is critical for both mobile and desktop users. Google prioritises user experience, so a fast-loading site is essential for retaining visitors and improving search rankings.
In conclusion, on-page SEO is a fundamental part of optimising your website for search engines and human users. Each of these elements contributes to the overall performance and visibility of your website, so it’s important to address them effectively.
If you would like to improve your SEO performance, don’t hesitate and book a FREE SEO Audit, or get in touch with the SEO & PPC Consultant to arrange a call.
