On-page SEO is a process of optimizing a website in order to rank it higher in Search Engine Results Pages. On-Page SEO can be performed by optimizing the content of the website and the HTML source code of the website.
It is very important to optimize a website in order to increase it’s visibility and traffic.
In this article, let us understand “What is On-Page SEO?”
Read “What is SEO?“ if you are unaware of how search works and what is search engine optimization.
Understanding On-Page SEO
Search engines crawls through the website. While a search engine bot crawls through a website, both the content of the website and HTML source code of the website are visible to it.
On the basis of the quality of content and the source code, the search engines index the website. Indexing means putting the website in search results. On the basis of indexing, the website is fetched in the search engine results and it’s ranking varies on the basis of the quality of content and the source code.
Hence, it is important to have good quality content and well-optimized HTML in order to rank higher.
This can be achieved with the help of On-Page Optimization.
10 Important On-Page SEO Factors:
#1. Page Title
The title is one of the most important parts of a web page. It describes the purpose of the page.
It is found in the <head> section of source code. The page title appears in the browser tab and the title in google’s search results.
Just as one gets attracted to a magazine if it has an amazing cover or just as you read a newspaper article if it has a catchy headline, in a similar way page title works for websites/blogs.
When you make a Google search, you can find thousands of results in search engine results. But you click on the one that looks interesting.
Hence, it is very important to optimize your page title for SEO and it is one of the key on-page SEO factors.
#2. Meta Tags
Meta tags are used to provide the Metadata of the page. Metadata means data (information) about the data.
Meta tags are not visible to the viewer of the website but play a key role in the SEO of the website as they are visible to the search engines.
Meta tags help the search engine to understand the context of the page and it’s purpose. The meta keywords tag contain the keywords for the page while the meta description contains a small description that helps the search engines understand what the page is all about.
And if the search engines understand the page well, the purpose is served.
Hence, while optimizing the On-Page elements of a web page, the meta tags play a critical role.
#3. Heading Tags
There are six heading tags in HTML (h1 to h6). Every page’s main heading should be enclosed in the h1 tag.
The subheadings must be enclosed in h2 tags. Out of the 6 heading tags, h1 and h2 are the most important for SEO and are widely used.
Always remember to use the heading tags in proper hierarchy on your page. Also, do not be confused between heading tags and bold. This should not be used to make the text bold. You can use the bold tag for it.
Headings provide a proper structure to the page and make it very readable for readers. Also, the heading tags help the search engines understand the hierarchy and importance of content on the page.
Therefore, it is very important to properly optimize the heading tags for SEO.
#4. SEO-friendly URLs
URLs should be simple and easy to remember. URLs should not only be user-friendly but also search engine friendly.
Try to use the target keyword in the URL but do not unnecessarily do keyword-stuffing. The URL must be similar to the title of the page, should follow proper folder structure, and must not contain hashes.
Also, search engines do not like dynamic URLs. So, try to keep static URLs.
It is also recommended to keep the URLs short & to the point. URL is the address to your page. Just as you have an address for your house, this is an address for your website/webpage. The easier it is, the better it is.
It is an important element of the web page because without an URL, neither search engines or visitors can access your page. Therefore, optimizing URL is very important & it is one of the key On-Page SEO factors.
#5. Keywords
Keywords if used wisely can help you rank much higher than your competitors.
If you do not know what keywords are, then please do read “What are Keywords in Digital Marketing?“
Do proper keyword research. Spend time to analyze the search volumes and competition for the keywords you are planning to target.
Use keywords properly throughout the content. But, do not overuse them. Avoid keyword-stuffing.
Try to place keywords in the title, headings and URLs strategically so that the On-Page SEO of your web page is well-optimized and your rankings improve.
#6. Use Of Images
All text and no image would make the website too boring. It is good to use images whenever required.
While using images, make sure that you compress them. Also, use proper and sensible alt attribute text along with the image. It is always advisable to have a caption for the image.
#7. Internal Linking
Linking your pages internally is very important as it helps the user and search engine bots to navigate across your website.
Google loves links. It uses links to find content. Google starts with your home page and then crawls through various links to various pages and find out what the content is about.
Also, the relationship between various pages is understood with the help of links. So, it is important to have a good internal linking structure for a website.
#8. Good Content
It is truly said that “Content Is King“.
In order to rank higher, it is vital to have good quality content which is original and relevant.
Good content engages readers, increases the traffic to the website and also helps in getting more links to the website.
#9. Mobile Responsiveness
Google is now Mobile-friendly content. It means that the search engine checks the responsiveness of the website.
Responsive website means that there is no need of a separate website for mobile devices. A single website caters across all the devices and this is now loved by Google.
Also, with the increasing number of internet users on mobile phones, the responsiveness of the website now very important.
#10. Website Speed
Google checks the speed with which your page loads.
If the user has to wait for a long time for getting the entire page to load, then this is a bad user experience and also affects the ranking of the website.
So, along with good content and other SEO factors, it is very much necessary to reduce the load time of the website and make sure that the website loads quickly.
Conclusion
This was a brief about on-page SEO and the key factors affecting On-Page SEO. SEO is a continuous process.
So keep learning and dive deep in the world of search.
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