On-Page SEO

Changes to search engine algorithms have made staying on top of on-page SEO tedious, even for the experts. Many online marketers are themselves struggling to understand the changes, and what it means for their clients. In fact, many are still using outdated techniques to try reaching the top of search engine page results. However, on-page SEO is very different from it was just a few short years ago.
Ultimately, there is one thing you must keep in mind. On-page SEO relies heavily on the page content. Search engines want to satisfy their customers. As a result, they are seeking to place the most valuable and reliable information at the top of search results. Therefore, good content will answer a need and be authoritative enough to generate links. It is a simple as, “Are you supplying the demand of your target audience?”
With this in mind, below is a list of on-page SEO best practices:
1. Craft contact that is uniquely valuable. – Producing largely generic content or overt marketing is not an effective way to rank in search results. Your content must have value, authority, and reliability. Search engines will take their signals from users. If you do not receive click-throughs and shares, or have a high bounce rate, search engines will determine you are not worthy of a high placement.
2. Use website designed for user experience. – A good looking site is not enough. Website design must provide for a good user experience, including easy navigation, fast load times, and responsiveness to multiple devices. If users become frustrated, their behavior will send negative signals to search engines.
3. Utilize effective keyword targeting. – The days of keyword stuffing are in the past. Include your focus keyword in your title, URL, and within the first paragraph. Beyond that, use the keyword naturally within your content. Context and readability have replaced keyword stuffing.
4. Craft content for social sharing. – Content must have a sharing value. This means a user expects a response from their friends and followers by sharing the content. This then amplifies and extends your content’s organic reach. Moreover, these social signals inform search engines about content popularity and authority.
5. Ensure website is mobile-friendly. – Smartphones are becoming the most popular way to access the internet. Therefore, today, search engines penalize sites that are not device- or mobile-friendly. This means having a website that adapts to any screen size and renders on the most popular browsers.
6. Ensure page is accessible by crawlers. – Use a robots.txt file and robots tags to allow search engines to crawl your site and pages. Make sure no content is more than 4 clicks deep, and use a sitemap file. Finally, use canonical tags for content loaded from multiple pages.
What haven’t we covered yet that is important to you? If you would like to talk about on-page SEO best practices, or need more information, please contact us.