For those who do not have experience in the world of digital marketing, SEO (search engine optimisation) can feel like a veritable minefield of possible mistakes. There are seemingly endless Google algorithm updates to take note of and try to meet, and there are different types of optimisation to follow. But the most important SEO tactic to focus on is on-page SEO, that is, what your website “says†or shows to a search engine.
When you are working on a search engine optimisation strategy, you should start by focusing on your website. By having a well-optimised website, you will notice an improvement in visitor quality, more conversion rates, and an increased search engine results page ranking. If this all sounds a little confusing to you, below we break down on-page SEO and how to optimise it.Â
So…What Is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO can be understood as the process of optimising website pages to help them rank in search engine results. This helps to increase organic traffic to your website, that is, traffic that comes from people searching for your specific keywords and brand or business name.Â
This can be done in the form of using keywords on the page that relate to your business, improving the meta-descriptions of the pages, adding keywords to titles of pages, and ensuring that you use search intent when using these keywords. Search intent means that you look at what the searcher intends with their browsing, such as, “buy desktop computerâ€.Â
So, in a nutshell, on-page SEO involves making changes to your website and web pages that will improve their online visibility, boost your rankings, and appeal to your audience.Â
How Can I Optimise For It?
Now that you understand what on-page SEO is, you can start the process of optimising your website for it. This might sound complicated and difficult, but with a few simple steps, you can optimise your website and improve your rankings.Â
Start With A Site Audit
The first step in optimising your on-page SEO is to perform a website audit. You can use online tools to do so ro contact a digital marketing agency for help. A website audit involves looking at each page on your website for any search engine optimisation problems, such as empty meta-descriptions, duplicate content on pages, a lack of an XML sitemap, and so on. With this audit, you can see where changes need to be made on every page and how to make these changes.Â
Focus On Search Intent
Using keywords in your on-page SEO strategy is vital, but you should not simply place them in sentences and hope that Google indexes the page for them. You will need to focus on search intent when researching keywords, in order for them to make an impact on your rankings. Your keywords should include long-tail keywords and phrases that consumers naturally search for. For example, you could include the keyword, “how to choose a laptop†in a blog post, so that it can rank for this search term.Â
Put Keywords In The Right Places
Once you have chosen the right keywords and have looked at search intent, to optimise for on-page SEO, you will need to use these keywords in the right places on your website and web pages. The keywords should be included in page titles, meta- and product descriptions, the headings of content, the content itself, in image alt-texts, and in the URL of the pages. This will help to improve your search results for searches of your keywords, encouraging users to visit your website and engage with your content.Â
Improve Page Speed
An important on-page SEO aspect to remember is the speed of your website pages. You should optimise and improve this so that you provide a positive user experience and so that people are less likely to click away from your website in search of one that loads faster. You can improve your page speed by reducing the size of the images on the page and minimising HTML that is not really needed. If there are videos or animations on the page, be sure to reduce their sizes too or make it so that they only load when the user scrolls to them or clicks on them.Â
Final Words
On-page SEO is a vital part of any digital marketing strategy, but if you are not sure about what it entails, you may not achieve it correctly. Start by performing a site audit to find any issues, then choose keywords that have user intent as the focus. Add these keywords to the right places on the page and you will soon see an improvement in your search engine rankings.Â
If you would like to improve your SEO or update your website for better online visibility, speak to NetMechanic today to find out more about how we can help you.Â
