The Basics of On-Page SEO

Connectica • December 11, 2015 • SEO

Read Time: 3 minutes

Florida SEO: 4 Tips for On-Page Optimization

As Florida’s search engine optimization specialists, people often ask us what they can do to increase their website’s ranking. In our previous post, we looked at the importance of keywords – the first pillar of a strong SEO campaign.

The next pillar, then, is on-page SEO. This refers to tactics to optimize the webpage for both your target audience and for search engines. It differs from off-page SEO, which we’ll discuss next month.

In this post, we’ll tackle the top 4 techniques for on-page search engine optimization.

1. Content is Key
Strong content is one of the best ways to improve rankings. It may seem obvious that you don’t want to publish bad writing on your website, but content actually affects how search engines rate your site in tangible ways.

We all know that good web content should be well written and easy to read. But what about article length? The optimal post should be between 500 – 1000 words. If the writing is engaging, browsers are more likely to read the entire post instead of ‘clicking away’ to another page.

In the SEO industry, this is called the bounce rate. Google measures how long a visitor spends on a page, and how quickly they ‘bounce’ to another page. If visitors immediately click away right after landing on your page, that’s not a good sign. But if they stay to read a post, search engines assume that the content is relevant and worth reading.

Content is about supplying your target audience or potential customers with information they want to consume, keeping them on your site for longer. Really good content can also create a loyal following of repeat visitors and posit your site as a source of authority.

2. Keyword Usage
It’s no good simply sprinkling keywords throughout a post. In fact, over-use of keywords can actually decrease your ranking. Clever use of keywords, however, can make all the difference.

Firstly, include the keyword in the title tag for the article. Secondly, use the keyword within the first paragraph – as early on as possible. Both of these techniques indicate to search engines that your post is relevant and actually addresses the browser’s needs.

3. Optimizing URLs
The URL itself is an overlooked feature. Your site’s URL should be static (it does not change), and ideally contain the keyword.

The URL should also be fairly short, and make use of a logical category hierarchy. But what does that mean?

Most websites host their posts or articles in a separate section or subsection from the landing page. So, just by looking at the URL, you should be able to understand the website’s structure. For example:

www.cats.com/breeds/tabby_cats

It’s quite clear where that link will lead – assumedly to a page about tabby cats. This is a simple (and fake) example, but a clearly structured URL tells search engines what information visitors will find there. Again, it’s about relevancy for your end-user.

4. Multimedia
You don’t need to go all-out, but including relevant images and videos will engage your audience and reduce the bounce rate. However, be aware that low loading times will negatively affect your rankings, so keep image or video file sizes as small as possible without sacrificing quality.

Just remember to use the keyword in captions for images, or in the alt text for images – this helps search engines associate the images with the content, and increases your rankings.

There’s still much more to on-page optimization that we couldn’t cover here, but these 4 techniques are essential to successful SEO. For more information, contact Connectica, or follow our blog for regular updates and advice on tech-savvy SEO.

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