What is On-Page SEO?
On-Page SEO
is the practice of optimizing website elements such as content, HTML tags, and structure to improve search engine visibility and rankings.
What’s the Purpose of On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO is the methodical process of refining individual web elements to enhance search engine rankings and visibility. This involves a detailed assessment and optimization of content, HTML tags, and website structure. On-page SEO means making changes to your website to help it show up higher in search results. This includes tweaking the words on your pages, the titles, and how your website is put together. It helps improve the site’s visibility in SERPs, provides value to users, and establishes relevance and context, ultimately leading to a higher ranking, increased engagement, and more conversions.
The primary way SEOs do this is by:
- Optimizing the content and structure of a website.
- Improving user experience by improving navigability.
- Establishing relevance through the proper use of metadata and semantic SEO.
Note:
Site speed is a component of Technical SEO, not On-Page SEO.
Why the Site Architecture You Choose Matters
The way you set up your website is important. You can either have a simple layout where everything is just one click away from the home page or a more complex one with things sorted into folders. The simpler layout is easier to start with but can get messy as your site grows. The more complex one is better organized but might need more work to make sure everything connects well.
There are two primary structures you can choose from:
- Flat Architecture
- Sub-Directory Architecture
If you want to rank in highly competitive metros, it’s imperative that you utilize all available advantages.
A flat URL structure means all pages are at the same level on the website, directly under the root directory, and each page has a unique URL that reflects its content.
What is a Flat URL Structure?
A flat URL structure is a type of site architecture that does not use subfolders. Each web page exists at the same hierarchical level directly under the root directory of the website.
In a flat URL structure, each web page is assigned a unique and descriptive URL that typically reflects the page’s content or topic.
What is a Multiple Sub-Directory Structure?
A multiple sub-directory site structure, in the context of site architecture, refers to a hierarchical organization of web pages and content within a website using multiple levels of subdirectories. It is a way to categorize and organize website content into logical groups or themes, creating a clear and organized directory structure.
In a multiple sub-directory site structure, the main website is typically organized into a series of parent directories or folders, with each folder representing a higher level in the hierarchy. Within each parent directory, there can be additional subdirectories that further categorize and organize the content.
Which Structure is Best?
SEOs are fairly divided on this issue. Some will tell you to use a multiple sub-directory site structure to help Google understand and navigate your content more easily.
As a general rule, the fewer clicks a page takes to get to a page from the home page, the more easily Google will be able to discover and index it.
Most people who use subdirectories do not properly internally link their web pages or make navigation to them easy.
This is a problem with implementation. Not an inherent problem with subdirectories.
Neither structure is inherently better than any other. But if you’re looking for a definitive answer, Google’s John Mueller has hinted multiple times in the past that a subdirectory structure is better.
Make sure you religiously and meticulously internally link between your pages if you do decide to use a flat architecture.
Sub-directory structures have a natural hierarchy that promotes good internal linking among a website’s pages.
Optimizing Your Pages Title Tags
Every page on your website should have a unique title that tells both people and search engines what the page is about. Keep it short and clear.
Optimizing a title tag is one of the most impactful tactics for on-page SEO. This is the first method for informing Google about a given page’s topic. Here are some best practices:
- Use your target keyword in your title tag in a way that reads naturally.
- Do not just stuff keywords into your title tag.
- Keep your title tags short but descriptive. Aim to keep them under 50-60 characters in length.
- Apply copywriting best practices to entice a click without trying to trick or confuse people (and search engines).
- Always include a city or state when optimizing for local search.
- You can use modifiers like “near me,” “hire,” “free consult” and if it makes sense for the query.
Here are some things to avoid:
- Do not target multiple locations with a single page. Instead,
- If you create individual state and city pages, check to make sure Google doesn’t view them as the same topic. If it does, you’ll want to canonicalize the least prominent one to the most prominent one. If that’s confusing, see the example under this list.
- Do not include your phone number in the title.
- Do not add the name of your firm at the beginning of the title.
Optimizing Your Meta Description Tags
Meta descriptions are the short summaries that show up under your page title in search results. Write these to grab people's attention and make them want to click on your website.
The more enticing the meta description, the greater the chance that a prospective client on Google’s search results will visit your page.
There’s no ironclad blueprint for writing good meta descriptions, but all effective ones need to include your geography and primary keyword, couched in a compelling reason to click through the result.
How to Optimize Internal Links
What is an Internal Link?
Links that go from one page on your website to another are important. They help people find more information easily and help spread the value of incoming links throughout your site, which could help your pages rank higher.
Why Does Internal Linking Matter?
Using links within the body of your content bridges the gap between related articles. This is good for users trying to navigate your website and also helps distribute link equity throughout your website.
You can think of link equity as being a measurable quantity, fluidly moving throughout the pages of your site.
By using internal links, you can distribute the equity of those links to your most important pages. This has the side effect of allowing those pages a better opportunity for ranking.
Another significant benefit of internal linking is keeping a user engaged on your site for a longer period of time, thus lowering your bounce rates.
In practical terms, if Google sees a consumer staying on one website longer than another, it may interpret this as the user having a better experience on the site where they visited the longest.
Using Structured markup Schema
Structured data is a way to organize information on your site so that search engines can understand it better. It can help your website's listings look better in search results.
Having schema markup gives you an additional opportunity to rank over those sites that do not.
Page Speed & Load Times
53% of all mobile users leave a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
People often leave websites that take too long to load, especially on mobile phones. Use tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights to check how fast your website loads and get tips to make it faster.
How to Check Your Website Speed
First, head to
PageSpeed Insights
and run a diagnostic scan. Here’s an example of how the results might look:
Optimizing Your Website’s Images & Media
Make sure the pictures and videos on your site don't slow it down. Use tools to check which images need to be made smaller or loaded more efficiently.
You can do this through Google Search Console or our preferred method, Ahrefs’s Site Audit.
This interactive guide will show you how to use the tool to find issues with images on your site.
You can use the list you exported from the site audit to get a head start on fixing and optimizing images. The tips below will help you determine the most important things to pay attention to.
Use HTML Images
The way you handle images and media on your website can have an impact on SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Search engines rely on various signals to understand and index your website’s content, including images.
Optimize Your Images to Improve Your Web Core Vitals
Images are one of the biggest culprits behind slow-loading web pages.
Image file size can have a significant impact on web core vitals, which are performance metrics used by Google to assess the user experience of a website. Here’s how image file size can affect web core vitals:
-
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):
LCP measures the time it takes for the largest element, typically an image, to be visible within the viewport. Large image file sizes can delay the rendering of the main content, resulting in slower LCP times. Optimizing image file sizes can help improve LCP by reducing the time it takes for the largest content to load.
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Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):
CLS measures the visual stability of a webpage by assessing unexpected layout shifts during page loading. If images with undefined dimensions are present or if the dimensions change after the page loads, it can lead to layout shifts and affect CLS. Optimizing images with defined dimensions helps prevent layout shifts and improves CLS.
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First Input Delay (FID):
FID measures the time it takes for a webpage to respond to the first user interaction. Large image file sizes can increase the time required for browser parsing and rendering, potentially impacting FID. By optimizing image file sizes and implementing lazy loading techniques, you can reduce the load time and improve FID.
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Total Blocking Time (TBT):
TBT measures the amount of time during page loading when the main thread is occupied with long-running tasks, blocking user input responsiveness. Large image file sizes can contribute to longer parsing and rendering times, increasing TBT. Optimizing image file sizes and utilizing techniques like lazy loading can help reduce TBT and enhance user interactivity.
Optimize Your Page’s Content for Comprehensiveness
Google’s main goal is to give people the most relevant answers when they search as quickly as possible. Think about what people are looking for and create content that answers their questions completely. The better your content answers someone's search, the better it might rank on Google.
Your goal should be creating content on your website with that focus as well.
Once you pick a topic you want to rank for to support to goals of your business, you’ll want to figure out what subtopics to cover.
Most writers take the lazy approach by going to Google, searching for the keyword, then skimming the content across the top-ranking pages to get a sense of what to talk about.