SEO ON-PAGE
CHAPTER FIVE : SEO ON-PAGE
Now that you know how your target market searches, it's time to get started with on-page SEO, which is the technique of creating web pages that answer searchers' questions. On-page SEO is multidimensional, extending beyond content to include things like schema and meta tags, which we'll go over in further detail in the following chapter on technical optimization. Put on your wordsmithing caps for the time being – it's time to generate your content!
Producing your content
Putting your keyword research to use
We covered ways for determining how your target audience searches for your material in the previous chapter. It is now time to put that research to use. Here's a quick guide to putting your keyword research to use:
- Examine your keywords and categorize those that have similar topics and intent. Rather than generating individual pages for each keyword variation, those groups will be your pages.
- If you haven't previously, assess the SERP for each keyword or collection of keywords to establish the type and arrangement of your content. Some ranking page criteria to consider:
- Are they primarily picture or video?
- Is the information long or brief and to the point?
- Is the information organized in lists, bullets, or paragraphs?
- "What unique value could I offer to make my page better than the pages that are currently ranking for my keyword?" ask yourself.
Avoiding low-value tactics
Your web content should exist to answer searchers' inquiries, lead them through your site, and assist them in understanding the goal of your site. Content should not be generated solely to rank high in search results. Ranking is a means to an end, which is to assist searchers. We risk slipping into the trap of low-value content approaches if we put the cart before the horse.
Some of these methods were presented in Chapter 2, but as a refresher, let's go over some low-value tactics to avoid when creating search engine optimized content.
Content that is thin
While it is customary for a website to have separate pages on various themes, an older content strategy was to construct a page for each and every iteration of your keywords in order to rank on page 1 for those really narrow queries.
If you were selling bridal gowns, for example, you might have built separate pages for bridal gowns, bridal dresses, wedding gowns, and wedding dresses, even if each page essentially said the same thing. Local firms may use a similar strategy by creating many pages of information for each city or region where they sought clients. These "geo pages" frequently included the same or very identical information, with the only difference being the place name.
These tactics were clearly ineffective for users, so why did publishers employ them? Google was not always as adept at comprehending the links between words and phrases (or semantics). So, if you intended to rank on page one for "bridal gowns" but simply had a page for "wedding dresses," that might not have been enough.
This technique resulted in a flood of thin, low-quality content throughout the web, which Google particularly addressed with their Panda update in 2011. This algorithm upgrade penalized low-quality pages, resulting in more high-quality pages dominating the SERPs. Today, Google is still iterating on the process of demoting low-quality content and promoting high-quality information.
Content duplication
"Duplicate content" refers to content that is shared between domains or several pages within a single domain. "Scraped" content takes things a step further, implying the obvious and unauthorized usage of content from other websites. This can include republishing content as-is or slightly changing it before republishing without adding any original content or value.
Because there are numerous legitimate reasons for internal or cross-domain duplicate material, Google recommends using a rel=canonical tag to direct users to the original version of the online content. While you don't need to know about this tag right now, the most important thing to remember is that your content should be unique in both word and value.
Dispelling the idea of the "duplicate content penalty"
Google does not impose a penalty for duplicate material. That instance, if you take an article from the Associated Press and post it on your site, you will not be penalized by Google with something like a Manual Action. Google, on the other hand, filters duplicate versions of content out of their search results. If two or more pieces of material are significantly similar, Google will select a canonical (source) URL to display in its search results and hide the duplicates. That is not a punishment. To optimize the searcher's experience, Google filters to show only one version of a piece of content.
Cloaking
A fundamental premise of search engine rules is to serve the same material to crawlers as you would to human visitors. This means that you should never hide text in your website's HTML code that a normal visitor cannot view.
When this rule is violated, search engines refer to it as "cloaking" and take action to prevent these pages from ranking in search results. Cloaking can be done in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes, both beneficial and harmful. The following is an example of how Spotify displayed different content to users than Google.
When searching for the National Philharmonic Orchestra on Spotify, users were greeted with a login page.
Viewing the cached version of the page on Google reveals the content that Spotify sent to the search engine.
In some circumstances, Google may allow technically cloaking tactics to continue since they contribute to a great user experience.
Keyword overuse
You've seen the confusion over keyword usage in action if you've ever been told, "You need to include critical keyword on this page X times." Many individuals believe that if you add a keyword X times in the content of your page, you will instantly rank for it. Although Google looks for mentions of keywords and associated concepts on your site's pages, the page itself must provide value in addition to keyword usage. If a page is going to be beneficial to users, it won't sound like it was produced by a robot, therefore incorporate your keywords and phrases naturally and in a way that your readers can comprehend.
A keyword-stuffed paragraph with all of the target keywords bolded.
Content that is generated automatically
One of the most insulting types of low-quality material is that which is auto-generated or developed programmatically with the intention of influencing search rankings rather than assisting users. Some auto-generated content can be identified by how little it makes sense when read – they are technically words, but they are stitched together by a program rather than a human being.
It is worth mentioning that advances in machine learning have resulted in increasingly complex auto-generated material, which will only improve over time. This is most likely why, in Google's quality criteria for automatically generated material, Google expressly mentions the type of auto-generated content that attempts to manipulate search rankings, rather than all auto-generated content.
What to do instead: 10x it!
There is no such thing as "secret sauce" for ranking high in search results. Google ranks pages highly because it believes they provide the best answers to the searcher's inquiries. It is not enough with today's search engines that your page is not duplicate, spammy, or broken. Your page must deliver value to searchers and outperform any other page Google currently serves as the answer to a certain query. Here's a basic formula for creating content:
- Look up the keyword(s) for which you want your page to rank.
- Determine which pages rank high for those keywords.
- Determine what characteristics the pages have.
- Create stuff that is superior to that.
This is what we call 10x content. If you produce a page on a keyword that is 10x better than the pages that appear in search results (for that keyword), Google will reward you, and even better, others will automatically link to it! Creating 10x content is time-consuming, but it will pay off in organic visitors.
Remember that there is no magic number of words on a page. Whatever sufficiently satisfies user intent should be our goal. Some questions can be properly and accurately addressed in 300 words, while others may require 1,000 words!
NAP: A word to the wise for local companies
If you have in-person interaction with your clients, make sure to mention your company name, address, and phone number (NAP) prominently, precisely, and consistently across the content of your website. This information is frequently included in a local business website's footer or header, as well as on any "contact us" pages. You should also mark up this information using local business schema. The "Other optimizations" section of this chapter goes into greater detail about schema and structured data.
If you have multiple locations, it is best to create individual, optimized pages for each one. A company with locations in Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue, for example, should consider establishing a page for each:
example.com/ seattleexample.com/ tacomaexample.com/ bellevueexample.com/
Each page should be tailored individually for that location, so the Seattle page would contain unique material explaining the Seattle location, a list of the Seattle NAP, and even testimonials from Seattle consumers. If you have dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of locations, a shop finder widget can help you scale.
Local, national, and international
Just keep in mind that not all firms operate at the local level and engage in "local SEO." Some companies wish to attract customers on a national scale (for example, the entire United States), while others want to attract customers from numerous nations ("international SEO"). Take, for example, Dreamsiteco, Our product (SEO software) is not tied to a certain location, however a coffee shop's is because customers must travel there to obtain their caffeine fix.
In this case, the coffee shop's website should be optimized for its physical location, but Dreamsiteco would target "SEO software" without a place-specific qualifier such as "Seattle."
The way you optimize your site is heavily influenced by your audience, so keep them in mind when creating website content.
I hope you still have some energy left after completing the difficult-yet-rewarding process of creating a page that is 10x better than your competitors' pages, since there are just a few more things that need to be done before your page is ready! In the following sections, we'll discuss further on-page improvements for your pages, as well as identifying and arranging your material.
Other adjustments your pages require besides content
Can I simply increase the font size to make paragraph headings?
How can I change the title and description that appear in search results for my page?
After reading this part, you'll grasp other critical on-page features that aid search engines in understanding the 10x content you just developed, so let's get started!
Header Tags
Header tags are HTML elements that are used to identify headings on your website. The primary header tag, known as an H1, is normally designated for the page title. It appears as follows:
<h1>Page Title</h1>
There are additional sub-headings that range from H2 to H6, though putting all of these on a page is optional. In declining order of priority, the header tag hierarchy ranges from H1 to H6.
Each page should have a unique H1 that describes the main topic of the page; this is frequently generated automatically from the page title. The H1 should contain the page's principal keyword or phrase as the main descriptive title. Non-heading components, such as navigational buttons and phone numbers, should not be marked with header tags. Use header tags to introduce the topic of the following material.
Consider this website about touring Copenhagen:
<h1>Copenhagen Travel Guide</h1> <h2>Copenhagen by the Seasons</h2> <h3>Visiting in Winter</h3> <h3>Visiting in Spring</h3>
The primary <h1> heading introduces the page's main topic, while each additional heading introduces a new sub-topic. In this case, the <h2> tags are more precise than the <h1> tags, and the <h3> tags are more specific than the <h2> tags. This is just one framework that you might utilize.
Although what you put in your header tags can be used by search engines to analyze and rank your page, you should avoid exaggerating their significance. Header tags are one of several on-page SEO variables, and they often do not move the needle as much as excellent backlinks and content, so while developing your headings, keep your site visitors in mind.
Internal hyperlinks
We addressed the significance of having a crawlable website in Chapter 2. The internal linking structure of a website contributes to its crawlability. When you link to other pages on your website, you ensure that search engine crawlers can identify all of your site's pages, convey link equity (ranking power) to other sites on your site, and assist users in navigating your site.
For example, if we wanted to underline the significance of our recently revised SEO Beginner's Guide, we'd simply include a link like that! (and it's an excellent resource)
Internal linking is commonly understood, although there can be some uncertainty about how it appears in practice.
Link availability
Links that need a click (such as a navigation drop-down to view) are frequently hidden from search engine crawlers, thus if your website's only links to internal pages are through these types of links, you may have difficulty getting those pages indexed. Choose connections that are easily accessible from the page.
The anchor text
The text used to link to other pages is known as anchor text. In the HTML examples below, you can see how a hyperlink without anchor text and a hyperlink with anchor text would look.
<a href="http://www.example.com/"></a> <a href="http://www.example.com/" title="Keyword Text">Keyword Text</a>
The anchor text informs search engines about the content of the target page. For example, if I link to a page on my site with the anchor text "learn SEO," search engines will know that the targeted page is one where people can learn about SEO. But be careful not to overdo it. Too many internal links with the same, keyword-stuffed anchor text can give search engines the impression that you're attempting to manipulate a page's ranking. It is preferable to produce anchor language that is natural rather than formulaic.
The link volume
According to Google's Webmaster Guidelines, "limit the number of links on a page to a reasonable number (a few thousand at most)." This is part of Google's technical standards, not the quality guideline section, thus having too many internal links will not get you punished on its own, but it will effect how Google finds and analyzes your sites.
The greater the number of links on a page, the less equity each link may convey to its destination page. There is only so much equity on a page.
As a result, it's reasonable to state that you should only link when you really mean it!
A link is a means to assist users navigate to other pages on your site in addition to conveying authority between sites. Doing what is best for search engines is simultaneously doing what is best for searchers in this circumstance. Too many links diminish the authority of each link and can be unhelpful and overwhelming. Consider how a searcher would react if they arrive at a page that looks like this:
Hello and welcome to our gardening website! We offer a lot of gardening articles, how to garden articles, and helpful information on herbs, fruits, vegetables, perennials, and annuals. Our gardening blog might help you learn more about gardening.
Whew! Not only is it a lot of links to process, but it also reads awkwardly and lacks substance (which Google may consider "thin content"). Focus on quality and assisting your users in navigating your site, and you won't have to worry about having too many links.
Redirection
It's typical to delete and rename pages, however if you do relocate a page, be sure to update the links to the previous URL! If feasible, update all internal links to that URL at the source to avoid forcing users and crawlers to go through redirects in order to reach the destination page. At the very least, you should be sure to redirect the URL to its new position. If you decide to merely redirect, be careful to stay away from redirect chains that are too long. According to Google, "Avoid chaining redirects... keep the number of redirects in the chain low, ideally no more than 3 and fewer than 5."
A chain of redirects, as in:
(original location of content) example.com/location1 → example.com/location2 → (current location of content) example.com/location3
Better:
example.com/location1 → example.com/location3
Image enhancement
The main cause of sluggish web sites is images! Compressing your photos is the best solution for this. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for image compression, so the best course of action is to experiment with different options like "save for web," picture scaling, and compression applications like Optimizilla or ImageOptim for Mac (or Windows counterparts), as well as determine what works best.
How to choose an image format:
- Use a GIF if your image has to be animated.
- Use JPEG (and experiment with different compression settings) if you don't need to maintain a high image resolution.
- Use PNG if maintaining good image resolution is necessary.
- Use PNG-24 if your image contains a lot of colors.
- Use PNG-8 if your image doesn't contain many colors.
- Making the appropriate image format selection is another approach to aid in picture optimization (and speed up your website load time).
Use graphics that render as a colored box or a very blurry/low resolution rendition to give the impression that things are loading more quickly to keep visitors on a page that is only moderately fast. In Chapter 5, we'll go over these possibilities in further depth.
Alt text
A key component of web accessibility is alt text, which is used to describe images to those who are blind or visually challenged using screen readers. It's crucial to include alt text descriptions so that anyone who is blind or visually impaired may comprehend what the images on your website show.
Additionally, search engine bots read your alt text to comprehend your images, which has the added benefit of giving search engines better image context. Just make sure that your alt descriptions flow organically for readers and refrain from filling search engines with keywords.
Bad:
<img src="grumpycat.gif" alt="grumpy cat, cat is grumpy, grumpy cat gif">
Good:
<img src="grumpycat.gif" alt="A black cat looking very grumpy at a big spotted dog">
Sitemap image submission
Create an image sitemap in your Google Search Console account so that Google can find and index your images. Google is able to find photographs that they might have otherwise overlooked.
Readability-enhancing formatting and featured bits
Even if your page has the best content on the subject ever put on it, if it's designed poorly, nobody will ever read it! Although we can never be certain that readers will read our content, there are several guidelines that can help make it more readable, such as:
- Text color and size - Prevent using tiny fonts. To reduce the need for "pinching and zooming" on mobile, Google advises using font sizes of 16 points and above. The contrast between the text and backdrop colors of a page should also make the text easier to read. The website accessibility guidelines and Google's web accessibility principles both provide more information on text.
- Headings - By dividing your material into useful headings, you can make it easier for visitors to traverse the page. This is especially helpful on lengthy pages when a reader may only be interested in the material in a specific portion.
- Lists work well with bullet points because they make it easier for readers to browse and discover the information they need.
- Breaking up long passages of text with paragraphs might help visitors stay on your website longer and avoid page abandonment.
- Images, videos, and widgets that would enhance your material should be included as supporting media wherever suitable.
- Bold and italicized words can emphasize a point, thus they should be used sparingly and only when necessary. The right use of these formatting options can draw attention to crucial ideas you wish to convey.
Additionally, formatting can impact how well your page appears in featured snippets, those "position 0" results that are displayed above all other organic results.
A highlighted snippet illustration that appears in "position 0" at the top of a SERP.
You cannot purchase this placement nor can you add any special code to your page to appear here, but by paying attention to the query intent, you may better structure your content for featured snippets. It might make sense to include a table in your content with the advantages of cake in one column and the advantages of pie in the other if you're attempting to rank for "cake vs. pie," for instance. Additionally, if you're attempting to rank for the phrase "best restaurants to try in Portland," Google may be expecting a list, so organizing your material with bullet points may be beneficial.
Titles Tags
The title tag of a page is a descriptive HTML element that provides information about the title of a specific web page. They appear as follows and are nestled within each page's head tag:
<head> <title>Example Title</title></head>
Your website's pages should each have a distinct, informative title tag. The information you enter in this area for your title tag will appear in search results, though occasionally Google may change how your title tag appears.
First impressions of your website are very important, and your title tag is a powerful tool for luring searchers to your page over any other result on the SERP. More people will visit your website if your title tag is intriguing and you score well in search results. This demonstrates that SEO is about the overall user experience rather than just search engines.
What makes a title tag effective?
- Use of keywords: Including your target keyword in the title might make it easier for people and search engines to grasp the content of your page. Additionally, the more prominently placed your keywords are in the title tag, the more likely it is that a user will read them (and hopefully click), and the more beneficial they can be for ranking.
- Length: Search engine results typically show the top 50–60 characters (or 512 pixels) of a title tag. If the length of your title tag is too long for that SERP, an ellipsis "..." will appear in its place. Although staying within 50–60 characters is secure, never compromise quality for arbitrary character limits. Go longer (within reason) if you can't reduce your title tag to 60 characters without impairing its legibility.
- Branding: At Dreamsiteco, we prefer to end our title tags with a mention of our brand name since it increases brand recognition and increases the likelihood that individuals who are already familiar with Dreamsiteco will click through. However, keep in mind what you're attempting to rank for and place those phrases closer to the beginning of your title tag. In some cases, it makes sense to place your brand at the beginning of the title tag, such as on your homepage.
Descriptions in meta
Meta descriptions are HTML components that describe the contents of the page they are on, much like title tags do. They appear like this and are also nested in the head tag:
<head> <meta name=”description” content=”Description of page here.”/> </head>
The description you enter here will appear in the search results:
For example, if you search "find backlinks," Google will display the following meta description since it believes it more relevant to the search:
In contrast, the real meta description is:
This frequently aids in improving your meta descriptions for specific queries. However, don't let this discourage you from creating a default page meta description – they're still highly useful.
What constitutes a good meta description?
Effective meta descriptions share the same characteristics as effective title tags. Although Google claims that meta descriptions, like title tags, are not a ranking criteria, they are extremely significant for click-through rate.
- Relevance: Meta descriptions should be highly relevant to the content of your website, ideally summarizing your main theme in some way. You should give the searcher enough information to know that they've located a website relevant enough to answer their question, but not so much that they don't need to click through to your web page.
- Length: Search engines typically limit meta descriptions to 155 characters. Meta descriptions should be between 150 and 300 characters long. Google offers substantially more real space to the descriptions of some pages on specific SERPs. This is most common for web pages that rank directly behind a featured snippet.
URL organization: Naming and structuring your pages
URL is an abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator. URLs are the web addresses or locations for particular pieces of content. Search engines display URLs on the SERPs, just like title tags and meta descriptions, so URL naming and structure might influence click-through rates. URLs are not only utilized by searchers to decide which web pages to click on, but they are also used by search engines to evaluate and rank pages.
Page naming conventions
Search engines require distinct URLs for each page on your website in order to display your pages in search results, but clear URL structure and naming is also beneficial for visitors attempting to figure out what a certain URL is about. Which URL, for example, is clearer?
example.com/desserts/chocolate-pie
or
example.com/asdf/453?=recipe-23432-1123
Searchers are more inclined to click on URLs that reinforce and explain the content on that page, whereas they are less likely to click on URLs that confuse them.
Although the URL is a minor ranking signal, you cannot expect to rank just on the words in your domain/page names (see Google EMD update). Consider your audience first when naming your pages or choosing a domain name.
Page structure
If you address several themes on your website, you should avoid nesting pages under irrelevant directories. As an example:
example.com/commercial-litigation/alimony
It would have been preferable for this fictitious multi-practice law office website to host alimony under "/family-law/" rather than the irrelevant "/commercial-litigation/" area.
The folders in which you store your content might communicate indications about the type of information, not just the topic. Dated URLs, for example, can signify time-sensitive material. While ideal for news-based websites, dated URLs for evergreen material may turn off searchers because the information appears to be out of date. As an example:
example.com/2015/april/what-is-seo/
vs.
example.com/what-is-seo/
Because the topic "What is SEO?" isn't limited to a single date, it's recommended to host on a non-dated URL structure to avoid your material being old.
As you can see, how you name your pages and organize them in folders is a crucial approach to communicate the topic of your website to people and search engines.
The length of a URL
While a perfectly flat URL structure is not required, several click-through rate studies show that when given the choice between a URL and a shorter URL, searchers often choose shorter URLs. Too-long URLs, like too-long title tags and meta descriptions, will be cut off with an ellipsis. Remember that having a descriptive URL is just as vital, therefore don't shorten the URL if it means compromising its descriptiveness.
example.com/services/plumbing/plumbing-repair/toilets/leaks/
vs.
example.com/plumbing-repair/toilets/
By reducing the number of words in your page names and removing extraneous subfolders, you may make your URLs easier to copy and paste and more clickable.
Keywords in the URL
If your page is aimed at a specific term or phrase, add it in the URL. However, don't overdo it by cramming in several keywords for SEO objectives. It's also a good idea to keep an eye out for duplicate keywords in different subfolders. For example, you may have organically included a keyword into the name of a page, but if the page is located within other folders that are also optimized with that term, the URL may begin to appear keyword-stuffed.
Example:
example.com/seattle-dentist/dental-services/dental-crowns/
Overuse of keywords in URLs might appear spammy and manipulative. If you're not sure if your term usage is too aggressive, view your URL through the eyes of a searcher and ask yourself, "Does this look natural? "Do I want to click on this?"
URLs that remain constant
The best URLs are those that can be easily read by humans, therefore avoid using too many parameters, digits, and symbols. You can easily modify dynamic URLs like this using technologies like mod_rewrite for Apache and ISAPI_rewrite for Microsoft:
http://moz.com/blog?id=123
into a more readable static version like this:
https://moz.com/google-algorithm-change
Hyphens are used to separate words.
Some web programs do not correctly interpret separators such as underscores (_), plus signs (+), or spaces (%20). Search engines don't know how to separate terms in URLs that run together without a separator (example.com/optimizefeaturedsnippets/). To separate words in a URL, use the hyphen character (-).
Sensitivity to case
Case sensitive URLs should be avoided on websites. It is preferable to use example.com/desserts/Chocolate-Pie-Recipe instead of example.com/desserts/chocolate-pie-recipe. Don't worry if the site you're working on has a lot of mixed-case URLs indexed; your developers can assist. Inquire about adding a rewrite formula to the.htaccess file to automatically lowercase any uppercase URLs.
URLs with geographic modifiers
Some local business owners leave out geographical terms that define their physical location or service area because they believe search engines will figure it out on their own. On the contrary, it is critical that the content, URLs, and other on-site assets of local company websites specifically mention city names, neighborhood names, and other regional characteristics. Instead of depending just on your physical location, let both consumers and search engines know exactly where you are and what services you provide.
HTTP versus HTTPS Protocols
A protocol is the "http" or "https" that appears before your domain name. All websites should use a secure protocol, according to Google (the "s" in "https" stands for "secure"). You must obtain an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate to ensure that your URLs use the https:// protocol rather than http://. To encrypt data, SSL certificates are utilized. They ensure that any data transmitted between the searcher's web server and browser remains private. As of July 2018, Google Chrome shows "not secure" for all HTTP sites, making them appear untrustworthy to visitors and causing them to leave the site.
For increased efficiency, use HTTP/2.
HTTP/2 is an enhancement to the original HTTP network protocol that improves the efficiency with which resources are sent from your server to your browser. This upgrade enhances the "fetch and load" portion of your critical rendering path (covered in greater detail in Chapter 5), increases website security, and may improve performance. To move to HTTP/2, you must be using HTTPS.
If you've made it this far, you've reached the halfway point of the Beginner's Guide to SEO! So far, we've covered how search engines crawl, index, and rank material, as well as how to uncover keyword opportunities to target. You also now understand the on-page SEO tactics that can help your sites be found. Next, get ready to dive into the thrilling world of technical SEO in Chapter 6: (Technical seo)
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