On-page SEO is simply the process to optimize a page on a website. It is completely different to on-site SEO that involves the optimization of the whole website. People who have even the basic knowledge of on-page think that only placing the keywords on the page will do the trick. But this is not true.
A good on-page optimization process includes-
- Keywords
- Media
- Links
- Content analysis
- User Experience (UX)
- Conversions and more.
It is important to execute all these points in the on-page seo to ensure that you get the best SERP rank. Our blog is all about the important factors to keep in mind that will help to improve your online brand reputation and sales.
Performance
Google Analytics
It is important to set up your Google Analytics tracking to measure your website performance. Set up your Google Analytics account to keep an eye on the traffic, sales, conversions, and behavior of your website. It helps you track your organic, social and referral site traffic. As an alternative, you can also use Clicky.
Track your main keywords
Track the min keywords for your website using tools such as Ahrefs. Your keywords may include the ones that target your local audience or the ones that work on a global level.
Crawling and Indexing
Page crawlability
It is important that Google bots access your page in order to rank your page. You must check your robots.txt file and “NoIndex” tags to make sure that all pages are crawlable. You can use the tool by RankSider to analyze your page crawling. You just have to enter your page URL and click on submit.
If you see 200 status code, it means that everything is ok.
Page Indexing
Even if your page is crawlable, it is also important that the search engine can easily index it. The best way to check is to copy and paste the entire page url in the search query tab.
If the page you are searching for shows up then it is ok. If not, you have to check with some extra steps.
Make sure that the page is not using the “NoIndex” tag. Go to the “directive tab” in the Screaming Frog SEO tool and select No index option from the filter drop down. If this test is passed successfully, it is time to analyze the site architecture.
The sites with a deep architecture such as the e-commerce websites have deep built-in pages that the search engine spiders are not able to index. Click on the “site architecture” tab Screaming Frog and see the “crawl depth” part. The maximum number of pages should not be 3 clicks deep in your website.
Keywords
Choose the right target keywords
Some people think that it will be easy to rank for some selected number of keywords. To make sure that you are targeting the right keyword, competitor analysis is important.
You can start with a keyword analysis using Ahrefs keyword tool. You can remove those keywords from your list that have a higher keyword difficulty. After this test, you have to compare your keywords with that of your competitors.
Make a list of keywords on the basis of the following points-
- DR, Backlinks, Total Linking Root Domains (take from Ahrefs Keyword Explorer).
- Word count
Now you have a basic idea of how to prepare your target keyword phrases.
Choosing target keywords more than once
You have to keep a check on keyword cannibalization. It means using the same keyword more than once for different pages. This issue should be fixed in the early stage only. You should select one main keyword for every page and never optimize some other page for the same keyword.
Search intent
You must take into account the search intent of the users. The search intent can be classified into 4 categories-
- Informational
- Transactional
- Comparison
- Navigational
Suppose your page has an informational intent (how to..) then the page will be more of educational based. A user that uses such keywords is not here to buy something but to get knowledge about something.
Using primary keyword in the title
You must use the target keyword in the page title. But using the keyword in the page title is not sufficient enough to increase your page rank. The users should also click on your page to get maximum online authority.
Click-worthy title
The words used in your page title help Google to understand your page content. You can find the Click through rate of your pages in the performance section of Google search console. You can improve the organic traffic to your site by improving your CTR.
Using modifiers in the page title
Using words such as “best”, “top” or the year “2019” in the page title commands more user attention.
Title tag character limit
You allowed to use a maximum of 65 characters in your title tag, make the most out of it. Use your target keyword in the beginning and then use the related keyword phrases to your page. The tool Screaming Frog gives you all the pages that have the title more than or less than the limit.
Just click on the “page titles” tab and select the “over 65 characters” filter from the drop-down.
Page title as an H1 tag
Every page on a website must have an H1 tag. 1 h1 tag per page is sufficient. Screaming frog tool gives an insight into the pages that do not have an H1 tag.
Just click on the “h1” tab and select the “missing h1 tag” filter from the drop-down menu.
Keyword in the meta description
When the meta description for a page is missing, Google takes it from the first 2 to 3 lines from the page content. So you must not forget to write a good meta description for your page with the main keyword in it.
For example, for a blog on SEO, Google is fetching the meta description on its own and replacing the extra content with …
Click-worthy meta description
Just as your page title, make us meta description attractive and informative in the limited word limits so that more people click on your page.
Using the keyword in page URL
According to Google, keywords in the page url play an important role in determining the page rank.
Compact URL structure
Google always favors short informative URLs of a page.
Shorter URLs contribute to better user experience. Longer URL is difficult to remember.
Use primary keyword in the first sentence of page
If you have worked on WordPress sites, you must be aware that Yoast always suggests using your focus keyword in the first sentence of your page. For example, in one of our blogs on SEO risks to take and avoid, we have used the keyword “seo” in the first sentence. 
You must place your keyword naturally in your page so that the search engines can understand the intention.
Keyword density
Analyze your competitor keyword density to get an idea of ideal keyword density to use. You can use tools to find the keyword density for your competitors and later calculate its average.
All you have to do is just compare your keyword density with the average.
Content
Compare your page with the competitor
It is not necessary that you create long lengthy pages. Your page might have short content but it must be unique and informative. You must choose content that is unique to your business such as testimonials, case studies, and observations. The content of your local service pages should revolve around these factors so that you attract the maximum target leads. Social proofs, reviews can be very beneficial in this.
Also, make sure that your page design is better than that of your competitor. Better page means better UX. You must target your lead conversions when you design your page. Include contact forms and attractive CTAs in your page. You must also invest in media and graphic design for your website.
Fix all grammar and spelling errors
You must install extensions like Grammarly that tells you instantly if you make a grammar or spelling error. This tool highlights the faulty content and as you hover on that area, it gives you correct suggestions.
Scannable content
Users have a habit of going through a page once before reading the actual content. Thus you have to make sure that the user is easily able to understand your page content with a scan. You may include heading, bold words to improve page readability.
Include short paragraphs
Instead of writing long boring paragraphs, use shorter ones. No user will like to go through long blogs and pages. 4 to 5 sentences per paragraph is an ideal count.
Use page headings logically
You must include HTML tags in your page such as the H1, H2, h3 and so on.
Descriptive headings
The headings on your page should be descriptive enough to let the user have an idea what the content might be about.
Use keyword variations and synonyms in your heading
H1 tag can be the same as the title tag, but other headings should have variations of your primary keyword. You can also include synonyms or LSI terms.
Use bullets or numbers for long listings
If you are including some long list of steps or points of something, always use bullets or numbers. This makes the content more readable, understandable and organized.
Images
Unique images
Make sure you include a sufficient number of images in your pages. The images should be unique and of the best possible quality. You can hire a professional graphic designer to create high-quality images for your website.
Image formats
The most used image formats are PNG, GIF, and JPEG. Choosing the right format will help you lower down your page load speed.
PNG is the highest quality image format, which means its load time will be more.
Compressed images
You should use high-quality images but compress them to reduce page load speed. Compressing an image will optimize it. You can also use tools to compress images for your webpage.
Image file names
As recommended by Google, you must save your image name related to the image. Just do not overdo it and fill it with keywords.
Image Alt tags
Google uses the alt tags to understand what the image is about. Thus you must not take it lightly and choose some appropriate alt tags for all images.
For example, for a blog on why is your website not getting ranked, we have written related alt tag for an image.
Links
Internal Linking
You can improve your site authority with clever use of internal links. Not only will this improve the crawlability and indexability of your site but also improve the page rank for other pages as well.
Anchor Texts
Make sure that the anchor texts you use to include internal links should be descriptive and related to the page it links to.
Include breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs help in easy page navigation. It is important for large or e-commerce websites. This also improves UX.
External links
You can develop trust for your page by including links to some authoritative and trusted external sources. Make sure that your links open in a new window. This can be done in the setting when you include a link.
Highlight your anchor text
You can write your anchor text in some other color and underline it so that users can differentiate it with other page content.
User Experience
Page load speed
Your webpage should be able to load in less than 3 seconds. It is one of the most crucial aspects of UX. Good page speed also contributes to good site SEO. You can determine the speed of your site using tools like Pingdom or GTMetrix.
Mobile friendly and responsive pages
In the coming time, the maximum number of users will use their mobile phones to search for something over the internet. Thus you have to make sure that your site is mobile friendly. There are many tools that allow you to check your website mobile friendliness.
SSL certificate
A few years ago, Google confirmed the importance of SSL certificates. It is not only a ranking factor but also is an important part of Google algorithms. Now, each website that does not has this certificate installed is labeled “Not secure” by Google.
This might prevent users from visiting your site. Your business may get severely affected by reduced traffic and sales. When you install the SSL certificate, it applies to your whole site. This tool can help you analyze your site security.
Font size and style
The font style should be easily readable and understandable by the users. Also, the size of the fonts is equally important. The content should be large enough for the users to read. Users should not feel the need to zoom in to read the content.
Goal Completions
Call-to-action
Google gives weight to goal completion of a website. A goal completion is said to be done when a user performs a specific task you want them to do on your website. IT may be filling up and submitting a contact form, or calling you. It is important to have at least 2 cta on your page. If yours is a sales page, CTA can be “place your order”. For a service page, CTA can be filling up the contact form and submitting it.
Shareable page
You should include social media sharing options on your page. If the user likes your content, he might share it and this will improve your site visibility and traffic.
Website Design
You should update your site appearance periodically. Keep your website according to the latest trends and patterns. Maintain your balance between site UX and design to get the best SEO results.
