Many website owners are stuck in the past, relying solely on meta tags and keyword density for search engine optimization (SEO). This outdated approach leaves them vulnerable to algorithm updates and spammy tactics that manipulate search engines. But fear not! Modern SEO is all about building a website that Google and users love, not tricking algorithms. You need to check the difference between traditional SEO vs New SEO. This SEO On Page Optimization guide will help you to make your website more search engine friendly, especially for Google’s search engine.

Thinking Beyond Keywords:

Keywords are still important, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Today’s SEO focuses on creating high-quality content that truly answers users’ questions and solves their problems. Informative, engaging, and unique content is king, not just a keyword buffet.

Spammers vs. Genuine Optimization:

Black hat tactics like keyword stuffing and link manipulation might offer temporary ranking boosts, but they’re ultimately futile. Google is constantly evolving, and these tricks will eventually get your site penalized. Instead, focus on genuine optimization that benefits both users and search engines.

Google’s Algorithm Evolution:

Google’s algorithm updates aren’t just about thwarting spammers; they’re about constantly refining the search experience. They want to deliver the most relevant and helpful results to users, and that’s where on-page optimization comes in. By creating a website that aligns with Google’s goals and user expectations, you’ll naturally climb the search rankings.

Focus on Value, Not Manipulation:

SEO isn’t about manipulating algorithms; it’s about building a website that deserves to rank. Create valuable content, prioritize user experience, and embrace Google’s updates. This approach might take longer, but it leads to sustainable success and a loyal audience who finds your website genuinely helpful.

Remember, SEO is a journey, not a destination. Embrace the ongoing process of learning, adapting, and optimizing your website. By focusing on genuine value and user experience, you’ll be well on your way to conquering the search engine rankings and leaving the spammers in the dust.

This checklists provides a comprehensive checklist for optimizing your website’s on-page elements, categorized from basic to advanced. Mark the boxes as you complete each task to track your progress and ensure you’re covering all the SEO bases.

Basic SEO On Page Ranking Factors

TaskDescriptionResources
Keyword ResearchIdentify relevant keywords with search volume and low competition.Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush
Title Tag OptimizationInclude the target keyword, keep it under 60 characters, and be descriptive.Moz Title Tag Checker, SEORCH
Meta Description OptimizationInclude the target keyword, write compellingly within 160 characters, and encourage clicks.Meta Description Checker, Click-Through Rate (CTR) tools
Headings & SubheadingsUse H1 for main title, H2s for subtopics, and H3s for further details. Include target keywords naturally.Heading Tag Checker
Content OptimizationWrite high-quality, informative content that addresses user intent. Include target keywords naturally throughout.Yoast SEO plugin, Copyscape plagiarism checker
Image OptimizationUse descriptive filenames and alt text with target keywords. Compress images for faster loading.TinyPNG, ImageOptim
Internal LinkingLink relevant pages within your website to create a strong hierarchy and user flow.Internal Link Checker, Google Search Console
Mobile-friendlinessEnsure your website is responsive and adapts perfectly to all devices.Google Mobile-Friendly Test, Mobile SEO tools
Page Loading SpeedOptimize images, minify code, and leverage caching plugins for a fast website.PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix

Intermediate SEO On Page Ranking Factors

TaskDescriptionResources
URL OptimizationInclude the target keyword and keep it short, descriptive, and user-friendly.SEORCH, URL Profiler
Schema MarkupImplement relevant schema markup to provide search engines with richer information about your content.Google Structured Data Markup Helper, Schema.org
Breadcrumbs & NavigationCreate clear and concise breadcrumbs and navigation menus for easy website exploration.UserTesting, CrazyEgg heatmaps
Structured DataAdd structured data for reviews, events, products, and other relevant elements to enhance search visibility.Google Search Console structured data reports
External LinkingLink out to high-authority websites in your niche to build trust and topical relevance.Ahrefs Backlink Checker, Majestic
Social Media IntegrationShare your content on social media platforms to increase engagement and potential backlinks.Social media analytics tools

Advanced SEO On Page Ranking Factors

TaskDescriptionResources
Content Uniqueness & DepthGo beyond just information; offer insightful analysis, unique perspectives, and data-driven insights.Originality Checker AI tools
Video OptimizationEmbed high-quality videos with relevant keywords in titles, descriptions, and transcripts.YouTube SEO tools, Wistia
Voice Search OptimizationFocus on natural language and long-tail keywords to cater to conversational search queries.Answer the Public, Google Trends
Personalization & LocalizationTailor content and user experience based on user location, language, and preferences.Geolocation tools, Multilingual SEO plugins
Advanced AnalyticsAnalyze user behavior, track conversions, and identify areas for improvement through advanced analytics tools.Google Analytics, Hotjar
A/B TestingExperiment with different on-page elements to optimize for better user engagement and conversions.Google Optimize, Split testing tools
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SEO On-Page Ranking Factors

Content is King, But Context is Queen:

It’s no secret that high-quality content reigns supreme. But remember, Google isn’t just scanning for keywords; it’s analyzing the intent behind your words. Align your content with your target audience’s needs, offering valuable insights, actionable steps, or simply a darn good story. Solve their problems, answer their questions, and keep them coming back for more.

Keywords: Sprinkle, Don’t Saturate:

Keywords are still your roadmap to Google’s understanding, but keyword stuffing is a recipe for disaster. Instead, weave relevant keywords naturally into your titles, headings, and content. Think of them as signposts, guiding users and search engines alike to your treasure trove of information.

Technicalities that Matter:

While bells and whistles are tempting, prioritize rock-solid technical SEO. Ensure your website loads faster than a hummingbird on espresso, optimizes for mobile devices (because everyone’s glued to their phones, duh!), and boasts a clean, crawlable structure. Google loves efficiency, and your website should radiate it.

User Experience: The Ultimate Judge:

Remember, Google wants to send users to websites they’ll love, not loathe. So, prioritize a user-friendly experience. Think clear navigation, intuitive design, and visuals that captivate, not confuse. If your website feels like a maze, users will hit “back” faster than you can say “bounce rate.”

Links within Links:

Internal linking is your website’s internal communication network. Link relevant pages to each other, guiding users on a journey of discovery and establishing a strong website hierarchy. Google loves logical flow, and your website should be its GPS.

Optimize Your Images:

Don’t let your visuals be an afterthought! Optimize image file sizes for speed, use descriptive alt text (think of it as image search SEO), and leverage relevant keywords in filenames. Google’s image recognition is getting smarter, and you want your visuals to speak its language.

Freshness Breeds Success:

Google loves new content, so keep your website updated with fresh blog posts, news articles, or even just a sprinkle of new information on existing pages. Show the search engine you’re alive, kicking, and always offering something new to explore.

Mobile-First is the Only Way to Go:

With the mobile revolution in full swing, Google prioritizes mobile-friendliness. If your website isn’t optimized for those tiny screens, you’re basically waving goodbye to a huge chunk of your potential audience. Embrace responsive design, prioritize mobile usability, and watch your search traffic soar.

Frequency of Websites Updates 

In the past year, it was not difficult to achieve the ranking of the website that doesn’t get an update. It has been assumed that the updated website get more preference in comparison to websites that don’t update. We can also find that content quality now varying on text, images, videos, infographics, and other media. Google is behaving like human and giving appropriate results for their users as Hummingbird is one of the major updates by Google that do not find only the keywords in content but the answers of the user search query.

Such updates also inspire people to keep update pages on a website that helps to find out answers for online searchers. If Google finds your page/post as the best answers for the user query then you will get higher placement in search engine for users query.

Implement Markup to Define Your Content  

The Structured Data Markup Helper helps webmasters to mark up components on your web pages so that Google algorithm can read the data and deliver better search results. Few codes that make it easier for search engines to crawl, index and display your content in search engine result.  Schema.org is a universal structured data markup format introduced by Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Yandex that uses Microdata.

Value of Content 

Another ranking factor is most important and since decades ruling in search engine optimization. Many marketers have lot of confusion about the value of content even I have read many threads like “I have written unique and useful content but has no ranking in the search engine” or “why I am not getting ranking even I use fresh content” or “How to measure the value of content” etc…  All of these questions are hidden behind of your content usability. The best result can become with some question while you ask himself as a content reader –

  • Does your content generate interest for readers?
  • Would you like to share this content in your community?
  • Is your content trust-able, original and accurate?
  • Calls to action and Engagement, Have you cleared what action the reader/viewer has to take?
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Believe me, the above question will give you correct suggestions that will lead you in successful content marketing.  Whenever we talk about the on-page ranking factors we can never neglect the keywords in content and its placement.

Finally, we have schema.org to ensure you have an optimized video, images, dress etc.

URLs Optimization

URLs are another point in search engine ranking that leading since decades and still we can see that most of all search engine is giving high preference to keywords reach statics URLs. It’s very effective when you add keywords in URLs for targeting some low competitive keywords or some local keywords.  A common rule of thumb is to keep URLs less than 110 characters.

Keywords in Title Tags

Optimizing a correct title is best practice in 2014 that helps a lot to improve ranking in Google and almost all search engines. There are some characteristics can be remark for a great title like – it should be Relevant to the page, high volume Keywords in title, 56 -60 Character length, Call to action, Unique to other pages, Avoid keywords stuffing. Keep remember one thing that Google will select the best title for your search snippet – and it will take that information from numerous sources, NOT just you.

Keywords in H1 Tags

We can’t ignore Heading tags in on-page ranking factors as it’s also an important place where we can place our keywords to get more attention in search engines. The h1 to H6 tags of a page gives users a quick overview of the content and page that make easy for them to understand page in a better way. It’s not only helpful for search engine ranking but also important to attract the visitor’s eyes and give a clear idea of page and action that need to be taken. Characteristics are good heading is a bit similar to heading tags. Let’s see what Matt Cutts says about keywords placement –

It makes sense if a) it’s easy for you to do in your content management system, and b) the keywords are useful and descriptive–definitely don’t overdo it.”

 

  1. Keywords Density – Keyword density is the percentage of keywords appears on a page compared to the complete number of words available on the page. Keyword density use as a factor in determining search engine ranking and way to measure a web page is relevant to a specified keyword or not.
  2. Keyword prominence-  Keywords prominence refers to the placement of keywords within a Web page. Placement may be in the page content, header section, Meta tags, URLs, or any place of a sentence.
  3. Keyword Proximity – Keyword proximity is known as the mixture of the density of a keyword and the prominence. So it looks at the placements of the keyword in the sentence and how often it’s being used in that sentence and it also looks distance between them. Look at the live example of Wikipedia page –

wiki example of seo

Internal link Structure

Internal Links are links on the website that target the other pages of the same website. The architecture of any website defines how information is flowing on the site. Search engine recommends a hierarchal format that leads to best site structure and helps in improving the crawling rate of the website. Internal linking is the best practice that includes how your site presents information and how users find your important pages.

Image optimization

In term of image optimization, there are three things to take care of. Firstly the image name second size and last alt tags. Image name should be relevant to the image as a designer don’t care of image name and put any value for image name like – image.jpg, first.jpg etc. This makes no sense to express image, you can put some keywords too in the image but do it smartly never act like a spammer. The second thing is size, some image can be very heavy and might take more time to get load. So you need to optimize heavy images without effecting on pixels of images, one can use Google page load speed, Yslow. Last is alt tags, ALT Tags are invisible descriptions of images which are read by search engines it’s another place where you can put some keywords smartly.

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Anchor Tags

In early days alt tags were the most important factors in search engine ranking. The backlinks from exact match keywords were surety in improving ranking on the website. But since Google start over-optimization penalty it has lost his importance as it was in previous days. However, we cannot completely ignore this practice as still, it has a positive effect when it’s done nicely. Webmaster needs to add anchor so users can jump to a specific location on the website. One need to optimized anchor text nicely and don’t afraid use keywords in anchor tags while you are creating links in your own website but still keep in mind the usability of the particular anchor link.

Improving Website Accessibility

There is no use of above SEO practice if search engine or users can’t find your website or content. There are many things to ensure for SEO –

  1. Robots.txt – Manually check the robots.txt file, and make sure it’s not restricting access to important sections of your site. You can also use your Google Webmaster Tools account to test URLs that are being blocked by the file.
  2. HTTP Status Codes – You need to create 410 or 404 soft error pages that have been removed from your server. If you have placed a new page instead of the old page then use 301 to redirect old page to new page.
  3. XML Sitemap – XML sitemap is useful when you have to get fast indexing in search engine. Make sure that you have been submitted XML site map in webmaster account. You can also create more than one site map and submit them by category.
  4. Website Speed Performance – Keep one thing in your mind about visitors, if your site takes a too long time get a load, they will leave and will not click again for your website.  We can find many tools to analysis website speed like Google Page Speed, Pingdom and YSlow.
  5. Broken Links – Broken links are dead links of the website or the links that don’t respond to users and search engine. You can go with Xenu’s Link Sleuth to find out broken links of the website or can check broken links in Google webmaster account too.

The Final Word:

On-page SEO isn’t rocket science, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint. By focusing on these fundamental factors, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a website that Google loves and users adore. Remember, SEO is a continuous journey of optimization and adaptation. So, experiment, analyze, and keep evolving. With dedication and the right strategies, you’ll conquer those search engine rankings and bask in the glory of organic traffic.

Now, go forth and conquer the SERPs!

Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

https://www.theseoink.com/ultimate-seo-on-page-ranking-factors/https://www.theseoink.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/on-page-ranking-idea.jpghttps://www.theseoink.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/on-page-ranking-idea-300x282.jpgAarav AroraSEOMany website owners are stuck in the past, relying solely on meta tags and keyword density for search engine optimization (SEO). This outdated approach leaves them vulnerable to algorithm updates and spammy tactics that manipulate search engines. But fear not! Modern SEO is all about building a website that...Aarav AroraAarav Aroraraviprinter3@gmail.comEditorAarav Arora is a seasoned digital marketing expert with over a decade of experience in the dynamic world of online marketing. His journey began in the early days of the digital era, and since then, he has been at the forefront of innovative marketing strategies that have transformed businesses across industries.THE SEO INKSEO Blogs