On-page SEO is the foundation for all SEO. Even though EVERYTHING has changed in the last few years (okay, the last few months) the foundation has not changed at all. It’s important to remember that search engines work like databases. If you want to be found in Google when someone types in the keyword phrases that best describe your business such “Orlando e-commerce design”, then don’t you think those keyword phrases need to appear on your website?
Every website we encounter, we first assess whether or not these On-Page Optimization elements are in place.
The best places for on-page optimization are:
1. Search Engine Friendly URLs – I’m talking about the www.domain.com/page.html. The power of a proper page name is the difference between www.domain.com/design.html or www.domain.com/custom-website-design.html. After all the word “design” could mean a plethora of things. The goal of naming your pages is to also incorporate your primary keyword for that page.
2. Page <TITLE> – When you do a search on Google, The <TITLE> Tag is still what you see when you click on the link. Don’t you think that’s pretty important? I’m always amazed at how people still use the name of the company in their <TITLE> meta tags. If someone doing a search already knows the name of your company, then they would find you pretty easily. However, the purpose of optimizing your website is to attract new visitors to your website who might not have already known about you.
3. META Description – Believe it or not, the description that shows underneath the link in Google is pulled from your META Description. If you omit the META description on your website, then Google will make something up. I don’t know about you, but that seems pretty risky to allow someone else (or something else) to choose what to say about your business. If you don’t give the search engines something to describe your website, then it will scan your page and pull info from the page to display as your description. Don’t leave it to chance, instead, use the META Description to your advantage.
4. Page Header – H1, H2 & H3 tags – Most websites we review are missing this vital piece of information. Header tags actually help Google understand what your page is about. Imagine if the page on your website is about “Helping to Cope After a Divorce” Then would it make sense to put that as a header at the top of the page? This is an ideal spot for an H1 tag. use the primary keywords of your pages in this prime retail spot.
5. Image Optimization – Image ALT tags were originally created for the visually impaired. Since they cannot see the screen, their software would read everything it “saw” on the screen. Therefore, images had ALT tags so the software could read the text that described the image. Since that time, Google realized how important the ALT tags were to the images on the pages and have incorporated this feature in understanding the theme of your website.
6. Internal Links to other pages – cross linking tells readers what’s important on your website. The process of linking tells the search engines which pages are related together in topic. Therefore, if you write a few pages on SEO Practices and you have 4 pages total outlining the different types of SEO practices, doesn’t it make sense to link them? Your reader will also appreciate it.
7. Develop Call to Actions! – What do you want the reader to do after they find your page?
- Call?
- Sign up for a Consultation?
- Sign up for a Newsletter?
Don’t forget to ASK! How many visitors are not asked to continue interacting with you and just go away?
8. Create Themed Pages – I’m always amazed when I meet companies that they want to put all their services on one page. Just listed as bullet points. Seriously? You can’t find anything to say about the services you offer than just a bullet point? Expand each service to it’s own page. When people are doing searches, they are looking for one of your services. By expanding the content for each service, you have a better chance of showing up in their search results.
9. Navigation – Make sure your navigation is search engine friendly. Luckily, buttons are so passe. But if you still have those old image buttons for your navigation, you might want to consider updating your website. Instead, make sure your navigation is comprised of text links.
10. Location – Make sure you list your address and phone number on every page. We assume that because it’s the internet, that people will not want to call. In fact, local search marketing is what brings in new business.
BONUS – What not to do!!
Never, Never, Never! Copy content from someone elses website. Google will only give credit to the original author.
If you’re not taking advantage of these on-page SEO techniques, you’re probably missing out on additional traffic to your website as well as telling the world exactly what you have to offer.
Request an on-page SEO Audit report to find out what steps need to be taken to turn your website around.
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