What is On-Page SEO? Important On-Page SEO Factors 2024
On-page SEO is a type of search engine optimization in which we follow best practices for optimizing our onsite web pages. This includes website load speed, image optimization, and many more.
If you have a business and you own a website, it’s clear you have heard about SEO several times but, there are three types of SEO and in this article, we’ll talk only about On-Page SEO.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-Page Search Engine Optimization is a type of SEO in which we follow best practices on our web pages to improve their visibility in search engine result pages (SERP).
It evolves around optimizing website content for better user experience, compressing images and videos for better load speed, adding keywords in the right places, optimizing page URLs, Meta Tags and Descriptions, Alt Text, and many more.
10 On-Page SEO ranking factors to consider:
There are many more factors that can help you in optimizing your website pages for better visibility but, these 10 On-Page SEO ranking factors will help you dominate in the market.
Most Search Engine Optimization Specialists change their strategy after implementation and the main reason is they don’t get results. This is not because of their implementation, this is because SEO takes some time to reflect. If you’re one of them, remember to wait for results after the implementation of your strategy.
10 On-Page SEO Factors
Here’s a breakdown of how to optimize your website with these 10 important factors:
Make URLs Descriptive & Optimized
Page URL optimization is a common On-Page SEO practice. Google recommends using optimized URLs according to the page topic.
It’s important to optimize URLs for users, not for robots. Use a URL that immediately tells viewers what this page is about.
A part of URLs appears in the search results of the browsers that inform browser crawlers to bring the page that contains the most relevant answers to the questions of the user.
Including your keyword in the URL of the page is a crucial part of best On-Page SEO practice. For example, if your article is about “Top Pakistani Blogger” the URL must look like https://example.com/top-pakistani-bloggers/.
It will give readers and search engines a clear understanding of what this page is about. By using a clearly understandable URL, there is a great potential that search engines will give priority to your article and the audience will engage with the content.
Title Tag Optimization
Title tag plays a vital role in bringing your web page to the top search results pages of the search engine. It’s necessary for search engines to understand the topic of your web page or article.
Using a targeted keyword in the title of the page makes it easier for search engine crawlers to evaluate your content.
For example, if your web page is about “Digital Marketing Tools”, and you want to target the keyword “Free Digital Marketing Tools” you should include “Best Free Digital Marketing Tools 2024” in the URL of the web page.
Including your keyword in the URL instead of a long title of your web page will make your site easier to navigate and understand. It also gives a better idea to the user for understanding the significance and topic of your web page.
It’s important to avoid duplication in the titles of different pages. Use a unique title for each page to inform search engines and users what each page is about.
Meta Description
Use action-oriented meta descriptions in your web pages. The meta description is considered a very crucial On-Page SEO factor of ranking. An action-oriented and precise meta description can boost your CTR and engagement.
It’s a feature that allows users to understand more about your web page before visiting.
Google gives priority to the page’s descriptions that contain the query of the users. Hence, it’s clear that your page description must contain the main keyword that you want to target through the specific page.
A page about SEO must contain the word “SEO” in the meta description. Consider Google recommendations while optimizing your web page for better ranking and visibility.
Google recommends using meta descriptions containing no more than 160 characters.
Headings Optimization
Heading Tags are considered a very important On-Page SEO factor for both users and search engines. Use different formats of headings on your web page to make it easy to understand.
For instance, if your website is about “types of digital marketing”, it must contain a proper hierarchy of headings. Like H1 for title, H2 for heading under titles, and H3 for headings under H2.
There are 6 types of headings from H1 to H6. Google recommends properly organizing your articles and web pages with these heading types.
When optimizing your web pages with your targeted keywords, consider using your keywords in the main heading and sub-heading of the topic.
Alt Text
Alt Text is used as an alternative for multimedia like images, GIFs, and videos. Search Engines like Google, can’t see images so they depend completely on the alt attributes to make informed decisions.
Use best SEO practices to optimize your image’s alt text for better ranking. Add targeted keywords in the alt text according to your web page topic.
Besides raking, alt text also helps users to understand images perfectly through alt text in case they are unable to see the image due to low internet and many other issues.
Keywords Integration
Use keywords in your web page content strategically. Talk about the article’s topic based on different keywords.
Remember Google keywords density limit while optimizing web page. Add targeted keywords in the Heading, Sub-heading, Images alt text, and in the body of the web page.
Optimizing web pages with proper keywords can help you gain much more organic traffic. Even pages that we usually do not optimize like the “About Us” page can help you in gaining potential organic traffic when we optimize it with proper keywords.
Research and integrate keywords based on the trends. There are too many keyword research tools that can help you save your time and money.
Want to know more about marketing tools? Here’s a complete guide: 10 Free Digital Marketing Tools
Images Compression
Use high-quality, compressed images. Image optimization can double up your website load speed. Create and use the web page’s topic-oriented images. Using irrelevant images can misguide your audience and there is a chance to lose trust among visitors.
Compress images so that they don’t slow down your web page speed. Add alt text to images to make them accessible for ranking in the Google search results.
You can integrate your focus keyword in the alt text of the images for better ranking.
Load Speed Optimization
Google recommends keeping your website load speed under 2 seconds. Imagine waiting for a website that takes two minutes to load. You will definitely leave the website.
A low-speed index can increase your audience bounce rate and search engines will not give priority to your website if your bounce rate is too high.
It’s considered a crucial ranking factor and Google uses this metric to make informed decisions on the ranking of your website. It’s also considered an important On-Page factor in the user experience.
There are a lot of free digital marketing tools that can help in analyzing website load speed. Page Speed Insight is the most popular tool for checking website speed index.
Mobile Friendliness
It’s necessary to optimize your website for each device but making your website mobile-friendly should be your first priority. If your website is not mobile-friendly, you will probably lose too much traffic and revenue.
According to Google, more than 50% of your website traffic comes from mobile devices. Google uses a technology called the “Mobile-First Approach” for crawling and indexing different websites.
On-page SEO for mobile friendliness focuses on developing responsive websites. A responsive web page automatically responds according to device specifications.
Three are a bunch of free digital marketing tools that provide resources for checking the mobile-friendliness of the website. Google Lighthouse is one of them.
Internal Linking
Create a strong connection between your website’s internal pages through internal linking. Internal linking is usually ignored when doing On-Page SEO, but it’s very important to create a strong chain of internal linking between your website pages.
It helps crawlers to explore your website easily and identify new content on each linked page. Having a weak internal link structure on your website can negatively impact users in discovering the latest content on your website.
Ad links of old and outdated articles to new articles and redirect traffic to those web pages. Google recommends every new page should have at least two to three internal links.
Consider using Screaming Frog, which is a tool for analyzing multiple On-Page SEO factors including link structure, images alt text, meta descriptions, and many more.
If you’re new to SEO and want to learn more about Search Engine Optimization, read this article:
What is SEO and Why It’s Important?
Conclusion
Mastering On-Page SEO factors is crucial for optimizing your website’s visibility and improving its ranking on search engines. By focusing on elements like URLs, title tags, meta descriptions, headings, alt text, page speed, and mobile responsiveness, you can significantly enhance user experience and organic reach
Remember, optimizing these On-Page SEO factors is not a one-time effort, it’s a continuous process that requires patience and adaptation.
Keep refining your strategies, stay updated with SEO trends, and watch your website thrive in 2024 and beyond.
