In this actionable On-page SEO guide, our Guest Contributor and SEO expert Nikola Roza shows you how to optimize your pages so they rank highly in the SERPS for your target keywords. He also includes an On-Page SEO FAQ – Showcasing the things you need to know to succeed!
Here’s a quick question for you.
Did you know that Elise Dopson was able to:
- Boost impressions count by 57%;
- Increase search traffic by 54%;
- Get an average ranking position boost of 10 places
Just by improving meta titles and meta descriptions on most pages and posts on her site.
And did you know that Spencer Haws, creator of Link Whisper and founder of Niche Pursuits, was able to explode 48 pages of his site to the first page of Google in just three months … simply by adding a few internal links per post.
That’s the awesome power of on-page SEO done right.
And in this actionable on-page SEO guide for beginners I’ll show you how to optimize your pages so they stand a chance of ranking in the SERPS for your target keywords.
Prepare yourself to be blown away.
Ready? Let’s go!
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Why is On-Page SEO So Important?
If you wish to rank your site in Google and Bing, then on-page SEO is a must.
Here are 3 quick reasons why:
#1- Google Search is Keyword-Based
When Google-bot visits a page, it scans your content for keywords so it can understand what your page is about.
And on-page SEO is nothing more than using keywords deliberately and in strategic places throughout your article.
#2- On-Page SEO Helps You Rank Higher, Faster
Some long tail keywords are such easy pickings that you can rank with on-page alone. They exist, but are rare and you certainly won’t be able to build your whole business around them.
However, doing excellent on-page also helps you rank for the more competitive (and more lucrative) keyphrases.
Like I said, it won’t be enough but by using the tips from this guide you can make sure each page you publish climbs up the SERP ladders as much as it can on its own.
And once it settles on certain position you know it’s time to funnel authority through external and internal backlinks.
#3- On-Page SEO is a Must
Simply put, if you don’t do any on-page SEO- you will not rank.
You will not rank even if by some chance your site is very authoritative.
That’s because Google ranks pages based on relevancy+authority.
And a non-optimized page is relevant to nothing in particular, and irrelevant to everything.
Here, a site like TechRadar is ranking for “Best Cheap Web Hosting Deals For Bloggers”
They have a Domain Authority of 92, yet that didn’t stop them from optimizing their title and content for the term.
If they have to do it, so do you.
Making Your Pages SEO Friendly- Pay Attention To These On-Page SEO Factors
#1- SEO Title (Title Tag)
SEO title, what is it?
It’s the blue link you see in the SERPS, the one you click on when you want to explore the page.
SEO title is the single most important element of on-page optimization.
It serves as a page overview for Google and according to one of their top representatives, title tags help a lot with rankings.
Want some proof?
Search for a keyword, for example “guest blogging”.
See how literally every page has “guest blogging” somewhere in the title?
That’s no accident and these SEO veterans do it because it works.
Pro tip: Front-load your keyword where possible. Google puts more weight on keywords that appear at the beginning of a title tag.
Like Backlinko and Adam Enfroy do in the image above.
URL
URL is another place for Google to get a summary of your page. You can achieve that easily simply by placing your target keyword in the URL.
A good example of SEO friendly URL is this SEMRush reviews article. Pedro used his target keyword and it definitely helps him rank higher.
Pro tip: Short URL often better CTR’s but short URLs are not always feasible.
For example when you target a long tail keyword like “What is the best restaurant in London ” you will want to include the whole keyword inside the URL, despite it being pretty long.
This will help you boost the relevance of your page and you will rank faster. If you just included “best restaurant London ” then that URL woudldn help your SEO as much.
Meta Description
Meta description are not used for ranking purposes, but they do help Google understand your page better.
According to Martin Splitt, meta descriptions give a summary/overview of your page to Google bot.
My tip: Always include your target keyword inside a meta description
It’ll boost the relevancy of your page, it might help you rank higher and above all, Google bolds the exact match keyword in thes SERPS . This can boost CTR like crazy.
Headline tag
Headline tag is actually the “true” title of our post. It’s the thing you see first when you land on a page.
You need to include your target keyword in h1 tag.
Because of these 2 reasons:.
First, it helps with SEO. Keyword in h1 tag is a small, but direct Google ranking factor.
Second, it’s excellent for the users. When a visitor lands on a page on an unfamiliar website they have only one thing on their mind “will this page be able to help me or not”?
And when they see your headline that has an exact (or closely related) keyword they typed in the Search bar, they breathe a sigh of relief and start reading.
No one likes wasting precious time!
Good example is this email marketing checklist. It includes the target keyword (email marketing checklist) and informs the users that yes, they h