On-Page SEO - A Beginner's Guide
You already know how important SEO is, but did you know that on-page SEO is the very foundation of SEO?
On-page SEO is much more than just adding a few keywords here and there. They are layers to it.
That doesn't mean it's complicated. It's arguably the easiest part of SEO.
The goal with on-page SEO is to optimize each page, and blog post on your website so that people can find you through search engines.
But, with over 2 million posts being published every day on WordPress alone, competition is fierce.
Not to worry, though, because this guide will teach you exactly how to get started with on-page SEO and how your digital marketing agency can help.
LAYING DOWN THE FOUNDATION
When it comes to on-page SEO, there are three core things you need to have in place.
Otherwise, you are wasting your time.
You wouldn't build a house without laying down the foundation first, would you?
In the eyes of Google, there are three main categories your content needs to include.
Content
People are happy when they find the results they want through search engines.
Your content needs to be the one that will fill them with joy.
"Content is king" and always will be.
You see, with content it's about creating a user experience. Visitors will love you, and so will Google.
When a user types in a search term, Google puts the best match in front of them.
Why?
Because they want them to have the best experience.
Heck, Google loves Google, and it loves to show it's users the best content it can find and that content needs to be yours.
Does it take a lot of work? Yes.
Is it worth it? Absolutely!
Quality
The internet is flooded with information. Sometimes, it's right, sometimes it's wrong, and other times it's just weird.
Information overload is real.
Putting together any old content with some keywords and hoping for the best won't do the trick either.
Your visitors won't enjoy you, and Google most definitely won't like you.
You see, it's all about offering value. The value they won't get elsewhere.
Has the user found the answer they were looking for with your content?
Have they learned something new?
Even if you are a total newbie at writing blog posts, you can still provide valuable content.
If you have your own ideas, brilliant.
If you don't, you can get inspired by businesses that are similar to yours. No copying, though, that's plagiarism.
The best way to improve your content is to make writing your daily habit.
Better yet, the best part about creating online content is that you can continuously update it.
Keywords
Keywords are a crucial part of your content, so you need to thorough keyword search.
If there is one thing you need to spend your time on its keyword research.
In fact, you should have your keywords before you even start writing.
Why?
Because your targeted keywords are going to spread throughout your blog post and in the headline.
Many people make the mistake of keyword stuffing. Don't be that person.
Keyword stuffing should be an absolute no-go. Not only that, but Google is on to it.
Google is smart, and it's even smarter at interpreting keywords and search terms.
It's actually a little creepy at how good it is at interpreting a searchers keyword. It even provides synonyms to the search terms.
More importantly, stuffing your keywords into your content will actually hurt your rankings.
You see, with keywords, it's all about placing them strategically.
If you place them in the meta description, headlines and URL, you won't need to include it so much in your post.
Title Tags
Remember newspaper headlines? Title tags are the online version.
When you open a new browser page on Google, the title tag is what shows up.
And you need to make this clear to Google.
That's why every page should have its own title tag.
Now, you don't have to be a savvy coder to do this, but understanding the basics is always a good idea.
Of course, your digital marketing agency will be able to help you with this as well.
Meta Description
A meta description is the 160 character text snippet of your page that Google displays on its results page.
And guess what?
You can optimize it too.
Actually, it's not an option. You need to optimize it.
Why?
Because when you optimize your meta, Google will put it in front of users searching for your type of content.
It's only 160 characters, so you have to be creative about it, but don't overthink it.
A well-optimized meta description usually has the keyword placed at the beginning.
Here a tip.
Don't just think about Google and what the search engines would like, get into the user's mind.
If you were searching for something, what would you type in?
Getting into the mind of the searcher rather than the search engine itself will help you to come up with a good title and meta description.
If you have an idea of what you want to write but don't know exactly how to put it into words, your digital marketing agency can bring it all together.
WHY IS ON-PAGE SEO SO IMPORTANT?
On-page SEO, also known as on-site SEO, is important because it helps search engines better understand your content and website.
The better Google understands it, the more likely it is to place in front of people searching for your content.
It's also one of the most effective ways to create user engagement and earn organic traffic.
Higher user engagement and more organic traffic means better conversions.
What more could you want eh? After all, if you don't have customers, you don't have a business.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Google is always after high-quality premium content, and when you give it exactly that, it likes to reward you by ranking you higher.
If you are serious about increasing your traffic and conversions, then on-page SEO is a must.
If you want your website to show up on the results page, increase your traffic and conversions your digital marketing agency can help jump start your on-page SEO.
