Search engine optimization falls into two categories: on-page and off-page. Off-page SEO includes any optimization technique. No used on the page you are trying to optimize. And what is on-page SEO? Unsurprisingly, it refers to all the elements of a website that contribute to its SEO efforts. These elements can be specific (such as page titles and meta descriptions) or broad, such as improving the overall quality and usability of a website. If used correctly, they can help the website rank higher in search engines and benefit the site’s audience.
Now that we know what On-Page SEO is, let’s see how it’s used! There are many different elements on a website that affect your SEO, but let’s look at some of the most important ones.
page titles They appear at the top of your browser bar when you are on a web page. When you query on a search engine, they are the highlighted and clickable results. You can find the title of your page by looking in the HTML header for a short phrase enclosed in tags.
meta descriptions they appear below page titles in search results and describe the content of your web page. If you look in the header of your HTML, you can find your meta description by looking for a very short paragraph that looks something like this: . Meta descriptions are not required, but if you don’t have one, search engines will create one for you using your page content. It’s foolish to risk search engines using unwanted content when you could write the perfect meta description yourself. And what is a perfect meta description? It should be clear, concise (less than 155 characters), relevant to the specific page, include keywords and branding, and include a call to action.
url are the addresses of web pages (if you use the Internet, you should be very familiar with them). However, you may not be familiar with what makes a URL great for SEO. The best URL will be short, easy to read, and fit within the content of the page. Separate words using hyphens and use keywords if possible. You want the URL to be memorable and easy to understand, so avoid unintelligible characters like ampersands, percent signs, numbers, and meaningless punctuation.
content page it is the heart and soul of your website. It must be well written, unique, relevant and constantly updated, and of course always use proper grammar and punctuation. Great content will engage viewers, promote repeat visits, and might even get viewers to share your website across social media. While it’s important to use at least 300 words per page, employ a high keyword density, and add links where relevant, you should focus more on making your page content interesting. Interesting writing is essential for both a great website and great SEO.
Photos make a website more visually appealing to viewers, but can also be used to attract the attention of search engines. Because search engines can’t see your images, it’s important to provide alt text for all of your images. Alternative text describes your image using relevant keywords and will help your image appear in search engine image results.
internal link direct users to other pages of your website. By using internal links in your content, you are promoting general page views on your website. To use them well, keep your anchor text short, use keywords where possible, only use them where it makes sense, and of course, make sure the link isn’t broken.
So what is on-page SEO? All of the above and more. It refers to any element on your website that helps the SEO of the site. When used well, on-page SEO will help both you and your audience.