On-page SEO refers to how you structure and organise your content, both on the page and with the site as a whole, in order to make it more search engine friendly and rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
The basics of on-page SEO are easy to learn and apply, but there are lots of different ways to do it right, so we’ve put together this list of 8 on-page SEO hacks that we think can help you rank higher in search results.
Optimise your blog URL
Search engines rely on more than just keywords to know what a page is about. When it comes to on-page SEO, page titles and URLs can play a critical role.
If you want search engines like Google and Bing to accurately reflect your content’s relevance, then make sure you’re following best practices for your HTML title tags and URL slugs.
If you have subdomains set up for specific topics or products, consider using those as well when possible; having different URLs can allow users who search by topic (rather than just searching by brand) easier access.
Keep your website content real
It can be tempting to stuff your website with keywords and make up titles. But don’t do it. A lot of SEO professionals will tell you how important it is that you focus on great, unique content for your website visitors, so that search engines will reward you for it.
If you have a habit of copy/pasting from other sites, now’s a good time to give it up—it may have hurt your rankings before. Keyword stuffing and spammage isn’t just bad practice, though:
It can get your site demoted by search engines, which means they won’t show your site when people look for terms related to what you offer.
Do keyword research with Keyword planner
The first step is figuring out what your topic or keyword is. The best way to do that is with Google’s Keyword Planner tool, which will show you how many people are searching for terms similar to yours and tell you exactly how much it costs per click.
This information is essential, because it shows you exactly what words you need to use in your content and on your site, as well as how competitive those terms are (and therefore how much traffic they might drive).
For example, Google tells you that a keyword like food recipes gets 10 searches per month and costs $1.50 per click on average, that’s a great jumping off point—you know precisely which keywords to target and can research their competition levels.
Add an image Alt tag
An Alt tag is an image’s equivalent of a title tag, and it provides one or more alternative text descriptions for search engines.
According to Google, including alt tags for images may help make your site’s content more accessible for people with disabilities or who use assistive technologies such as screen readers.
If you are trying to rank higher in search results, adding relevant alt tags can also help your page stand out from others that have similar keywords but less descriptive Alt text.
For example, if you have several images on a page about how to lose weight fast using phrases like lose weight fast diet plan for each image’s alt tag will likely increase its chances of being found by those searching for that phrase.
Use keywords wisely in Title Tag and Meta Description
Are you creating content that is optimised for on-page search engine optimization? If not, you should be. It’s easier than you think to optimise your site and rank higher with very little effort on your part. In fact, if done correctly, it will be seamless.
On-page SEO simply refers to all of the ways you can improve a page’s ranking with search engines through individual webpage elements like metadata and internal linking (i.e., links within your own site).
Create a human readable URL structure
One of Google’s basic ranking factors is a website’s PageRank, or how authoritative your domain is.
The easiest way to increase your site’s authority? Create a human readable URL structure that Google recognizes as legitimate and relevant.
This step may take some work upfront (though you can use WordPress plugins like Yoast to help guide you), but it will pay off exponentially for years to come when people find your content more easily through search engines.
Prioritise speed above all else
According to comScore, mobile internet usage surpassed desktop use for Americans. To ensure your site is mobile friendly, remember that mobile users are impatient and don’t want a lot of effort on their part.
Make your website compatible with all devices and browsers so there’s no doubt people will have a positive experience when they visit your page.
After you build your site, check it using Google’s Mobile Friendly test tool to see if it gets a passing grade. If not, make adjustments and try again until you receive top marks.
Think mobile first when building your site
It is estimated that 80% of Google searches are performed on a mobile device. However, many sites fail to address mobile users.
Whether you’re designing your site from scratch or optimising an existing site, it’s imperative to focus on mobile experience first and optimise for different devices before moving on.
By crafting your site with mobile users in mind, you can drive more traffic by creating a more responsive website design that features easier navigation and content discovery on smaller screens.
Make sure that each page has a clear call-to-action (CTA) at its end and clearly state what you want viewers to do when they reach there—whether it be clicking through or downloading an app—and don’t forget about video optimization too.