Importance of on Page Optimization and Its Best Practices

You can’t just sweat on keyword research alone and expect ranking magic to happen. 

That’s not a poem; it’s the reality of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies.

SEO has left the keyword stuffing phase and is now an all-rounder process that requires strategic principles. The critical aspects of SEO are technical SEO, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and content. All these aspects are very crucial to your website’s SEO performance. 

If you don’t know, your page structure is one of the factors that help search engines and humans understand your site. According to research, 43% of users clicked on a result of SERPs mainly because of an on-page factor – meta description. 

The possibility of your website ranking depends on your SEO efforts. However, this article discusses the importance of on-page optimization and how to get the best out of it.

But wait – there’s more.

Let’s get things underway.

What Is on Page Optimization?

On-page optimization, also known as on-site optimization, is optimizing your website content to help search engines and humans understand better. Primarily, an excellent on-page SEO practice improves the ranking possibility of a web page.

Beyond understanding a searcher’s intent and having a comprehensive content strategy, your on-page practices need to be of high quality. You wouldn’t want to keep losing traffic to your competitors, and that’s why on-page optimization is crucial to every website’s visibility goals.

To top it off, consider page optimization a general body cleaning practice. The simple truth is every human sees body cleaning and shaping as a necessity always to look good.

Similarly, your website must always be appealing to search engines and humans.

Remember that on-page optimization is not a choice in your SEO strategies. It’s a must.

The Importance of On-Page Optimization

By now, you should have grasped the concept behind on-page SEO. 

Everyone is aware that the Google algorithm is constantly improving. However, you must demonstrate your page authority, competence, and relevancy through on-page optimization. In brief, on-page SEO reflects your website’s readiness for ranking processes.

Here are some critical reasons why your website requires on-page optimization.

  1. Improvement on SEO Rankings

Ranking is one of the most common benefits of on-page optimization. Google has numerous ranking variables, and optimizing a website’s on-page SEO can help users outrank their competitors.

Websites with an improper on-page structure are leaving opportunities on the table for others. Search engines might not understand the site structure and content, which will affect the web’s ranking potential. 

However, websites that implement proper on-page SEO will enjoy the benefits of ranking on the first page of Google’s search results.

  1. Sight of Attraction to Customers

A good on-page SEO can also improve lead generation within a locality and internationally. As the search presence increases and the web page appears in SERPs (Search Engine Result Page), your descriptive meta description might catch several users’ attention.

Without magic, your website will become a magnet for customers who need your product or service.

  1. Reduction in Bounce Rates

Internet users continually search for valuable content that offers the best answer and provides easy understanding. One of the ways of helping your readers is to have a good page structure in place. 

Quite simply, users will leave a web page lacking good structure more quickly than a page with good design. According to a study, 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience.

In the long run, a web page with a bad user experience will increase bounce rates which are detrimental to the overall SEO performance.

  1. Generation of More Leads and Increase in Conversion

One of the main goals of SEO for every business is making sales and improving ROI (Return over Investment). As your website continues to rank on Google’s first page, you can increase traffic and boost sales.

  1. Inexpensive and Easy to Manage

On-page SEO does not necessitate a high level of technical expertise to implement. Typically, it begins with the capacity to read informative stuff, such as Google’s guidelines on SEO best practices.

Secondly, it requires consistent effort to get the desired results. Therefore, on-page SEO is easy to manage and does not require extra funding. All needed is updating and optimizing web pages for the best user experience.

Critical on-Page Optimizations to Boost Ranking

As previously stated, on-page SEO is easy to apply; all you need to do is understand the essential aspects of your website that require optimization. Also, note that these elements are critical to your ranking objectives and performances.

Inspect the following components to enhance your website’s authority, quality, ranking, and traffic. 

1. Title Tag

The title tag informs people and search engines of the page’s topic. The title tag is a direct ranking component; thus, it must be engaging and informative.

The title tag is one factor that persuades internet visitors to visit your website. Your title tag is like an advertising statement that determines whether you sell in a few seconds or later.

Due to the perks of your web page’s title tag, you must emphasize certain recommended on-page optimization practices.

  • Title tags for each page on your website must be distinct and descriptive.
  • Avoid missing title tags.
  • Avoid duplicating title tags
  • Avoid using lengthy and keyword-rich title tags.

The title page contributes to your website’s traffic, lead generation, and conversion rate.

There must be a starting point for people’s faith in your product, which is the SERP title. According to Google Search Central, Google is aware of the significance of the title tag, which is seen in how they rearrange or rewrite most web page titles.

2. Meta Description

While the title tag is a brief highlight of page content, a meta description is a short description of what the page is about and how it offers users’ the expected values.

If you’ve successfully won the searcher’s heart with your title, your meta description can paint more of a picture in their mind. It begins with the thought, “This is what I’ve been searching for,” and the visitor is on your web page within a few seconds.

Now, consider the opposite: Yes, it’s the feeling you secretly fear. However, it would be best if you placed a premium on the accuracy of your meta description.

A captivating meta description can increase website traffic and improve searchers’ perception of your brand. As a result, your meta description should contain the following.

  • Write a detailed and short meta description.
  • Consider it your sole opportunity to sell your product.
  • Keep the number of words between 150 and 160 characters.
  • Include your search term.
  • Avoid keyword stuffing.
  • Google also emphasized the importance of creating a unique, high-quality description for each page.

3. Headings

There have been a series of controversies as regards headings as ranking factors. However, John Mueller of Google emphasized that headers are not necessarily ranking factors but help search engines comprehend the structure of a page.

Similarly, from a human standpoint, no one enjoys reading text that lacks basic structure and organization. In this regard, headings are essential for both search engines and people to comprehend the content of your website and derive more excellent value from it.

Optimize your headlines by using the given guidelines:

  • Try to include your primary keyword in one or two H2 headers and, if possible, in the H3 header.
  • Use H1 through H6 to organize your information appropriately.
  • Use relevant headings to help users navigate different sections of the page quickly.

4. Keyword Research

Keywords are standard SEO terms. The success of reaching your target audience begins with your keyword phrases.

According to Hubspot, keyword research is not about what you want to tell people but what your target audience desires to read or hear.

To clarify, keyword research is about catering to your web visitors by investigating their pain points on search engines. After conducting effective keyword research, your content or marketing plan should alleviate or heal their aches.

But there’s one catch!

Many people practice blackhat SEO while integrating keywords into their content, exposing their website to Google’s penalty. 

Follow the steps below for keyword optimization of your website.

  • Avoid keyword stuffing.
  • Avoid keyword cannibalization.
  • Choose the most appropriate keyword for your audience.
  • Include related or synonymous terms to your keywords

Keyword research must be a priority in your SEO efforts. Keyword research can help you produce sales-driving traffic to your website.

The more you rank for relevant keywords, the more your visibility on SERPs.

5. URL Optimization

URLs are the address of a website page. One of the best ways to optimize a URL is to make it brief and distinct. However, you must include a relevant term in the URL because Google considers it when ranking websites.

Do the following for URL optimization:

  • Use a descriptive and simple URL structure.
  • Avoid long and unreadable URLs.
  • Avoid keyword stuffing, but use relevant keywords.
  • Instead of using underscores (_) to separate words in the URL, use hyphens (-).
  • Use lowercase characters when constructing URLs.
  • Avoid using special characters such as commas, semicolons, colons, spaces, and quotation marks.

A well-structured URL assists both humans and search engines in comprehending your page’s context.

6. Internal Linking

  • Your website needs to maintain a structured hierarchy that allows both human and search engines to discover more pages quickly. The web is made of links, making the crawlers’ discovery process easy. Through links, crawlers can get content that matches the searcher’s intent.
  • When you link to pages within your website, it passes link authority to the pages, enhancing ranking.
  • Do the following to optimize internal linking.
  • Use descriptive anchor texts that are relevant to the link optimization.
  • As cautioned by Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, Avoid using too many internal links.
  • Have a structured page hierarchy in place to optimize your internal linking strategy.

7. Image Optimization

Images are one of a website’s engagement elements. Similarly, they are one of the ranking elements that very few people consider.

Image optimization influences how Google interprets each image on your page. It’s common to see pictures on the internet that lack proper optimization. However, you are shooting yourself in the foot by leaving images unoptimized.

In another way, people who use screen readers will also find it helpful.

For every web page’s image optimization, do the following.

  • Use descriptive alt text for every image on your site. You may consider using an alt text generator if you’re working with bulk of images.
  • Use descriptive file names, captions, and titles for your image. It’s better to save an image as; A crying baby than IMG0000_79.
  • Use quality images
  • Optimize your image and use responsive image techniques.
  • Use structured data for the images to enhance rich results possibility.
  • Avoid stuffing keywords in the image alt text.
  • Use an image sitemap.
  • As Google suggests, choose the appropriate image format such as BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WebP, and SVG.

8. External Links

Adding links to high-authority websites offers a good user experience and more value to your content. This is important to demonstrate credibility to your visitors.

For web page optimization, ensure you link to credible websites for references to boost your website’s authority.

9. Content Quality

Your website visitors deserve only high-quality information. They have a plethora of options on the internet. Therefore, your website will drive more traffic and leads while potentially increasing ROI if it conveys quality and value.

Several steps are involved in producing high-quality content. Some of the processes are as follows:

  • Have a good page structure that’s easy to navigate for users.
  • Use unique title, description, and headings for each page.
  • Use keywords appropriately.
  • Unique and relevant text for your website is a priority.

10. Page Speed

Google considers page speed to be a significant ranking factor. In terms of user experience, people are likely to abandon a slow online page within a few seconds. According to a recent survey, nearly 70% of internet users cite page speed as one of the criteria influencing their propensity to buy from an online company.

In other words, page speed influences how easily Google crawls a page. Slow page speed also wastes the crawl budget.

To optimize your website’s page speed for users and search engines, do the following.

  • Avoid using large graphics that slow down page loading. To avoid this, optimize photos according to Google recommendations.
  • Optimize the site code by minifying CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.
  • Avoid using too many redirects.
  • Use a content delivery network (CDN) to give users faster access to your site.
  • Keep track of your website’s page performance using Google PageSpeed Insights.

Let’s Recap

The strength of your on-page optimization determines the success of your website’s visibility. As discussed in this article, common areas to pay attention to are:

  • Title Tag
  • Meta Description
  • Headings
  • Keyword Research
  • URL Optimization
  • Internal Linking
  • Image Optimization
  • External Links
  • Content Quality
  • Page Speed

But the basic fact is that adhering to the best SEO practices brings you closer to the SERP. You will outperform your competitors, increase traffic to your website, and establish authority with your audience.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! 

So, give it a go.