On-Page SEO: A Complete Guide To On-Page Optimization 2022

The practice of optimizing web pages for specific keywords in order to improve search visibility and traffic is known as on-page SEO (On-Page Optimization). It means making sure that things like title tags, headings, content, and internal links on a page all use the same keywords.

You’ll see an increase in traffic and a rise in your search existence if you put effort into on-page strategies.

This guide will show you the most important aspects of the process. On-page SEO is essential for search engine optimization (SEO) because it assists Google in determining the purpose of each piece of content on your website. The higher you rank in search, the better Google understands your content, which means more organic traffic, conversions, and revenue. Even better, if done correctly, on-page SEO improves user experience.

In this step-by-step on-page SEO guide, I’ll explain the most important page-specific optimization best practices you should implement, and why they’re critical to your overall SEO strategy.

On-Page SEO: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

On-page SEO refers to the process of optimizing individual web pages in order to improve their search engine rankings and generate more relevant traffic. In contrast to off-page SEO, which refers to links and other external signals, on-page SEO refers to the content or HTML source code of a website that may be optimized.

Our On-Page Ranking Factors are a great place to start for individuals new to on-page SEO. Because on-page SEO has evolved over time, it’s critical to stay current with best practises.

What is the Significance of On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO is very important because it helps search engines understand your website and its content, as well as whether it is relevant to a searcher’s question. 

The importance of relevance and definitions in search engine results pages is increasing as search engines become more sophisticated (SERPs).

With its variety of complicated algorithms, Google is now far better at:

• Understanding what users are looking for when they use a search engine.
• Providing search results that are relevant to the user’s search criteria (informational, shopping, navigational).

Adapting to this change is critical, and you can do so by ensuring that your website and its content – both what is visible to users on your web pages (text, images, video, or audio) and elements that are only visible to search engines (HTML tags, structured data) – are well-optimized according to current best practices.

Furthermore, unlike off-page SEO, which relies on external signals, you can’t simply ignore on-page SEO because you have more control over on-site elements (i.e., backlinks).

Also Read: The Who, What, Why, & How of Digital Marketing: Latest Update in 2022

On-Page SEO Factors

Paying attention may help you enhance your content and authority, as well as your rankings, traffic, and conversions.

Creating SEO Content

You must first generate content that Google wants to rank before you even consider ‘technical’ improvements such as putting keywords here and there. You’ll need to have a primary target term in mind for this.

The four skills you must master are as follows:

• Be relevant
• Be thorough
• Be unique
• Be clear

1. Be Relevant

On-page SEO, which involves matching your content with search intent, is likely the most important element. If you don’t provide searchers with what they’re looking for, you’ll have a hard time ranking.

The easiest place to start is to look at the current top-ranking results for the three Cs of search intent:

• Content-type
• Content format
• Content angle

2. Be Thorough

It’s a good start to provide material that generally matches search intent, but it’s hardly enough. It must fulfill its promise in order to be worthy of a place on Google’s top page. And that entails covering all that searchers anticipate and want.

You probably already have a general idea of what searchers would want to view now that you’ve established the three Cs of search intent. If you’re writing about how to acquire Bitcoin, for example, and the most popular pages are for beginners, it’s definitely not a good idea to go into great depth on the blockchain.

The three Cs, on the other hand, merely provide a high-level picture of purpose. You should explore further into relevant top-ranking sites to have a better understanding of what your content should address.

“Applicable” is the essential word here. There’s no sense examining and drawing inspiration from top-ranking e-commerce sites or blogs on individual clubs if you’re targeting the keyword “best golf club sets” and intend to publish a post about the greatest sets. You’d want to investigate sites that are comparable to your own.

3. Be Unique

It’s critical to give searchers what they’re looking for, but you also need to provide something unique. If you don’t do this, your material will be bland and unoriginal. Nobody wants to link to a piece of material that is essentially the same as the previous one.

Everything we’ve talked about so far should have given you a solid foundation for your work, but there’s still room for new ideas.

The goal is evident, for example, if we look at the SERP for “SEO suggestions.” People are looking for a list of recommendations to help them enhance their rankings and traffic.

While many of the suggestions on our list aren’t groundbreaking, there are a few that are. To gain Google traffic, one option is to embed videos in related blogs. If someone stumbles across our website and finds that advice valuable, they have no option but to share or link to it.

Other content categories make things a bit more difficult, but it’s still doable.

Making a unique product or category page, for example, may seem to be very hard, but you can always use things like:

• More effective filters
• More professional product photography
• Product descriptions that are different from others
• Reviews

4. Be Specific.

If your content is confusing, no one will read it, no matter how well it corresponds with search intent or how detailed it is..

To write clear material that people want to read, use these easy guidelines:

• To enhance skimmers, use bullets.
• For hierarchy, use H2-H6 descriptive subheadings.
• Break up the text with pictures.
• Make use of easy-to-understand language.
• Avoid “text walls” by using short phrases and paragraphs.
• To save readers’ eyes from strain, choose a big font.
• To keep things interesting and conversational, write as you talk.

It’s all about making it as simple as possible for users to locate the information they need. If you don’t cover everything people want to know on your page and they can’t locate it, they’ll leave and go to a page that is clearer and simpler to understand.

Also Read: SEO Guide 2022: Search Engine Optimization

How to optimize your content

• Use URLs that are short and clear.
• Optimize title tags
• Write compelling meta descriptions
• Implement structured data
• Optimize headers
• Implement SEO copywriting best practices
• Use the target keyword
• Maintain an appropriate keyword density
• Create content that satisfies user intent
• Write readable text
• Internal and external links should be included.
• Optimize for Google images

1. Short and Descriptive URLs

Short, descriptive URLs make it easier for searchers to figure out what a website is about before they click.

Consider the following URLs:

The URLs don’t indicate that the two sites are about the same item. Only the second URL explains what the website is about, resulting in a SERP result that is perhaps more obvious and clickable. You can understand with the below screenshot.

The URL slug (the section following the domain and subfolders) can usually be changed simply in most CMSs, and changing it to your target term is frequently the easiest approach to optimize. Almost all of our blog postings are done in this manner.

Just keep in mind that you should use the target term only when it makes sense. A variant might be preferable in certain instances. For instance, the term “how long should a blog post be” is our target keyword for this topic. We chose “blog post length” instead since this felt a little too lengthy and weird.

Because Google truncates lengthier ones in the SERPs, it’s critical to keep things brief.

2. Optimize Your Title Tag

Because it appears in search results, having an appealing title tag is vital.

Setting it as your page or post title is often the quickest method to generate one. Almost every blog article is written in this manner. The title and title tag of the previous post, for example, are identical.

Our post’s title tag is likewise based on this.

There are situations, though, when it makes sense to make a modest change, such as when your title is excessively lengthy. Long title tags are truncated in Google’s search results, much like URLs.

If a title is too lengthy, use common sense to condense it. For instance, we simply trimmed out the conclusion of our content authoring tutorial.

3. Write Compelling Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions have been a crucial optimization factor since the beginning of SEO.

In the SERPs, meta descriptions, or meta tags that describe what a website is about, are often shown under the page title.

While Google claims that meta descriptions do not affect rankings, there is statistical evidence that stronger descriptions have indirect benefits.

Correctly optimising the meta description may aid in:

• Click Through Rate (CTR).
• The result’s perceived quality.
• Everything changes when it comes to how people perceive what your website has to offer.

4. Structured Data

Structured data, also known as schema, aid Google’s understanding of your content and should be included in any on-page SEO assessment. Consider a product page with information such as pricing, availability, and ratings. Google will not be able to read your material unless you organise it in a precise manner in HTML.

Data Structures: What Are They and How Do They Work?

Structured data is a kind of on-page SEO coding that Google uses to comprehend the information on your sites. For a broad range of items, there are specialised structured data formats, such as:

• Books
• Articles
• Movies
• Courses
• Ratings
• Events
• Information about local companies
• grading scale
• Recipes
• Advertisements for jobs

5. Optimize Header Tags:

Structured data is often shown as a “rich snippet” straight in Google’s search results. Including a rich snippet in your search results enhances the likelihood of someone clicking on it.

Header tags (H1-H6) distinguish headings and subheadings from other forms of text in your article (e.g., paragraph text).

Although header tags aren’t as vital for site rankings as they once were, they nevertheless serve a useful purpose for both users and SEO.

They may negatively affect your rankings by:

• Making it easy for people to read your material.
• Search engines need to know about your content in terms that include keywords.

6. SEO Copywriting

On-page SEO efforts may be boosted by copywriting. Users will be more engaged if you invest in the excellent landing page content. It’s worth noting that SEO copywriting best practices are beneficial to more than just search engines. They also help with user-friendly content marketing.

These are the tactics used by the finest bloggers when it comes to SEO copywriting:

• Make sure your introductions are concise and engaging. Explain the issue and your solution in detail.
• Long phrases and paragraphs should be avoided as much as possible. However, don’t completely eliminate paragraphs or your material may seem disjointed.
• Subheadings may be used to break up sections longer than 300 words.
• Throughout the page text, use the target SEO term in a natural way.
• Align your content to the purpose of your search.
• Whenever you write, think about who you are writing for.
• To keep people going down the page, organise “bucket brigades.” Bucket brigades are transitional words that give your writing a more conversational feel. The phrases “here’s the issue,” “no surprise,” “but that’s just half of the tale,” and “as it turns out” are good examples.
• To capture readers’ attention, provide tales and emotions.

7. Use the Target Keyword

The H1 element is often used to wrap page titles. That’s probably why using your keyword in the title has long been accepted On-page SEO advice.

The relevance of headers in 2020 has been acknowledged by Google’s John Mueller.

When it comes to content on a website, a heading is a powerful indication that this section of the page is about this subject.

John Mueller, Search Advocate Google

Most SEO specialists are used to using their keywords in the title. You’ve most likely seen them in the titles of our previous posts.

Just remember that using the precise term in your title, rather than a close alternative, isn’t always the best option. The headline of this essay, for example, is “How to Outsource SEO (Simple Framework),” yet the primary target term is “SEO outsourcing.”

Use conjunctions and stop words as appropriate to make your titles sound genuine.

8. Maintain an appropriate keyword density

The frequency with which a given term appears on a web page is known as keyword density. Your keyword density is 5% if a page has 100 words and your target term appears five times.

While there are no hard and fast rules for keyword density in on-page SEO, make sure your target keywords occur organically throughout your article. Aim for a keyword density that corresponds to the top-ranking content for that search phrase.

Include synonyms, long-tail keywords, and related phrases in addition to your core keyword to improve your page’s ranking. These aren’t the same as LSI keywords, which Google claims it doesn’t utilise. Instead, they’re just phrases connected to your subject that aid in the development of context.

9. Content that Satisfies Search Intent

Google strives to provide consumers with high-quality material that meets their search intent. To put it another way, it thoroughly and quickly addresses a searcher’s issue.

There are four forms of search intent at their most basic level:

• Informational: People want to know what’s going on.
• Navigation: People are looking for a certain page.
• Commercial: Before they buy anything, people do research.
• Transactional: People that are looking to purchase something.

Examining the first page of search results for a query is a straightforward approach to determine the purpose behind a certain keyword. Informational search purpose is indicated by titles that contain terms such as how, ways, or approaches. Words like greatest and top, on the other hand, indicate a commercial goal.

After that, you must create material that fulfills the goal.

Provide as much relevant stuff as possible if it’s an informative piece. Cover the topic thoroughly, respond to typical inquiries, and assist the user in comprehending the problem.

Provide searchers with the information they need to make an educated purchase choice if the aim is commercial. Reviews, prices, comparisons, images, FAQs, and other information might be included.

If the purpose is transactional, ensure sure your sites are structured data-optimized so that items may appear in Google Shopping. You may also want to highlight key selling features in your page title, such as discounts, product quality, or a large variety, among other things.

10. Write Readable Text

Although readability isn’t a direct ranking factor, it should still be considered as part of your on-page optimization strategy. That’s because legible material is simpler to absorb for both Google and users, which is beneficial for your On-Page SEO.

If your content is difficult to understand, you may have a high bounce rate, which will result in lower conversions, revenue, and ROI.

To make your content more readable, use the following techniques:

• Create a page that can be quickly skimmed. Divide your material into bite-sized portions that are easy to consume.
• Use a variety of headers and subheadings in your document.
• To avoid large walls of text, use plenty of paragraph breaks.
• Make a bulleted list of the items in the list.
• Use photos and other visuals to support your argument.
• Make sure your phrases are simple and easy to follow.

Keep in mind that the majority of people will view your website material through mobile devices, so make sure it’s responsive, readable, and skimmable.

11. Add Both Internal and Outbound Links

Visitors can traverse your website more easily and get more information by linking to important internal and external sites. Some argue, however, that connecting to other sites is detrimental to SEO.

This is a popular misconception. There’s no proof that connecting to other websites hurts your search engine optimization.

Indeed, John Mueller of Google says:

Providing value to your visitors by linking to other sites is a terrific method to do so. Links often assist readers in learning more about your information, checking out your sources, and better understanding how your content relates to their inquiries.

Google’s spokesman, John Mueller

While he didn’t mention outbound links in terms of SEO, he did note that they benefit users. The search engine is supposed to help customers ‘discover the most relevant, helpful results,’ according to Google’s explanation of how search works.

Of course, this does not imply that you should link to everything just to connect to everything. Simply provide links to relevant internal and external resources such as sources, product suggestions, and related blog entries. Throughout this tutorial, you’ll note that we include links to both internal and external resources.

Also Read: Social Media Marketing Guide 2022: what, how , Use of Social Media Marketing (SMM)

12. Image Enhancement

Adding images to your web pages is a great way to improve their appeal. However, not all images are created equal; in fact, some can cause your website to load slowly.

Making the most of an important On-Page SEO asset is as simple as properly optimizing images.

There are numerous benefits to image optimization, including:

• Opportunities for higher ranking (show up on Google Image Search).
• The user experience has improved.
• Page load times are quicker.

The importance of images should not be overlooked. Use descriptive titles and alt text to accompany your images.