What Is On-Site SEO?
Attracting new clients online requires on-site SEO. So today, let’s examine why it’s important and review seven tips that will transform your website from dud to client-getting stud!
The Stats: Why Is Online Marketing Important?
Yes, television, print, podcast, and radio advertising can all be effective. But if you’re not investing in search marketing, you’re missing a huge opportunity. The proof is in the stats. For example, Google processes 40,000 search queries every second, and about half are folks looking for products and services!
What Is On-Site SEO?
Search engine optimization can be divided into two main categories: on-site and off-site.
The former — sometimes called on-page SEO — is the art of optimizing web pages to perform well in the SERPs, aka search engine results pages. Businesses have complete control over on-site SEO, making it a highly effective tool.
Search Matters: Using Google’s Best Practices
Since Google is the most-used search engine in North America, incorporating Google’s best practices into your online marketing efforts is a must.
What does that entail, you ask? Essentially, Google likes web pages that have a good URL structure and quality content. The search company’s algorithms also value internal links and blog posts that answer search queries that users pump into their platform.
The Seven Factors of On-Site SEO
Search algorithms are closely guarded trade secrets. However, SEO experts have sussed out seven tips that will positively affect your rankings.
#7: Quality Content
Effective on-site SEO is built on quality content, with the perfect amount of keywords, that matches the search intent of potential clients. In days of old, throwing up any old articles sufficed. Back then, people launched web pages to the top by writing the same keywords over and over and over again in incoherent blobs of prose.
But today’s algorithms are like electronic Einsteins, and they demand quality! Moreover, social sharing plays a role in search calculations. So the better an article is, the more people will share it — and the more people who share it, the more exposure your site will garner.
#6: Keywords and Geomodifiers
Keywords are phrases that people type into search engines, like Google. For example, someone looking for a chiropractor in Colorado may type in “Colorado chiropractor.”
Geomodifiers are regionally specific keywords. Using our “Colorado chiropractor” example, a geomodified keyword variation might be “Chiropractor in Denver” or something even more specific like “Chiropractor near Montclair,” a neighborhood in Denver.
Choosing the right keywords and geomodifers is an essential component of on-page SEO. After all, if you don’t select phrases for which people search, your chances of being found online diminish.
#5: Internal Links
External and internal linking are essential components of search engine optimization. Internally, your site should be a matrix of related pages that guide people through a labyrinth of helpful information. They’re also a great way to control the anchor text pointing to a given web page since you can’t always dictate anchor text from external sources.
But there is such a thing as too much. As a general rule of thumb, you don’t want more than 80 links on a single page. Anything more and it begins to resemble a spam page, which could debase your entire site in the eyes of the almighty search algorithms.
#4: Load Time
Does your website take an eternity to load — and by eternity, we mean more than three seconds? If so, speeding it up is of the utmost importance.
Did you know that about 40 percent of users will click away if the load time that is more than three seconds! And a seven percent drop accompanies every second after that. For example, if your website takes five seconds to load, 54 percent of people may drop off before ever viewing the page.
#3: Structured Data
The internet has come a long way in three decades, and so has coding. In days of old, programmers often used HTML — an acronym for Hypertext Markup Language — tables to create websites. Back then, only desktops and laptop screens mattered, and tables provided the best underlying structure to ensure cross-browser aesthetics.
But things are different now. HTML — or XHTML — structure is a major component of on-site SEO because search algorithms favor properly structured websites that use HTML components as they were meant to be used. In other words, tables should only be used for actual tables.
#2: Responsive Design
Screens come in myriad shapes and sizes, and websites should be viewable in all formats, from oversized screens to micro-mobile ones. If they’re not, search algorithms will dole out demerits and push your website down in the SERPs, and people generally don’t look past the third page of results.
As a result, responsive designing is a significant component of on-site SEO. Without it, your website will end up in the search basement, frequented only by bots.
#1: URL Structure and Metadata
Every web page has a URL and metadata. The former is the string of words in the domain bar. The latter is information about the page tucked into the coding, and it’s invisible on the public-facing side. Both are very important for on-site SEO because they’re the first algorithmic signals indicating the topic of a given page.
Getting On-Page SEO Right the First Time Around
On-page SEO is vital, especially for new websites. If you’re a search engine optimization novice who wants to attract new clients with a website, it’s wise to work with professionals who know how to get the job done right — because messing it up could sink your site in the SERPs.
The team at Rounded Digital understands everything there is to know about geomodifiers, Google’s best practices, search intent, and everything related to on-page search engine optimization.
If you want to improve your SERP performance, let’s talk. We’ll help elevate your business to where you want it to be.