So I recently introduced you to the 3 types of SEO: On-Page, Technical and Off-Page. If you didn’t get a chance to see that article or need a refresher, check out The ABCs of SEO – A Guide for Optimizing Your Site.

So now we’re going to start to delve more deeply into each one. Today, we’re going to look at On-Page SEO.

What is On-Page SEO?

As I discussed in my previous post, On-Page SEO refers to optimizing the content of your website in a way the encourages and improves the way the search engines rank and present your site to users within their search results. Good On-Page SEO ensures that no matter what formula or algorithm the search engines use, your site will be categorized and ranked appropriately.

On-Page SEO is focused around the content of your website. Let’s take a look at the factors that contribute to improving your site’s ranking and categorization.

On-Page SEO Factors

1. Keyword Identification and Usage
2. Keyword Optimization
3. Quality Content

While there may be other factors that also contribute to your On-Page SEO, these are by far the most influential. So why don’t we take a look at just how these impact our standings and what you can do to improve them.

1. Keyword Identification and Usage

Did you ever enter search criteria and find that the results returned were not what you were looking for? Assuming you selected and typed your keywords correctly, this is most likely a result of poor keyword selection and usage by the content writers of the sites in your search results. Or alternatively, they purposely chose keywords that could bring unsuspecting visitors to their sites. That’s the power of using the right keywords in the right way.

So how DO you choose the right keywords?

It’s not really a hard thing to do. But it does require that you put in a little work and brain power. Remember that the goal is to let the search engine know that YOUR SITE is the one the user is looking for because YOU have the INFORMATION they want.

That being said, here are a few tips to identifying keywords.

1. BRAINSTORM LIKE A CUSTOMER. What words would your target audience use if they were talking about – your product or service, the problem your customers have or your company solves, the results that come from your product or service. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think like they do. Ask them if you have that option.
   
2. EXPLORE THE COMPETITION. What keywords are on their site? What phrases do they use to describe their products or services that are the same or similar to yours? What needs do they say they fill for their customers? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. But don’t plagiarize – be creative.
   
3. USE KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOLS. There are a number of online free and premium tools available to help you research keywords. Using these tools can help you identify which of the keywords you have are the most popular and which ones you can might want to swap out for an alternative that ranks higher.
   
   While Google Adwords Keyword Planner lets you evaluate monthly global and local search volumes for keywords, competition levels and an estimated cost per click, it also has restrictions. It’s still a useful tool and it’s still 100% free. Always a good thing, right?
   
   But if you are looking for some additional tools to provide you with more details without the limitations, there are still tons of options out there. A quick Google search (yes, it’s ironic) for “keyword search tools” will bring you not only lists of premium tools but also tons of free tools that are available. I’ve listed a few tools below but don’t limit yourself. There are lots of options out there, each with their own strengths.
   
   Here are just a few of the free options you’ll find listed:
   1. Google Adwords Keyword Planner 
   2. Google Search Console
   3. Google Trends
   4. Soolve
   5. Keyword Tool
   6. WordTracker Scout
      
4. DON’T FORGET PHRASES. You’ll see these referred to as long tail keywords. It’s been estimated that at least 70% of searches use long tail keywords. They are most often phrases of 3 or more words that help the user describe what they are looking for more accurately. Imagine typing “red shoes” in the search box and hitting GO. Your results would not only be extremely extensive but you’d have men’s shoes, women’s shoes, kids shoes. Not to mention that they’d be all styles and sizes and brands, etc.
   
   Now think about using a long tail keyword, like ” red dancing shoes with a 3/4 inch heel”. Kinda narrows the playing field down a bit, doesn’t it? Do you know what else it does? It brings you a customer looking for exactly what you have, if you sell red dancing shoes with 3/4 inch heels. The nice thing about long tail keywords is that they usually have a low level of competition for them and they convert to a sale quite often (high conversion rate). So what long tail keywords might your customers use to find your site?
   
5. RESEARCH YOUR CURRENT TRAFFIC. What keywords are driving traffic to your site right now? What related words or phrases can you add to the list? Historic data can be very enlightening especially if you haven’t looked at it before.

So once you have these keywords, what do you do with them?

That is part of keyword optimization. You put them in your content. Some of the areas you want to have keywords in are your content headers, the body of your pages, meta tags, and image and link titles.

I’ll talk more about keyword placement as we discuss your content. These topics pretty much go hand in hand.

How to Create Quality Content

I won’t lie. This can be tough, especially if you don’t consider yourself a writer. And honestly, this may be one area where you may want to consider investing a little money into someone that is.

Gone are the days when website owners and designers could hide keywords in just about every crevice of a site and it would generate traffic. The search engines grew wise to the “black hat” tactics and have adjusted their formulas and algorithms to weed out the cheaters.

That being said – CONTENT IS KING. The more clear and concise and focused your content is, the easier it is for the search engines to determine just when and where to rank your web pages.

Notice that I said pages, not site.

The goal of the user is to get exactly where they want to be as fast as possible. So which do think they would prefer? A list of sites that have the keyword(s) somewhere on it or a list of pages that have ranked high for their keyword(s)? Obviously the second option, which is why that is how the search engines present their results, at a page level. That is important to remember as you plan and develop your content. (Yes, I said PLAN. Any good design FIRST has a good plan.)

Keep your pages focused on a single topic and include in that page the keywords associated with that topic. If I type “blue whales” into the search bar, my results are a list of pages that are focused on blue whales. So start with an outline for the site, then also create outlines for pages and identify what pages will have what keywords. This will also help you write the content. A word of warning though. Don’t get so hung up on the keywords that your content reads like a script of a robot movie. Speak naturally, that’s how your customers read.

I could write a whole series of posts on content creation (and one day, I just might) but for now, here are a few more tips to keep in mind.

1. SPELLCHECK, SPELLCHECK, SPELLCHECK! The search engine will not correct your spelling or know that you meant to type “bandage” not “bondage”. YIKES!
   
2. ORIGINAL CONTENT! Don’t copy content from another site and call it your own. Not only is that plagiarism but the search engines can recognize duplicate content and this could cause your site to be ranked lower or not at all. They like fresh, original, unique content.
   
3. Use headers and paragraphs appropriately. Search engines identify with the tags h1, h2, h3, etc. and use them to read through your content. It makes your content more readable to both search engines and users. Not to mention visually layout the site in an organized manner.
   
4. Populate the Alt tags for your images. This tells the search engine what they are. It;s a good place to include keywords as well. Describe your image accurately. Another plus that most people don’t think about is that alt tag help the visually-impaired. Text to Speech(TTS) software programs will read the alt tag content to the user, giving them a more informative experience.
   
5. Populate your meta description tag. This gives the search engines and readers information about the content of your site. The recommended length of the description is 150-160 characters. Anything longer will most likely be cut off. The descriptions you see listed in search results are the content of a site’s meta-description.
   
6. Use a proof reader. I can’t tell you how many times I review my emails, reports, texts, posts, etc before I send them out. And sometimes, I miss things. The occasional missed word, incorrect punctuation or misspelling won’t get you thrown to the bottom of the rankings but it’s never a good business practice. If you can have someone review your work before it goes out, do it! I’ve run across a lot of sites that left me wondering if the writer/designer was 10 yrs old or just lazy. That doesn’t really instill confidence in a potential customer. So take the time to review your content, then do it again, and again. And then, let someone else review it. You get the picture. 🙂

The results of all this work? Is it really worth it?

If you’ve taken the time to plan your content, identify your keywords and optimize their usage, you should see a marked improvement in your rankings. This is not an overnight process. It may take weeks or months to see the results. Nor is it a one and done task. You need to monitor your traffic, watch what keywords are being used and which ones aren’t. You should constantly be adjusting and tweaking your content. Not only will this provide your customers with the best information but remember when I said that the search engines love fresh, original content? Well, focus on fresh. If they see your content is constantly changing and being refreshed, and not sitting static and collecting dust, you’ll win yourself a higher ranking in their results.

…Provided its good content.

Yes, it does always come back to that.

Until next time… Watch for the next post in the series – Technical SEO – Designing for the Search Engines

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