SEO specialists pinpoint a range of different SEO tactics that can boost a page or site for search engine results pages (SERPs). A suite of factors work in harmony to get a site or page in the first 5 results in a search.
However, Google doesn’t exactly reveal everything regarding how their algorithms operate, which can be a challenge for businesses that want to be more visible in SERPs.
So, how do organisations or digital teams create a proactive, well-curated strategy that keeps pace with SERP trends and delivers results?
The great news is there are plenty of concrete actions you can take to expand your visibility and optimise for search.
A great place to start is with on-page SEO.
What’s on-page SEO?
Simply put, on-page SEO is the process of page optimisation for SERPs, focusing on a primary keyword.
The more variety and concentration around on-page SEO practices, the more likely the page will rank higher in SERPs, resulting in more visitors to the page and stronger visibility.
Difference between on-page SEO and off-page SEO
On-page and off-page work together to improve visibility.
On-page SEO | Off-page SEO |
|
|
10 on-page SEO Tactics 2024
1. Keyword research
A great place to start. Identify the primary keyword you want to rank for. There are multiple keyword research tools to help online. They will often suggest related keywords that may help to shape your content.
Pro tip: select one main keyword for each page, supported by related long tail keywords for reach. An example of this would be ‘keyword research’ as the primary keyword, with ‘keyword research tool’ and ‘keyword placement’ as supplementary terms.
Remember, appropriate and natural keyword placement supports your page in SERPs. There are a few places where it helps to place your target keyword:
Page title: the title on the page
Title tag: the title as it appears on SERPs.
First 100 words: naturally placed in the first few paragraphs.
H2 headings: feature keywords in a couple of these.
Image alt text: great for user accessibility.
2. Quality content
Google doesn’t like thin content lacking in tangible value. Any scraped content or auto-generated information generally doesn’t rank very highly.
This means that creating high-quality content that answers users’ questions so they are informed is key to improved rankings.
Users will react much more positively to helpful, truthful content that resolves their pain points. Their interest in your high-grade content will boost visibility, further strengthening your page’s position.
Sites that rank highly with search engines and audiences generally refresh their content regularly to ensure user queries are answered and that content is moving with the times and connects to where audiences are right now in their lives.
Content freshness can make all the difference when it comes to dwell time (how long your user decides to spend on your site). If your content is no longer in line with the right here, right now, then it may be judged as old and irrelevant.
In turn, this will undoubtedly increase bounce rates, with users leaving and search engines revising any strong rankings you may have. This a situation most site owners would love to avoid!
A positive step is to have a content calendar planned out for the year, with time built in to revise and update old content to better suit user needs. Once you’re in a routine with content checking, it will only take a short amount of time to make sure what you’re showing to users will benefit them.
3. Titles
An essential element of on-page SEO, website page titles (title tags) let search engines and users know what a page is about. Take care to consider intent – each page should have the target keyword naturally as part of its title.
Title tips:
Keep it under 60 characters.
The title needs to be relevant to its page.
Natural use of target keywords is best.
4. Headings
Headings naturally follow from your page title. These refer to the HTML elements: H1, H2, H3 and so forth. Your readers and search engines will find these helpful when assessing the value of page content.
Hint: use keywords related to your target keyword in headings.
5. Meta description
Meta descriptions are essentially page summaries that sit below titles in search. It helps users to clarify page content and give further detail, therefore encouraging readers to click on and consume content.
Meta description tips:
Keep it under 160 characters for full readability.
1-2 short sentences for clarity.
Use the target keyword or related long tail keyword.
6. Image optimisation
Optimise images for improved accessibility with image alt-text. This helps search engines, like Google, to clearly ‘read’ your image, which is vital for visibility as Google provides image-based results in addition to text-based ones.
Image alt-text also helps improve accessibility for those with visual impairments, a lack of sight or other conditions that limit viewing access to online images by enabling screen readers to read image information for the user.
Image alt-text hints:
Keep it short – no more than 125 characters.
Be efficient with keyword use.
Describe the image accurately.
7. Page URLs
The best page URLs are simple and easy to read for users and search engines. Additionally, having a URL for each page keeps them consistent and in the right order for your site.