What Is On-Page SEO?

Each search engine optimization strategy is centered on ranking a website in the highest possible positions in the search results. To do so, most of us attempt to create and produce a web site that Google’s ranking algorithm will like. That is essentially what SEO (search engine optimization) is really about.

Google’s algorithm factors can be split into two classes. Based on the factors in those classes will end up determining the rank of your site.

These 2 classes are on-page and off-page SEO.

Here, I will explore the variations between both, describe the value of search-engine SEO and discuss the primary on-page search engine optimization factors.

Off-Page and On-Page SEO

On-page variables are related to components that make up your website.

On-page factors include how it is set up, the actual make-up of the code, visual and textual content, and whether your website is user-friendly or not.

The other class is made up of factors off-page, or not directly on your website, such as links to your website coming from other websites and your social media engagement, along with other advertising activities out of your own site.

The better quality links you receive has a direct correlation to ranking better in Google.

On-Page SEO Relevance

On-page SEO is made up of all of the components of search engine optimization that you have the most control over.

If you have a web site, you can directly address the technical problems and make sure your website’s content is of high quality. The first place to start in your SEO campaign will be addressing and fixing all on-page optimization issues as these are the easiest and quickest to resolve.

If you make a wonderful site, it will eventually begin ranking.

Putting your focus onto your on-page SEO can also raise the probability your off-page search engine optimization strategy will succeed. Since off-page SEO is primarily made up of backlinks, you’re not very likely to get good quality backlinks if you have a bad website. People are just less motivated to share or reference your website if it has low-quality content, doesn’t add any unique value or has a bad UX.

Critical On-Page Search Engine Optimization Factors

In our opinion, there are 3 primary on-page search engine optimization factors.

Quality Code

Your website should be designed and developed using quality code and you shouldn’t be cutting any corners.

Check if you are not unintentionally preventing crawlers (search engine bots that search your website looking over your content) from indexing/visiting your site (this still happens a lot!).

Many people use WordPress to build their websites. It is a pretty friendly platform when it comes to SEO as there are some good SEO plugins available to easily install. Yoast SEO and All In One SEO are both great plugins to install. They will easily address some of the underlying code issues that many people might not know how to fix otherwise.

Amazing content

You find a website through a search engine because it has information on it related to what you were searching for. Thus you should write really good content. Search engines such as Google read the text on your website. A large portion of a website’s rankings has to due with the content that is on that website.

You want the content to be straight forward, unique and highly relevant to what your website is about. You want it to add value when a visitor comes to your website and reads it. Since Google monitors website activity it can analyze how engaging your content is based on a visitor interacts with your site.

If a searcher goes to your website from a search engine and then immediately presses the back button. Well, that gives the search engine good data regarding the website that was visited. Since they were only there a couple of seconds, maybe the website is broken, has a virus, has horrible content, a bad UX or is not relevant to what was being searched for.

Regardless of why none of these are good things, and a quick abandon rate like that can be pretty bad for your SEO.

So make sure that your content rocks and that it is focused on your target market.

Easy to follow UX

The final item in your on-page SEO is to make sure that your website is easy to use and navigate. Users will need to readily understand your site. They ought to have the ability to obtain what they need as quickly as they arrive. They should be able to easily tell where they need to click and how to browse through your website. Plus it ought to be fast!

I great looking design for your website is well and good, but your highest priority should be to make your website as a user-friendly as possible!

If you would like to find out more about blending SEO into your UX and transformation we would suggest that you read the other posts on our website to learn more!