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Best On-Page SEO: Complete Beginner’s Guide For Digital Marketers 2022

Most people think On-Page SEO has just some tweak and congrats! You do not need to do anything after that but, that's wrong. There are many steps to get a better On-Page Ranking but first, you should take it seriously before going on it.

On-Page SEO

On-Page SEO

While On-Page SEO is not like before but is one of the easiest parts of SEO(Search Engine Optimization.) It's one of the few things you have full control over and doesn't require technical skills to fix it.


If, you know how to do a basic website or blog edits you are likely going to make great changes towards better ranking possibilities. 


Let's get to know what is On-Page SEO? Why it's Important?


What is On-Page SEO?


On-Page SEO also known as On-Site SEO is the practice of optimizing a website or blog to get higher search ranking and better search results visibility.


It includes working on page contents, design, Title tag, URL structure, and the HTML source code.


Why On-Page SEO is Important for Website Ranking?


Google looks at your web page content to consider whether it goes on top of the Search Engine Ranking Page or other. Google checks whether your content is relevant to search results for the search query. 


One of the important factors of ranking top of Google is Keyword Placement. 


Google- Relevance of Webpage
Googles- Relevance of Webpage

But there is more than including keywords in On-Page SEO, a lot more.


Google- Search Engine's ultimate goal is to provide the most relevant search results for a query, so their algorithm looks more than looking for keywords in the content.


Example: If, your page is about "SEO" and you haven't mentioned types of SEO in their then, Google knows there will be more relevant results for a query.


Relevant content is so important for your page ranking unless you crack it down or stay below top ranking in Google.


How to Create SEO Content for an Audience?


Before you can go for placing keywords, it's necessary to create SEO content that google likes to rank. For that, you need your main target keyword in which you want to rank your content.


Your content should have the following features:

  1. Be relevant
  2. Be thorough
  3. Be unique
  4. Be clear

Relevant Blog Content


Relevance is one of the most important parts of On-Page SEO, which means aligning your content with search intents. If you fail to provide content that your audience wants, you will slightly lose ranking on Google.


Because nobody understands search intents as Google does.


Making relevancy of your blog content is important which will be achieved by the following factors:

  1. Content-type
  2. Content format
  3. Content angle  

Content-Type: We are talking content-type: blog posts, articles, products, categories, landing pages, and videos.


Content Type
Content-Type

Example: If you like to rank on Google for Laptop, this will not happen with a blog post about the laptop. Because searchers are intent on buying a product, not for learning mood.


Content Format: Content format is mostly applied to the blog post. As, blogs content have how-tos, Comparison, listicle, news article, reviews.


To stand best at ranking for these keywords, you must follow the steps. Try to rank for listicles(List type) for How-to-Guides. Like SEO Beginners Guide. 


Comparison Format will Apply for Products or Services.

Listicles(List Type) apply for Point-Wise, Top or Best Types Products or Services or anything else.


Reviews are based on your personal experience of using products.


Content Angle: Content Angle goes for the main selling point of the content. For example, those who search for "How to make tea?" seem they do not want any specialist equipment to make tea and are intended to make tea at home.


Content-Angle On-Page SEO
Content-Angle On-Page SEO

Let's take another example to better understand the content angle.

For "Best iPhone" searchers are looking for fresh results.


Content-Angle On-Page Optimization
Content-Angle On-Page Optimization

They want the current 2022 product, not about 2020.


Be Thorough


Having content that aligns with search intent is a good start, but it’s rare to happen. To be on the first page of Google, it needs to deliver as it expects. And it means covering all the things users expect and want to see.


Let's look at how to do that.


Common sub-headlines


Most pages break their content on many subtopics with subheadlines to make it simple for readers to understand the post easily.


These give quick insights into what searchers are looking for, especially if you notice the same and similar headlines across many websites or blogs. 


For Example, if we check subheadlines for On-Page SEO on other websites, we see each page featured or mention the definition of On-Page SEO.


Be Unique


It's important to give searchers or your audience what they want, but also you need to bring something different to your content. 


If, you can't able to bring unique mentions, and content to your blog no one are interested to link to the post as it is similar with others millions of blog post.


Be Clear


No matter how your content is relevant, thorough, unique, and search intent but no one reads if it is unclear to understand, and written on smaller fonts.


Your content font style, font size, or font color with the background all should be user friendly and are simple, easy to read and understand, then searchers will going to read your post.


Follow these simple tips to create clear content that people will want to read:

  1. Use bullets to help skimmers.
  2. Use images to break the text in different parts.
  3. Use descriptive subheadings (H3-H6) for hierarchy.
  4. Use simple and clear words that everyone can understand.
  5. Use a large font to help readers avoid eye strain.
  6. Use short paragraphs or sentences to avoid “bulk of text.”
  7. Write with your speaking to make things more entertaining and conversational.

    Optimize Your Content For SEO


    Now, that we have seen why SEO is important, how to write content, it's time to optimize your content.


    Optimizing your content before making it live is important to rank higher in search results. Without optimization with good content, your blog post looks and sounds weird. You can't be supposed to rank by including your target keywords at appropriate places. 


    We will be going through all steps to optimize our content:

    1. Use Your Target Keyword In The First 100 Words
    2. Wrap Your Blog Post Title in an H1 Tag
    3. Wrap Subheadings in H2 Tags
    4. Keyword Frequency
    5. Use External (Outbound) Links
    6. Optimize Your URLs for SEO
    7. Optimize title and Description Tags
    8. Use Title Tag Modifiers


    Use Your Target Keyword In First 100 Words


    Using a targeted keyword in the first 100 words is an old technique but still makes difference and works well on SERPs.


    All you need to do is to include your main targeted keyword in the first 100-150 words in your post.


    Let's see my previous post below:


    Target Keyword In First 100 Words
    Target Keyword In First 100 Words 


    Why it is important?

    Google puts more focus on what shows first in the content. Which makes sense and weighs it.


    Imagine, you have published your post on Best Google Chrome Extensions or SEO Beginners Guide, will it make sense if you use SEO Beginners Guide halfway down the page or middle of the page. Of course Not


    That's why you must include your targeted keyword in between 100-150 words. And including keywords is one of the little factors that help Google(Search Engine) helps what your page is about.


    Wrap Your Blog Post Title in an H1 Tag


     The H1 tag is like a mini title tag. And Google Stated that using H1 tags helps Google understand the structure of the page.


    It's a strong recommendation to use your title tags keyword in the H1 tag. H1 headline is the main and biggest headline so use it at the first position in your blog post.


    Keyword Frequency


    Keyword Frequency is about the number of times keywords are used in the content.

    It's about how many times you use your main keyword in your content. As Google denies using the same keyword multiple times helps but SEO pros told it helps. How?


    Simple, think you have created a page on Marketing and used marketing once on the page. Does it sound like you are talking about marketing without calling your name? Na...


    Or you know during writing this blog post I have used many times marketing, SEO and so on. Now, you can think about how I used SEO in this post if doesn't use you may focus am talking about marketing or SEO? Right


    This is not about keyword stuffing but simply mentioning your target keyword a few times to confirm to Google that your page is about that topic.


    Use External (Outbound) Links


    External links help Google figure out the topic of your page. It shows Google that your page is the quality hub. 


    Google considers external links to have more value when applied to ranking. Otherwise, a website could simply build hundreds of internal links to improve ranking.


    Linking to external related pages helps to improve On-Page SEO and make credibility in the industry. 


    Remember, users, trust anything more common in an audience. Your page has more external links means other sites trust your content and will give Google a signal of reliable content. 


    It's human nature the more common it is more reliable it will be on an audience. And only quality content will get links from the others.


    Optimize Your URL for SEO - Use Short, Descriptive


    Your URL structure is an important page of on-page SEO. URL gives the first answer to user searches. It gives a clear view of what the page content is about, whether SEO, Marketing, Social Media, and so on. 


    Optimized URL Must include two things:

    • Short
    • Descriptive

    For example, look at these two URLs:

    https://www.fdigitalblog.com/best-chrome-extensions-for-digital-marketer

    https://www.fdigitalblog.com/chrome-extensions-article-23344


    Which gives a better understanding of the topic? The First One is more descriptive with targeted keywords and short to the point.


    Never use date or numeric values or numbers in your URL. Be to the point.


    Optimize Your Title Tags


    An optimized Title Tag is crucial for better SERPs. It's important because the title shows in the search results that users mostly click on to get read further on the site.


    Compelling Title tags attract users to click on them for their query while boring titles are generally ignored and mostly never get ranked on the top of search results. 


    You can use your page title or main heading as your Title tag for your content. I do it mostly but with making some changes using Headline Studio Coschedule. It helps to make my title SEO, and General score high to make it compelling for users to click on it.


    Title of Blog Post
    Title of Blog Post

    You can see in the search result title tag of one of my posts. Now, look at below.


    Title Of Post
    Title Of Post

    However, there are times when you should switch title and title tags slightly different from each other, but it's totally fine. 


    Use Title Tag Modifiers


    Using Title tag Modifiers like Best, How, Guide, Checklist, fast and reviews can help your content rank for long-tail targeted keywords.


    Title Tag Modifier Used Like "Best"
    Title Tag Modifier Used Like "Best" 

    That way, we can rank for long-tail keywords on the search results page. Like, I use Best in Title.


    Write Compelling Meta Description Of Your Page


    Google often shows a page’s meta description as the descriptive snippet in the SERP. The meta description should be compelling and attractive to get clicks or views on it.


    Google recommends writing your own meta description for each page and every post/page should have a different meta description. (Don't try to use duplicate descriptions for multiple pages.)

     

    Many times Google rewrites your meta description as it seems unfit with your title tag or your content. To avoid this you must use a hardcoded meta description means a very targeted specific description. As you can see below are an example of the meta description.


    Meta Description Of SEO Guide
    Meta Description Of SEO Guide

    You can see meta description explains the whole topic inside the page. I always see meta descriptions and believe you should be, before clicking on the click to jump on the site.


    You may remember when students need any definition they usually search the term and copy their definition from the meta description without entering the website.


    Note: Always include your target keyword on meta description with around 150 words. It's best to keep meta descriptions long enough that they're sufficiently descriptive, so I recommend descriptions between 50 and 160 characters.


    Do not spend much time writing meta descriptions as it is not a ranking factor but helps to get more clicks after you got ranked on page 1st in search engine.


    Image Optimization for On-Page SEO


    Images are a great way to rank on Google Image Search Results to get more traffic on your website. 


    Optimizing images are not frustrating and can be done in 4 different ways.

    1. Name Image Correctly
    2. Use Descriptive Alt Text
    3. Use Compress Image
    4. Use Webp Image Format

     Name Image Correctly


    Google says using a file name with a clear description gives information about the type of image used in the content. Filename gives clue about image subject so it's better to use SEO filename rather than IMG_859045.webp.


    You should use alt description, caption but with the correct filename to not lose the chance of being ranked on Google Image Search Results.


    Unfortunately, almost all the cameras and smartphones are using generic names whether you take SS on a laptop or computer it saves the image with the name of 2021-01-12.png or 2. png.


    So, you need to rename before using images in your post. Here's how

    Be Descriptive: small-SEO.webp> SEO.webp

    Use Hashes between Words: search-engine-optimization (This is Official Google Recommendation.)


    Use descriptive alt text


    Alt text(alternate text) is used for images to give a proper description of what the image is about and its message. Alt-text is an HTML tag used on <img> tag to describe image.

    <img src=”https://yourdomain.com/puppy.jpg” alt=”puppy”>


    The primary goal of using alt text is to make it accessible for users who use screen readers. It also helps when an image fails to load due to several reasons then the alt text appears and describes to the user what an image is about.


    Alt text also helps to rank on Google.

    When creating the alt text, Google says to ‘focus on creating useful, information-rich content that uses keywords related to it and is in context of the page’s content.’


    Here's advice to use Alt text properly:

    Be Descriptive: Use relevant keywords only inappropriate places.

    Be Concise: Keep it short to not annoy users of screen readers.

    Be Accurate: Describe an image correctly.

    Avoid Keyword Stuffing: It can show your site as spamming.

     

    Example of Different Types of Alt Text For Black & White Puppy.

    Bad:<img src=“puppy.png” alt=“photo of puppy dog pooch pup”>

    Okay:<img src=“puppy.png” alt=“puppy”>

    Good:<img src=“puppy.png” alt=“black and white puppy”>

    Best:<img src=“puppy.png” alt=“black and white puppy playing fetch”>


    Compress Your Image


    Compressing images makes file sizes smaller, leading to faster load times. It's because page speed is an important factor for both desktop and mobile.


    There are plenty of tools available to compress images for free and one of them is shortpixel. You use signup for free and compress 50 images at a time. 


    Use Recommended Image Format


    There are many formats available for using images and many are quite popular like JPEG, PNG, JPG, and so on. But, All of these formats are larger, and most importantly it does not come under Google recommendation.


    Google recommends using webp image format which is good to use and will be good if we use this recommended format to increase chances of being ranked higher in Google. 


    Boost Your Page Speed


    Page speed is a vital factor for ranking on Google. It is important to have a high-speed page to load fast as nowadays users' tension is reduced to 8second only and crucial for the page to load fast. 


    Google has stated that page loading speed is an SEO signal(and now is more important than ever.)


    And you can increase your page speed by reducing the number of unused, irrelevant plugins, do not use more javascript as it reduces page speed. Try to use compressed images and fewer images to Boost your page speed.


    One of the other things is you can also increase your page speed by moving too fast hosting.


    Factors to Increase PageSpeed:

    1. Reduce third-party scripts
    2. Reduce your page size(HTML, CSS, Javascript)
    3. Remove unused content
    4. Use fewer images
    5. Remove unused or irrelevant plugins
    6. Use Fast Hosting Services

    Rank Your Content In Featured Snippets


    Featured Snippet is a feature of SERP which shows a small paragraph at the top of search results. They answer the searcher’s question with a short excerpt pulled from one of the top-ranking pages.


    Ranking in a featured snippet can make a huge increase in your CTR.


    Featured Snippet At Search Results
    Featured Snippet At Search Results

    But to get a featured snippet you should do some processes:

    1. Be in the top 10. Google usually pulls the snippet from the top page ranking in SERP.
    2. Provide the answer on your page. Google can not pull from your page if it is not there.
    3. Using right format. Paragraph, table, list —what do Google and searchers expect to see?

    And most important you should find out which pages from your website have featured snippet and to figure it out you can use Ahref, or SEMrush as you want.


    Conclusion of On-Page SEO


    I hope you enjoy this post and found this helpful to get ranked on Search Results by using On-Page SEO tips and guides to you. 


    Let's recap what we have learned today.

    We learn what is on-page SEO to create SEO optimized content by using targeted keywords across multiple places in our content. We learn to optimize our Title Tag, Using compelling meta descriptions, with appropriate keyword frequency.

    Optimizing URL structure to help users get a clear message about the blog post and using Image SEO to help your images rank higher in Google Image Search Results to get more clicks. And last but not least to increase your page speed finally to not lose any users after doing a lot in On-Page SEO.


    I hope you enjoy this post and find it helpful with some real values. Please comment down below if have any doubts or I have missed any important factor on it.


    I am waiting for the comment for your content recommendations.


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