The more people you want to see your products and services, the better your SEO needs to be. That means making sure your on-page SEO not only works, but works well and for the right audience.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO is how your web pages are optimized around specific target keywords in order to improve your search engine rankings, user experience, and pull in organic traffic.
Good SEO makes sure your website is authoritative, showcases your expertise, and has an air of trustworthiness. This is how Google raters assess web pages, websites, and content creators. What are Google raters? Google hires people to determine how effective the search results work for users. Their feedback is used to help understand the impact when Google tweaks the algorithm.
Now, you may have a website and that’s a good thing because at least people can (maybe) find you. The thing is, in order to rank, you need traffic that converts or at least keeps them coming back to your site. That means integrating the SEO tips below to help your site be found, and to provide value on your site so that people come back for more.
Delete what’s slowing your site down
Your page speed counts. If your page lags, is slow to load images, doesn't load completely, and other horror stories, the user experience is diminished. Visitors become frustrated and go to your competitor's website. Even if you have great content, great design, or spent a fortune on your website, a slow load time doesn't work for Users and it doesn't work for Google.
Link to relevant, trustworthy websites and vice versa
When you link to websites with relevant content and other sites link back to yours, it helps your site gain credibility and authority. This helps make your site trackable and indicates to Google that your site has value -- at least enough so that others are linking to it.
Write for the audience, not the search engines
While it used to be that writing for search engines was the way to go, things have changed. People want valuable content that engages them and writing for search engines means that the user is not the priority, and it shows in the content. You should be developing content for the people that will be using your site that can buy your products and services.
Your content should match the customers' search intent. In most cases, there are four types:
- Navigational: Customers are trying to locate a specific page.
- Informational: Customers are searching for information.
- Transactional: Customers want to buy something.
- Commercial: Customers are researching and doing their due diligence before making a purchase.
Use the primary keyword within the first 100 words.
As a rule of thumb, you should use your focus keyword within the first 100 words of text on your website. Google is paying attention to not only the content on your page, but also where it is and what it's linked to (see above).
Use page titles, headers, meta descriptions, and image alt-text
Your page titles or title tags are very important. They tell your visitors what the page is about. It’s important to include the focus keyword in each title page naturally. Make sure it’s relevant, 60 characters or less, and if possible, include your brand name.
Headers, or body tags, help organize content based on importance. The important keywords should be in your headers, but they should be different from the focus word in the title.
Meta descriptions appear on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) under the title when someone does a search. Make sure they are under 160 characters. Use your keyword or keyword phrase and avoid alphanumeric characters.
Big SEO tip! Your images contribute to SEO too. While many people don’t think about it, someone could find your site based on an amazing image. Your descriptions should be specific, descriptive, and relevant to the content. They should also be shorter than 125 characters.
Use website analytics
Once you begin optimizing your site, you must be able to assess what’s working and what isn’t. Tools like Google Analytics, Crazy Egg, Google Search Console, and other tracking software can help understand your customers better and implement strategies to keep them on your site longer.
Use relevant and readable URLs
Your URL structure matters. As a rule of thumb, if your readers can understand and read the URL, the search engines will be able to as well.
Be consistent in publishing unique content
While this sounds like a no-brainer, creating new, engaging content can be challenging. This is one of the biggest challenges B2B marketers face. But Google's mission and their continuous updates are to provide a good experience to their users, so your content is closely tied to their objectives.
Don’t change your domain name
There may be a time when you must change your domain name, but the age of your web page and domain matters. Once you pick one, you should try your best to stick with it.
These SEO tips help gain and retain engaged users, help you show up in the search engines, and improve traffic, ranking, and conversions.
Where are you in your SEO journey? If you're just getting started check out our SEO Toolkit and start driving more people to your website today!
