8 Key Factors To Consider For On-page Optimization
On-page ranking factors refer
to anything you can physically do to your webpage or content to affect
its search ranking. In this regard, bellow are eight (8) important
things you should pay special attention to for your webpage to rank
well on google:-
1. Use of Keywords
- Keywords are the search
queries that users type into their search engine boxes when looking for
information. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Google would use keywords
as an important ranking factor. You should make sure you use relevant
keywords in the title meta tag because the meta tag gives Google an
accurate description of your webpage or content. For better, enhanced rankings, place your intended keywords at the start of the title tag.
- Highly relevant: Good
keywords, the ones you remain with at the end of the 4-step keyword
research guide should be highly relevant. They should accurately
describe the content of your articles because a high bounce rate, i.e.
the rate at which users leave your page after landing on it is yet
another external ranking factor. By being specific, your keywords and
their subsequent use ensures that users find answers to their pressing
questions once they land on your page or content.
- You also want to have your keyword, or at the very least, a
variation of your keyword placed in the Meta description tag. Further,
because search engine spiders (again, not real spiders) crawl your
content in its entirety when deciding where to place your website or
content on the index, it is best use relevant keywords on the H1, H2,
H3, and H4 tags. It is also a good idea to sprinkle a good number of
keywords within your content copy. The keyword can be used in various
ways within the different sub-headings on a page. (H1, H2, H3, H4 tags)
For example, if your H1 tag/keyword is “Toyota Hilux”, your H2 tag
could be “Imported Toyota Hilux” or “Toyota Hilux from Japan” etc. The
content following the Paragraph headings (H-tags) should include
information supporting that heading and include the same keyword within
the content. Using the keyword more than once in sensible combinations
increases “keyword density” and increases the usefulness of the page. The
debate on the ideal keyword density is a hot topic. Google Panda, a
Google algorithm launched in 2012 changed that. According to Neil
Patel, whom Forbes places on their list of top 10 online marketers,
“The Panda algorithm update changed the SEO world. It changed content
strategy, keyword research, and targeting. It even changed how
marketers build links, since high-quality relevant links pointing to a
webpage ultimately add to its value. By rolling out Panda, Google could
now determine more accurately which sites were “spammy” and which sites would likely be deemed useful by visitors.”
That said, it is a good idea to sprinkle a good measure of keywords
within your copy. The idea here is to use keywords in your copy only if
the use of such keywords comes across natural and adds value to users
(Google search is very user driven).
2. Content Length
- Google places a lot of emphasis on providing users with relevant
and helpful results. “Focus on the user and all else will follow.”
Longer content generally ranks higher than shorter content. The idea
behind this ranking factor is simple: longer content= detailed
content=equal to better answers for users, which Google places a lot of
emphasis on.
- Google considers longer content more authoritative and
informative. Thus, the longer your content is, meaning well-researched
and user driven (there is no way you can write say a 6k word article
for the hell of it or to rank, you write longer to provide web visitors
sufficient answers), the higher your chances of ranking well.
3. Duplicate Content
Duplicate content is a negative ranking factor. Having similar content
on various pages on your website will negatively affect your rankings.
Define
the nature of each webpage and content you create for your website, and
then create unique and original content. There are instances where
having two URLs will have similar content. To make sure this does not
come off as duplicate content, use a canonical tag. A canonical tag
simply tells search spiders that one URL is similar or equivalent to
another, which effectively lets Google know that these two URLs are not
duplicate content and are in fact one.
4. Content Optimization
When looking at keywords, we briefly touched on optimization. On top of
optimizing your tags and content, you also need to optimize your images
and videos. Remember that Google and other search engines index text,
images, and video.
Optimize your
images, videos, and other media by using relevant keywords and tags in
the alt text, description, and image caption.
5. Content Update
Google and other search engines are very gung-ho about fresh content.
According to Neil Patel, “When you build a site today, you have to
consistently write and publish in-depth content. This content must add
value, be interesting to the reader, and solve a definite problem. If
you fail to do that, you will not engage readers, and the conversion
rate will be low.”
While there are no hard rules on how often you should publish, problogger.com advocates for 3-5 blog posts per week.
6. Internal Links
Internal links are links that point back to a page or piece of content
on your website. While their ranking power is debatable, interlinking
pages can increase your ranking.
7. Outbound Links
Outbound links are links pointing to external sites. If you include
links pointing to authoritative sites, Google takes this to mean your
aim is to provide users with more information about a subject and uses
this as a trust signal.
Avoid too
many outbound links because too many of them will make your page appear
as a bridge site, which will negatively affect your ranking.
8. Keywords in URL
Keyword in URLs is another ranking factor you want to pay special
attention to; titling your blog post something reflective of your
keyword.
