A solid SEO strategy today aims to get the website higher in search engine results. This requires page-by-page planning for SEO (search engine optimization), featured snippets, schema, and high-quality content. Each page is evaluated individually to optimize them and target keywords for better SERP performance. It is essential to fully understand on-page SEO to succeed.
On-page SEO may not be the same thing as technical SEO. This SEO focuses on optimizing specific URLs or pages. Technical SEO, however, focuses on optimizing the whole website as well as all URLs and web pages. An example of an on-page strategy might address the FAQ page, but a technical approach would examine all pages, including the FAQ and About Us. Technical SEO considers site speed (page load time, structure, indexing, and other similar aspects), while an on-page approach focuses on keywords and optimizing content to rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs).
Why is SEO important for individual pages?
It is crucial to have a strategy for each page to get your small business to the top of the SERPs. You are less likely to rank higher if you use the same keywords or keywords across all pages of your website. If you own a small pest control company, you might use targeted keywords to identify each type of pest.
Google’s crawlers still search for keywords. However, keyword stuffing (based on keyword density), will not get you a better ranking. If you want to rank high in the SERPs, user experience is crucial today. To do this, pages must be valuable and provide a positive user experience. A strong SEO strategy on the page can not only increase your visibility but also position you as an authority source for relevant queries.
The Key Elements of SEO on the Page
When planning your strategy to optimize individual pages, you should consider what Google’s crawlers are looking for today. It is much easier to align your goals with the search engine’s objectives to achieve a positive outcome. The algorithm attempts to discover what users want when they type a query. It also aims to deliver search results that match the user’s specific intent.
Google will also try to deliver results depending on where the user is at the stage of their buying cycle. If a person is interested in learning more about various types of shoes, he may search for “men’s dress shoe reviews”. Google might provide information-rich reviews to such an individual. If a person is looking for a specific style of shoe, they may use a term like “buy men’s shoes”. The SERPs will display relevant shopping pages. It is crucial to optimize each page so Google crawlers can find out the page’s purpose. These are important elements for on-page SEO.
Use Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
These should be used together. Page titles (H1 tags) and descriptions are crucial for meta tags. These tags are crucial for page titles (H1 tag) and descriptions. You will be able to see how important they are to rank higher in SERPs. You will rank higher if your meta description and title are written to explain why a page is relevant to a user’s intent or need. It allows Google to understand the purpose of a webpage. The meta description does not directly affect page ranking, but the title tag does. They work together to provide a greater benefit to searchers when they click on the link in a SERP.
Create quality copywriting
To meet the algorithm requirements of today, your page’s written content must be high quality. Crawlers used to reward keyword-stuffed pages with lower search engine rankings. They are now more sophisticated and can understand sentence structure and quality information. Professional copywriters with a solid understanding of SEO can create content that fits your needs. These are the essential elements of content marketing that should be on every page.
- Amazing introductions
- Concise sentences
- Sections less than 300 words
- Strategic keyword placement
- This is written for the searcher’s intent
- Structured content that is easily scannable
- Well-written paragraphs
- Enjoy interesting content
There are paid or free tools available for writing content. These tools can help you identify areas that need improvements such as difficult sentences or too-long sentences.
Align Content-Type and Intent
We have already discussed user intent, but you must understand all four major categories. The purpose of each page should be in line with the intended user intent. These categories are important to know when you create content.
- Informational content answers questions that are interested in education about a topic.
- For people who are doing the research before purchasing something, commercial content answers their questions.
- When people search for a particular page, navigational content answers their queries.
- Buyers who are looking to buy a particular product or product type can satisfy their queries with transactional content.
Create compelling headlines and useful headers
This is an important part of creating quality content on-page. It is essential enough to have its section and not be a part of a bulleted listing. To increase your click-through rate (ctr), the headline should tell users what they can expect and encourage them to click. If you are writing educational information about coffee to sell a special filter, your headline might read “5 Things You Didn’t Know About Making the Perfect Cup of Coffee.” This will encourage the reader to keep reading. Each section should contain relevant, valuable information that emphasizes the importance of your product. Combining these SEO factors can significantly increase your chances of landing a higher position on a SERP.
All Images Optimized
Each page should contain at least one picture. A lot of people lose interest in reading long blocks of text about products and services. It can be helpful to break up the text by using related images. Videos and interactive content can make your site even more attractive. All images should be SEO-enabled, regardless of whether they are on blogs or pages. You should assign a keyword-rich name to each image before you add it to a page. Your company name, nature, and location can all be included. On the main page, the image file name “Business Name lawnmowing Ottawa” would be a good choice. The same strategy should be applied to alt text (alt tags) when you use photos. Alt text is helpful for search engines to understand the contents of an image. Images are a common cause of slow pages. Make sure you compress large images as part of your image optimization.
Use both internal and external links
Internal links link to pages on your website. Backlinks to relevant sites are called outbound links. A good example of an external link to a job site is the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You should aim for authoritative websites such as those that have.edu URLs or.gov URLs. Your authority can be strengthened by linking to authoritative sources for educational or informational content. Google’s algorithm can help you understand the relationship between pages on your site by linking to pages that are internal to your site. Use hyperlinks with anchor text to build links. For the anchor text, choose a related keyword.
Take into account the Audience’s Location
On-page optimization also includes directing your content to where users live. Are they in your area? Are you looking to target specific cities in a metropolitan area? Do you sell entirely online and wish to target US buyers as well as international buyers? You may also want to target smaller states. Local SEO can be made easier by including the names of cities. You can target both online and offline if you sell in-store. If you only sell online, you can remove local modifiers and concentrate on international or national selling.
Avoid Cloaking
Avoid hiding text in page HTML. Google’s crawlers should see the same page HTML as site visitors. It is known as Cloaking when the two don’t align. Google will rank pages lower if they detect cloaking. If the cloaking results in a better user experience, however, it is possible to make an exception. Cloaking is dangerous and should be avoided.
Every page should be unique
This is particularly important if you use local SEO to target multiple locations. You can lose your ranking if you have duplicate content on pages. It is therefore important to ensure that each page has unique content and valuable content. If you have service pages that cover multiple cities in a metropolitan area, don’t copy them and just replace the name of each city. It is possible to rewrite the content to make it unique, but still retain the same information. You also have the option of hiring a professional copywriter. To ensure unique content on each page, Copyscape or another similar plagiarism tool is recommended.
Compare the Content of Your Competitors
This is an important part of any SEO strategy. You search for your product or services as if they were you. What are your top competitors? Check out their websites to see the type of content they have. You can also perform keyword research and use other SEO tools to get more information.
You should not copy content from competitors, but you can still use it for inspiration. Perhaps your local competitor in residential exterior painting doesn’t have a section on how often homeowners should repaint their homes. This section could be added to your service page in the targeted area. You have a greater chance of being ranked higher if you add valuable information and quality content. Google wants searchers to find useful, valuable content.
Additional SEO Tips for Individual Pages
Here are some additional tips to help you improve your ranking.
- Use a concise URL structure
- In URLs, include keywords
- Modifiers for embedding title tag
- Title tags should include front-load keywords
- Use keywords in headers
- Long-tail keywords and synonyms are best (do not believe in LSI keywords).
Improve Your On-Page SEO
Once you understand the reasons page-by-page optimization helps each page, you can begin to develop your strategy. As you begin planning, make sure to consider all sections of this guide. Although on-page SEO is essential to ensure that every page stands out, it’s important to consider the larger SEO strategy. Aligning these two can make you more visible on search engine results pages.
Learn more about Offpage SEO.