By adding relevant Structured Data Markup to the HTML code, you can quickly improve the chances of your content obtaining those enhanced listing features.
Analyze the top-ranking results in Google to find out what the user search intent is for your primary keyword phrase. Then, create something similar so you meet the search intent of the user.
5. Create Premium Quality Content
You also want to follow these best practices for improved on-page SEO:
- Eliminate fluff and only include key information.
- Prioritize the important information for the user by placing it at the top of the page.
- Write clearly, concisely, and grammatically correct.
- Follow journalistic ethics and best practices.
When it comes to on-page SEO, page speed is a critical factor that can impact user experience, and ultimately, the keyword positions for your content in the SERPs.
LCP measures page loading speed and marks the point at which the majority of the page content has been downloaded. You can improve this metric by:
- Optimizing images with compression and using a content delivery network (CDN) for your website.
- Minimizing JavaScript and CSS by removing unnecessary code or using a minification tool.
- Lazy loading of non-critical resources until they are needed.
- Using a fast web host.
First Input Delay (FIP)
The page titles are one of the first things that search engines pick up when crawling your website. Located within the HTML <title> tag, page titles tell the indexing and ranking algorithms what the content is about so they can properly index and rank it for relevant search results.
For example, the title of this guide is “How to Do On-Page SEO (10 Best Practices)”. The primary keyword phrase being targeted is “how to do on-page SEO”, which is why the page was titled that way.
We hope you enjoyed this guide explaining how to do on-page SEO.
Provide Something New and of Value
With that in mind, your page title alone could make all the difference between whether a user clicks through to your website or one of your competitors in the SERPs.
After all, you could have the most compelling and optimized titles and descriptions, but if people click through to your content and it’s not as valuable, relevant, or engaging, they’ll leave, signaling to Google that your content isn’t the best at answering the targeted search query and should be demoted in the search results accordingly.
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How to Do On-Page SEO
1. Research and Select Your Keywords
The first step for how to do on-page SEO begins with keyword research. In fact, it’s so important that keyword research is at the top of our on-page SEO factors list.
The links below explain more about on-page SEO and how to use it correctly for search engine optimization. Use these resources to improve your knowledge of the subject.
On-Page SEO Best Practices Summary
Adding internal links not only distributes the link equity throughout your site to improve your entire website’s search positions but also delivers more valuable experiences for readers, which can likewise benefit your SEO.
This should be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at the number of people who don’t do this and then wonder why they’re not getting the SERP positions and traffic they were expecting.
If there’s a mismatch between the search intent and the content, then it will affect the rankings in the SERPs.
A basic on-page SEO strategy to follow for internal linking is to pick the top 3-5 keywords you want the target page to rank for in Google, Yahoo, and Bing, and then rotate through those keywords as you build internal links to the content.
10. Improve Page Speed
More importantly, your page titles are also the first element users see when exploring the search engine results pages (SERPs). The page title is the clickable link for your web page listing which acts as a headline to attract people to visit the content.
To do this, use header tags (H2 to H6) to structure your content, dividing key points into small, digestible sections, each with its own title, making it easier for readers who may be scanning your page looking for specific information.
Think about it this way: If a SERP listing has an excessively long title that gets cut off in Google, then potential visitors may not know if the content will need their needs. When users see the ellipsis (…) in the SERPs, it raises uncertainty about what lies on the other side of the hyperlink which can cause hesitation to click. However, short and succinct optimized page titles instantly let people know what you have to offer without any ambiguity, making it easier to decide if they want to click through to the content.
As mentioned in our guide on how to optimize content for SEO, you want to do more than just optimized it for on-page search engine optimization signals by including elements that boost E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust) which are part of Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines:
Remember, your primary keyword tells people what the content is about so that they can determine its relevance and value and decide whether to check out that content, so it has to be there. Therefore, your page title should include the primary keyword as the first element in this HTML field.
CLS measures the amount of layout shift on the visible content of the page (i.e. the visual stability as the page loads and is scrolled through). You can improve this page speed experience metric by:
- Always include width and height size attributes on images and video elements.
- Specific dimensions for ads and iframes.
- Host and preload fonts on your web server or switch to using only system fonts.
- Add the font-display:swap property to your font’s CSS to ensure the layout doesn’t shift due to a flash of invisible text (FOIT).
- Do not dynamically inject content on the page.
Learn More About On-Page SEO
Your content can’t be considered high-quality if it isn’t easy to read and arranged in a logical, ordered fashion.
Ultimately, what you’re trying to do here is write a title that is so compelling visitors can’t resist clicking through. How to Make Bread is a good title if that’s your primary keyword phrase, but How to Make Bread In 5 Minutes (My Secret Process) is more intriguing and appeals to people’s desire for convenience and quick, simple solutions, that can generate higher click-through rates.
3. Add Optimized Meta Descriptions
There’s also a section with additional resources that explain more about on-page optimization to help you create a better SEO strategy that empowers your business to grow online.
Search intent is a term used to describe the purpose of an online search. Contemporary SEO strategies revolve around understanding the motivation behind a query and matching the searcher’s expectations on the web page.
You can also use bullet points and tables to ensure that lists and data are easy to follow.
Keep It Under 60 Characters
The Editorial Staff at SEO Chatter is a team of search engine optimization and digital marketing experts led by Stephen Hockman with more than 15 years of experience in search engine marketing. We publish guides on the fundamentals of SEO for beginner marketers.
Whether viewed on a mobile device or desktop, your pages must load quickly to ensure visitors stay engaged and satisfied with their experience. Google’s algorithm, in particular, prioritizes user experience based on a set of page experience factors called Core Web Vitals.
As stated in the Page Experience documentation, “Google’s core ranking systems look to reward content that provides a good page experience.” Therefore, if your web page loads slowly or haphazardly, it’s likely that visitors will have a poor experience, which the algorithm ranking systems assess for keyword ranking positions.
For example, a web page won’t rank for the search term “dog beds” just by stuffing the keyword phrase multiple times in the content. The page must also include on-page elements that match the user search intent, such as a list of dog beds to purchase, images of the beds, current prices, hyperlinks to purchase each bed, and key information users expect to see like specifications and materials used in the dog beds.
The top on-page SEO best practices you should focus on to improve Core Web Vital scores include LCP, FIP, and CLS, which can be measured using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool.
To ensure you’re creating content of the highest quality, consider the following on-page SEO best practices:
Below, you’ll find a practical, step-by-step outline of the most essential on-page SEO best practices to follow so you can make sure your content is fully optimized to rank in the search engines, drive more organic traffic, and deliver quality user experiences.
