{"id":258,"date":"2016-07-29T04:52:51","date_gmt":"2016-07-29T11:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.new.www.structuredseo.com\/?page_id=258"},"modified":"2020-05-10T12:48:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-10T19:48:13","slug":"important-on-page-seo-factors","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.structuredseo.com\/important-on-page-seo-factors\/","title":{"rendered":"Important On-Page SEO Factors"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Important On-Page SEO Factors<\/h1>\n

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Ever heard the phrase \u201cContent is king?\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

If that were absolute, then sites such as Wikipedia and Reddit would rule the internet. Fortunately, search engines<\/a> are getting better at determining the intent of a search query and serving up the most relevant content. <\/span><\/p>\n

Search engines still need to understand what site best fits the search query. As website owners, we can help search engines understand what our web page is about using <\/span>on-page optimization<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

On-page optimization is about taking steps to help <\/span>search engines<\/span> understand your content. It helps ensure your pages are served when relevant to a user’s query.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, if you\u2019re a local plumber in Portland Oregon serving your website when someone searches for \u201cplumber LA\u201d isn\u2019t going to do anyone any good for you to appear in the results. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Making sure you have structured your site appropriately is important.<\/span><\/p>\n

#1 Use SEO Friendly URLs<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Universal Resource Locator (URL) is your web page address. Let\u2019s first see what makes up a URL.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Anatomy of a URL Simplified<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So what\u2019s the difference between an SEO friendly URL and not so friendly? Simply put user experience.<\/p>\n

Below is an example of an SEO friendly URL. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Anatomy<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here is a not so friendly URL.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Example<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A user should be able to look at the URL and understand where they are on your site. Similar to looking at <\/span>website breadcrumbs<\/span><\/a>. Think of it as a hierarchy. Level 1 is the home page. Level 2 is a subcategory of level 1 and so on. This makes up your <\/span>website structure<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Example of Breadcrumbs<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Example<\/p>\n

Remember to keep it short and use your keywords. If a visitor can tell where they are by looking at your URL then so can Google. It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

#2 Optimizing Meta Tags<\/b><\/h2>\n

Metadata<\/a> is data that describes other data.\u00a0\u00a0For SEO purposes metadata describes the information found on your web page and is expressed by meta tags. Meta tags are one-way search engines understand the contents of your web page and they\u00a0<\/span>are an important part of on-page optimization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0We are going to focus on four essential components.<\/span><\/p>\n

Example of Meta Tags<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Examples<\/p>\n

Title Tags<\/b><\/h3>\n

Keep these descriptive and readable. If you brand them, put it at the end. The recommended length is 55-60 characters. <\/span><\/p>\n

Good Example
<\/b>SEO Simplified | Your Brand<\/span><\/p>\n

Bad Example
<\/b>Your Brand | SEO – Search Engine Optimization Meta Tags – Rank First \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Header Tags<\/b><\/h3>\n

Think of header tags as the structure of your web page. It breaks it up and helps search engines and visitors understand the content on the page. Like an outline, it distinguishes the different sections. <\/span><\/p>\n

The most important tag is your H1. <\/span>Search engine spiders <\/span><\/a>and visitors use the keywords in the H1 as a signal of what information your web pages contain. The H1 can be the title of your article or the headline of your landing page. <\/span><\/p>\n

You can use H2, H3, etc. to signal subsections. For example, let\u2019s consider an article about taking care of your cat:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Example<\/p>\n

When using H-Tags never do these:<\/b><\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Use more than one H1 per page. I hesitate to add this because you can use more than one H1 with HTML5<\/a>. It would only apply in certain circumstances and something you will probably never use.<\/li>\n
  2. Do not stuff H1\u2019s with keywords. Make them readable for user experience.<\/li>\n
  3. Do not have duplicate H1\u2019s on multiple pages on your website.<\/li>\n
  4. Do not use them for styling the size of your text. You have 6 H tags.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Sample<\/p>\n

    Notice how each is bigger than the other. Sometimes developers will use these to style text. Bad practice.<\/p>\n

    Meta Description<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Meta descriptions are HTML attributes that commonly appear on search engine results pages (SERPs).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Meta<\/p>\n

    Meta descriptions may not be a direct ranking factor, but they can contribute to things such as click-through-rates that do have a direct a direct impact.<\/span><\/p>\n

    How to write a good meta description.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
      \n
    1. Make it compelling. Your goal is to get the visitor to click your link and visit your site. Keep it relevant. If someone clicks your link but immediately leaves because it wasn\u2019t what they are looking for this can negatively impact your SEO. <\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Keep it around 135 to 160 characters. If it\u2019s too long, it will be truncated. <\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Add the keywords associated with the content of the page.<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Make it unique. Creating duplicate meta descriptions on site pages doesn\u2019t benefit anyone and almost ensures search engines will not use them in the SERPs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      A simple way to find examples of good meta descriptions or what your competitors are using is to look at Google Ads. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Here is an example ad for Adobe:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \"Example<\/p>\n

      Want to preview how your SERP will appear? Many tools will allow you to view it. We like Portents <\/span>\u201cSERP Preview Tool<\/a>\u201d<\/span>. Just fill in the attributes. Great tool for testing ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/span><\/p>\n

      #3 Image Optimization <\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Image optimization is important especially if you have an eCommerce or other image based website. Image optimization ensures that your photos load fast and appear in other <\/span>search verticals <\/span><\/a>such as Google Image Search.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Image optimization is pretty straightforward.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Name your image. Keep it descriptive, plain English and use keywords. <\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Keep filenames descriptive.<\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Add alt tags. Use relevant detailed keywords. Alt tags are important if you have an eCommerce site or other image-based websites. <\/span><\/li>\n
      4. If your site is image based, consider using an <\/span>image sitemap<\/span><\/a>. An image sitemap will help search engines discover your pictures and appropriately index them. <\/span><\/li>\n
      5. Compress the image. Keep image files sizes as small as possible without sacrificing quality. A good rule of thumb is 75 KB for product images and 100KB for other images. Large images can negatively affect your page load time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        There are several ways you can compress an image. I use Adobe Photoshop so when saving a photo to upload to the web I use Photoshop\u2019s feature \u201csave for web\u201d. This feature will automatically optimize high-res photos for use on your website.<\/span><\/p>\n

        If you don\u2019t use a program such as Photoshop, there are services available to help you compress your images.<\/span><\/p>\n