When it comes to optimizing a website for improved viewing online, you need to focus on search engine optimization (SEO). Many see SEO as purely for ranking manipulation and improvement. There is, though, so much more to SEO than simply making your website more crawler compatible. Instead, it improves the website performance and experience for users. That is why on-page optimization is such a crucial part of online SEO overall.
What, though, is on-page optimization? And why does this matter if you are struggling when it comes to ranking your website higher?
What is on-page optimization?
The actual process of on-page SEO is about improving how your website runs on the back-end. Many forms of on-page optimization will revolve around trying to make your website more compliant with search engine needs. For example, you might need to make your website more suitable for use on a mobile device. Or it might need coding changes to help improve website loading times – both are primary factors. By investing in on-page optimization, you can pair it with off-page adjustments for all-around SEO improvement.
This can also include things like including more interlinked URLs from page to page on your website. It can also focus on changing things like meta tags, title tags, and updating your content to use proper keywords. The challenge stems from making sure that all additions made when using on-page optimization are sensible and likely to make the kind of changes you would want to come to life.
The main challenge that we can face when it comes to website development stems from making smart calls regarding on-page optimization. While each site has its own primary objectives, it is important to recognize the importance of on-page optimization overall.
Why is on-page optimization an important piece of marketing?
Today, you need to be seen by as many unique people as possible to help boost your website performance. This means using SEO to your advantage, ensuring you rank higher on the search engines and thus draw in a larger audience. Since people use the internet to solve specific queries and problems, your website needs to actually resolve the problem the kids are facing.
If your website is not performing well and is not designed correctly or does not match the keywords you are ranking for, you will drop down the search engine ranking placements. To avoid that, you want to make sure you are able to guide people to your website who are actively looking for what you are providing. The more accurate the website is to the needs of the visitor, the more likely it is they will buy something, sign up, hire your services etc.
If you are serious about improving your website and managing your on-page optimization properly, then you want to focus on investing in features such as:
- Improving your website site speed. The speed that a webpage loads up is vital to ensuring good internal SEO.
- Reducing compatibility errors on different browsers and devices; your website should open as well on a mobile Android device as it does a Linux desktop device.
- How easy it is for the search engines to evaluate your website. This means having a strong core of a robots.txt file and ensuring that all key pages are visitable and indexable.
- Removing any errors on-site such as 404 errors, incorrect backlinks, dead links, and old URLs that are no longer working correctly.
- Correct tagging of essential content on your website, ensuring that anyone visiting knows exactly what they are looking at when they visit.
Why do keywords impact on on-page optimization?
The main reason is that the keywords you are using and targeting in tags tells the search engines about the point of the page. If the content appears to be irrelevant and does not attribute the majority of its content to the topic at hand, it will hurt your keyword rankings.
That is why you need to use a combination of primary keywords and secondary, long-tail keywords that relate to the topic. Keywords should be used in a way that ensures that they are never spammed, instead used naturally as in conversation.
Can on-page optimization reduce my bounce rates?
Yes, if you improve your on-page optimization then you can expect more accurate customer visitation. This means that the people who come to your website are likely to be looking for what you have to offer them. Over time, you should notice a big change in the number of pages that see users arriving before quickly leaving. The main problem you are likely facing up to when it comes to reducing bounce rates is keeping people sticking around.
With proper on-page optimization, you ensure that those who find your website will find it suits the reason they were looking for a website like yours. Therefore, the more targeted and specific your page is, the more likely it is to rank higher as it draws in a concentrated audience. This is why having a target market is very important; it makes on-page optimization easier to laser-target.
Does the structure of my website matter for on-page optimization?
Massively! If you are using a website to help bring in business, it has to be properly structured. This means making sure your website is easily navigated from page to page by both user and search engine crawler. This should mean that pages are reached with minimal effort, and that site navigation allows the user to reach more or less any page from the page they are on with minimal fuss.
Remember that your pages have to be designed in a way that maximizes readability by the search engines. Focus on this, and it can make a huge difference to the overall build and structure of your website.
Keep these common factors in mind, and the challenge of on-page optimization becomes so much easier to dominate. Use it to your advantage, then, and you could make sure your website reaches the audience that it was always supposed to.
