SEO Basics - Part Four - On Page Optimization

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One thing about a website that an SEO can control is the on page optimization. In a sense, the on page optimization is your first and best chance to get your SEO right. When deciding how to approach your on page optimization, you’ll need to consider just how you plan on achieving your rankings. If you have a list of keywords you’re attempting to rank for, you might decide to pursue a strategy of one page per phrase, or maybe you’ll put more content on one page and try and rank it for multiple phrases.

On page optimization should be neglected only at your own peril

Experience is the best teacher when it comes to on page optimization. But there are a few guiding principles which should be considered. The on page elements tell a search engine quite a bit about the page, and what relevant searches will bring traffic to the website. Targeting individual pages to individual terms is a long tail SEO approach that relies heavily upon on page optimization.

There are several factors that reign supreme when it comes to on page optimization:

1. The Title. The title is your main weapon so choose it wisely.
2. H1s and the like. Any strong elements you can add to the on page in the form of H1s and H2s tend to help
3. Img alt attributes can help the blind (and search engines) learn what’s on a page
4. Synonyms and related terms help your group information
5. High quality outgoing links put you in the right neighborhood for ranking
6. Use the meta description tag and make sure to give it a great caption. This will help you rank and get higher marks for clickability.

On page optimization involves taking the time to be thorough about your content creation. You don’t need to hammer home the point mercilessly (like some do with keyword repetition), but don’t be afraid to spell it out for the spiders.

The more text you can put on a page, and the better it’s semantically related, the better you tend to do. On page optimization is very closely related to your internal linking strategy, which will tie in your on page, and off page campaigns.

Continued from SEO Basics - Part Three - Content Strategies. Continued in SEO Basics - Part Five - Internal Linking Structure.

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