Google’s database is like an ocean full of data; where a website is only a drop in the ocean. There are many ways to help websites rise to the top of a search engine and have a larger presence on Google; one method is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?
Search engine optimisation is the term used to describe a variety of processes that aim to optimise a website for search engine results pages (SERPS). This improves a websites’ user friendliness, increases the sites credibility and attracts the targeted audience. It is commonly known for its effectiveness in making a website rank higher on Google.
SEO has two main tactics: On page SEO and off page SEO.
Off-page SEO, also known as off-site SEO, improves a websites’ ranking within search engine results pages (SERPs); it can improve the relevance and credibility of a website. The process of off-page SEO requires actions outside of the main website; by promoting in other reputable places on the internet (blogs, social media platforms, other sites). In a nutshell, it vouches for your website as being a portal of credible content.
On-page SEO refers to the activities used to enable optimisation of individual web pages to increase the websites search engine ranking, which aims to generate more relevant and organic traffic.
Here is the on-page SEO for 2018
Keyword Analysis
Keywords are an essential aspect of your website. It is important to research and carefully select the best keywords for a website. This will help the website appear higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).
For Keyword analysis there are many free tools available:
Google Keyword Planner
Moz’s Keyword Explorer
SEMrush
KWFinder
Meta title and Description
Meta titles and descriptions need to be carefully selected to support effective on-page SEO. Keywords can be incorporated on all the webpages of a website by arranging the keywords as a meta tag.
Google recommends that a title tag ideally should contain 50-60 characters. It is vital for the title tag to contain a relevant key word to enhance the SEO score.
URL Structure
The content URL needs to be optimised to match the meaning of the content on the page; it needs to contain targeted keywords. Something to consider is that shorter URLs usually perform better in the search engine; therefore, it is important to keep the URL short and keyword rich.
Headings and Tags
When writing your articles, you need to divide your content into sections & paragraphs; this makes it easier for people to understand. Ensure legitimate headings are set up well (H1- H6).
Headings help to break up the content, as it makes it clearer and more user friendly. Users can quickly identify aspects of the content that they would to read because it is well structured.
Keyword Density
Keyword density is the consideration to how often keywords are used on a webpage. It is working out the percentage of how often the keywords were used, compared to the rest of the text within the content on the webpage. It is important not to repeat and overuse the keywords as this can cause a website to be prohibited from web indexes.
Google prefers there to be around 2.5 to 5% keywords density for web content; with the best keyword percentage being 3%. This means that 97% of the text should be quality content and the 3% should be targeted keywords.
Keyword Density Formula
Keyword Density = (No. of Keywords/Total number words) X 100
Image Tags
Utilising images inside your article is an awesome approach to make your site even more engaging; these images can be used to help enhance a websites’ SEO.
To achieve this, alt tags need to be used on all images. In addition, using an image optimisation tool to optimise images can help with the page speed too.
Internal Linking
Internal links refers to the hyperlinks that connect and refer to webpages on the same domain. This makes a website more user friendly, as users can navigate easily across the webpages. It also helps with the sites hierarchy; Googles spiders can crawl through the web links effectively; to decipher the relevance of the content and links. Again, supporting a better presence on Google if done correctly.
Sitemap and robot.txt
Robots.txt records are typically used to request that robots maintain a strategic distance from a specific piece of a site. A sitemap is utilised to give the robot a rundown of pages that it is welcome to visit.
Page Speed & Loading Speed
Page speed is important for a better user experience. Pages that take a lengthy amount of time usually have a higher bounce rate and users will spend less time on the webpage. This means visitors the webpage may navigate away from the website completely.
Broken links
Search engines dislike broken links; as broken links direct visitors to pages that no longer exist. Therefore, it is essential to remove any broken links as this negatively affect SEO.
Google loves you when everyone else loves you first.
More info: codegalaxy.co.uk
