How To Optimize Your Site
Table of Contents
Everyone loves a good SEO checklist, so we decided to make one. We have been optimizing blogs for quite some time and this is our proven method. Firstly, this checklist was for our own clients but since the demand is a lot, we decided to help the general public as well.
This SEO on-page checklist will not only help you optimize your site pages and blogs but it will also help you leverage search engines to get organic traffic to your site easily. So, without further ado…
Here are eight SEO best practices for on-page optimization tips. Let’s get this party started…
1. Title tags
One of the most crucial aspects of on-page SEO is the title tag used. Assuming you’ve already done your keyword analysis, if you haven’t already, you should do it with the help of a good keyword tool.
The title tag aka Meta Title tag informs search engines about the topic of the page and whether or not the page on your website is appropriate for that keyword or keyword term. Each page’s title tag should be special. If a user searches for certain keywords, search engines like Google will highlight it and show it in the SERP rankings. This boosts exposure and click-through rates.
2. Meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are not as crucial as they once were considered. Although they still help the users decide if they want to visit the site. Meta descriptions should use keywords carefully, but they should also provide a compelling explanation that a user may want to click on.
The SERPs will highlight keywords that the user searched for, similar to title tags, raising the probability of the user clicking through to your website. Even top SEO consultants will recommend adding proper MTs and MDs.
3. Add Proper Keywords in Content
Your website’s content is its bread and butter. Google Panda updates has made it important to have original and significant content. If you have several pages of the same content (or if your content is on other people’s websites), you risk being penalized by Google and having your search rankings suffer.
We want to keep Google satisfied, so keep your content unique, current, and optimized.
4. Use Proper Heading Tags
A header tag, also known as an H1 tag, is similar to your web page’s subject line. In the H1 tag, you can only use your keyword phrase once. Make sure to use a keyword that is highly relevant to your content. If there are several LSI keywords, you can also use H2 tags (second header) so on and so forth.
Best Practices:
- Use your keyword term only once in your H1 tag;
- Use H1 tags on pages where you want to drive specific traffic (SEO page); and
- Use H2 tags where there are several parts.
5. Internal page linking with anchor text
A connection on a blog that leads to another page on the same website is referred to as internal linking. Internal linking is vital because it helps to reinforce the keywords internally for those sites, it enables users (and search engine robots) to access the website, and it informs search engines that the page is appropriate for that keyword term.
SEO Best practices:
- Choose good anchor text (keywords) to use in the actual connection when linking to another page on the same site from inside material, and do so frequently. For example, instead of saying, “Click here for our services,” say, “We provide a broad range of web design services.”
- In the preceding example, instead of linking “click here,” you would connect “web design services” to your web design services page.
6. Image ALT tags and filenames
An alt tag is basically the image’s name. Alt tags should be used for all files. Not only are alt tags beneficial to search engines, but they are also beneficial to usability. Anyone who uses a screen reader would be able to hear what the picture is.
If possible, try to include your keyword phrase in the name of your picture, but don’t go overboard. Image filenames should be SEO friendly as well. Image search is much more common than previously thought, so traffic from there is also useful for conversion of your landing pages.
7. Make content easy to read
This isn’t a big factor in search engine rankings, but it will make it easier for your users to scan your content and find the keywords they’re looking for. Use bolding and bullet points to separate words in the text, which tells search engines what is significant on the website. Don’t go overboard or you’ll end up cluttering your website and irritating the customer.
Best practices:
- Paragraphs should be three sentences or less in length. Long sentences can bore users.
- Users often search using keywords.
- Avoid using excessive bullets and bolding excessively as that can bore the audience
- Keep succinct content that your users love
8. Meta keywords
Back in the day, meta keywords were common. However, since Google (or any other search engine for that matter) no longer gives meta keywords any weight, you can skip this step.
We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section if we missed something or if you have anything to say, just comment below.
At Distinguished.io, you can find the best digital marketing and brand management agencies to help you get the most out of your branding strategies. Not only will it help you boost your brand’s visibility, but will help you get more eyeballs and therefore more conversions for your business.
For more tips about SEO, visit here.
