Search engine optimisation (SEO) is usually divided into two
sections, on-page and off-page optimisation techniques. In basic terms,
on-page optimisation deals with everything that can be done to help
boost your ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs) on the
actual website and webpages.
Off-page optimisation is aimed at aspects that take place elsewhere
such as the quality and relevance of your backlinks. To get the most out
of your SEO campaign you should take both into account, but the
importance of complete on-page optimisation cannot be overstated.
Below we outline the on-page optimisation techniques that are still
valid in 2013 after Google’s much loved Panda and Penguin updates.
Keywords
Choosing the correct keywords is crucial to help the search engines
determine your website’s ranking. They are the phrases that people use
when searching for a site, meaning that without them, how would your
website rank?
You must approach you keywords with caution though. The recent
Penguin update to Google’s search algorithm was mainly aimed at fighting
keyword stuffing, among other issues. Keyword repetition, if done
within reasonable parameters, is not considered a black hat technique,
but its efficacy is certainly debatable.
Titles
When a search engine analyses your site, they pay a lot of attention
to what lies between the HTML heading tags, especially <H1>,
<H2>, and <H3>. In other words, titles and subtitles are
important positions for keywords.
It is important to not just use these heading tags on your homepage.
For every page on your website you should have a <h1> or
<h2> or <h3> that has that page’s main keyword within it.
URLs
The URL of a webpage can be one of the most important factors of
on-page optimisation. Also changing your URL structure further down the
line can cause issues and confusion for search engines, so it is
important to get it right from the start. Including your targeted
keyword or key-phrase in the URL is crucial as it canhelp the search
engines rank the page. Also Google and Yahoo will display the portions
of your URL that match the search term entered in bold in the SERPs,
which can help your website stand out from the others.
You should avoid (where possible) overly dynamic URLs as these can be
off-putting in the search results. All of your URLs should be set up in
a logical way that gives someone an idea to what you can expect from
the content of that page.
An example for a good URL for a page targeting the key-phrase “Web Design Company” would be:
http://www.domain.com/web-design-company
An example of a bad URL would be:
http://www.domain.com/index.php?page=123
Meta Tags
Meta tags are used to inform search engines on how a particular
webpage should be indexed. Optimising your title tag and the description
meta tag can be useful in providing additional information to the
search engines. But you must bear in mind that using the keyword meta
tag can sometimes do more harm than good.
Conclusion
SEO has changed over time and will continue to change as the needs
and habits of users change. That said, the purpose and principle of SEO
is still the same. On-page optimisation is definitely one of the most
important factors and you must try to focus your efforts on creating
quality content on a well constructed site. And most of all, be patient.
A good search engine position will not happen over night!
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