December 3, 2021 | By:

6 Critical On-Page SEO Factors to Focus On

On-page SEO, or on-site SEO, refers to any strategy that optimizes page-specific elements such as keywords, headings, and content — to name a few — to improve search visibility and to drive more traffic.

Although sources cite off-page SEO (optimizing elements outside of the website) as more valuable, on-page SEO elements are the easiest you can control and are the things that your audiences engage the most with.

Why Is On-Page SEO Important?

The main value of on-page SEO is that it helps search engines understand your webpage better.

For search engines to rank your content in search results, they must analyze your content and determine whether it’s relevant to the query. And on-page SEO is a huge factor in determining content relevancy aside from the content itself.

In addition to that, on-page SEO also helps in:

  • Increasing traffic: High-quality on-page content is found to have 55% more organic web visitors.
  • Boosting SEO rankings: The same study also found that websites with well-optimized on-site content have 44% more indexed pages. A recent survey among SEO professionals also revealed that on-page SEO is the most critical factor (33% compared to other factors) that had an impact on rankings.
  • Improving click-throughs: Webpages with relevant headlines and meta descriptions have better click-through rates than those that are generically written.

What On-Page SEO Factors Should You Focus On?

1. Target keywords

Keywords are your bread and butter when it comes to on-page SEO. Choosing relevant keywords for your content boosts its discoverability and will ultimately help you rank better in search results.

After you’ve done thorough keyword research and have chosen your target keywords, it’s important to be mindful of the keyword placement. Your target or focus keywords should be strategically placed:

  • On the title of your blog post
  • On the page URL (basically, the title of the content)
  • In the first sentence of the first paragraph
  • Once or twice in the middle paragraphs (depending on the length)
  • In the last sentence
2. Visual and organizational hierarchy

Using visual breaks such as headings and subheadings makes your content easier to read. Chunking your content into shorter paragraphs with about 1 to 3 sentences each also improves readability.

Be mindful of the hierarchy of headings as well. The blog title should be tagged as H1, the main headings as H2, and subheadings as H3, H4, etc. This will make it easier for search engine crawlers to understand your content better.

Organizational hierarchy is essential as well. When developing your website, be sure that there’s a clear hierarchy of the web pages so that users can navigate your site intuitively. Blog posts (if you have a blog) should also be assigned their respective categories and/or subcategories.

3. Links

This on-page SEO factor overlaps with off-page SEO, in that it’s important to include external links to reputable sites in your content, especially when you’re citing facts, quotes, and statistics.

Internal links are essential too. It helps users find your other content easily and it aids in the navigation as well.

Be sure to include links to relevant content within your website not only for SEO purposes but also for your readers’ benefit. Navigational links in the form of menus and breadcrumb trails are considered internal links as well, and it helps in the overall usability of your website.

4. Images and multimedia elements

When adding images on your website, include an ALT text (ALT tag or description) in your image tags to give crawlers more context about your images. It also aids in the accessibility of your content to visually impaired visitors.

The same goes for other multimedia elements such as videos and audio: include descriptive tags to help crawlers understand your content more.

Images and multimedia should also be optimized for web usage; that is, it should be responsive when viewed on different devices. The file size should not be too huge as well to preserve the performance of your page load speed.

5. Page speed

Google has been putting a lot of emphasis on page loading speed, especially with the recent implementation of their core web vitals ranking signal. In fact, Google made an explicit confirmation (which they rarely do) that page speed is a landing page factor for Google Search.

How do you improve your page speed?

  • Make sure images are compressed to a web-optimized size, as mentioned before. You can use tools like Compressor.io and TinyPNG.
  • Use plugins sparingly to conserve website bandwidth. Only install the plugins you need.
6. Meta descriptions

Well-optimized meta descriptions give crawlers a clear “preview” of what your content is about. It also has a significant influence on increasing click-through rates, as we previously mentioned, and in decreasing bounce rates — both of which affect SEO rankings.

When writing your meta description, be sure to include your target keywords, along with strong actionable words. Keep the length within 155 to 160 characters as well.

Boosting Your SEO with the Right Strategy

All the on-page SEO strategies we covered here ultimately come down to improving the user experience. And, while tweaking your on-page elements can help achieve this, remember that SEO is a multifaceted practice and involves ever-changing algorithms that need to be adapted to.

If you need help with any of your SEO efforts, Ilfusion is here for you. We’re a full-service creative agency with a solid team of SEO professionals to help you create the best strategy for your brand.

Call us at 888-420-5115 or send us an email at [email protected] to get started!

Tags: , , , ,

Categorized in:

Featured Articles

February 1, 2018 | By: Ilfusion Team

How To Start an SEO Campaign in 6 Steps

Starting a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign can be tricky for any digital marketer. How do you begin? What is the most important element to implement? How do you know if it’s working? Don’t be overwhelmed, though. Starting an SEO... view more

September 26, 2017 | By: Ilfusion Team

5 Signs You Need to Hire a Marketing Agency

Marketing is a crucial part of your business strategy. It’s what keeps the gears turning and the driving force of your company’s sales. For small businesses, marketing is important in getting the word out there that your company exists and... view more

September 21, 2017 | By: Ilfusion Team

Key Advantages of Video Marketing for Your Growing Business

There has been a rise in the use of mobile devices to access the internet, and there are no signs of it slowing down anytime soon. In this era where most people thrive on living on the go, video marketing... view more

September 13, 2017 | By: Ilfusion Team

5 Things You Need to Know: Image Optimization for SEO

If you’re a company whose content strategy relies on images, or if your business blog is image-heavy, it’s high time for you to think about optimizing your images for SEO — if you haven’t done so already. While there isn’t... view more

August 2, 2017 | By: Ilfusion Team

Tips on How to Choose the Best Keywords for Your Website

When you have an SEO or PPC campaign, it all starts with one basic element: keyword research. Keywords are the driving force that enable web crawlers and indexers to find your page through the throngs of websites in the world-wide... view more

July 26, 2017 | By: Ilfusion Team

Top 3 Search Ranking Factors You Should Know About

Landing on the first page of Google’s search engine results is one of the ultimate marketing goals of many website owners. While Google is keeping mum on what exactly gets you to the top of their SERPs, there are factors... view more

June 28, 2017 | By: Ilfusion Team

The Importance of Social Media in SEO

Nowadays, social media has inarguably become an indispensable tool in any marketing strategy. SEO, of course, is also one of those tools that have evolved with the many trends and changes that has occurred through time. This leads marketers to... view more

April 27, 2017 | By: Ilfusion Team

5 Ways to Dominate Google’s Search Results in 2017

Here’s how to place your website at the top of search engine results. Creating a website that doesn’t rank well in Google’s search engine results page (SERP) doesn’t translate well to your overall business effort. In recent years, Google has... view more

July 2, 2015 | By: Ilfusion Team

Let’s talk about “The Fold”

We hear it a lot; client feedback that is focused on what content is and is not “above the fold”. To be perfectly honest, this old newspaper term can be a cause of frustration when it comes to good user... view more

June 3, 2015 | By: Ilfusion Team

The Turbit

This crazy ol’ world of ours is spinning faster and faster everyday. Not literally, as we would all be slung to our spacey-doom. I mean figuratively we are all moving more quickly and filling every moment with some bit of... view more

May 6, 2015 | By: Ilfusion Team

How Your Website Can Survive Mobilegeddon

Think your website is mobile friendly? Think again. Google’s new functionality changes have created a frantic need for websites to be optimized for mobile. Mobilegeddon is upon us, and your website could be at risk. See infographic below.

April 23, 2015 | By: Ilfusion Team

Website Cost: A Day at the Ballpark

A question that I get on a regular basis (read: every day) is, “How much will my new website cost?”. To which I typically say something like, “Well, that varies based on the amount of work that’s required to complete... view more

April 7, 2015 | By: Ilfusion Team

Are you a Webspammer?

SEO practices are very different today than how they were even just a few years ago. The number one key to ranking well in search engines today is to create unique quality content. First post it on your website or... view more

March 25, 2015 | By: Ilfusion Team

Social Media Happenings

Ilfusion loves to bring you news on the newest social media functions and trends. Recently, there have been three major happenings in the social media world. Meerkat, a new app that has risen to fame due to the 2015 music... view more

March 12, 2015 | By: Ilfusion Team

The Big Picture

Whether you’re laser-focused on a specific project, or taking a comprehensive approach to your marketing efforts, one aspect doesn’t change: always look at the big picture. Companies often shop at least a few agencies when they’re considering engagement with an... view more