Why you need on-page optimization

You might have heard about building backlinks in order to rank your website within search engines, but most people gloss over the importance of on-page optimization.

On-page optimization is one of the most basic steps to be fulfilled in order for search engines to rank you. It is the process of optimizing individual web pages to increase usability & bring in more targeted traffic from search engines.

Let's take a look at all the best practices you could possibly follow in 2019[and beyond] to achieve it!

1]Engaging graphics:

Add infographics, videos, photos, etc to help engage your audience & keep them on your site for longer. It helps reduce the bounce time which is a critical judging factor held by many search engines.

2]Start the title with your keyword:

Adding your keyword in the title helps majorly as a ranking factor. This is considered by webmasters as one of the most important on-page optimization steps. The keyword should be used closer to the start of the article to have an impact.

3]Use SEO-friendly URLs:

Google itself has stated that the URL in itself is a ranking factor. A good step is adding 3-5 keywords related to your article in the URL, although, make sure to ensure that the URL doesn't look too ugly or is too long as that might have the opposite effect.

4]Use H1 & H2 tags accordingly:

The title of your post should be wrapped in an H1 tag. The H1 tag is the heading tag used to define the heading. Similarly, the sub-heading should be wrapped in the H2 tag. It shows Google you know what you're doing.

5]Use a responsive and mobile-friendly theme:

In this age of smartphones and tablets, a mobile-friendly website is a must. Otherwise, it would hit your ranking hard & throw you from the first page to the last and as you know, the best place to hide a body is the second page of Google.

6]Boost site loading speed:

Google hates sites that load slowly. Don't believe me? Google has stated on record multiple times that page loading speed is an important factor in how they rank sites. Websites with faster page speed are preferred over those that take more than 4 seconds to load. Ensure that all images & graphics on your website are compressed and optimized to load faster.

7]Use internal links:

Using internal links within your article does two things. One, it helps increase the link juice of your website.

Two, it helps keep the visitor longer on the website and decreases the bounce rate. Don't overdo it by adding 100's links to your article, but 2-3 links relevant to the article.

8]Rename your images:

Renaming your images with your target keywords helps tell the search engines what exactly your article is about. This, in turn, brings in more organic traffic.

9]Try writing longer content:

Some studies by industry experts have shown that longer content[1500-1900 words] has ranked significantly higher than shorter articles. Go for longer articles with more long-tailed keywords sprinkled across.

In the end, the best advice would be to churn out quality content that helps someone out. A satisfied visitor would share your content. More shares bring more eyeballs to your website and help take you to that first-page ranking.