Introduction
Ranking on Google is the ultimate goal for anyone with a website especially for people invested in online marketing. Ranking high up on Google’s search engine means massive traffic with the potential of converting into sales.
However, achieving a high Google search engine ranking is more than just using a bunch of well-researched keywords, Google constantly updates its ranking algorithm and as things stand right now one of the most effective ways to rank high on Google’s search results page is to perform what is known as On-page ranking optimization. There are a number of on-page ranking factors that can be used to rank a website high on Google, most of which came be implemented without prior coding knowledge.
What is On-Page Search Engine Optimization
There a number of on-page factors that influence a website’s search engine ranking and if optimized correctly these factors can place a website high on Google’s search results page. Therefore, in definition, on-page search engine optimization is the process and technique of optimizing individual website pages for visibility and effectively drawing massive relevant traffic to the relevant website. The target, in this case, is to draw organic traffic that is interested in the website’s niche so as to increase the conversion rate.
Well-executed on-page SEO results in what is called high-quality traffic being drawn to a website. High-quality traffic has higher chances of being converted and usually engages with the website, and as everyone knows, a high conversion rate and site engagement lead to better rankings on Google’s algorithm.
When performing on-page search engine optimization, both the content of the website pages and the HTML code are optimized. This is the main difference with off-page search engine optimization which focuses on optimizing links and other external factors.
Optimizing content
Optimized content is one of the leading on-page ranking factors. Filling a website with generic content no longer helps with search engine rankings, if anything it actually hurts the rankings especially with Google. Google punishes websites with content that appears to be generic and unrelated to the website niche. Therefore, on-page content optimization is the leading factor for excellent on-page SEO.
Quality
Content posted on a website should be of high quality. Well-written content that engages the visitors and is helpful to the visitors ranks higher on search engine algorithms.
Use of keywords
Sparing use of keywords is very important for on-page ranking, keywords should be used enough to provide an association with the topic but not so much that it appears as spamming. Naturally written content with a keyword appearance of 1% to 2% is usually advised.
Written content
There are some websites that use visual content like images, Gifs, and videos. While this type of content might be attractive to the visitors, it does not do well with search engines. Search engines use robots and scripts that crawl through a website reading and picking up information. It is way easier for these scripts to read and index written content. Therefore, all graphic content uploaded to a website should be accompanied by written transcripts or descriptions of the content.
Frequency of posts
The frequency of posts and content update is important for high-quality on-page optimization. A website needs frequent content updates in order to rank high on Google. However, posting content for the sake of just posting could easily hurt the ranking position, especially if the new content is of poor quality and show no objective. Posts should always be objective, well written and relevant to the website’s niche.
Content length
Use of short length content is no longer as useful for SEO purposes as it was before, content of fewer than 500 words does not score very well with ranking algorithms. High-quality in-depth content has better success in engaging the visitors and scoring social media sharing and recommendations. Longer content also carries the advantage of allowing more repetition of the keywords while maintaining a low keyword density.
Optimizing for Latent Semantic Indexing
Google introduced a new smart search engine algorithm called Latent Semantic Indexing designed to understand website content in place of just linking key phrases and keywords. This means that it’s now possible to just write website content naturally and Google will be able to understand what the content is about by linking key search terms to any relevant synonyms within the website’s content.
For example, a website can have content about cosmetic make without using the term ‘cosmetic make-up’ too much within the text. Instead, other terms like mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, eye shadow…etc., can be used and google will be able to understand what the website is about and link it to the relevant search terms users use when looking for cosmetic information.
This is a factor that all website owners must take advantage of when optimizing on-page ranking. Actually, visitors are prone to engaging with a site that has content that reads naturally rather than content that is staffed with keywords. By writing ‘natural-like’ content that has synonyms of the desired keyword rankings can be effectively improved without putting off the visitors.
Another advantage of optimizing for Latent Semantic Indexing rather than using keywords is that most searches have syntax errors, meaning that an error on the search term spelling could easily lead to the algorithm failing to link the search to the website. But since Latent Semantic Indexing understands web content the algorithm will still be able to link the search term to the relevant website.
Title tags and URL optimization
Two other very important on-page ranking factors that often go together are title tags and URLs. Title tags are supposed to specific and relevant to the website content and the post in question. It is customary to use a keyword in the title tags for better indexing by search engine algorithms.
URLs should be easy for both the searcher and the search engines to read. The most important characteristic of URLs is that they should indicate the nature of the content found on the concerned page.
Design and layout optimization
Website design and accessibility are very important for in-page ranking. Factors like device compatibility, loading speed, and user-friendliness can affect website’s ranking on Google. Websites should be coded or built to provide the best user experience possible, that means fluid compatibility to the most used devices, well-structured site maps and engaging designs.
Optimizing a website to load fast offers great user experience and this scores very well with Google. The key to a fast loading site lies on the hosting package, the code used and the plugins used on the website. Nowadays websites built on content management systems like WordPress are becoming more and more popular, this is because platforms like WordPress offer great device compatibility, attractive themes, easy to manage design and many other plugins that can be used to enhance user experience.
Responsive WordPress themes tend to offer a better user experience and can easily be integrated with many useful features like sign ups and fill in forms. These features promote engagements between the visitors and the website and often convert one-time visitors into returning customers. This level of interaction helps a website score high on the trust-ability front and as such will gain favor with the search engine algorithms leading to a higher ranking.
Other on-page Optimization factors
Copyrights and Disclaimers
Google favors websites that give copyright notices and disclaimers to the visitors, such websites are viewed as professional and transparent.
Site maps
Site maps are very important for indexing; search engines find it easier to move around collecting information on websites with sitemaps. The good thing is that site maps are not difficult to build. Content management systems offer automatic site map building, for webmasters that prefer to build the site maps on their own there are many plugins to use. When self-scripting site maps it is best to avoid the use of images and using adobe flash, permanent URLs and proper file names should be used for better indexing and improved chances of ranking on google.
Engagements
Google likes websites that engage visitors and as such the algorithm monitors how visitors behave on a site once they land. There are many ways of promoting visitor engagement on a website. Things like the comments section, social media buttons, sign up lists and more are very effective in getting visitors to engage and remain on the website longer.
The bottom line
On-page search engine optimization for high ranking is very effective in gaining visibility, attracting massive traffic and increasing the conversion rate. On-page optimization is not difficult to perform, anyone can do it, it does not require coding knowledge. It remains a viable SEO method that enhances website quality and user experience, two things that are highly valued by search engines like Google. There websites that achieve on-page ranking without even trying to optimize for it, these are websites that try to maintain quality above everything else and Google recognizes that. The best way of achieving on-page ranking is to maintain a high-quality website at the same time remaining aware of the above discussed on-page ranking factors.
