On-page SEO: How a little bit can go a long way – words Al Woods
Most organizations know that to market their brand online, they need good Search Engine Optimization practices. It’s a given that within the digital marketing world, there are many schools of thought, as, how to best optimize a website for higher search results rankings. You need keywords that rank in search engines, and you know they need to be a part of your web copy to create your online presence.
Strategic Placement SEO Versus On-Page SEO
Many marketers choose to focus on keyword placement to the exclusion of all else, and their primary points of focus are on headlines, titles and meta descriptions. At one time, that was the be-all-end-all of SEO. In 2019, your on-page SEO matters far more than your keyword selection or placement. Search engines like Google have adapted to interpret why you are asking a question instead of just what question you asked. This allows Google to provide more useful results without directing you to keyword sites selling products or services you don’t want or need.
If you want to promote your brand online the right way, you need to make on-page SEO your focus. Providing useful answers and authentic content is how you direct users on the internet to your content, and a little on-page SEO can go a long way towards increasing both your search ranking and traffic to your site or social media channels. Here are some tips for using on-page SEO effectively.
Start With “Search Intent”
The principle of search intent is quite simple. Rather than bringing up exact match keywords, search engines bring up category results and specific keyword results. The category results are pulled from the actual content, and these list first. The reason for this? Category results are what search engine algorithms estimate will provide the most useful or actionable answers.
For example, let’s say I run a search for “how to market your website” on Google. This query gets interpreted as informational, but what does Google pull up? Do you get step-by-step walkthroughs or lists of tried-and-true tactics? A quick Google search later, and you’ll see Google ranks the lists of tactics higher because it is more relevant to the search intent, or what information is likely to provide the most useful content.
A significant component of effective on-page SEO is learning to read search intent online, then building your content around those results. Shotgun-blasting your page with keywords that rank high doesn’t work. Search engines are no longer distracted by keyword prevalence. Instead, they are looking to match search intent, and thus, your content needs to do the same to “get found.”
Boost Topical Relevance For Better Rankings
Your content should reflect keywords, names and items related to your content area of specialty, especially if you offer a product or service. The more associated words connected to your content’s target topic, the easier it is for Google and other search engines to find your content and flag it for increased topical relevance.
Here’s an example: let’s say I am promoting a website that sells custom mountain bikes. “Best custom mountain bike” is going to appear on the page somewhere, but you also need to include associated words like “carbon fibre,” “aluminum alloy,” trail tires” and so forth and so on. This increases what is termed “co-occurrence” and helps Google connect searches for custom mountain bikes to pages with actionable content and not just a smattering of similar keywords. You definitely want to take topical relevance into consideration when composing strong on-page SEO content.
Content Is King; Consistency Is Queen
For many organizations and businesses, the hardest part of on-page SEO is creating relevant content for their target audience and posting consistently. If you have a marketing department, this is somewhat easier, but you will need premium targeted content posting once or twice a week to achieve search rankings that will help users and potential customers connect with you online.
You need fresh, original content that matters to your target customer base. Not everyone has a talent for writing copy, though, which presents a problem even for businesses with their own marketing team. It is entirely possible you may need to hire outside services or bring more people onto the payroll who are experts at composing effective on-page SEO content that will support your brand presence and reach the customers you are striving to reach online.
Final Thoughts
Bottom line, increasing your search ranking via on-page SEO requires little in the way of changes to your marketing program, but it does require the generation of new content on a regular schedule. Engaging a professional web designer can help make your on-page SEO even more useful. Consider Parxavenue Web Design for your on-page SEO needs. Contact us today or visit our website for more information.