SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION

ON-PAGE SEO

The technical bits are the key to the top

WHAT IS ON-PAGE SEO?

A website’s organic ranking for a particular ‘keyword’ (or keyphrase) is determined by a number of ‘on-site’ and ‘off-site’ factors. A major aspect of ‘on-site’ optimisation is making sure that every page on your website is fully optimised, where the target keywords for that page are given prominence in the title tags, descriptions and main body copy. This is known as on-page SEO.

TITLE TAGS

The ‘title tag’ (also known as the ‘meta-title’) is arguably the most important title on a web page. When a user types a query into a search engine, the title tag is what they see in the search results. It is the first thing a potential user sees and plays an important role in determining whether they click through onto your website. Your target keyword for the page in question should be included close to the start of the title tag.

In Figure 1 the title tag is “Healthcare Marketing Agency - Our Services - Signify Digital"

On-page SEO is a key part of your overall digital strategy and one to invest time in when looking for long term results.

META DESCRIPTIONS

The ‘meta description’, like the ‘title tag’, is visible in the search results when a user types in a search query. It highlights to both potential users and search engines what the page in question is about. A well-written meta-description can increase click-through rate and generate traffic. The target keyword for that web page should be included somewhere in the description.

In Figure 1 the ‘meta description’ is “Welcome to Signify Digital. We are a digital marketing agency providing specialist marketing solutions for the healthcare and technology sectors”

HEADER TAGS

The headers on a landing page are an extremely important aspect of SEO. They range from the main H1 tag (the most important at the top of the page) to sub-header tags down to a potential H6. There should only ever be one H1 tag on a web page and it should include the target keyword.

OPTIMISE YOUR URL

A page’s URL not only indicates to the user what it is about, it also shows a search engine where that page sits in the website hierarchy, which is an important aspect of SEO. A clear and strong URL will help a search engine determine whether your web page is relevant for a particular search query.

Here is an example of an SEO-friendly URL:

https://signifydigital.com/services/digital-marketing-strategy/

PAGE CONTENT

Integral to strong on-page SEO is informative, well-written ‘long-form’ content. In recent years search engines have favoured websites rich in high quality written content. The written information on a web page is generally what the user is after so it should meet their expectations. The target keyword for a web page should always be included close to the start and feature a few times in the body of the text. This is known as ‘keyword density’.

There is much debate surrounding the ideal length of website copy as it is dependent on the service your website provides. As displayed in the on-page graph, website pages that contain over 2,000 words tend to dominate the top 10 of the organic rankings, showing Google’s clear direction towards well-written and informative content. As 2,000 words isn’t realistic for all web pages, we would recommend no less than 350 words.

INTERNAL LINKING

Internal links are hyper-links that link one web page to another within a website. They are vital to SEO as they help users navigate your website and confirm site hierarchy to search engines. Both are factors taken into account by search engines when deciding organic rankings.

WE WILL WORK WITH YOUR TEAM TO REFRESH YOUR ON-PAGE SEO AND DRIVE ORGANIC TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE

BETH SHERMAN - MANAGING PARTNER

READY TO DE-GEEK SEO AND BOOST ORGANIC TRAFFIC?

"With so many ways to improve your on-page SEO, it can often become a little confusing! We work closely with our clients to de-geek SEO and drive organic traffic through a planned and data driven optimisation strategy."

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