On-Page SEO Checklist

On-page SEO has always been one key area that SEO experts focus on, especially when a website or web page needs to be pushed higher for specific keyword searches. In addition, on-page SEO is paramount when it comes to higher website and web page ranking. Following is our top 10 on-page SEO Checklist:

1. Use Short URLs with Keywords.
2. Meta Descriptions
3. Front-Load Your Keyword In Your Title Tag.
4. Use Your Keyword in H1, H2 or H3 Tags.
5. Use Your Keyword Once In The First 150 Words.
6. Use Synonyms and LSI Keywords.
7. Optimize Images.
8. Be Creative When It Comes To Content.
9. Crosslink to related content.
10. Speed Matters For On-Page SEO.

1. Use Short URLs with Keywords

Many business owners that manage their websites have a tendency of creating web pages without the consideration of the URL (uniform resource locator). For example, creating a web page for Seattle SEO could be https://visualwebz.com/seo or as we have it https://visualwebz.com/washington/seattle-seo-company/, as you can see all the keywords are used in the URL. The benefit of this is to increase the leverage that Google will understand what the content it should index, by first checking the web page URL.

2. Meta Descriptions

Meta Descriptions have always played a key part in indexing and SEO. The meta description tag is in HTML and a snippet used to summarize a web page’s content. In fact, search engines may use these snippets in search results. Though there are many plugins like Yoast.com available that help in creating meta descriptions the standard code in HTML looks

<meta name=”description” content=” A page’s description, usually one or two sentences.”/>

For example, the meta description for the following search snippet is:

<meta name=”description” content=” Seattle SEO Company that deliver higher ranking results through state of the art organic search engine…”/>

3. Front-Load Your Keyword In Your Title Tag.

Yes may sound awkward but its best to be consistent and utilize keywords as the web page title. In fact, this has become the standard practice for on-page SEO creation. SEO experts have tried and tested this method, and it works! For example, if “Seattle SEO” is our keyword we would make sure that the following tags and content are included:

<H1>Seattle SEO Services </h1>

<p>Seattle SEO services are available to businesses in the Seattle, Washington area. </p>

4. Use Your Keyword in H1, H2 or H3 Tags.

Be consistent when using your keywords and the related language in your sub-headings. Remember, creating a blog for readers online is much different from writing a paper aimed at academia! Shorter blocks of content are easier for visitors to skim and find content relevant to them. Hence subheadings with <h2>, <h3> or <h4> should include your keywords in some form or another. For example, our keyword “Seattle SEO” has the opportunity to include other words. For instance “Our Seattle SEO Agency Credentials Are” or “Why Our Seattle SEO Agency?” would be encapsulated in one of the sub-heading tags.

5. Use Your Keyword Once In The First 150 Words.

Using your keywords throughout your web page will benefit the ratio and balance. More importantly, SEO strategies implemented with keywords in the first block of a web page content, in particular, the first 150 words always do better in the ranking than those web pages that exclude keywords.

6. Use Synonyms and LSI Keywords.

We can remember when keyword stuffing would do the job, and web pages would rank high. But this is no longer viable and does not work for on-page SEO! The best option is to use synonyms and LSI ( Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords. With Search Engines utilizing complex algorithms, LSI makes it easy for search engines to figure out how natural a piece of content is.

For example with our primary keyword “Seattle SEO”, we could utilize alternatives such as “SEO Company, Seattle Organic SEO, SEO Agency, etc”. This may seem like a challenging keyword, but what if you're a local dentist? Examples of Synonyms for this could be “dentists for kids”, “dental hygienist” etc. A great tool to utilize when researching for related keywords is LSIgraph.com.

7. Optimize Images.

Google and other search engines are not quite there when it comes to identifying the content of images, hence why they should be optimized. This helps the likes of Google to better understand the image and its relation to the content on the web page. Images should be optimized with alt tags and the filenames named as the primary keyword. For example, a Seattle Attorney could have an image of their office on the contact page. If the keyword being used is “Seattle Attorney”, the image should be named “Seattle-attorney-office.jpg”.

The attributes used for images:

<img src=“image.jpg” alt=“image description” title=“image tooltip”>

The HTML tag for the Seattle Attorney image would look like:

<img src=“Seattle-attorney-office.jpg” alt=“ Seattle Attorney Office, Seattle WA Attorney” title=“ Office of Seattle Attorney”>

8. Be Creative When It Comes To Content

Content is King so the saying goes, and this is very true, especially if you are able to generate unique, quality content aimed at your reader. It's always good to research your competition, but more importantly, you're the expert in your area. Whether you're a plumber or a CPA, everyone has a story to tell. But a story different from the norm, and one that's engaging will help your on-page SEO. Best of all, pushing out quality stories and the content will only help your website and web pages to rank higher and maintain their standings.

Areas to consider when writing for on-page SEO:

· Cover your topic in-depth

· Write in excess of 1000 words for your cornerstone articles.

· Create small blocks of content with subheadings

You're probably wondering your not a writer and how the heck could you improve your on-page SEO? There are many tools you can adopt, and start writing, just google “writing tools”. Over time and practice, you will see that the process of content development and digital marketing does get better!

9. Crosslink To Related Content.

Remember Google follows links and takes into account related content. As your website grows with related content, you will get to the point where you can start linking to other pages. Don’t forget to link to external links too! Hence, internal linking and external linking will only help your website's authority. Also, when linking to other web pages, make sure that you use keyword-rich anchor text for your links.

A good example, “Visualwebz are experts in SEO” links to https://visualwebz.com/seattle-seo-expert/. As you can see the keywords in the text are very related to the URL.

10. Speed Matters For On-Page SEO.

You may have the fastest internet connection and not worry about the time it takes to download a webpage. But, there are millions of potential visitors that may not have the luxury of highspeed internet or 5G, hence one reason why Google takes into account web page speed. Head over to PageSpeed Insights where you can test individual web pages. The recommendations provided by the tool will allow you to optimize the web page and improve your on-page SEO.

On-Page SEO Take Away

Whether you're a novice just starting out to optimize your website or a full-fledged SEO expert, these are some of the many SEO practices used when improving website rankings. In fact, strategies like on-page SEO and off-page SEO have proved to double website traffic and take websites that were not visible online to page one standings. When done correctly, on-page SEO will prove to benefit anyone with a website!

Visualwebz LLC is a local Seattle web design Agency that has been providing web design, online marketing, and SEO services like on-page SEO since 2008. If your a small business looking for an ROI, and ways to expand online, connect with us today. Visit Visualwebz.com or call (425)-336–0069.

Originally appeared on https://visualwebz.com/on-page-seo/