How To: On Page SEO Guidelines 2024
In this article you will learn everything you need to know about how to optimise your page for Google search + On Page SEO guidelines.
In this on page SEO step by step guide, we will guide you through the process and techniques of enhancing your webpage content to make it more search engine friendly for Google, Bing, and other search engines, as well as user-friendly for your visitors.
Common tasks associated with on-page SEO include optimizing for search intent, title tags, internal links, URLs etc in order to boost your website position and rankings.
Search engines such as Google examine the content of a page (including text, images, and embedded YouTube videos) to determine if it aligns with a user’s search intent. If the search engine determines that the page is relevant and useful to the user, it will rank it higher in search results.
Below, we’ll cover different steps for optimizing your site.
But first, let’s understand the difference between on-page SEO and off-page SEO.
What’s the Difference Between On Page SEO and Off-Page SEO?
On-page SEO refers to the optimization of anything on a webpage or internally that can improve your rankings. Conversely, off-page SEO refers to the optimization of anything outside of your site or externally that can boost your rankings.
Backlinks are the most significant off-page SEO factor, but other examples include social media and PR.
As any digital marketing consultant will tell you, both on-page and off-page SEO are crucial components of any effective search engine optimization plan and strategy. However, you have more control over on-page SEO factors, making it a great starting point when developing your SEO strategy.
Why Is On-site SEO (Web Page Optimization) is Important?
In this part of the on page seo guide, we will discuss how search engines such as Google use keywords and other on-page elements to determine if a page aligns with a user’s search intent.
If the page is deemed relevant and useful, Google will display it to the user. In other words,
Google prioritizes on-site SEO signals when ranking pages, even in 2024. Although the Google algorithm is constantly evolving, Google continues to emphasize user experience and recommends focusing on creating “people-first content.”
This means that creating valuable content that aligns with user intent is more important than ever. Therefore, optimizing on-page elements on your website is crucial if you want your site to be displayed on the first page of Google.
Let’s take a look at how you can update your content to reflect on-page SEO best practices and optimize your pages.
10 Point On Page SEO Optimization Guidelines for Your Website
Here’re the on-page optimization techniques with tips you should consider:
- You will need to create/write unique and informative content.
- Strategically place target keywords in your content.
- You will need to write keyword-rich title tags.
- Craft click-worthy meta descriptions.
- Use headings and subheadings to structure your page.
- Optimize your URLs with keywords and SEO best practises.
- Add internal links to other pages on your website.
- Add external links to high-quality, relevant websites.
- Include and optimize images to enhance your content.
- Improve user engagement by providing a seamless user experience.
Write unique, helpful and informative content
The content or web page information that you are going to write about, needs to be helpful to the user that lands on that page coming from search.
The more unique your content is and the more it is optimized for your targeted keywords, the better chance it has to be shown up at the top of the search engine results page.
Referring to On Page SEO Guidelines you should start from keywords optimization, by researching your keywords. The most used resource for that is Google Keyword tool. The reason for that is, that Google keyword tool has the most comprehensive keyword data since most searches occur on Google.
There are many other tools available like Wordtracker, Ahref, Semrush and so on. You want to spend some time researching your keywords, we are talking maybe hours or even days as it will be a baseline for your SEO strategy. Get that wrong, and your entire plan to get organic traffic from Google will be ruined because you will end up targeting the wrong keywords.
The best keywords to use will be the ones that have enough search volume, long tail, low competition and match user search intent to your webpage content.
After that, you would want to spread those keywords, or sort of “sprinkle” them throughout your webpage content. Whatever you do, don’t repeat exact same keywords many times on your webpage or so-called “keyword stuff”. Instead, try and come up with keyword variations or synonyms when writing your content.
Strategically place target keywords in your content
When we talk about placing the keywords strategically in your content, that means placing them in H1, first article paragraph, Title, H2, H3 and body text throughout the webpage. It is essential for On-Page SEO optimization as Google bot scans your content to determine what your article is about.
Also, don’t forget to include related or “semantic” keyphrases in your body text.
All in all, your content should include your keywords and related or “semantic” key phrases throughout your webpage (beginning of text and end of text).
The Title tag and H1 tag should include your main keyword. Most importantly, don’t repeat your keyword too many times, DON’T “keyword stuff” your content.
Write keyword-rich title tags
The Title tag tells search engine what the page is about. Additionally the Title tag is a ranking factor and can help user decide to click on page in search results e.g SERP (search engine results page) or not.
Technical description: The title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of a webpage. It is displayed in the browser tab, search engine results, and social media marketing posts. The title tag is important for user experience, SEO, and social sharing . It is wrapped into the <title> tags and always goes inside the <head> element of a page’s HTML code
- When writing a Title tag, make sure it is no longer than 60 characters.
- Make sure to include your main keyword in the title of your page.
- Unique to that page only (duplicate page titles hurt rankings)
Craft click-worthy SERP meta descriptions.
Referring back to on page seo guidelines, in 2024 meta description tag is not so important as it used to be for on page seo optimization. However, it is much more relevant for user click through or CTR from search engine results page. You need to craft meta description in a way that it makes a user click your website instead of others.
On Page SEO Step by Step guide technical description: A meta description tag is an HTML element that provides a brief summary of a web page. It is displayed as part of the search snippet in a search engine results page (SERP) and is meant to give the user an idea of the content that exists within the page and how it relates to their search query. The meta description tag is placed in the HTML code and is wrapped into the <head> element of a page’s HTML code 1. The optimal length of a meta description tag is between 50 and 160 characters. It is important to write unique, descriptive, and relevant meta descriptions for each page to improve click-through rates and user engagement .
Use headings and subheadings to structure your page.
Structuring your webpage with headings and subheadings is like creating a roadmap for your readers. Just like signposts on a highway, headings and subheadings guide visitors through your content, making it easier for them to find what they’re looking for.
Headings: Think of headings as the big, bold titles that divide your content into major sections. They give readers a quick overview of what each section is about. For example, if you’re writing a blog post about gardening tips, your headings might be “Choosing the Right Plants” or “Watering and Maintenance.”
Subheadings: Subheadings are like smaller signposts within each section. They break down the content into more specific topics. Using our gardening example, under the heading “Choosing the Right Plants,” you might have subheadings like “Sunlight Requirements” or “Soil Preferences.”
By using headings and subheadings, you’re not only organizing your content for readers but also for search engines. Search engines use these headings to understand the structure and relevance of your page, which can improve your visibility in search results.
Conclusion
With the updated on page seo guidelines for 2024, you can clearly see the SEO trends are changing. There are more trends that we are going to discuss in our next article and they are things like Voice SEO, AI SEO etc. Stay tuned.
