On-Page Ranking Factors

The way your page is optimized can have a huge impact on its ability to rank.

What are On-Page Ranking Factors for SEO?

On-page ranking factors can have a big impact on your page's ability to rank if optimized properly. The biggest on-page factors that affect search engine rankings are:

Content of Page

The content of a page is what makes it worthy of a search result position. It is what the user came to see and is thus extremely important to the search engines. As such, it is important to create good content. So what is good content? From an SEO perspective, all good content has two attributes. Good content must supply a demand and must be linkable.

Good content supplies a demand:

Just like the world’s markets, information is affected by supply and demand. The best content is that which does the best job of supplying the largest demand. It might take the form of an XKCD comic that is supplying nerd jokes to a large group of technologists or it might be a Wikipedia article that explains to the world the definition of Web 2.0. It can be a video, an image, a sound, or text, but it must supply a demand in order to be considered good content.

Good content is linkable:

From an SEO perspective, there is no difference between the best and worst content on the Internet if it is not linkable. If people can’t link to it, search engines will be very unlikely to rank it, and as a result the content won’t drive traffic to the given website. Unfortunately, this happens a lot more often than one might think. A few examples of this include: AJAX-powered image slide shows, content only accessible after logging in, and content that can't be reproduced or shared. Content that doesn't supply a demand or is not linkable is bad in the eyes of the search engines—and most likely some people, too.

From: A Visual Guide to Keyword Targeting & On-Page SEO

Title Tag

Title tags are the second most important on-page factor for SEO, after content. You can read more information about title tags here.

URL

Along with smart internal linking, SEOs should make sure that the category hierarchy of the given website is reflected in URLs.

The following is a good example of URL structure:

http://www.example.org/games/video-game-history

This URL clearly shows the hierarchy of the information on the page (history as it pertains to video games in the context of games in general). This information is used to determine the relevancy of a given web page by the search engines. Due to the hierarchy, the engines can deduce that the page likely doesn’t pertain to history in general but rather to that of the history of video games. This makes it an ideal candidate for search results related to video game history. All of this information can be speculated on without even needing to process the content on the page.

The following is a bad example of URL structure:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569

Unlike the first example, this URL does not reflect the information hierarchy of the website. Search engines can see that the given page relates to titles (/title/) and is on the IMDB domain but cannot determine what the page is about. The reference to “tt0468569” does not directly infer anything that a web surfer is likely to search for. This means that the information provided by the URL is of very little value to search engines.

URL structure is important because it helps the search engines to understand relative importance and adds a helpful relevancy metric to the given page. It is also helpful from an anchor text perspective because people are more likely to link with the relevant word or phrase if the keywords are included in the URL.

SEO Best Practice

Content pages are the meat of websites and are almost always the reason visitors come to a site. Ideal content pages should be very specific to a given topic—usually a product or an object—and be hyper-relevant.

The purpose of the given web page should be directly stated in all of the following areas:

Title tag

URL

Content of page

Image alt text

Here is an example of a well-laid-out and search engine–friendly web page. All of its on-page factors are optimized.

on-page-factors-good.png?mtime=20170104131419#asset:2275:url

The content page in this figure is considered good for several reasons. First, the content itself is unique on the Internet (which makes it worthwhile for search engines to rank well) and covers a specific bit of information in a lot of depth. If a searcher had question about Super Mario World, there is a good chance, that this page would answer their query.

Aside from content, this page is laid out well. The topic of the page is stated in the title tag (Super Mario World – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), URL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_World), the page's content (the page heading, "Super Mario World"), and within the alt text of every image on the page.

The following example is of a poorly optimized web page. Notice how it differs from the first example.

on-page-factors-poor.png?mtime=20170104131430#asset:2279:url

This figure shows a less search engine–friendly example of a content page targeting the term "Super Mario World." While the subject of the page is present in some of the important elements of the web page (title tag and images), the content is less robust than the Wikipedia example, and the relevant copy on the page is less helpful to a reader.

Notice that the description of the game is suspiciously similar to copy written by a marketing department. “Mario’s off on his biggest adventure ever, and this time he has brought a friend.” That is not the language that searchers write queries in, and it is not the type of message that is likely to answer a searcher's query. Compare this to the first sentence of the Wikipedia example: “Super Mario World is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack–in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.”. In the poorly optimized example, all that is established by the first sentence is that someone or something called Mario is on an adventure that is bigger than his or her previous adventure (how do you quantify that?) and he or she is accompanied by an unnamed friend.

The Wikipedia example tells the reader that Super Mario World is a game developed and published by Nintendo for the gaming system Super Nintendo Entertainment System–the other example does not. Search results in both Bing and Google show the better optimized page ranking higher.

An Ideally Optimized Web Page

An ideal web page should do all of the following:

Be hyper-relevant to a specific topic (usually a product or single object)

Include subject in title tag

Include subject in URL

Include subject in image alt text

Specify subject several times throughout text content

Provide unique content about a given subject

Link back to its category page

Link back to its subcategory page (If applicable)

Link back to its homepage (normally accomplished with an image link showing the website logo on the top left of a page)

If you have a website for your business online, you likely know and understand the basics of SEO, or search engine optimization. You might even have an SEO campaign in place. But do you understand the different parts of SEO, and that there is both off-page and on-page SEO?

What is on-page SEO? It's a component of SEO that focuses on optimizing elements on your website, like page speed and keyword density, versus factors outside your website, like backlinks.

On this page, we'll talk more about on-page SEO, from what it is to how to do on-page optimization so that you can maximize your efforts to see the best results.

If you'd like to speak with a specialist about on-page SEO services for your website, you can reach us at 888-256-9448 or contact us online!

On-page SEO refers to any optimization that you control and include on your website. With on-page optimizations, you aim to make your website more usable and valuable to users to improve your rankings or visibility in search results on Google, Bing, and other search engines.

On-page SEO leads to higher search rankings, increased traffic to your site, and more conversions. The results of on-page SEO take time, but once your on-page SEO strategy gets off the ground, it can make your online rankings and sales soar.

What on-page SEO ranking factors should I optimize?

With on-page SEO, you have several different ranking factors. You want to optimize all these factors. Taking the time to optimize each of these factors will improve your rankings in search results and make your website more competitive and difficult to beat.

On-page optimization factors you should focus on include:

Example of some on-page SEO action items include:

Optimizing your title tags and meta descriptions

Writing in-depth, quality content

Cleaning up your site’s code

Streamlining your site’s navigation

Speeding up your website

Keep reading to learn how to do on-page optimization for each of these on-page SEO factors!

How to optimize for on-page SEO

Now that you know what factors influence your on-page SEO, you can start optimizing them. Remember, it will take time to optimize your site, as well as see the results from it. Following best practices for these factors, however, will help you create a website that can endure algorithm updates.

What is a URL? Your URL is like an address, but for a page on the Internet.

URL example for on-page SEO

URLs for your website’s pages should include brief descriptions of the page’s topic.

For example, if you have a page about dog daycares in Daytona Beach, a good URL for that would be www.yoursite.com/dog-daycares-in-daytona. Or, if you have multiple locations, you may use the following format: www.yoursite.com/locations/daytona/dog-daycare.

Including your keyword in your URL instead of a long string of jumbled numbers also makes your site easier to navigate and gives people a better idea of your page topics. 

Which of the following URLs would you rather visit, for example? 

https://www.example.com/category/subcategory/keyword.html

https://www.example.com/125typu4f5ww56fifl6639j875fe.html

Use clean, organized URLs — like the first example above — to improve your site’s architecture and help you rank higher in relevant search results. 

What is a title tag? Your title tag is your page’s title, but it only appears in search results.

Title tag example for on-page SEO

In order to show your website in search engine results pages (SERPs), Google has to know what your page is about. Using specific keywords in the title tag of each page (<title>, </title>) makes it easier for search engine crawlers to understand your website.

For example, if you’re targeting the keyword, “dog daycare daytona beach,” you may create the following title tag: “Top Dog Daycare in Daytona Beach | Company Name.” For the best results, limit your title tag to 55 characters to prevent Google from cutting it off in search results and use your targeted keyword at the beginning.

What is a meta description? Your meta description is your page’s summary and appears in SERPs.

Meta description example for on-page SEO

A meta description doesn’t influence your on-page optimization directly. It’s a feature that helps users, however, learn more about your page. The fact that Google will bold user search terms that appear in your meta description is another reason to optimize your meta description for on-page SEO.

Include your core and related keywords in your meta description for the best results. Your page about dog daycare in Daytona Beach, for instance, may use the following meta description: “Looking for dog daycare in Daytona Beach? Come to Rover’s for dog daycare, dog grooming, and more!”

For the best results, your meta description should stick to 160 characters.

HEADING TAGS

What is a heading tag? Heading tags break up content with H2s, H3s, and H4s to improve its readability.

Heading example for on-page SEO

When it comes to heading tags, you want to use them for search engines and users. Use heading tags throughout your content to break it up and make it more readable and skimmable for users. You can also add your core or related keywords to provide search engines with more context for your page.

For example, a post about dog daycare may use the following headings:

What does dog daycare include?

How much does dog daycare cost?

How to find the best dog daycare

When writing your heading tags, remember to target your core keyword in your H1 tag.

What is an alt tag? Alt tags provide more information for multimedia, like images and videos.

Alt tag example for on-page SEO

Search engines can’t see multimedia, so they depend on alt attributes to tell them what multimedia is.

For example, if you have a photo of an apple, your alt tag could say “red delicious apple.” Beyond that, you can add descriptive names to the image files themselves so Google can get a better idea of your multimedia.

Always include an alt tag for your multimedia content. Besides Google, your alt tags also help users that can’t see or interact with your content. Using alt tags makes your content accessible to everyone browsing your site.

KEYWORDS

What are keywords? Keywords describe words used in SEO to target valuable user queries.

Keyword example for on-page SEO

Each page on your site should include text content that discusses the page’s topic.

Even pages that are typically not optimized, such as the “Contact Us” page, can help your business gain recognition online. Using keywords throughout the body text of your page helps Google read it and rank it appropriately.

You should research and compile keywords for each page on your site. Keyword research tools like KeywordsFX and Keywordtool.io can help you understand the keywords people research related to your products and services.

Look at helpful metrics, like monthly search volume and competition, to determine which keywords offer you the most value.

In most cases, smaller companies will focus on long-tail keywords or keywords with three to four words.

Long-tail keywords often have lower monthly search volumes, but they also have lower competition. It’s typically easier to decipher the search intent behind long-tail keywords since they are more specific. 

For example, if someone searches the short-tail term, “dog treats,” it’s hard to identify exactly what they want to find. Maybe they’re researching the best dog treats for small dogs, or they might want to try a dog treat recipe. 

On the other hand, if someone searches the long-tail phrase, “buy dog treats for puppies,” you know exactly what they want to find — and that they’re ready to purchase.

High-performing SEO campaigns contain both short and long-tail keywords — and the terms you choose to target will depend on your business and goals.