People often ask me, "What is the best way to optimize elements on my website to be found by search engines?" Here is a quick rundown of On-Page SEO elements and how to use them to make your website easier to find out there in the stratosphere we call the worldwide web.
Page Title
This is the title that shows in the search engine results. Make sure the targeted keyword appears as close as possible to the beginning of the sentence. The closer to the start of the title tag your keywords appear the more helpful they will be in achieving a high ranking, making a user more likely to click your link on a search engine results page.
URL
Google likes seeing the keyword in the URL. For example, if you target "hoverboard instructions" try something like this: www.mysite.com/hoverboard-instructions. URLs are a minor ranking factor search engines use when determining a particular page or resource's relevance to a search query. While they do give weight to the authority of the overall domain itself, keyword use in a URL can also act as a ranking factor.
Meta Description
This refers to the short blurb under the "Page Title" that shows in search engines. It's the place your eyes scan to determine if this is the article you want to read. This element isn't as important as it used to be but adding the keyword here is still relevant. The meta description tag serves the function of advertising copy. It draws readers to a website from the SERP and thus is a very visible and important part of search marketing. Composing a readable, compelling description using important keywords can improve the click-through rate for a given web page.
Images Name & Alt Attributes
Images are important. Name them properly. Try not to take the lazy way out when adding images to your site. Search engines can't read their content so they rely on their name and the alt attribute. Let me give you an example. If you have an image of a "large coffee mug", a name like "large-coffee-mug.jpeg" is better than "image1234.jpeg". Add the relevant keyword to the alt attribute of images. Side note: Optimize your image size for the web. There are many tools out there to help with this.
Search engines will rely on the name of this photograph, "large-coffee-mug" to be found online. If I'm searching for a large coffee mug and this image is named "Image1234" it is unlikely to be found in search engines.
Link Structure
How many clicks does it take to go from one page to another on your website? It should not take more than four clicks. The more you link your pages amongst themselves, the easier it is for Google and other site engines to crawl through your site. Google is the King of Search, so I tend to refer to search engines by the name, "Google" much like I refer to a bandage adhesive as a "Band-Aid". You get my point.
Body Text
Repeat the main keyword in the body of your article or page. Don't overdo it, though. The last thing you want is to sound unnatural. Google actually reduces page ranking if you "keyword stuff" page copy. Try instead using relevant synonyms and other long tail key word phrases that have similar meaning.