on site-optimization
TRANSCRIPT
WHAT AM I DOING &
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
THE ELEMENTS OF ON-PAGE
OPT IMIZAT ION
Webpages are ranked by a complex algorithm, but basically on-site optimization comes down to:
Picking the keywords you want to be found for
Putting those keywords on a Web page in various ways so search engines know what the page is about
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ~OPTIMIZE~ A PAGE?
JUST PUT KEYWORDS EVERYWHERE!!!
URL (exact match domains) Body – no variations Headings Metadata
We still put keywords in these places, but its requires a bit more thought nowadays…
OLD SCHOOL ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION
NEW SCHOOL ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATIONThink about humans before search engines
What value does this keyword offer someone?
Does it sound natural? Use variations – limiting to one keyword
won’t help you be found for similar terms
SEARCH ENGINES ARE LIKE LITTLE BABIES
They need to be be spoon fed…with text
Text only – HTML Can’t read images Can’t read Java Can’t read Flash
THROUGH YOUR EYES…
THROUGH A SEARCH ENGINE’S EYES…
ON-PAGE ESSENTIALS
Meta data
The “official” data found in the <head> section of the HTML
Title Tags Meta description Meta Keywords
TITLE TAGS
The single most important part of on-page optimization (following the actual content)
It’s the first thing a crawler finds when it comes to your site
SEE?
KEY TIPS FOR META TITLES
Make it relevant and unique - need to give both the reader and the search a good first impression
Should include most important keywords toward the front
Use the business name at the end to establish branding
and increase CTR for those who know who you are
65-75 characters (or else it gets cut off in SERPs)
META DESCRIPTIONS Short description what the page is about
160 characters or else cut off
More important for alluring a user to click through than for search engine rankings
Appears in SERP results below the URL
META KEYWORDS Had value at one time – definitely not any more in
Yahoo still values keywords for site discovery, possibly not ranking
OTHER ON-PAGE FACTORS URL
shorter URLs perform better in SERPs and are more likely to be shared/linked to
Hyphens, not underscores
Keyword Location in URL Keyword should be close to domain
Pcgdigitalmarketing.com/folder/subfolder/SEOversus
Pcgdigitalmarketing.com/SEO
CONTENT Most critical aspect of on-page SEO
Crawlers need to associate your page with a set of keywords
Need to give crawlers enough beef to understand what the page is about – 100 words typically isn’t enough
Should be written naturally to let keywords fall into place. If not, go back and adjust
CONTENT
Links – content is our primary source of consistent link building at PCG
Links increase authority & trustworthiness of a page
Help search engines connect relevancy of a page with keywords that are used in anchor text
CONTENT
Anchor Text
One of the strongest signals search engines use when ranking
If many links point to a page with the right anchor text, that page has a good chance of ranking
use 2 or 3 times throughout content using keyword and variations of the keyword
CONTENT – BODY TAGS Keyword usage – 2 to 3 times (4 to 6 on lengthier pages)
H1 headline – not as important as once thought, but still should include keyword
H2/H3/H4/Hwhatever – not huge importance, but use as needed
Alt Attribute – even more important than thought! Always add keyword-friendly alt tag to images
PHEW!
Questions?