Which On Page SEO Factors Matter The Most

One of the first questions that will pop into your head when you start learning about search engine optimization is “Which on page SEO factors matter the most?”  You understand that having the right page structure matters.  You have heard all about Meta this and Meta that, but what really matters?  What factors do Google and the other search engines really care about?

Keep in mind that Google, Bing, Yahoo and every other major search engine are trying to find the most relevant page possible for the searcher.  Ideally they want to show the searcher exactly what he or she is looking for.  So, do anything you can with your page content to convince the search engines that your page is the most relevant page possible for that particular search phrase.

number oneThe single most important on-page factor is the page’s title.  Obviously, the page’s title should pretty well describe the topic of the page.  Don’t screw that up.  You can get a huge boost in ranking for a term just by having the keyword phrase in your title.  It also helps if you have that keyword phrase near the beginning of the title.

number twoAnother important factor in on-page SEO is having the keywords in the URL.   If at all possible, you want to have the keyword in the URL somewhere.  If it is a keyword phrase, then make sure you have it in the right word order.  If you have the words out of order, you can confuse the search engines as to the intended topic of the page.

number threeTake time to write a well thought out Meta description for the page.  Make sure the primary keywords are there as well.  A good Meta description will increase click through rate on the search engine results pages.  Users will read at least part of the description.  As far as the Meta tag for Keywords goes, just put a few of the most appropriate keywords in there.  Google ignores the meta keywords completely.  Other search engines still use it, but to a much lesser degree than years ago.  Do not stuff a million keywords in there or repeat the same word in there.

number fourMake sure you use the keywords in the headings and sub-headings on the page.  Do not keyword stuff the headings.  Instead uses synonyms and other choices of wording to make it flow better and not look like you just stuffed the phrase in there.  It does help if your keyword is in the main heading and at least one sub-heading though.

number fiveThe amount of relevant content on the page seems to help a lot with Google.   Google in particular likes to show pages that have lots and lots of relevant content on them.  To be more specific, they like pages with lots of text.  So, if you can add more text to your page and that text is directly relevant to what the searcher is looking for, then that can help you get higher rankings.  You want to make sure that the phrase you are trying to get the page to rank well for is on the page at least once.  If that phrase appears more than once, it helps even more.   You don’t necessarily need it to appear more than a few times though and you certainly don’t want to just stuff it in there a bunch of times where it looks out of place.

 

Other Things You Can Do On The Page To Help With SEO

 

Have your main keyword appear in at least two different sized fonts.   If you have the keyword in a normal text font as well as in a heading then you already have this covered.    Other ways that you could alter how a keyword appears is by making it bold, using italics, using capitals or making it a hyperlink.  Google’s index counts the number of times a word appears and the number of times it appears in different sizes.  It equates larger size with more importance.  This is why it is so important to put it into your primary page heading.  Usually that first heading will have the largest font and therefore be considered most important.

If you want to add more keywords onto the page then use synonyms or add additional highly relevant content to the page.  In fact, you should be using synonyms and industry related terminology all over the place.  It gives you more credibility.  Use alternative words and jargon that is related in any way shape or form to what you do.  Use brand names of things that would be mentioned on other websites about the same topic.  Perform some keyword research to see what phrase variations are common with your primary keywords.  Try to include some of those different variations on the page.  Make the wording flow and easy to read.

Try to include other forms of content on your page other than just text.  Pages are generally better if they include a combination of text, images and video.  Google loves video.  So do visitors.  Over time Google will get pickier about making you include new forms of media.  It is best if you incorporate them as much as possible now.

If you are trying to get an article or blog post to rank number one for a specific phrase, then you should always try to use the primary keyword phrase several times throughout the content on the page.  Write a little introduction paragraph that uses it.  Then write a little conclusion paragraph that also uses it.  This helps to keep your article on topic and makes it easier for both the readers and search engines to understand it.

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