On-Page SEO Tips
There are a few things that I have been noticing that are consistent across my properties: the importance of On-Page SEO. It seems most people are late to the game, and still think Off-Page SEO through link building is the fast track to high rankings in the SERPs. Unfortunately (for all of us), you can’t just throw up a bunch of low quality PBN links and expect it to affect your ranking. In fact, on some of my properties, I have expensive tiered PBN campaigns that have had very little effect.
I want to be careful and not make a blanket statement that links are dead. They are still alive and well, and are a very important part of ranking your website or video for higher competition keywords. And by the way, it seems almost everything these days is becoming a high competition keyword! It is just important to have legit, high quality backlinks from sites that people actually use.
That being said, I believe On-Page SEO is the foundation to get you on the right foot. This includes high quality content on your pages and posts, Schema markup, and well thought out Page Titles.
Content
Lets be honest, we run out of words to describe our business pretty quickly. I hear myself recommending to local business owners all the time, “You need more content!” Business owners often times have me give them SEO advice, and the first thing I notice is that they only have like 100 words on their home page! I know you run out of things to say, but you need at least 1000 words on your pages and posts; especially your home page! Talk about the services you provide, what sets you apart, where you are located, what you like about your business space, what type of equipment you use, etc. Ramble! And break it up in to short bite-sized paragraphs (unlike this paragraph).
Google has to figure out what your site is about, and the best way to tell them is through the words on your page. Also, remember to use Heading tags, and bold your most important ideas so it is easy to read, and keeps readers engaged.
Schema
This is not just a theory, Google actually tells us that they gobble up structured data! Again, if Google is trying to make sense of what your website is about, Schema markup helps them get the idea much faster. As a result, your website will rank higher.
It seems most WordPress themes that have been created in the last year have some sort of Schema abilities within the theme. But if your theme is older, and not updated regularly, the chances are, you are without structured data.
So what can you do? I suggest at the minimum, research how to get your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) marked up so Google can know exactly where you are located. If you cant do this on your own, hire a professional to do this for you. It will make a difference! You can also mark up your client reviews, image geo-tags, and products. Reviews are especially important because they will appear in the search results with a star rating, which is great for your click through rate.
Page Titles
This is also an area at first glance that many businesses haven’t strategized properly. Page titles really help Google know what the site is about. So use the space wisely!
You want to place your main keyword at the front of the page title, with your brand keywords at the end. For WordPress users, the Yoast SEO plugin will help keep your titles and descriptions the correct length.
Conslusion
There is a lot more I could write about when it comes to on-page SEO. I just see it over and over again on local business websites that these simple items are lacking, so I had to write about it. In a future blog post, I will talk about the importance of a responsive website, page load speed, and SILOing your blog content. As always, this blog is to help grow your business through digital marketing and getting your website to rank high in your city. If you need any help implementing these strategies on your website, give me a call!
