On-Page SEO
Matt Cutts discusses in the video the difference in having an over optimized website. From our experience, you want to only optimize each page for one keyword phrase (and sometimes two) but no more.
At one time putting the keyword lots of times in a page was a good way to optimize for on-page factors, but that is no longer really works anymore.
The first rule to optimizing a page is:
- Write for humans
The second rule is:
- Get the title tag right
So what that means is try and get the keyword up front and only use if it makes sense. We like to add some copy or marketing strategies to the title tag too because we know that ultimately it will be humans seeing the title tag since it shows up as the title listing in the search engines.
For example, it you wanted to optimize for the keyword:
‘Puma Shoes Toronto‘
Well yes you can put that exact keyword phrase as the title tag, but you can also put:
‘Puma Shoes Toronto – Weekly Puma Sales‘
Both are optimize, but the second one will pull more clicks due to it’s stronger offer.
The third rule is:
- Have your keyword(s) in your meta description
It doesn’t have to be anywhere specific just have it listed again. Example:
‘We have a weekly Puma Shoe model on sale every week at our Toronto Shoe store. Click here to learn more about our weekly sales. ‘
Notice it has the keywords in the meta description but it’s not over optimized. Just try and write naturally and write for the searchers. It’s a balancing act between optimizing and writing for humans. Remember searchers are surfing the search engines because they have a problem to solve. Try and think of the intent of the searcher when writing your meta descriptions.
The forth rule is:
- on-page content: do not over optimize by continuously listing the keyword phrase you are trying to optimize for.
It used to be that you’d want to have your keyword in your H1 title and then sprinkle your keyword(s) throughout your page about 3-5%, but the search engines are very smart now and this is not necessary. Sure you can do this, but it’s really not required to get decent rankings. As long as you have some keywords that are relevant to the keyword phrase you are trying to optimize for then it will be fine.
More importantly, is to have some good content. Google and search engines love content. Try to have no less then 300 words to a page (have more as long as it’s quality content) but no less. Try and create content that readers want comment, share on their social networks, or even better want to link to.
Use tools like Google’s wonder wheel and and Google’s related searches to find other keyword phrases searchers are using. (If you are not familiar with these free Google tools, watch our video on Google’s new search.)
That’s it!
On-page SEO doesn’t have to brain surgery. It counts to about 30% of your rankings. The other 70% is (mostly) contributed by link building. We will leave link building to another post.
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Amazing post! Keep up the good work. I had no idea that title & meta tags were that important. Have had an online presence for over a year now. Had written about 100 pages of content and had no title or meta tags for any of the pages until your information. Thank you!
Thanks Dat for stopping by. Yes having a title tags and meta descriptions are two of the most important on-page factors to SEO. Another tip is you want to make sure that each page on your website has a unique Title Tag otherwise the search engines can classify the page as being the same and possible duplicate content (not good) and then only show one of the pages.
Tip: Create unique Title Tag and Meta Descriptions for each page.
I’ve always believed that you have to do the basics (like you have explained very well) correct before you can execute a strong content strategy.
Using keywords is important, but using the right keywords is critical. Make sure the keywords you are using for all of the tips above are the most valuable to your business. Be as specific as you need to be. Qualified leads are better than traffic.