On-page optimization of a website

The first hurdle is cleared: The online shop is set up, the products are available, and now customers just need to come to your site. But how can this be achieved? This is where search engine optimization comes into play. It is divided into on-page and off-page optimization. In this article, we will take a closer look at the former.

What is on-page optimization?

The measures also known as onsite optimization are a part of SEO (search engine optimization). The name comes from the fact that the respective measures are implemented within one's own website. The adaptation of, for example, the text of a single URL, such as on a category page or a product page, is also understood under this.

The goal of on-page optimization is to create a page that is optimally designed not only for the search engine but also for visitors through UX design. With SEO on-page optimization, you ensure that website visitors experience better usability of the website. Your shop becomes more structured and achieves greater reach by improving rankings. Overall, on-page optimization means that the success of a shop or website can be increased using simple means.

On-page search engine optimization is distinguished from off-page optimization. This includes all measures that can be taken outside of one's own website to increase rankings. This includes, for example, link building, social signals, and public relations.

Why onsite optimization?

When building a website, it is essential to understand how Google works. To determine a ranking, Google evaluates millions of websites for a search query and compares them with each other according to specific guidelines. For a topic, Google searches and tests the most relevant websites, bringing them to the top positions.

For this reason, website operators should aim to achieve relevance that brings them to the top rankings. On-page optimization serves this purpose—various signals are set here to show Google that a page is so relevant that it should be included in the ranking. The better a website is optimized, the further ahead it lands in the SERPs. This is important because users typically only consider the first Google results when searching and usually find a solution to their concern there. Websites that end up further back in the search results are therefore less relevant.

Components of Onpage Search Engine Optimization

Keywords

Keywords are among the most important elements of onsite search engine optimization. In advance, research should be conducted to determine the current state of your own page: for which keywords are there already good rankings and why? How does the situation compare to the competition? Are there any cannibalizations within your own homepage?

Subsequently, the appropriate keywords for the respective category page, landing page, or product page should be selected. Not only the main keyword counts, but also synonyms and semantically related terms are helpful. Keywords should not just be added en masse to a text, but ideally, a WDF*IDF analysis is initiated, in which the keyword density of a text is checked and compared with the current top hits on Google.

Meta-Tags

Meta tags are used to label a webpage. They provide the search engine with specific information about a webpage and play a significant role in the display in search engine results. Therefore, it is very important to fill them out diligently and follow the recommended number of characters so that headlines and descriptions are not cut off in the SERPs:

1. Meta-Title:This names a page and is displayed as a heading in search results. It is very important to include the main keyword here.

2. Meta-Description:she describes the content of a page and is displayed as a kind of teaser text in the search results.

3. Image-Title:This is the title of an image embedded in the website. Images are better found through Google Image Search this way.

4. Image-Alt:At this point, a brief description should be given of what is visible in an image. The alternative text is displayed when an image cannot be loaded and is read aloud to visually impaired people. It therefore serves accessibility.

HTML

HTML tags help organize a website. If HTML tags are used sensibly, this shows Google a clear and good structure of a page. This includes, for example, marking headings and subheadings with <h1>…<h1>, <h2>…<h2> etc., or marking ordered and unordered lists with <ol> and <ul>. While the H1 is unique, other orders are to be used more often.

Content: Content

Of course, the content of a website holds a very special significance. For on-page search engine optimization, texts, images, and videos are very important. It is essential to create unique content, so-called unique content. High-quality content increases customer satisfaction; visitors stay longer on the page, which benefits the ranking.

Content is therefore essential for on-page SEO. You can publish content through a category text, blog articles, videos, or infographics. The possibilities are diverse and should be utilized to maintain the interest of visitors.

Links

Links can be distinguished as internal and external links. While external links fall under the domain of off-page optimization, internal links are important for SEO on-page optimization.

For internal linking, the rule is: The better structured and interconnected the individual pages are, the better Google evaluates them. Links can also be placed in different positions on the page. The position also influences how the website is evaluated: Links in the main navigation are presumably rated as more valuable than in the footer.

The speaking URL

The URL has a big influence on the ranking. In onsite optimization, one should therefore pay attention to the name of the URL—keyword: speaking URL—and whether, for example, important keywords are included. The length also plays a role—shorter URLs are better than those that are very long.

Loading times

Loading times play a significant role in on-page optimization. Websites should load quickly, as visitors are known to leave a page very quickly if it takes too long to build. Especially in mobile usage, loading time is of great importance. This is where the Core Web Vitals come into play. Specifically, they refer to the loading process of a page, interactivity, and visual stability on a page. Google's metrics indicate how long a page should take to load, how long it takes for a user to show interaction, and how stable a page's layout is. Shop and website operators should work on optimizing these points to ensure that rankings remain very good.

Usability

The goal of Onpage SEO is to achieve very good rankings with relevant keywords. This, in turn, attracts visitors to the site, which generates traffic and revenue. For this, the website should have good usability through the following factors: the operability of the website, its structure, and technical presentation are just a few of the points that help ensure visitors enjoy staying on the site and, for example, purchasing a product.

On-page optimization

Important in on-page optimization is: It is almost never a one-time measure, because search engine optimization and thus also on-page SEO are ongoing processes, as new opportunities for page adjustment always arise.

Image sources:
@Sammby – stock.adobe.com
@monkylabz – stock.adobe.com
@Björn Schmidt – stock.adobe.com
@A Stefanovska – stock.adobe.com