On-page SEO refers to the practice of optimizing individual web pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. It involves optimizing both the content and HTML source code of a page.
However, knowledge of HTML or other code isn’t necessary for on-page SEO. Modern website platforms like WordPress and SEO plugins like All in One SEO (AIOSEO) handle code issues in the background for you.
Key points about on-page SEO:
- Content optimization: Creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that targets specific keywords and satisfies user intent.
- Title tags: Optimizing the title tag of each page with relevant keywords to accurately describe the page’s content.
- Meta descriptions: Writing compelling meta descriptions that summarize the page’s content and encourage users to click through from search results.
- Header tags: Using header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure content hierarchically and signal importance to search engines. [When you add headings (also called subheadings) to articles, these tags are created automatically in most website platforms like WordPress or Drupal.]
- URL structure: Creating clean, descriptive, and keyword-rich URLs that help search engines understand the page’s content.
- Internal linking: Linking to other relevant pages within the website to establish a clear site structure and distribute link equity.
- Image optimization: Using descriptive file names, alt text, and other image SEO tactics to help search engines understand visual content.
- Page speed: Optimizing page load speed through techniques like compressing images, minifying code, and leveraging browser caching.
- Mobile-friendliness: Ensuring the website is responsive and easily navigable on mobile devices.
- Schema markup: Adding schema markup to web pages to help search engines better understand the content and display rich snippets in search results.
By focusing on these on-page SEO elements, website owners can improve their search engine rankings, drive targeted organic traffic, and provide a better user experience for their visitors.
Doing On-Page SEO in WordPress
Implementing on-page SEO is done easily by using a plugin like All in One SEO (AIOSEO).
The plugin will analyze your web pages and provide specific action steps to improve SEO.
In addition, the plugin offers Link Assistant, a tool to assist with strategic internal linking. And AIOSEO includes a schema generator, which provides a click-button way to add the code to a web page.