Use this link to see all the posts in this series: Do-It-Yourself SEO.

On-Page Optimization

On-page optimization refers to anything that you do in setting up the pages of your website that will have a positive impact on your ability to rank for specific keywords in the search engines.  This discussion will focus on seven key parts to on-page optimization.

1.  Page Name – Use the main keyword for the page in the name of the page itself.  You have to call the page name something, so you might as well include your keyword phrase in the name of the page.  So, if the main keyword for a page is Atlanta real estate, for example, don’t call the page About Atlanta.  Call it Atlanta Real Estate.

2.  Page Title – The page title is hidden away in the code on each page, but it does appear in several places, and the search engines use it as a critical component in determining what the page is about.

Many search engines will use the page title as the first line in your entry on the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).   The Title will also show in the “information line” in your browser, and it is the text that is used as the description when someone bookmarks your page.

Think of the page Title as a short marketing statement explaining what the page is about.   There are several different theories on how long the Title should be, but you shouldn’t get too hung up on length.  A concise description of the page that contains your keyword phrases and is 10-15 words long would work well.

Keep in mind that once you rank in the SERPs, you will want to use the Title to encourage people to click through to your website.  Write the Title with the search engines in mind, but make sure it is informative and makes sense to human beings, too.

3.   Meta Tags – You’ll read very different opinions about the value of Meta Tags in relation to the search engines.  This is another SEO issue where the experts don’t agree.  My philosophy is that since you typically have access to customize the meta tags, you might as well use them.

Description  Meta Tag – This meta tag is intended to be used as an expansion of the information contained in the page Title.  And, some search engines will use the Description as the 2nd and 3rd line of your entry in the SERPs.

In fact, Google will only display your Description in your SERP entry if it is a “quality” description.  Otherwise, Google will  (somewhat randomly) choose some text from your page to display.   It’s much better to control what people see in your SERP entry than to let the search engines come up with their own description.  Putting some thought into writing a Description is worth it in my opinion.

So, what makes a good Description?  A Description should not be just a long string of keywords.  It should include your keywords, certainly, but should be written in English as a description of your page. 

Another common question has to do with a target length for the Description.  This is another issue that I wouldn’t spend a lot of time worrying about.  Google will display the first 150 characters in your SERP entry, so you want to be sure that you put the most important things about the page at the beginning of the description so that searchers will see it.  But, if the description is longer than 150 characters, it will neither help nor hurt your rankings.

Keywords Meta Tag – This meta tag has the most controversy surrounding it.  You’ll read some advice telling you that none of the search engines use the Keywords tag.  Others disagree.   There are two good reasons I can cite to use the Keywords tag.

First, Yahoo recommends using the Keywords tag according to their Search Ranking advice.  Second, it is a great place to list misspellings without having to include them in the content of your page.  Will listing the misspellings in the Keywords meta tag ensure that you will rank for those terms?  Maybe.  On some of the search engines.  But, it only takes a minute to write a Keyword tag, so why not do it?

4.  Page Content – The most important thing about the content on your site is that it should be useful for your visitors.  Some SEO writers say that if you write the content for your visitors, search engine rankings will come naturally.  I think that is only partially true.

My philosophy is this:  Write web content for your visitors, keeping your keywords in mind.  For example, if your keyword phrase is Atlanta real estate, you need to have that exact phrase in the text on the page. 

It won’t make any difference to your visitors if you write “You’ll find many options for purchasing a home in the Atlanta area” or “You’ll find many Atlanta real estate alternatives to meet your home purchasing needs”.  But, it will make a difference to the search engines.

Wherever possible, use your exact keyword phrase at the top of the page, in the middle of the text, and at the bottom of the page.  If you are familiar with headings, keep in mind that the search engines also place additional importance on the text in H1 and H2 tags.  Including your keyword phrase in those headings will also be helpful.

5.  ALT Tags – ALT tags, or ALT text, is the description you can add to images on your pages.  Using your keyword phrase in the ALT tags will further reinforce what your page is all about.

6.  Focus on Relevancy – The best way to make sure the topic of your page is clear to the search engines is to focus on relevancy.  Make sure the page name, Title, Meta Tags, Content and ALT tags are all relevant to one set of related keyword phrases.

By definition, then, each page on your site should have unique information in all the areas mentioned above.  Avoid having the same title and meta tags on all your pages.  At a minimum, make sure your key pages contain unique information.

And, if you focus on relevancy, you won’t be tempted to put all of your keyword phrases on every page.  Sometimes it seems that webmasters think that adding all their keyword phrases in page Titles and Meta Tags will reinforce their ranking for all the terms.  In fact, it just confuses the search engines.

Let’s say your keywords include Atlanta homes for sale, Atlanta Condos and Atlanta luxury homes.  It might make sense to use all those keywords on your home page because your home page should be addressing each of those keywords in an overview of the site.   However, restrict the information on the page about Condos to only Condo terms, the page about luxury homes to only luxury home terms,  etc.

7.  Internal Linking Structure – Connecting the pages of your website together (creating links internal to your site) is important to both the search engines and your visitors.  Your internal linking structure includes the links between pages on your website, and the same rules should be followed for links from your blog to your site and vice versa.

You don’t want to force your visitors to search around to find what they need.  Every time you reference other pages on your site, make that reference a link.  As a visitor, I find it extremely frustrating when a website instructs me to do something like “Complete a Home Evaluation Request to find out what your home is worth”, then expects me to figure out how to find the Request.

For the search engines, make sure that your internal links help the search engines understand the structure of the information on your site.  Use keyword phrases as the anchor text for internal links.  Anchor text refers to the text that is used as the actual link.

Avoid generic anchor text terms like “Click Here”, “More”, “Learn More”, etc.   Those terms might work for visitors, but they leave the search engines wondering why you have so many pages on your site that are about “Click Here”!

On-page optimization makes your site “attractive” to search engines.  The next entry in this SEO series will cover off-page optimization, or the things that must be done to get search engines to rank an “attractive” website.