Search engine optimisation (SEO) plays a vital role in the success of online businesses as a crucial digital marketing tool. In this article, we delve into the significance of implementing a robust onsite SEO strategy and its direct impact on improving webpage rankings across search engines.

For those unfamiliar with SEO, we suggest visiting our SEO Report page to gain further insights and discover what Adzooma can do for your businesses. But for now, let’s explore our seven-step comprehensive introduction to onsite SEO, which provides you with the knowledge to build a powerful strategy.

What Is Onsite SEO?

SEO consists of two essential components: onsite and offsite methods, each playing a crucial role. Onsite SEO, also known as on-page SEO, focuses on making physical changes and optimisations directly on a website. Whereas offsite SEO, or off-page SEO, enhances a website’s visibility through external factors such as incoming links from other websites.

Major search engines like Google maintain strict confidentiality regarding their search algorithms. This practice safeguards against fraudulent manipulation of rankings, ensuring the integrity and quality of the search engine’s service. However, it is widely recognised that onsite SEO, specifically the aspects we will discuss below, plays a vital role in achieving favourable positions on search engine results pages (SERPs). These efforts aim to deliver an excellent user experience for individuals utilising the search engine.

To develop a meaningful onsite SEO strategy, it is crucial to identify the weaknesses present on your website. The following steps outline an effective strategy in order of priority. To achieve your desired rank results, conduct your onsite SEO strategy by exploring your website’s gaps in the same order.

Step 1 – Check for Major Technical SEO Issues Impacting Crawling & Indexing

The Robots.txt File

Optimising your website is futile if search engines cannot access it. One common issue that can hinder crawling is the robots.txt file. Most websites have this file, which serves as a guidebook for search engines, instructing them on what should and should not be crawled. To check its contents, visit your website’s homepage and add “/robots.txt” to the end of the domain in the URL bar (e.g., https://www.example.com/robots.txt). 

Meta Robots Directives

Unlike the robots.txt file, meta robot rules do not dictate what search engines should or should not crawl. Instead, as a page is crawled, the meta robots directives guide the search engine to either ‘index’ or ‘noindex’ the page. If the meta robot directive ‘noindex’ is present on a page, it will prevent it from appearing in SERPs.

The Sitemap.xml File

While the absence or presence of a sitemap.xml file may not have as significant an impact as the previous points mentioned, having this file can greatly enhance the number of pages indexed in SERPs and the speed at which they are indexed. To check if you have a sitemap.xml file, visit [your homepage]/sitemap.xml (e.g., https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml). 

Step 2 – Place Keywords in Meta Tags, URLs & HTML Tags

Optimising webpages, including the homepage, for relevant search terms is crucial. These terms, known as ‘keywords,’ align the user’s intent with the content you want them to find on your website, and each page should have a unique set of related keywords.

Once you have a list of keywords for each page, it is important to incorporate them in specific areas:

• Title Tag & Meta Description. The title tag appears purple on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). It should include the keywords naturally and attract the reader’s attention, limited to around 60 characters. The meta description, shown in black text, is limited to around 160 characters and should provide additional enticing information to encourage clicks.
• URL. The webpage’s address displayed in the browser’s address bar should ideally include the keyword. It is best to optimise the URL when the page is initially published, as subsequent changes would require permanent redirects (301 links) and addressing redirect chains to maintain the technical health of the domain.
• HTML Heading Tags. HTML heading tags, such as H1, H2, etc., establish the hierarchy of headings for search engines to comprehend. The page’s main heading, typically the H1, should incorporate the primary keyword. 

Step 3 – Create Meaningful Content

Website content is a vital tool that guides visitors to the right place on your site. It should be detailed, concise, reader-centric, and optimised for SEO. High-quality content is crucial, and incorporating user-friendly copy by content experts often leads to notable improvements in ranking performance.

Step 4 – Add Valuable Schema Mark-Up

Schema.org mark-up is a collaborative code that allows search engines to display specific information from your web page in search engine results pages (SERPs), improving click-through rates (CTR). Different schema types are eligible for specific pages. For example, product pages can benefit from price and availability snippets. 

Step 5 – Optimise for Page Experience

Page experience encompasses various elements that collectively shape a visitor’s webpage experience. This includes aspects like webpage layout, design, page loading speed (Core Web Vitals), mobile usability, and the number of clicks required for a user journey, among other factors. It is crucial to have a user-friendly website design and architecture, so creating websites that prioritise user experience, responsive design, and core web vitals is key. These factors play a significant role in conversion rate optimisation and user engagement.

Step 6 – Identify Keyword Gaps

You can conduct an SEO competitor keyword gap analysis to maximise your website’s potential in search engine results pages (SERPs). This involves comparing your website with competitor listings to identify pages or keywords they rank for but you don’t. If relevant, you can create new pages or expand existing content to incorporate alternative ways of describing your services or products.

By broadening your website’s relevance to a larger number of in-demand keywords, you can cast a wider net; we recommend utilising the following tools:

• Keyword Planner
• SEMrush
• Keywords Everywhere

Step 7 – Create a Blog Strategy

Just like step six, blogs can target question-related keywords usually asked by those at the initial stages of the buying or enquiring journey. This further casts the net out over a broader online audience.

You, or a blog writing agency, can tactfully write blogs that answer peoples’ questions, getting your brand name in front of consumers early on. Blogs can transition the reader from the information acquisition phase to purchase or enquiry ready and then funnel traffic to your website’s product or service pages.

So, there you have it; seven top tips for a powerful onsite SEO strategy. We understand that it can be overwhelming for those less experienced in the world of SEO, which is why we’re here to help.As mentioned, we offer a SEO Visibility Report, helping you ensure your website is as optimised as possible. For more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.