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On-Page SEO Basics 2021
Top SEO expert Brian Dean’s tips for On-page SEO at a glance.
1. Optimize Your Content for SEO
Use Your Target Keyword In The First 100 Words
Wrap Your Blog Post Title in an H1 Tag
Wrap Subheadings in H2 Tags
Keyword Frequency
Mention your target keyword a few times to confirm to Google that your page really is about that topic.
Use External (Outbound) Links
Optimize Your URLs for SEO
- Make your URLs short
- Include a keyword in every URL
2. Optimize Title and Description Tags
Front-load Your Title tag
The closer the keyword is to the beginning of the title tag, the more weight it has with search engines.
Use Title Tag Modifiers
Using modifiers like “best”, “guide”, “checklist”, “fast” and “review” can help you rank for long tail versions of your target keyword.
Use Unique, Keyword-Rich Meta Descriptions
A good meta description helps your result stand out, which can boost your organic CTR.
3. Write SEO Content
Write Unique Content
- A new tip or strategy
- A better list of curated resources
- Strong design and UX
- New case study
- Streamlined step-by-step process
Valuable Content
- Add details: Images, screenshots, make it easy for someone to put your content into practice.
- Strong copywriting will make your content more engaging.
- Updated material: Brand new strategies, steps and examples
- Expert authors: Content from someone with first-hand experience is almost always more valuable than something written by a random freelance writer.
Content That Satisfies Search Intent
Your page has to answer the searchers query. If your visitor leaves immediately because they didn’t find what they were looking for Google will rank your page lower.
4. Optimize for CTR
Use “Question Title Tags”
Fill In Missing Meta Descriptions
Use Review or FAQ Schema
Add Some Emotion to Your Title Tags
Add the Current Year to Title and Description
5. On-Page UX Signals
Push Content Above the Fold
Keep your headline and introduction front-and-center.
Chunk Your Content
Use subheadings, bullets, images to make it easy to skim your content
Have an Active Community
A high-quality comments section adds context to your post keeps people on your page.
Advanced On-Page SEO Tips
Use Original images
Voice Search SEO
The best way to optimize your content for voice search is to create FAQ pages.
Internal Linking
Internal linking is HUGE for SEO; specifically, you want to link from high-authority pages on your site to pages that need a boost. Make sure to use keyword-rich anchor text.
Write Comprehensive Content
If your post covers an entire topic, it has a higher chance of ranking.
Boost Your Page Speed
- by moving to a faster host
- removing as many third party scripts as you can
- reducing your page’s total size
Image Optimization
Give every image on your site a descriptive filename and alt text.
Make one image optimized around your target keyword. Use a filename that includes your target keyword (for example, on-page-seo-chart.png). Use that same keyword as part of your image alt tags.
Rank Your Content In Featured Snippets
Huge impact on your CTR – but only available if you already rank on page 1 in Google.
Thanks to Brian Dean for this fantastic guide! To read the full illustrated article go to his Definitive Guide for On-Page SEO
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