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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

thumb_01_60_60Use Your Target Keyword In The First 100 Words

thumb_01_60_60Wrap Your Blog Post Title in an H1 Tag

thumb_01_60_60Wrap Subheadings in H2 Tags

thumb_01_60_60Keyword Frequency

Mention your target keyword a few times to confirm to Google that your page really is about that topic.

thumb_01_60_60Use External (Outbound) Links

thumb_01_60_60Optimize Your URLs for SEO

  • Make your URLs short
  • Include a keyword in every URL

2. Optimize Title and Description Tags

thumb_01_60_60Front-load Your Title tag

The closer the keyword is to the beginning of the title tag, the more weight it has with search engines.

thumb_01_60_60Use Title Tag Modifiers

Using modifiers like “best”, “guide”, “checklist”, “fast” and “review” can help you rank for long tail versions of your target keyword.

thumb_01_60_60Use Unique, Keyword-Rich Meta Descriptions

A good meta description helps your result stand out, which can boost your organic CTR.

3. Write SEO Content

thumb_01_60_60Write 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

thumb_01_60_60Valuable 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.

thumb_01_60_60Content 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

thumb_01_60_60Use “Question Title Tags”

thumb_01_60_60Fill In Missing Meta Descriptions

thumb_01_60_60Use Review or FAQ Schema

thumb_01_60_60Add Some Emotion to Your Title Tags

thumb_01_60_60Add the Current Year to Title and Description

5. On-Page UX Signals

thumb_01_60_60Push Content Above the Fold

Keep your headline and introduction front-and-center.

thumb_01_60_60Chunk Your Content

Use subheadings, bullets, images to make it easy to skim your content

thumb_01_60_60Have an Active Community

A high-quality comments section adds context to your post keeps people on your page.

Advanced On-Page SEO Tips

thumb_01_60_60Use Original images

thumb_01_60_60Voice Search SEO

The best way to optimize your content for voice search is to create FAQ pages.

thumb_01_60_60Internal 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.

thumb_01_60_60Write Comprehensive Content

If your post covers an entire topic, it has a higher chance of ranking.

thumb_01_60_60Boost Your Page Speed

  • by moving to a faster host
  • removing as many third party scripts as you can
  • reducing your page’s total size

thumb_01_60_60Image 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.

thumb_01_60_60Rank 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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