What is On Page Optimization
On-page optimization is the process of optimizing multiple factors of a single web page to help the search engines know what that page is about. We don't really know for sure how much value the search engines place on each of these factors but through testing the SEO community has come to the conclusion that it is worth doing.
On Page Optimization alone is usually not enough to get you on the first page of results on any of the major search engines. But it can make a world of difference. In some cases you can improve your rankings dramatically with just a few changes. And combined with the Off-page optimization you will be doing later, you can get some really great results.
On-Page Ranking Factors you can Control
These will be explained in greater
detail later.
- Keyword in Title Tag
- Meta Tags in use and relevant
- Keywords in Content
- Anchor text of internal links
- Keywords in H Tags
- Keywords in bold, underlined, or italicized
- Keyword Density(this one can backfire)
On-Page Factors that can Harm Your Rankings
- Over-Optimization - If you follow the process I am teaching on this site, you shouldn't have a problem.
- Hidden Text - Hidden text can get you penalized and/or banned from the search results. Hidden text is: text that is way to small to read and/or text that is the same color as the background. Text that has a really similar color as the background will also trigger a penalty.
- Duplicate Content - Duplicate content is content that is the same or almost the same as content from another web page. This is really harmful if the duplicate content is on the same site. Make sure you write your own stuff and if you have someone else writing content for you, you should check it for plagiarism.
- Keyword Stuffing - Keyword stuffing is when you put a keyword into your site over and over to try and fool the search engines. First of all it doesn't work and secondly it makes your site look stupid to anyone who sees it.
- Linking to Bad Neighborhoods - If your site links to sites that the search engine thinks is a spammy site it can have a negative effect on your site. Usually, to get a penalty your site would have to be linking to multiple bad sites. A general rule of thumb is don't link to any site that won't help your visitors. And every once in a while check all your outbound links to make sure the sites have not changed to something inappropriate. Sometimes a site owner will let their domain expire and some bad bad person will snatch it up and turn it into... Well lets just say a bad neighborhood.
Next Step:Title Tags