On-site SEO optimization: The best practices for your website

Would you like to improve your visibility in Google search results? On-site SEO optimization of a website is a crucial step that should not be overlooked. It is also important to know the best methods to implement and assure that they are in line with Google’s frequent updates.

Find out how to enhance the on-site optimization of your web pages and improve your SEO with our expert advice.

Using keywords that meet the needs of targeted internet users

One of the first steps for on-site SEO optimization is keyword research. This step, similar to a study of the competition, is not only beneficial for your organic SEO strategy, but also for your overall web marketing.

Even if you think you know the keywords used by Internet users to find your products or services, a study of the target terms is still crucial. It allows you to identify the terms related to your sector of activity and classify them according to several criteria:

1. Search volume
2. Competitors
3. Search intent
4. Relevant pages to link
5. Etc

This is only part of the criteria to be considered, but it helps you understand the importance of this research. It enables you to make decisions based on data rather than your own knowledge, which can affect the way you look for information.

SEO tools available

To conduct these kinds of studies, many SEO tools are available online. Though often limited to a few searches in their free versions, they still allow users to properly start the SEO optimization of their web pages.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of tools to help you with keyword optimization:

• Keyword Explorer by Moz
• Keyword Magic Tool by SEM Rush
• Keyword Explorer by Ahrefs
• Keyword Planner by Google
• Ubersuggest by Neil Patel
• Etc.

After completing your keyword research, you should have a document with many terms you can use. The next step is to categorize these terms according to the pages on your website so you can then isolate the most relevant terms to structure your on-site SEO optimizations.

Efficient optimization starts with relevant meta title and meta description tags

After keyword research, writing and optimizing the meta title and meta description tags is the second step in the on-site optimization process. These metadata, which you can find in search engine results, are among the first elements read by Google’s robots. They are therefore very important for indexing your pages.

For these tags to efficiently contribute to the ranking of your website, certain rules and common sense must be applied.

Here are some of the SEO optimizations to apply when writing your meta tags:

• Adhere to the maximum number of characters: 55 to 65 characters for the meta title and 145 to 155 characters for the meta description
• Include the target keyword in the meta title and meta description tag
• Correctly answer the search intent
• Ensure consistency between the metadata and the topic of each landing page
• Etc.

Applying the best SEO writing methods for your content </H2>

Although it shouldn’t have to be restated, content is always king in SEO. Writing quality SEO content is therefore an essential step for on-site optimization.

Among the many criteria involved in good content writing, three fundamental factors should be noted:

• Expertise: You must demonstrate expertise in your field with reliable and useful information by making sure that your content highlights your level of knowledge and is adapted to the target audience.
• Authority: Your pages gain authority thanks to the expertise of the author and/or the company. The company’s online presence, such as on social networks or forums, is a positive indicator of its level of knowledge.
• Reliability: Visitors should be confident that the information found on your website is trustworthy. This will also positively impact the credibility of your company.

Naturally, these are not the only criteria to be considered in the optimization process and other aspects must be taken into account.

Structuring your text

For your content to be well understood by Google bots, it must be structured and organized by level of importance.

Each page must begin with a distinct title identified by a h1 tag. This title must include the target keyword and introduce the topic of the page.

This is followed by the various h2, h3, etc. tags that structure your SEO content. These should contain keywords that relate to your main keyword or the general topic of the optimized page. These elements are used to divide the information and make it easier for indexing bots and users to read.

Respect the hierarchy of heading tags for better readability:

Verifying the technical elements to boost your on-site SEO optimizations

On-site SEO optimizations not only cover the content of your page, but also its technical aspects. Several factors need to be analyzed, corrected and optimized to ensure the effectiveness of your SEO strategy in the long run.

Some of the technical points to check:

Web page load time

The loading time of a web page is an increasingly important piece of data for Google. According to the search engine, slower load times significantly impact the user experience.

If this load time is longer than on other similar websites, why give your page a good ranking in search results? Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool can be used to find your website’s speed score.

It is therefore important to optimize your web page load time so it doesn’t hinder your SEO strategy.

Broken links

A website changes and evolves, which can lead to problems such as broken links. These broken links, also known as “dead links”, send users and robots to non-functional pages.

According to Google, these errors affect the domain credibility and the company’s level of professionalism. This can negatively affect the visibility of webpages in search results.

On-site optimization therefore involves regularly checking and correcting broken links. Whether they are internal links or outbound links to other domains, they must be functional.

Structured data

One of the goals of on-page SEO is to make sure that search engines understand your website. Implementing structured data helps search engines better understand your key business information.

For example, an online store can provide details concerning the price, description or availability of a product. Search engines can then present this additional content directly in the results pages by displaying snippets.

Multiple structured data can be used to better communicate with Google.

SEO optimization: using the best methods to get good results

Keep in mind that these steps apply to all of your pages and it is best to apply them to existing pages as well as those you are going to create.

Regularly updating the information available on your website also gives you a boost on search engines. Frequent reviews and updates will ensure that your pages are always well optimized for SEO.

If you are interested in getting our team’s advice and benefitting from our SEO expertise, do not hesitate to contact us at 514-572-7758 or via our contact form.

Eugénie Delhaye

Cofondatrice et Spécialiste Marketing Internet et Référencement Naturel (SEO) Ma maîtrise des techniques de référencement, combinée à une analyse minutieuse des tendances du marché, me permet de créer des stratégies SEO sur mesure, efficaces et durables.