Attracting attention from both online users and popular search engines is difficult. Some business owners mistakenly think that launching a website is all they have to do to find a larger audience for their products/services. Organic website traffic is a term used to describe the visitors that land on your website after searching for industry-related terms on Google and other popular search engines. 

Studies show that organic search generates nearly 53% of all trackable website traffic. Boosting the amount of organic traffic your website receives will require you to become familiar with on-site search engine optimization (SEO). Read below for more information about on-site optimization and how to use it to improve your search engine rank and the number of visitors your website receives.  

What is On-Site Search Engine Optimization? 

The practice of optimizing a website to improve both the amount of organic traffic it receives and its search engine rank is referred to as on-site search engine optimization. This optimization process generally includes things like:

  • Creating high-quality content
  • Optimization content headlines
  • Improving HTML tags
  • Image optimization

When done correctly, on-site SEO allows you to establish the authoritativeness and industry expertise you possess. You need to realize that the on-site SEO process is multi-faceted and time-consuming. However, the energy and time you invest in optimizing your website will payoff due to the increased number of quality sales leads it allows you to generate. 

The Importance of On-Site Search Engine Optimization 

You may be wondering why on-site SEO is something you should be concerned with. Without adequate on-site SEO, search engines and consumers will struggle to understand what your business does. The algorithms used by popular search engines like Google are designed to identify websites that feature content to answer a user’s query. 

Search engines like Google make improvements to their algorithm regularly to make it better at doing things like:

  • Identifying the type of content users are searching for
  • Providing search results to meet user intent
  • Reward websites that are properly optimized

Keeping up with the changes made to the Google algorithm is crucial when trying to keep your website on the first page of search results. Working with online marketing professionals is the best way to keep your website up to date and ranking high. 

Areas to Focus on During the On-Site Optimization Process

Ignoring the need for on-site optimization can negatively affect your ability to find a larger audience for your products/services. This is why you need to realize the importance and benefits that come with investing in on-site SEO. If you are trying to optimize your website for search engine success, you need to focus on the areas mentioned below. 

Writing Content with Consumers and Search Engines in Mind

Great content is the cornerstone of any successful website. The term SEO writing refers to the practice of developing new content with both your end-user and search engines in mind. Ideally, you want your content to be both relevant and industry-specific. If you want this content to perform well with both your target demographic and popular search engines, then you need to do things like:

  • Write content based on frequently asked questions
  • Put keywords in your meta description
  • Identify and use popular keywords in the text
  • Link to high-authority websites
  • Internal links provide more context
  • Make your content scannable with bullet points, headers and short paragraphs

Implementing these tips will make your content more attractive to potential customers and search engines. 

Optimize Your Images

If you want to make your web pages more appealing, adding high-definition images is a good idea. As you select images for your website, you need to be mindful of file sizes. Images that have large file sizes can slow down your website. The slower your website loads, the harder it will be to keep it on the first page of Google. This is why using tools like Optimizilla, Optimole and ImageRecycle to shrink image file sizes is crucial. 

You also need to only use images that are related to the content on the webpage. If images have nothing to do with the content in question, it can confuse the reader. Using target keywords in the alt text of your images is also imperative when trying to attract attention from popular search engines. 

Focus on User Engagement

User engagement is a term used to describe how a visitor to your website feels about their experience. If your engagement levels are high, getting users to do things like subscribe to email newsletters or share your content will be easy. Higher user engagement levels also help you rank higher on Google and other popular search engines. 

Effectively improving user engagement will require you to focus on factors like:

  • Adding a live-chat feature
  • Create effective calls-to-action
  • Use a logical content structure
  • Boost website loading speeds
  • Make sure your website is responsive
  • Intuitive website navigation is crucial

Asking for feedback from website visitors is a great way to see where changes need to be made. With this feedback, you can improve user engagement easily. 

Optimize Your Title Tags

Each page on your website features an HTML tag in the head section. This tag helps to provide search engines with context about what the page in question is about. Users will see the title tag when a certain page on your website shows up on a search engine results page. This title tag generally appears as a clickable link on search engine results pages. 

The first thing you need to focus on when creating title tags for your website is the length. Ideally, you want to keep these tags below 60 characters. You also need to include the primary keyword in the title tag. In most cases, long-tail keywords work best for title tags. Using emotional words like impressive or amazing in your title tags to make them stand out. 

Great Meta Descriptions Are a Must

The small blurb that appears under your website name on search engine results pages is known as a meta description. This description is designed to help search engine users identify what the content on a particular page contains. If your meta descriptions aren’t properly optimized, you will struggle to drive organic traffic to your website. 

Since great meta descriptions are a vital part of the on-site optimization process, you need to learn how to write them correctly. As you craft meta descriptions for your web pages, you need to think about things like:

  • Using your focus keyword
  • Write meta descriptions in active voice
  • Align your meta descriptions with the content on the page
  • Include a call-to-action
  • Avoid writing descriptions that have over 155 characters

Monitoring the traffic to your website is imperative when trying to figure out which meta descriptions are working. By using these metrics, you can optimize your meta descriptions to ensure they perform well. 

The Power of Great Headlines

Do you want your content to perform well on search engines? If so, you need to realize how important great headlines are. Using basic titles that are devoid of any character or relevant information can be extremely problematic. This is why you need to work hard to create titles that actually stand out. 

Using simple and powerful language in your titles is the first step in optimizing them. Action words like “click” or “try” can entice search engine users to visit your website. You also need to put target keywords with high search volume in your headlines. Studies have shown that adding numbers to your headlines can make them more attractive to search engine users. 

Posing titles in the form of a question can also make an impact on online consumers. Creating a sense of urgency by using words like “hurry” or “limited-time” is also a great way to attract attention from online consumers. Utilizing superlatives in your headlines like “best” or “smartest” is also a great way to make them stand out. 

Use Header Tags

As previously mentioned, search engines and online users love scannable website content. If the content on your website looks like one big block of text, you will struggle to get more traffic. This is why you need to realize how important header tags are to your search engine success. Using header tags to identify the headings and subheadings in your content is a great way to make it more scannable. 

Content that is easier to read and consumer generally ranks much higher on search engines. Putting target keywords in these headings can also improve how well your website performs on Google. Instead of trying to write and optimize the content on your website alone, you should reach out to professionals for assistance. An experienced marketing agency will have no problem producing a consistent flow of quality content for your website. 

Let the On-Site Optimization Process Begin!

If you are tired of your website performing poorly, then it is time to do something about it. With the on-site optimization tips in this article, you can turn your website into a lead generation machine.