SEO Techniques: Simple On-Page Elements You Can Optimize Today

You may think that SEO techniques involve some kind of trickery, or maybe some top-secret steps that only search engine optimization professionals know about. In fact, search engine optimization is not extremely difficult, it just involves following some simple rules. There are some very easy steps that even a novice webmaster can take to optimize their website for search engines.

I’m not saying that SEO techniques are so easy that even a caveman can do it (yes, I know, that’s a bad joke). Because although the rules are basic, following them requires some knowledge and technical skills. But anyone with beginner web programming skills can certainly do their own elementary search engine optimization.

If you’re ready to get started, you can optimize your first web page in less than an hour. Because the first steps in any SEO project start with on-page factors. Unlike off-page SEO, on-page SEO is easy for a novice webmaster because it only involves changing or updating elements that are actually on the web page, elements under his control. Let’s take a look at the most common on-page SEO techniques.

** Create keyword rich title tags.
I should point out that web page title tags and headlines, header tags and filenames are not the same thing. The title tag is the phrase that appears in the upper left corner of your web browser. Your title tag is only visible in your page code. You can take a look at your page’s code by hovering your mouse over your web page, right-clicking it, and then choosing “view page source code”. Somewhere towards the top of the code, you should see a Meta title tag.

Showing up in the browser window is one thing, but the real reason your title tag is so important is because it shows up on search engine results pages. When a web surfer enters their search term into Google and Google gives them a list of web pages to visit, the blue underlined text in that list is taken from the title tags of the web pages. Since this is the first information web searchers will see about your web page, you need a title tag that entices your prospects to click through to your website.

Also, your title tag tells search engine robots what the content of your web page is about. So you want your title to contain your keywords to give Google an idea of ​​what your webpage should rank for. And you want to use a unique title tag for each of your web pages.

** Create attractive meta descriptions.
Now that your web page titles have been updated, let’s take a look at your meta description tag. You won’t be able to find your description tag in the browser window anywhere. Or anywhere on your website. The only way to see its description is to see its source code, just as we did to see its title tag. Once you’re in the source code of your web page, search for “meta description” to see the content of your description tag.

Although your description is not visible anywhere on your web page or in the browser window, and although it is technically not factored into your search engine ranking, optimizing it is still one of the most important SEO techniques. Your description appears on search engine results pages below your title tag. Without a compelling page description, you won’t get many clicks to your website.

Writing high-quality Title Tags and Meta Descriptions is an ultimate art form. It is actually similar to writing classified ads. You need to pack a big punch in a small space. Your title tag should be no longer than 60 characters and your description should be no longer than 160 characters. When creating your titles and descriptions, place your keyword phrases as close to the beginning as possible. When your listing appears on search engine results pages, your search terms will be displayed in bold.

** Create Headlines that are Headlines.
Now we want to take a look at your title tags. It sounds silly, but headline tags can be tricky. You might think it’s a headline when you look at it, but Google might not agree. Your text can be bold and it can be large, but if it’s not contained within a title tag, it doesn’t count as a title when it comes to search engines.

If you are not sure about your title, you can check it again in the source code of your web page. Take a look at what your title says; you might even want to highlight it with your mouse and copy it. Just like you did to view your titles and meta descriptions, you simply need to hover your mouse somewhere on your webpage, right-click, and then click “view page source” from the popup menu .

Once you’ve opened the web page’s source code, click Edit, then Find in the menu bar, and type your title text. When you find your title in the source code, you’ll want to see the beginning of it. The initial tag should say H1. You may see a “p” tag instead of an “h1?” tag, indicating that your text is a paragraph and not a heading. For maximum search engine optimization, you want your titles to be contained in title tags and not paragraph tags.

Replace “p” tags with “h1?” It’s the first SEO step you’ll take with your web page titles; next, you’ll want to see the actual content of the title. You should include your keywords or keyword phrases within each of your titles. Using “Welcome to my website” as your home page title is pretty weak when it comes to search engine optimization.

** Always use image ALT tags.
And the last on-page SEO factor to pay attention to is image ALT tags. The ALT tag is the text that is displayed when a browser has image display turned off. Basically, your ALT text describes in words what the image is about.

ALT text isn’t specifically for SEO, it’s for usability. However, it can also support your search engine optimization efforts. You never want to put keywords in your ALT text if the keywords don’t actually describe the graphics, or your website’s usability will suffer.

Even though these on-page SEO techniques are easy to overlook, they will have a definite impact on your search engine ranking. However, if your website doesn’t include unique keyword-based content, all the on-page SEO tweaks in the world won’t help your SERP position. Aside from addressing these on-page factors, the most crucial SEO technique is posting keyword-based content that your target market will find useful.