To rank better on Google's Search Engine Results Page requires for a site owner to embrace optimisation practices with the base foundation being On Page SEO. This type of optimisation practice is one among a couple of other practices available and is an influence of Relevance and Authority - both of which rely on your site's page content.
Authority in the context of Search Engine Optimisation is the number of links passing to a specific page on your site from external domains using keywords that you have targeted for.Hence by placing your targeted keywords within strategic areas of your page to make sure users find you on Google's SERPs(Search Engine Results Page), can help you achieve Authority.The greater the number of links passing to your pages the greater your site's authority.
Relevance on the other hand is using the right keywords that have been targeted by other sites and have sufficient search volumes where users are likely to search using these keyword phrases.The trick behind using highly targeted keywords is to mix them up with alternative keywords that are closely related to them - technically referred to as long tail keywords.Otherwise you may have to compete with powerful and more established sites that are using the same keyword phrases which will automatically be picked first in Google's SERP.
Techniques on how to improve your On Page Optimisation
#1. Optimise Title Tags
When writing titles in your article there are three simple rules that should be followed:
- Since your title is the first item a user will see when Google lists search results,carefully craft your title to have a limit of 70 characters. This will prevent it being from being shed off by Google which has a standard limit of 70 characters for titles.
- Place the most relevant keywords among those you are targeting at the beginning of the title.
- Craft a catchy and compelling title that will lure users to click.It should be a unique title that accurately describes the content on your page.This also helps to improve your click through rate.
#2. Optimise your photos
As a site owner it is good practice to optimize your photo's file names before uploading them on your site by naming them using your targeted keywords.Give a description of the photo in its alt tag to optimise for browsers that may not display graphic images i.e photos.
#3. Keyword Meta Tags & Keyword Stuffing
On your page in the section between the head tags lie the keywords and description meta tags.Though it is good practice to place your targeted keywords in that section,Google no longer considers Keyword Meta Tags when ranking pages in its SERP. Hence it should not be a compulsory practice to place keywords in your Meta Tags.
Despite Meta Tags not being considered,Google sometimes uses a matching Meta Tag description in its SERP if it does not find relevant keywords that match a user's search in the page's body section,especially the lead text.
Above all when optimising content on your website's page do not engage in Keyword Stuffing.That is using the same keyword phrase repeatedly on a specific page.Stuffing keywords even when placing them in specific areas will make you a candidate for a Penguin Update penalty.
Ranking high in Google as a Local Business
Being a local business you may want to get found easily by people looking for products or services online in your local geographical area.To achieve visibility you need to have a business address citation listed in other sites matching your business operations.The sites will have a display of your business with a citation containing your company's name,phone address,physical address and a brief description of your business operations written with targeted keywords in mind. For a comprehensive guide on how to get sites for local citations of you business check out Direction SEO.
To better rank locally it is also helpful to have your company reviewed on high quality review sites such as Google Plus Local.
PRO Tips for novice site owners
Below are some few tips to get the ball rolling and get your pages indexed a little bit faster by Google:
- Add your site to Google directly(recommended for beginners) by adding the "Add/URL" after the foward slash in Google's URL. i.e www. Google.com/Add URL
- To make sure that Google has indexed your site's pages,confirm by doing a search on Site:www.yourcompany's URL.com.This will list the exact number of pages that Google has indexed to your site.
- To help you get found easily in your local geographical area - especially if you are a small niche business, you need to submit your site to local listings such as Google Places,Bing Local and Yahoo local.
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