SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a great way to get your website to appear in Google search results. Optimizing your website content to align with Google’s algorithms will boost your website and hopefully get you close to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs).
The tricky part is figuring out what you need to do to satisfy the algorithms because researching SEO tactics is one thing, knowing how they will look in practice is another. So, we’ll talk about what on-page SEO is and review five great examples of on-page SEO.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO is fine-tuning content on your website, such as titles, content, and internal links, to increase search visibility and organic traffic to your site. This includes efforts to find and fix duplicate content and ensure your site is optimized. Basically, it means optimizing your website, so it’s easier for search engines to understand. This differs from off-page SEO, which means optimizing for things that happen off of your website, for example, backlinks.
Examples of On-Page SEO
You may have heard of things such as keyword integration or the importance of the speed of your website. But maybe you didn’t give them a second thought. Here are five great examples of on-page SEO and why they are important.
Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Whether you realize it or not, you already know what a title tag and meta description are. They make up the little blurb you see in search results when you perform a search. A title tag and meta description provide a clear description to users of what your law firm offers and tell them exactly why they should click on your website.
Here is an excellent example of how an exterminator uses title tags and meta descriptions to entice users to click on their website.
Their title tag clearly states where they are located and what they do. And their meta description highlights their “years of experience,” and their CTA (call to action) is very compelling. Without a title tag and meta description, you won’t remain high in rankings because Google will assume that your website doesn’t provide value to users.
Page Titles
A page title can also be referred to as a browser title, blog title, or SEO title. While a page title doesn’t show up on SERPs, they are important for SEO because it sits at the top of your page and tells your user what the post is about to entice them to read the complete article, and it helps search engines understand what your page is about.
A great page title will include your primary keyword. Placing your keyword at the front of your title can help users and search engines determine quickly what your page is about.
Your page title needs to be long enough for the user to entice the reader, but it should be short enough to make the purpose of the page clear to users and search engines. While there aren’t any firm character limits for page titles, we recommend keeping your page title somewhere around 60-70 characters to make it more useful for SEO.
Headlines
One of the elements of on-page SEO that many people forget about is headlines. Your H1 headline is an HTML tag indicating the heading for a website.
Your headline is the most important text on the page, so it should be the most noticeable. It helps users navigate your content, and Google sometimes uses headlines instead of title tags to process data.
Some SEO experts believe that there is a correlation between using headings on pages and higher rankings. That means a proper headline should be relevant and as noticeable as possible.
It’s suggested only to use one H1 headline so you don’t confuse search engines. However, utilizing multiple headlines on your page (H1, H2, etc.) will help improve the readability of your website.
Content
You’ve probably heard the phrase “Content is king.” Creating high-quality, optimized content will give search engines the information they need to index your web pages and rank your website. Here are some ways you can optimize your content.
Keywords
Using keywords is the easiest way to tell users and search engines that the content on your website is what the user is looking for. Using keywords in the headings, body, or both will make the search more relevant. First, you need to determine what your target clients are looking for and then create keywords based on those terms.
SEO Writing
It’s essential to write a copy that is interesting to readers but still follows the best practices of SEO. Some of the ways you can do this include:
- Your content should be easy to read, allowing users to quickly find what they’re looking for.
- Avoid overusing keywords or “keyword stuffing.” When Google finds that you are keyword stuffing, your page could move down in SERPs or could be removed completely.
- Keep it short and to the point. When visitors end up on a webpage full of text, reading and digesting all of the information can be challenging. To avoid this, keep sentences and paragraphs short.
- Using subheadings can attract the attention of visitors who are scanning your page.
- Using bullet points (when it makes sense) is also a great way to break up text into smaller pieces that seem less overwhelming to read.
Images
Images, infographics, and videos make your website more visually enticing to visitors. It also allows the opportunity to boost your SEO. The important thing to remember is that you must be aware of the file size of the visuals you use. Files that are too large can slow down loading times.
Website Speed
Users expect websites to load within 2 seconds or less! If this doesn’t happen, they will bounce from your website, which relays to Google that they don’t find your site helpful, resulting in a lower ranking for your website. However, there are some techniques that you can implement that can increase your page speed.
These include:
- Caching web pages
- Compressing images
- Limiting redirects
You can check the speed of your website using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. This tool gives your website a score between 0 and 100. The higher the number, the less likely users are to leave the website while it’s loading.
Let Conroy Creative Counsel Help You Implement a Successful SEO Strategy
Ultimately, SEO comes down to finding the best way to provide valuable information to people seeking your services and ensuring that your website shows at the top of search engine results pages. You want to ensure that you’re providing rich experiences to users while showing search engines that you’re providing value to visitors.
At Conroy Creative Counsel, our team of experts will help you build an SEO system on a foundation of effective writing by using a plan customized to help your law firm stand out online. We combine extensive keyword research, technological best practices, and custom content to drive organic traffic to your website. Because we personalize our approach, your marketing goals are front and center when we create and implement a strategy that will lead your firm to success.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Let’s explore the results we can create together.