It's a known fact that most people access their phones more than they check their laptops. In fact, as of last year, people frequently prefer to shop via their smart phone than their home computer. This means more traffic for you if your site is mobile friendly. It doesn't just stop at making your website look good on a phone, either. You need to make sure all the content and links are easy to see and tap on a small screen.
One of the best ways to get more traffic is through backlinks. These are links from other websites that point back to your own. Search engines, like Google, take these into consideration when ranking pages. So the more backlinks you have, the higher yours will rank for certain keywords. In order to build backlinks, you'll need quality content. It also helps if you already have other popular websites linking to yours. One of the best ways to do this is by offering a free resource to another website. If they like what you have, there's a good chance they'll add a link to your resource page. With any luck, some of these links will be do-follow. This means other websites can click the link and have it count towards their page rank. It won't take long before yours is climbing up the SERP for your targeted keywords.
In the beginning there was the internet and it was filled with mostly useless information. (Actually, even today there is still too much useless information. That's why SEO exists!) Users would find what they were looking for once every one in a blue moon. In fact, it was so rare to find what you were looking for that if you did come across it you would share the website with everyone you knew. (Begging them not to copy the idea and beat you to the search goldmine you just found.)
While this isn't an inherent part of on-page SEO, it can help your website rank well for specific keywords. Alt tags are the descriptive words shown when a non-text image loads on a webpage. They're important for people with disabilities and can also be used to your advantage. The best way to utilize this feature is by adding pertinent keywords to relevant images. For example, if you post a photo of the Eiffel Tower, you might include the keyword 'Paris' as that is its name. However, you might also add other related terms such as 'France' and 'travel destination. This not only helps with image search rankings, but also gives your page a wider range of keywords.
Your website's internal linking is just as important as the content you publish. Sure, you can just scatter around keywords and call it a day. However, taking the time to organize your page and fill in the gaps can really boost your site. Be sure to link pages that are related so users and the search engine know they are supposed to be connected. This makes it easier for users to navigate your website and we all know how much Google loves user experience! Also, keep your linking basics. Every page should link to your home page and your home page should have links to all your other pages. This creates a pathway for the search engine to follow and helps to boost the ranking of all your published pages. This is different from 'doorway pages' which are made with one intent; to trick the search engine into ranking a particular page higher. While these can work, they're bad for user experience and can get your site banned altogether.
The final on-page SEO factor is your website's URL structure. Much like the internal linking, this can help the search engine robot follow the pathways of your site.
A good rule of thumb is to keep your URLs under 100 characters. Any longer than that and you're pushing it. If you absolutely need more characters then try to keep them under 60-75 as anything more than that will cause a URL error.
Keeping your URLs short and sweet will help with search engine optimization as it allows for more keyword placement. Just make sure to keep it relevant!
While there are many other on-page factors that play a role in SEO, these seven are the most important to focus on. If you take the time to implement these factors into your website creation process, then you're well on your way to rank at the top of any SERP!
