Your incoming link profile is still the number 1 ranking factor in Google (for now) but why not build a sound SEO foundation by getting the on-page optimization right.
Here are 5 Tips for On-Page Optimization
Keyword research – We always start out by making a list of products and services a company offers. Then we will hold a brainstorming session to add to our list. Next, we run the keyword terms from our list through 2 or 3 tools to discover which keyword phrases drive traffic (volume) and which keyword terms are most likely to drive revenue (high cost per click).
Organize your keyword phrases into groups – Once you have created your list in an excel spreadsheet, you can begin sorting through the list to group keyword phrase together. Its important to let the keywords “expose” the groups to you. Let the keywords in your spreadsheet tell you a story. You might be able to group them into names of competitors, location based keywords, variations of the same term, shopping keywords, buying keywords, etc. Once you start sorting through your list, you will begin to see patterns developing.
Pick your winners – Choose the main keyword in each group and then thin the herd by breaking your list down to 5-7 main keywords that you are comfortable using in the navigation. You may have 5-7 great keyword phrases and another 15 -20 less valuable but noteworthy keyword phrases that you can add in the drop down menus or on a sidebar.
One keyword phrase per page – Make sure to optimize for one keyword phrase and a few variations of the phrase per page.
Where to you add your keyword phrase:
- The title
- The meta description
- Once each in the first and last sentence or paragraph
- A couple of times in the body
- Once in bold or strong
- The H1
- The H2 and H3 (use variations of your keyword phrase)
- In the URL (.com/keyword-phrase) In link text
These are the basics of on-page optimization. Later on this week, I will get into “theming” content for better SEO results.