Mastering On-Page Search Engine Optimization with Keywords

After conducting your organic keyword research, it’s time to apply all those keywords you just found to your landing pages and blog posts. The right SEO strategy can help Skyrocket your content in the search engines. Today’s guide will walk through the exact steps, tools, and processes for effective on-page search engine optimization. We’ll also explore optimizing your content using the keywords you’ve generated. Use tools like Google and Bing Webmaster to refine your strategy as you grow your website.

Let’s start at the first step. Prioritize your keywords.

After identifying your target keywords, categorize them based on intent, such as information navigational and transactional. You should also start aligning those keywords with your content and business goals.

How to optimize blog posts and landing pages with keywords

Start using those keywords. Optimize your landing pages and your blog post. We’ll start with your meta tags. Your meta tags are your title tags, and the meta descriptions of your title tags live in the head of your HTML Code. And so does the meta description? Now, how do you optimize your meta tags and your meta description? You want to ensure that your primary keywords are included near the beginning of the title tag. You must keep it under 60 characters to avoid truncation and search results.

Tips for Optimizing Meta Descriptions

The Meta description is longer than the title tag. The length of the meta description can be between 154 characters to 160 characters.

Stay within these parameters for meta descriptions. Make the meta description compelling for the user. Include your primary keywords within the copy.

The Meta description is the text that appears directly beneath the title tag in Search Engine Result Pages (SERP). Google can extract any text from the body of the blog post’s text if the blurb is more relevant to the user’s search intent.  

A best practice is to continue to create meta descriptions for content. The meta description allows you to highlight a few benefits and call to action to capture user interest. We’re not going to go over how to craft great title tags or meta descriptions that meta descriptions today, but we will take a look at those in a future blog post.

How to optimize h1-h6 tags with keywords

Every landing page or page on your website should have structured headers. You should have one h1 tag. Your blog post’s or landing page’s main title should be in the h1 tag. Often, developers incorrectly use the h1 tag to add a bold to elements. Instead, the developer should apply CSS to highlight non-important text visually. Other mistakes include wrapping the logo in an h1 tag, which provides no SEO benefits.

Another best practice is to mimic the information from the title tag into the first h1 tag or add additional keywords to the h1 tag that you could not get into the title tag. However, stay moderate and don’t overstuff the h1 tag with many keywords.

Penalization with duplicate h1 tags

If you have multiple H1 tags on your website, then Google and Bing will consider this a critical issue. A blog post or landing page can have multiple H2 through H6 tags, which provide an excellent reference to understand the hierarchy of the text on the page. As a best practice, use h2 header tags as secondary headlines. H3 through H6 tags are used underneath H2 tags as subtopics related to that h2.

H1 through H6 tags benefit blog posts and landing pages by providing a structure for your blog post, improving readability, and helping search engines understand your content hierarchy.

How to optimize written content with keywords

Let’s optimize your written content since we’re already on the topic. Aim for a keyword density between 1 and 2%. Primary keywords should appear naturally in the text without overstuffing.

Don’t go overboard with keywords

Search engines have a way of determining if you are keyword stuffing or if you’re hiding content from users and trying to cloak content. Never cloak content or hide content from the user. Google and Bing have systems to detect cloaking, which could cause a content strike or get a website de-indexed.  

Text contrast also matters. If the text is too light, it could be seen as cloaking. Bing takes issues with SVG or Word Clouds, which have too much text and could de-index a website. Never use CSS to hide written content from users, but it is visible to the search engine bot. There are some instances of visibility being hidden because of search engines. Don’t search engines will know when you do this.

How to Optimize Content With Semantic Keywords

While discussing keyword density, let’s also talk about semantic keywords. Semantic keywords are words that are related to your primary keyword. These may also include synonyms; sometimes, you need to include antonyms. Use synonyms and related terms throughout your content. You can use tools to help identify semantic keywords, ensuring your content remains relevant. What about content length? You may have a question about that.

How long should the content be?

Content length is subjective. While there are no strict rules to it. One thousand five hundred words or more is standard. Short content is acceptable if you can get the point across in 500 words. However, the content must engage your users so they don’t bounce back to the search engines and the user finds the answer to their question. Utilize internal linking to other blog posts to decrease users’ need to return to the search engine. Using your keyword research, answer other relevant questions for the user.

How to optimize URL structure for SEO

It’s time to take your url structure seriously. Categorize your content into topics and create pillar content around those topics. Use keywords to describe the category and the URL. Adding keywords in the URL signals to Google and Bing Bots what the page’s content is about. Adding categories also improves the site architecture. Overall, site architecture is outside the scope of this blog post. The URL is created before publishing the blog post, so the architecture is part of the on-page SEO strategy.  

Best Practices For Optimizing Keywords in URLs

0. Always assign a category to your content.
1. Avoid overly long URLs with unnecessary characters or words.
2. Avoid adding dates unless a date provides context to the user.
3. Avoid complex URL structures such as URL parameters to describe a page (except when using parameters to pass data).
4. Remove stop words. Use dashes(-) instead of underscores(_).
5. You want to be descriptive in your URL.
6. Place primary keywords in the URL.
7. Make human-readable URLs.

How to Optimize Images For SEO

Images can provide users additional visual context and break up long content. Use relevant keywords in the alt text, but also describe the image the user sees. People with visual impairments may not be able to view the image, but assistive devices can read an alt tag.  

The Importance of Internal Linking and Anchor Text Optimization

When optimizing your website for search engines, one often overlooked area is the practice of interlinking. Interlinking, or internal linking, involves linking different pages within your website. This practice is crucial for enhancing your website’s SEO, as it helps users and search engines understand the structure and relevance of your content.

What are Orphan Pages?

During an SEO audit, one common issue we encounter is orphan pages. Orphan pages are pages on your website that do not appear in the sitemap, are not linked in any menus, and are problematic for search engine bots to discover. These pages may have valuable content but lack visibility because they are not adequately linked to other pages on your site.

To address this, providing an internal link from another page to the orphan page is essential. This link acts as a bridge, allowing search engine bots to find and crawl the orphan page, ultimately helping it get indexed and ranked in search results.

Best Practices for Internal Linking

When internally linking pages on your website, it’s important to use descriptive anchor text. Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink, and it should incorporate relevant keywords that give users and search engines a clear idea of what the linked page is about.

For example, if you have one blog post that mentions a relevant topic covered in another post, you can create an internal link between these two pages. Internal linking improves user navigation and helps search engines understand the relationship between content on your site.

How Search Engine Bots Work

Search engine bots are designed to crawl websites continuously. They may need help discovering all your content if they find sufficient links on your site. Without a sitemap or proper internal links, bots might miss critical pages. Interlinking is a good practice that ensures bots can effectively crawl your site, understand the context of linked pages, and improve the SEO performance of both the linking and linked pages.

The Concept of Link Juice

You may have heard of “link juice,” a term that describes the SEO value that a page passes to another page through a link. When your page receives a high-quality backlink from another website, that backlink boosts the authority of your page. If you then interlink that page to other pages on your site, the SEO value (or “link juice”) is distributed, enhancing the overall SEO performance of your site.

For instance, if your page with a superb backlink isn’t internally linked to other relevant pages, the SEO benefits might be isolated to that page. By interlinking, you allow the link juice to flow, boosting the visibility and ranking potential of other pages on your site.

But it’s also great for user experience. When users click on a link, if the anchor text is descriptive enough and aligns with their interests, they’ll be more likely to visit the next page. Internal linking could keep users engaged and reduce the bounce rate when visitors quickly leave your site and return to search results. By guiding users to relevant content through well-optimized internal links, you create a seamless experience that satisfies their needs while improving your site’s SEO.

Optimizing Multimedia Content: PDFs, Infographics, and Videos

We’ve discussed the H1 tag, but optimizing multimedia content like PDFs, infographics, and videos is another critical aspect often overlooked.

PDFs: An Untapped Resource for SEO

Search engines can read and index the content within PDFs, making them a valuable asset for SEO. However, like orphan pages, these PDFs must be accessible through proper internal linking to be effectively crawled and ranked by search engines.

When you embed a PDF in a blog post or make it available for download, consider whether you want the PDF to be public and searchable without requiring users to fill out a form. Suppose your goal is to boost your site’s visibility. In that case, optimizing the PDF with relevant keywords and metadata is essential, as it can give you a competitive edge in search results. Remember, people search specifically for PDFs, so including targeted keywords in your PDF can help it rank well.

Infographics: Visual Content with SEO Potential

Infographics are another powerful content type that can be optimized for search engines. If you’re using SVG files for your infographics, ensure they contain relevant keywords and metadata, as SVGs can include text that search engines can read. While this post isn’t focused on the intricacies of optimizing infographics, it’s essential to treat them like any other image—using descriptive file names, alt text, and metadata to help users and bots understand the content.

For interactive infographics, make sure to describe the elements in a way that bots can comprehend. Image optimization may include using structured data or additional descriptive text to ensure that all infographic aspects are accessible and understandable.

Videos: A More Complex Optimization Process

Optimizing videos is more complex as Google has evolved in how it handles video content. Now, videos require their separate landing page to be indexed and ranked. When embedding a video, it’s crucial to include Video schema data, which helps search engines understand the video’s content. Optimizing videos for SEO includes using precise keywords and a detailed description within the schema data. You could also provide a transcription or a link to the transcription, links to translated video content, and more.

Video optimization is an ongoing process and involves more than just a one-time setup. It’s a continuous effort that requires attention to detail in various aspects, such as the video title, description, tags, and more.

Best Practices for Multimedia SEO

When working with any form of multimedia, whether it’s PDFs, infographics, or videos, keep these key tips in mind:

1. Use descriptive and keyword-rich file names.
2. Ensure that your alt text and metadata are optimized with relevant keywords.
3. Make your multimedia content easy to find and access by linking it properly within your website.
4. Use structured data (schema markup) to provide search engines with detailed information about your content.

Understanding Search Intent and Its Role in Keyword Clustering

After you’ve clustered your keywords and organized your content into pillar pages and topic clusters, the next crucial step is understanding the search intent behind those keywords. Search intent refers to a user’s purpose or goal when entering a search query. There are four primary types of search intent:

1. Informational Intent: Users are looking for information or answers to specific questions. For example, a query like “What is digital marketing?” indicates that the user wants to learn more about the topic.
2. Navigational Intent: Users are trying to find a specific website or page. An example might be “Google Analytics login” or “HubSpot blog.”
3. Transactional Intent: Users are ready to purchase or perform a specific action. Queries like “buy SEO tools” or “sign up for PPC management” show transactional intent.
4. Commercial Investigation: Users compare products or services and are close to deciding. For instance, “best CRM software” or “SEO vs. PPC” indicates someone researching before purchasing.

Aligning Search Intent with Funnel Stages

Mapping your keyword clusters to the appropriate search intent is essential for aligning content with the different stages of the sales funnel:

• Top of the Funnel (ToFu): Users are primarily in the information-gathering phase at this stage. The user might search for broad, informational content, such as “how to improve website traffic” or “what is content marketing.” Your pillar pages and associated content clusters should cater to these informational queries, providing comprehensive guides, definitions, and introductory materials.
• Middle of the Funnel (MoFu): Here, users are evaluating options and seeking more detailed content, such as “best SEO strategies for small businesses” or “SEO vs. PPC.” Content at this stage should focus on comparison guides, case studies, and in-depth articles that help users understand their options.
• Bottom of the Funnel (BoFu): At this stage, users are ready to decide. Keywords like “hire an SEO expert” or “PPC management services pricing” indicate a strong transactional intent. Your content should include product pages, service descriptions, and clear calls to action to convert visitors into customers.

Building a Site Architecture That Supports Search Intent

Design site architecture to guide users smoothly through these different stages, addressing their search intent at each point:

1. Pillar Pages: As the cornerstone of your content strategy, these pages should cover broad topics comprehensively. For example, a pillar page on “Digital Marketing” could introduce the concept, explain its importance, and provide an overview of subtopics like SEO, PPC, content marketing, and analytics.
2. Content Clusters: Each subtopic on the pillar page should link to more in-depth articles. For instance, the SEO section of the Digital Marketing pillar page could link to content clusters on “On-Page SEO,” “Technical SEO,” and “Link Building.” Each cluster page should be optimized with keywords that match the search intent relevant to that topic.
3. Internal Linking: Proper internal linking between pillar pages and content clusters reinforces your site’s topical relevance and improves navigation. Internal linking helps search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your content and enhances the user experience by making it easier for visitors to find the information they need.
4. Navigation and Menus: Your website’s navigation should reflect your keyword clusters and content strategy. Ensure users can easily find pillar pages and related content clusters from your main menu or sidebar. This logical, user-friendly structure helps reduce bounce rates and keeps visitors engaged.
5. URL Structure: Keep your URL structure clean and descriptive. For example, a URL like yoursite.com/digital-marketing/seo/on-page-optimization indicates the hierarchy of the content. It helps both users and search engines understand the page’s relevance.

Understanding Silos in Site Architecture

Silos are an essential concept in site architecture, particularly when it comes to organizing content in a way that maximizes SEO and user experience. A silo structure divides your website into clear, distinct sections or categories that are focused on specific topics. This structure is designed to group related content, making it easier for users and search engines to understand the relationship between different pieces of content.

What is a Silo Structure?

In a silo structure, your website is organized into different categories, each containing a set of related content. For example, suppose your website is about digital marketing. In that case, you might have silos for “SEO,” “PPC,” “Content Marketing,” and “Social Media.” Within each of these silos, you would have pages dedicated to subtopics, such as “On-Page SEO,” “Keyword Research,” “Ad Campaigns,” etc.

This structure creates a clear, hierarchical organization that enhances the website’s overall topical relevance. When content is siloed, it reinforces the theme of each section, which can lead to improved rankings for keywords related to those topics.

Analyzing Content with Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools

When optimizing your website’s performance, leveraging tools like Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools is crucial. These platforms provide valuable insights into how your content performs, what keywords drive traffic, and where improvements can be made.

Google Search Console: Performance Report

Google Search Console (GSC) offers a powerful Performance Report that tracks your keywords’ performance in Google Search. Here’s a breakdown of what you can analyze:

1. Click-Through Rate (CTR): This metric shows the percentage of users who click on your website’s link after seeing it in the search results. A low CTR might indicate that your meta descriptions or titles need improvement to be more compelling.
2. Impressions: Impressions tell you how often your site appears in search results for a specific keyword. High impressions with low clicks suggest your content isn’t resonating with users or that Google displays it in a non-clickable format like a featured snippet.
3. Clicks: This shows how often users click on your content after seeing it in search results. Monitoring clicks helps you understand which keywords effectively drive traffic to your site.
4. Average Position: This metric shows the average ranking position of your content for specific keywords. Tracking changes in your average position over time can help you assess the impact of your SEO efforts.
   • Keyword Tracking: If you have a list of essential keywords, GSC allows you to filter the Performance Report to see how these keywords perform. For instance, if a keyword improves from position 30 to the top 10 over time, you can analyze what changes contributed to this success.
   • Zero-Click Searches: If you notice high impressions but low clicks, you might be a victim of “zero-click searches,” where users find answers directly on the search engine results page (SERP) without visiting your site. Zero-click searches are common with featured snippets or when your content ranks in Google’s AI-powered overviews. While being featured in a snippet can boost visibility, it might not always translate into clicks.
5. Filters: Google Search Console allows you to filter data by country, query, device, and more. Use filters to segment the reports by country, date, rich features, and by a group of keywords. Filters can help you understand how your content performs across different demographics and tailor your SEO strategy accordingly.

Google Search Console: Coverage Report

The Coverage Report in GSC is another essential tool for ensuring that Google properly indexes your pages. Here’s what you should focus on:

1. Indexing Issues: If a page isn’t indexed, it won’t appear in search results. The Coverage Report can highlight errors like 404 pages or issues that prevent Google from crawling your site.
2. Error Correction: If the Coverage Report flags errors, it’s crucial to address them immediately. SEO involves fixing broken links, resolving server issues, or updating your sitemap to ensure all pages are indexed.
3. URL Inspection Tool: This tool allows you to inspect individual URLs to check for indexing issues, mobile usability problems, and how the URL performs in search. It’s particularly useful for troubleshooting specific pages that aren’t ranking as expected.

Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools offers similar functionality to Google Search Console but with some unique features:

1. SEO Reports: Bing’s SEO Reports help identify issues hindering your keyword rankings. Errors could include problems with H1 tags, duplicate content, or page load speeds.
2. Keyword Research Tool: Unlike Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools includes a built-in keyword research tool. The tool allows you to discover new keywords for Bing’s search engine. Incorporating these keywords can help you optimize your content for Bing, which still holds a significant portion of the search market.
3. Site Scan: Bing’s Site Scan feature detects issues affecting your site’s visibility on Bing. The tool is crucial for ensuring your content is optimized for both Bing and

Continuous Monitoring and Optimization

Page optimization is not a one-time task but a continuous process. Regularly monitor Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to spot trends and make necessary adjustments. Here’s how to integrate these tools into your ongoing SEO strategy:

1. Use Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio): Looker Studio allows you to create custom dashboards that pull data from Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and other sources like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Create comprehensive reports that show overall SEO metrics and performance.
2. Regular Audits: Conduct regular audits of your site using tools like aHrefs or Screaming Frog. Audits will help you identify new issues and optimize your content.
3. Content Analysis: Use the insights from these tools to refine your content continusly. If a particular keyword isn’t performing well, consider revising the content to match user intent better or adding new, related keywords.

By following these steps and leveraging the powerful features of Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, you can optimize your content for better visibility, relevance, and user experience. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process that requires regular monitoring, analysis, and adjustment to stay ahead in search engine rankings.

If you’ve got a question and want to learn more, contact us, and we will help you with this process.