7 On-Page SEO Strategies for Small Teams to Rank Higher in 2023
On-page SEO is optimizing your web pages to rank higher in search engines for specific keywords and phrases. It involves aligning your content, images, title, headings, meta description, URL, and links with your target audience's search intent and expectations.
On-page SEO is crucial for driving organic traffic to your website and increasing your visibility and authority in your niche. However, it can also be challenging and time-consuming, especially if you have a small team or limited resources.
That's why we have compiled a list of 7 powerful on-page SEO strategies you can implement in 2023 to boost your rankings and grow your online presence. These tips are based on the latest SEO best practices and trends and are suitable for small teams with limited budgets and resources.
Let's dive in!
1. Perform Keyword Research and Optimization
Keyword research is the foundation of any successful on-page SEO strategy. It helps you identify the words and phrases that your potential customers use to search for your products or services online. It also lets you understand their search intent, pain points, needs, and preferences.
To perform keyword research, you can use tools like Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool 1, the most significant keyword database on the market. It provides you with keyword volume, difficulty, competition, and intent. You can also use it to find related keywords, questions, and long-tail variations.
Once you have a list of relevant keywords, you must optimize your web pages. This means using them naturally and strategically in your content, title tags, meta descriptions, headings, images, URLs, and links. It would help if you also avoid keyword stuffing, which is the practice of using keywords excessively or unnaturally on your pages. This can harm your rankings and user experience.
2. Create High-Quality and Original Content
Content is the core of your on-page SEO strategy. It is what attracts and engages your visitors, provides them with value and solutions, and converts them into leads and customers. Therefore, you must create high-quality, original content matching your target keywords' search intent.
To create high-quality content, you need to follow these steps:
· Research your topic thoroughly and provide accurate and up-to-date information.
· Write in a clear, concise, engaging tone that resonates with your audience.
· Use headings, subheadings, bullets, lists, tables, charts, and other formatting elements to improve readability and scannability.
· Add relevant images, videos, infographics, podcasts, or other multimedia elements to enhance your content and provide visual aid.
· Include internal links to other relevant pages on your website to provide more information and keep visitors on your site longer.
· Include external links to authoritative sources to back up your claims and increase your credibility.
· Add a clear call-to-action (CTA) at the end of your content to encourage visitors to take the next step in their journey.
To create original content, avoid plagiarism and duplicate content issues. Plagiarism is copying someone else's content without giving proper credit or permission. The same content is identical or similar on multiple pages or websites. Both can negatively affect your rankings and reputation.
To avoid plagiarism and duplicate content issues, you need to follow these steps:
· Write your content from scratch using your own words and voice.
· Use tools like Copyscape or Grammarly to check your content for plagiarism or duplication before publishing it.
· Cite your sources properly using the appropriate citation style
· Use canonical tags to tell search engines which version of a page is the original or preferred one.
3. Optimize Your Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are two crucial on-page SEO elements that appear in the search engine results pages (SERPs). They help search engines understand your page and entice users to click on it.
Title tags are the clickable headlines appearing at each result's top. They should include your target keyword (preferably at the beginning), describe your page's main topic or benefit, and be concise (no more than 60 characters).
Meta descriptions are the snippets of text that appear below each result. They should include your target keyword (preferably once), summarize your page's main point or value proposition, and be persuasive (no more than 160 characters).
Your URL slug is another crucial on-page SEO element that helps search engines and users understand what your page is about. It also affects your click-through rate (CTR) and user experience (UX).
To optimize your URL slug for SEO-friendliness, you need to follow these best practices:
· Include your target keyword in your URL slug to reinforce the relevance of your page.
· Use hyphens (-) to separate words in your URL slug to improve readability and clarity.
· Keep your URL slug short and descriptive to avoid confusion and truncation.
· Avoid using unnecessary words, characters, or parameters in your URL slug to reduce clutter and complexity.
4. Optimize Your Images with Alt Tags, Title Tags, and Captions
Images are essential for enhancing your content and providing visual aids to your visitors. However, search engines cannot see or understand pictures as humans can. You must optimize your images with alt tags, title tags, and captions.
Alt tags are the text descriptions that appear when an image fails to load, or a user uses a screen reader. They help search engines, and users understand what the image is about and how it relates to your content. They also improve the accessibility and usability of your website.
Title tags are the text tooltips that appear when a user hovers over an image. They help users get more information about the vision and its purpose. They also improve the user experience and engagement of your website.
Captions are the text labels that appear below or above an image. They help users understand the idea and its relevance to your content. They also improve the readability and scannability of your website.
To optimize your images with alt tags, title tags, and captions, you need to follow these best practices:
· Use descriptive and relevant keywords in your alt tags, title tags, and captions to convey the meaning and value of your images.
· Avoid using generic or irrelevant keywords in your alt tags, title tags, and captions to avoid misleading or confusing search engines and users.
· Keep your alt tags, title tags, and captions short and concise to avoid cluttering or distracting from your content.
5. Improve Navigation with Internal Links
Internal links are links that point from one page on your website to another page on the same website. They help search engines crawl and index your website more efficiently. They also allow users to navigate your website more quickly and find relevant information.
To improve navigation with internal links, you need to follow these best practices:
· Use descriptive and relevant anchor text for your internal links to tell search engines and users what the linked page is about.
· Use generic or vague anchor text for your internal links to ensure your keyword focus is clear.
· Link to relevant and valuable pages on your website that provide more information or solutions to your users' queries or problems.
· Distribute your internal links evenly and naturally throughout your content to avoid spamming or over-optimizing your pages.
Here are some examples of internal links with descriptive and relevant anchor text:
· If you want to learn more about keyword research, check out our [ultimate guide to keyword research].
· To see some of our web design projects, visit our [web design portfolio].
· For more email marketing tips, subscribe to our [email marketing newsletter].
6. Increase Credibility with External Links
External links are links that point from your website to another website. They help search engines evaluate the quality and relevance of your content. They also allow users to find more authoritative and trustworthy sources of information.
To increase credibility with external links, you need to follow these best practices:
· Link to reputable and relevant websites with high domain authority and trustworthiness in your niche.
· Avoid linking to low-quality or spammy websites with low domain authority and trustworthiness in your niche.
· Use descriptive and relevant anchor text for your external links to tell search engines and users about the linked website.
· Avoid using generic or vague anchor text for your external links to avoid misleading or confusing search engines and users.
· Open your external links in a new tab or window to prevent users from leaving your website.
Here are some examples of external links with descriptive and relevant anchor text:
· According to Semrush, the leading online visibility management platform, on-page SEO is among the most critical factors for ranking in 2023.
· Before publishing, you can use tools like Copyscape or Grammarly to check your content for plagiarism or duplication.
· You can cite your sources properly using the appropriate citation style (e.g., [APA], [MLA], [Chicago], etc.).
Conclusion
On-page SEO is a vital part of any online marketing strategy. It helps you rank higher in search engines, drive more organic traffic, and grow your online presence. However, it can also be challenging and time-consuming, especially for small teams with limited resources.
We have shared seven powerful on-page SEO strategies you can implement in 2023 to boost your rankings and performance. These strategies are based on the latest SEO best practices and trends and are suitable for small teams with limited budgets and resources.
We hope you found this article helpful and informative. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. We would love to hear from you!
And if you need any help with your on-page SEO or any other aspect of your online marketing, don't hesitate to contact us.