Search engine optimisation can be broken down into two core areas; on page optimisation and external link building.

On page optimisation is performed on the web site itself, increasing the relevancy of content, ensuring information is updated and that the text contains sufficient keywords to help promote greater search engine visibility. There should be a good link structure to the page, making it easy for visitors to navigate to other areas of the site, and relevant titles included. If images are used, alt tags must be provided and the page visible on the site map.

While past search engine optimisation efforts have concentrated on the use of meta tags and coding, the use of optimised content has quickly superseded techy tricks. Good on page optimisation speaks to your target visitor and to the search engine spiders.

Before beginning any on page optimisation, it’s important to prioritise keyword importance and decide on an update schedule. Performed properly, on page optimisation will have a direct effect on your overall search engine optimisation efforts. Transforming a humdrum web site into an attractive stop on a user’s internet search or translating a site mistakenly optimised purely for the search engine crawlers into a useful resource for human viewers, on page optimisation tells both your user and the search engine that your web page is relevant and informative.

It’s not only your users who compare and contrast – while potential clients will visit your site and compare prices and deals with competitors, so too will the search engine bots. They will compare keyword density, position of phrases and structure of content with sites using similar key terms. It’s crucial that these considerations are taken into account when writing copy for the site.

By making the web site more user friendly, all visitors to your web page will understand what the site is about, promoting increased positions in search engine rankings.

Important points to consider

Content – frequency keywords are used, sentence structure, frequency of update
Titles – Use of appropriate page titles
Sitemap – Is the page visible on the site map?
Links – is the page well linked within the rest of the site? Can users easily navigate from this page to a relevant page?

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