On-Page SEO is the cornerstone of any successful digital marketing strategy. Whether you’re an established business or a newcomer, optimising the individual elements of your website is crucial for achieving higher rankings and driving organic traffic. But what exactly is On-Page SEO, and why does it matter? keep reading because we’re about to dive deep into the strategies and techniques that will transform your website’s performance.

Table of Contents:

• Chapter 1: What is On-Page SEO?
• Chapter 2: SEO Content Optimisation
• Chapter 3: Headlines and Metadata
• Chapter 4: Internal Linking and Structure
• Chapter 5: Conversion and User Engagement
• Chapter 6: Content Maintenance and Revamps
• Chapter 7: Content Marketing and Strategy
• Chapter 8: Advanced Content Techniques
• Chapter 9: Keyword and Duplicate Content
• Chapter 10: Content Writing Skills and Tips
• Chapter 11: Content Tools and Resources

Chapter 1: What is On-Page SEO?

On-Page SEO refers to the practice of optimising individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. Unlike Off-Page SEO, which focuses on external factors like backlinks, On-Page SEO involves everything that you can control within your website itself. It’s about fine-tuning the content, structure, and HTML elements on each page to ensure that search engines can easily understand and index your content.

The benefits of On-Page SEO are undeniable. By optimising your pages effectively, you enhance the user experience, boost your rankings on search engine result pages (SERPs), and ultimately drive more traffic to your website. A well-optimised page not only attracts search engines but also increases the likelihood of conversion, whether it’s driving sales, generating leads, or encouraging user engagement.

Key elements of On-Page SEO include:

• Title Tags: The first impression search engines and users get of your page. A compelling, keyword-rich title tag can improve CTR and search rankings.
• Meta Descriptions: Though not a direct ranking factor, an enticing meta description can boost your click-through rate by giving users a reason to click on your link.
• Headings and Subheadings: Organising content with clear headings makes it easier for both search engines and users to navigate your page. (H1, H2s, H3s, H4s, H5s, H6s)
• URL Structure: A clean, descriptive URL can help search engines understand the context of the page while also being user-friendly.
• Internal Links: Linking to other relevant pages within your site helps with site structure and encourages visitors to explore more content.
• Content Quality: The heart of On-Page SEO—content must be informative, engaging, and optimised for both users and search engines.

Mastering On-Page SEO is a continuous process, but by focusing on these elements, you ensure your pages are well-equipped to rank and convert. Let’s explore each of these elements in more detail as we move forward, setting the foundation for your SEO success.

On-Page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO

While both On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO are integral to the success of your website’s search engine rankings, they focus on different aspects of optimisation. Understanding the core differences and how they work together is crucial for developing a balanced and effective SEO strategy.

On-Page SEO:

Refers to everything that you can control directly on your website. This includes optimising elements like content, HTML source code, images, and internal links. On-Page SEO focuses on making your pages more relevant, accessible, and user-friendly to both search engines and visitors. Key aspects of On-Page SEO include crafting valuable content, optimising title tags, structuring content with headings, using keywords strategically, and ensuring fast page load times. Essentially, On-Page SEO is about fine-tuning the internal components of your site to ensure it ranks well and provides an optimal user experience.

Off-Page SEO:

Is all about actions taken outside of your website that influence your rankings. The primary focus of Off-Page SEO is building your site’s authority through backlinks from other reputable sites, social signals, brand mentions, and even user reviews. Off-Page SEO is like building your site’s reputation—when other authoritative websites link to your content, search engines view it as a vote of confidence, boosting your domain’s credibility and ultimately your rankings.

While these two strategies differ in focus, they complement each other. A website that’s well-optimised on-page provides a solid foundation for Off-Page SEO efforts. If you’re earning backlinks to a page with poorly optimised content or slow load times, those external signals won’t be as effective. Conversely, no amount of on-page optimisation will make up for a lack of backlinks or brand authority in highly competitive markets.

Why On-Page SEO Matters

On-Page SEO is the foundation of any successful digital strategy because it directly impacts your website’s ability to rank, deliver a positive user experience, and build site authority.

Impact on Rankings: 

Search engines like Google use On-Page SEO signals to determine how relevant and valuable a page is in relation to specific search queries. Well-optimised content, structured correctly with the right keywords, makes it easier for search engines to crawl, index, and rank your page higher in search results.

User Experience:

Good On-Page SEO isn’t just about pleasing search engines—it’s about giving your users a seamless, engaging experience. Optimising elements such as page speed, mobile responsiveness, clear navigation, and compelling content helps keep visitors on your site longer and encourages them to take desired actions, like making a purchase or filling out a form.

Site Authority:

Strong On-Page SEO lays the groundwork for building your site’s authority. Well-crafted, informative, and well-optimised content attracts external links and social signals, which further establish your site as a credible source of information. This, in turn, improves your authority in your niche and boosts your rankings.

Related Blogs:

• Beginner SEO Tips
• Advanced On-Page SEO Techniques

Chapter 2: SEO Content Optimisation

Effective On-Page SEO is crafting content that is not only unique but also value-driven. High-quality, original content serves both the search engine algorithms and the user’s needs. Search engines like Google are increasingly prioritising content that provides genuine value to users, addressing their search queries in a thorough and helpful way. By focusing on providing well-researched, insightful, and relevant content, you establish authority in your niche, encourage longer on-page time, and reduce bounce rates—all signals that improve SEO performance.

Crafting Unique, Value-Driven Content

To rank well, your content must resonate with the user intent behind a search query. This means understanding why users are searching and what information they are hoping to find. Crafting content that directly answers their questions, solves their problems, or provides actionable insights ensures you’re fulfilling their needs, which is key to earning better rankings and enhancing user engagement.

Targeting Search Intent:

When creating content, always begin by considering the search intent of your target audience. There are three primary types of search intent: navigational (users seeking a specific website), informational (users looking for knowledge or answers), and transactional (users ready to make a purchase). By aligning your content with these intents, you increase the likelihood of your page being viewed as highly relevant by search engines, thus improving your chances of ranking higher. For example, if your audience is searching for how-to guides, your content should provide clear, step-by-step instructions. If they’re looking to compare products, your content should offer comparison charts and analysis.

Keyword Optimisation for Content:

Strategically choosing a primary keyword and placing the target keyword throughout your content is essential for both user experience and SEO. However, it’s important not to overstuff keywords. Instead, use them naturally within your content—especially in the first 100 words—to signal to search engines what your page is about. Additionally, incorporate variations and semantically related terms to capture a broader range of search queries. For a deeper dive into optimising your copy, refer to our SEO Content Checklist for a step-by-step guide on content optimisation. Let’s not forget, in order to find these relevant keywords, one must first conduct lots of keyword research to find the best but attainable opportunities.

Satisfying Content Uniqueness:

To maintain a competitive edge, avoiding duplicate content is non-negotiable. Duplicate content can confuse search engines and result in penalties, impacting your site’s ability to rank. By focusing on originality and offering unique insights or perspectives, you make your content more valuable not only to search engines but also to users. The goal is to keep your content engaging, relevant, and valuable to your audience, ensuring it stands out from competitors. If you need tips, check out our SEO-Friendly Copy guide to learn how to optimise content without sacrificing quality.

Related Articles

• How to Improve CTR in Google Search
• Click Through Rate Analysis

Chapter 3: Headlines and Metadata

Keyword Rich Title Tags

A well-optimised title tag is a powerful way to capture attention in search results. Your title tag should be compelling, concise, and naturally include target keywords to signal relevance to search engines. Adding an emotional appeal—such as using persuasive language or addressing specific pain points—can increase click-through rates (CTR), drawing users to your content over competing results. Remember, an effective title tag also needs to follow best practices for formatting, length, and keyword placement. For more on crafting optimal title tags, see our guides on H1 Tag Best Practice, How to Make a Good Headline, Headline Performance & Headlines That Work.

Writing Meta Descriptions

A great meta description acts as a mini ad for your content, enticing users to click through to your site. To write a compelling meta description, focus on clarity, relevance, and action. Keep it under 160 characters, use keywords naturally, and give users a clear idea of what they’ll gain from visiting your page. Including a call to action (like “Learn More” or “Get Started”) can also help increase engagement. For more guidance on optimising these snippets, see our Meta Description Best Practices guide.

Using “Question Title Tags” and Year-Based Titles

Using question-style title tags can significantly boost CTR, especially when users are searching for specific answers. Phrasing your titles as questions (e.g., “How Does On-Page SEO Work?”) can align with users’ search intent, making it more likely that they’ll click on your link. Similarly, adding the current year to titles, where relevant, signals that your content is up-to-date, which can make it more appealing to users. Check out our guide on [How to Make a Good Headline] for more insights into headline crafting and performance.

Schema for Enhanced Metadata

Schema markup, particularly FAQ and review schema, can give your content a competitive edge in search results by adding rich data elements. FAQ schema helps structure common questions and answers on your page, potentially qualifying your page for a featured snippet, while review schema can display star ratings in SERPs, boosting visibility and user trust. By integrating schema effectively, you can make your search listings more informative and appealing, increasing CTR and helping your content stand out.

Optimising your title tags, meta descriptions, and schema not only enhances your CTR but also improves your page’s relevance and user appeal, making it a crucial step in successful on-page SEO.

Chapter 4: Internal Linking and Structure

Building Effective Internal Links

Creating effective internal links improves both SEO and user experience by forming a logical, easy-to-navigate structure across your site. By linking to relevant pages, you help search engines understand your topic clusters and the relationships between pages, boosting overall content visibility. Strategic internal linking also keeps visitors engaged, allowing them to explore more of your content, which improves dwell time and reduces bounce rates. For more guidance, explore our resources on Internal Linking Best Practices and Creating Internal Links.

URL Optimisation

A well-optimised URL is brief, keyword-rich, and descriptive, making it user-friendly and helping search engines identify page topics. Using concise, descriptive URLs without unnecessary words, and separating words with hyphens, improves readability and relevance in search results. For more insights, check our guide on Anchor Text Best Practices and how they can complement URL structure in SEO.

External Linking to Authority Sources

External Links to credible sources within your content signals to users and search engines that your page is trustworthy and well-researched. This not only boosts your content’s authority but also enhances the user experience by connecting them to valuable, relevant information. For a deeper dive into optimising your outbound links, see What Is Anchor Text in SEO and our guide on Importance of Internal Links, which complements both internal and external linking strategies.

Chapter 5: Conversion and User Engagement

On-Page UX Signals

Ensuring that crucial information appears above the fold keeps users engaged from the start, making it clear what value your page offers. Adding visually engaging elements, like images or calls-to-action, creates a stronger first impression and encourages visitors to stay. For more insights, see Landing Page That Converts and How to Optimise Landing Page for SEO.

Encouraging Engagement and Community Interaction

Allowing comments and sharing testimonials or reviews can build social proof and create a sense of community around your content. Encouraging user interaction fosters loyalty, signals active engagement to search engines, and can help drive further traffic through shared discussions.

Improving Readability and Chunking Content

Breaking down content with clear headings and subheadings improves readability and helps readers quickly find relevant information. For instance there should only be one H1 per page, and the headings and subheadings shoul then flow (or waterfall) down, H2s, H3s, H4s). Structured content also makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your page, which is essential for SEO. For more tips, explore Write Better Headlines and How to Increase Blog Traffic.

Extended Reading:

• How to Engage Readers

Chapter 6: Content Maintenance and Revamps

Regular Content Updates

Regularly updating content ensures accuracy and relevance, which helps maintain trust with readers and signals to search engines that your site offers timely information. Keeping content fresh can also improve search rankings and user engagement over time.

Content Revamps and Optimisation

Revamping older content is key to sustaining its performance. Use analytics to spot outdated or low-performing pages, then enhance them by adding current data, updating keywords, and refining readability. This boosts content relevance and ranking potential.

Extended Reading:

• Content Revamp
• Update Old Blog Posts
• Updating Old Blog Posts SEO
• How to Fix Stagnated Content
• Should You Delete Old Blog Posts

Monitoring and Measuring Content Performance

Tracking metrics like traffic, bounce rates, and engagement helps you understand what resonates with readers and where improvements are needed. By analysing performance data, you can make informed updates that keep your content aligned with user interests and SEO goals.

Chapter 7: Content Marketing and Strategy

Developing a Content Strategy for SEO

Creating an SEO-focused content strategy ensures your efforts serve not only search visibility but also broader marketing goals. A well-aligned strategy integrates keyword targeting with brand messaging to drive sustainable traffic and audience growth. For more tips, see Content Marketing Strategy Tips and Content Marketing Metrics.

Keyword and Content Planning

Effective keyword planning allows you to identify high-impact topics and seasonal trends that resonate with your audience. This approach helps prioritise content that meets user intent and stays relevant across changing interests, boosting both SEO and engagement.

Creating Valuable, Evergreen Content

Evergreen content consistently attracts traffic long after publication. By focusing on topics with enduring relevance, you create resources that build authority and attract organic visits over time, forming the backbone of a successful content strategy.

Extended Reading:

• International Content Marketing
• Common Content Marketing Mistakes
• How to Measure Content Marketing ROI
• Why Content Marketing Fails
• Content Marketing Pillars

Chapter 8: Advanced Content Techniques

Optimising for Featured Snippets and Rich Results

To capture featured snippets, structure content using clear headings, lists, tables, and concise Q&A formats. This organisation helps search engines easily pull key information, boosting your visibility in search results.

Voice Search SEO

Voice search requires a focus on conversational, question-based keywords. Using phrases that reflect how people speak, such as “how to” and “where to find,” helps your content appear in voice search results, expanding its reach.

Adding Schema Markup

Adding schema markup like FAQ, product, and review schema makes your content eligible for rich results, such as star ratings and FAQs in search results. This added visibility can increase click-through rates and attract more qualified traffic.

Read more:

• Gated Content
• Evergreen Content
• Personalised Content
• Repurpose Blog Content

Chapter 9: Keyword and Duplicate Content

Avoiding Duplicate Content

Duplicate content can dilute SEO value and confuse search engines. Regularly audit your site to identify duplicates, using canonical tags or redirects where needed to ensure unique, focused content.

Balancing Keyword Frequency

For effective SEO, keywords should flow naturally within the content. Avoid keyword stuffing by focusing on readability and relevance, using keywords where they enhance the content organically.

Read more:

• Dates in Title Tags
• What Is Duplicate Content
• How Much Duplicate Content Is Acceptable

Chapter 10: Content Writing Skills and Tips

Crafting Engaging, Readable Content

Creating content that balances SEO with readability keeps users engaged and enhances ranking potential. Write in a clear, conversational style, and use short sentences, bullet points, and varied vocabulary to make content easy to digest for both readers and search engines.

Improving Content Flow and Structure

A logical structure keeps readers engaged and helps guide them through your message. Start with a compelling introduction that captures interest, break down information with headings, and close with clear calls to action that encourage further engagement or conversion. This structure supports SEO while enhancing the reader experience.

Read more!

• Content Creation Skills
• Content Writing Tips
• PPC Copywriting
• High Quality Website

Chapter 11: Content Tools and Resources

SEO Content Tools

A range of SEO content tools can enhance your content’s effectiveness, from keyword research platforms to optimisation and analytics tools. Using Content Marketing Tools and Audience Research Tools helps streamline SEO processes, allowing you to create targeted, high-impact content and monitor its performance.

Writing and Editing Resources

Effective writing tools, such as readability checkers and proofreading resources, ensure your content is polished and accessible. Helpful Chrome Extensions for Bloggers can also assist in grammar, style, and readability, enhancing both user experience and SEO.

Analytics and Monitoring Tools

To assess and refine your SEO, analytics and monitoring tools are essential. These resources allow you to track user engagement, page performance, and on-page SEO impact, offering insights that guide future content decisions and improvements.

Conclusion

In summary, on-page SEO is a crucial aspect of digital marketing that focuses on optimising individual web pages to enhance visibility and engagement. By implementing key strategies—such as crafting high-quality content, optimising title tags and meta descriptions, building a strong internal linking structure, and maintaining an excellent user experience—you can improve both search engine rankings and user satisfaction.

It’s important to take a balanced approach, ensuring that both technical and content-focused elements of SEO work in harmony. While optimising for search engines is essential, prioritising user intent and providing valuable, accessible content should always remain at the forefront of your strategy. By consistently applying on-page SEO best practices and monitoring their performance, you set the stage for long-term online success.

If you need help with your on-page SEO, make sure to reach out!

The post On-Page SEO Guide appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.

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• Google says Core Web Vitals matter, but not for the reason you think
• Google explains how it selects canonical pages for SERPs
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• Google August 2024 Core Update Has Finished Rolling Out. Here’s What Happened
• Google’s John Mueller Offers Tips For Removing Pricing Discrepancies In Search
• Google August 2024 core update has finished rolling out. Here’s what happened

2023

• Google’s Dec. 2022 updates are still rolling out in Jan. 2023
• Key trends, developments, and insights from the State of SEO 2024 report
• Google downgrades the visibility of rich results on SERPs
• John Mueller explains why a site may not rank despite good SEO
• Google’s Confirmation: Quality Reigns Supreme in Search Indexing
• Google’s October 2023 Algorithm Update: What You Should Know
• Google has removed how-to rich results
• Google Finishes Rollout of October 2023 Spam Update

2022

• Google December Product Reviews Update might also have affected non-English
• websites
• Google’s John Mueller explains the impact of domain extensions on SEO
• Google explains why FAQ rich results might not appear in Search
• Google recommends using original product photos for product reviews
• Subdomain to main domain website migration
• Google Page Experience desktop rollout is now complete
• Google’s John Mueller reaffirms the importance of internal linking
• Does Google treat internal links in the header and footer differently?
• Google explains how it views search results, synonyms, and search intent
• 7 million fake business profiles were removed by Google in 2021
• Google’s John Mueller shares tips on how to use alt text
• Google Now Allows Local Businesses To Promote Sustainability
• Google AI may automatically update business hours in local listings
• Google updates its Google Ads 3-strike policy before its June 2022
• implementation date
• Google explains if meta descriptions still affect search rankings
• Google Search Console to have a new report for indexed videos
• Google explains which types of ranking fluctuations you should pay
• attention to
• Google to introduce three new travel products for hotels
• Google Updates Indexation Policy; Limits Crawler To 15 MB HTML Content
• Google My Business mobile app has been shut down
• Google allows businesses to set auto responses to common questions
• Google recommends replacing HTTP internal links with HTTPS versions
• 5 recent changes to Google search quality rater guidelines
• Google’s widespread outage caused ranking and indexing issues
• Google updates guidelines on duplicate content for Google Business Profiles
• Google shares thoughts on Helpful Content’s gradual buildup
• Google shares examples on how to improve meta descriptions
• Google updates Top Stories structured data documentation
• Google prohibits bribing customers to remove negative reviews
• Google rolls out September 2022 product review algorithm update
• Google rolls out October 2022 spam update

2021

• Google’s new SMITH algorithm (and how it outperforms BERT)
• Google is sending notifications of HTTP/2 Googlebot crawling to select
• websites
• How Google treat press releases differently than other content
• Google has multiple ways to detect duplicate content
• Two new changes to the Google Search Console rich results report
• Google reported data issue in Google Search Console
• Google tells how long it may take to re-rank a website
• Core Web Vitals scores may be affected by slow internet speed
• Google highlights ways it removes websites from the search index
• Does Google give preference to above-the-fold content?
• Google Page Experience to launch next month; full rollout by August
• Google warns of manual actions penalty for UGC spam
• Google rolled out a broad core algorithm update on June 2, 2021
• Google explains how it sees pages vs. posts
• Google explains why mobile and desktop search results are different
• Google released a spam update on June 23
• Google Begins Rolling the July 2021 Core Algorithm Update
• Google’s expanded ‘About This Result’ panel shares insights into search
• ranking factors
• What is Google Ads relevance, and how to improve it?
• It’s normal to have 20% of your site unindexed, Google says
• Google’s John Mueller on the importance of Core Web Vitals
• Google’s “Titlepocalypse” causes a drop in search traffic
• Google shares new information regarding page title update
• Referral traffic does not contribute to link equity, confirms Google
• How to use Google Alerts in online marketing
• Content quality vs. quantity? Google’s John Mueller shares advice
• Google is updating mobile search with continuous scrolling
• A beginner’s guide to recovering from core algorithm updates
• Google’s Martin Splitt explains how Google analyses web page content
• Google Page Experience Algorithm Update is Coming to Desktop in 2022
• 30 pages do not make a website authoritative, Google hints
• 5 big SEO predictions from Google’s Search Relations team
• Is the length of a page title a search ranking factor? Google answers
• What does Google say about 301 redirects and how to use them?
• Google algorithm update to affect product review pages
• Google confirmed Local Search algorithm update
• John Mueller explains why you shouldn’t rely on Google Discover traffic

2020

• Google’s John Mueller explains the role of heading tags in SEO
• Google clarifies the role of Structured Data in affecting search engine
• rankings
• Google Chrome to block “annoying” and “intrusive” video ads
• Google Search Console to show new reports for review snippets
• Google mobile-first indexing to be applied to all websites within 6-12
• months
• Does your website need a sitemap? Google shares new information
• How to stay ahead of Google’s ever-changing SEO algorithms
• Marking a business ‘temporarily closed’ won’t impact search rankings,
• confirms Google
• Google’s John Mueller explains do-follow links, rankings, and SEO
• misconceptions
• Google introduces new search features to facilitate virtual healthcare
• Google to make listing products on its shopping service free
• IT Support Services Online Search Demand Jan-March 2020 IMSR
• Google has introduced a new ‘Rising Retail Categories’ tool to help
• understand shifts in consumer interests
• Google recommends creating sitemaps automatically
• Google to make Core Web Vitals search engine ranking signals
• Google Polls reveal that SEOs’ workload is up during COVID-19
• Google is moving the Rich Results Test tool out of beta
• Google clarifies that spam reports represent only a small portion of manual
• actions
• Google’s John Mueller shares SEO advice on implementing major website
• changes
• 5 simple Google Display Network (GDN) tips for digital marketers
• Google search algorithm may consider negative reviews, John Mueller
• explains..
• Google to show less search term query data to Google Ads advertisers
• John Mueller talks about content, word count, and search rankings
• John Mueller clarifies the role of keywords in domain name and URLs
• Google confirms that web layout and design can affect search rankings
• Google announces multiple AI search updates
• Google recommends best practices regarding Black Friday pages
• Google explains the possible impact of BERT on exact match keywords
• Google’s John Mueller on short anchor text vs. long anchor text
• Google confirms December 2020 core update

2019

• Google Search Console updated with more accurate reports and fresher data
• Google’s John Mueller shares his thought on AMP-only websites
• Code editing is now available in Google’s Rich Result testing tool
• Google will start managing your campaigns (unless you opt out)
• Google promotes voice search with a microphone icon in Google search
• Google introduces video assets, combinations report, and ad strength scores
• for Display Ads
• Google’s John Mueller shares insights into link penalty recovery time
• Google Ads to provide more assistance in case of ad disapprovals
• Google’s John Mueller confirmed that the 301-redirect link-building
• technique doesn’t work
• Websites are faster ever since page speed became a search engine ranking
• factor
• Google has confirmed that the de-indexing issue is finally fixed
• Google My Business will help business owners showcase positive testimonials
• Google is bringing new reports to Search Console
• Google explains the possible impact of content theft on a website’s rankings
• Google users can now shop directly from Search, Images, and YouTube
• Google indexing issue: New content not being indexed
• Google Maps will highlight popular dishes of restaurants
• How big was Google’s June 2019 core update?
• Google’s John Mueller explains if self-referencing canonicals are important
• Advertisers can now promote YouTube live streams as Google display ads
• Google adds two new features in Google Search Console
• Google’s plan may include bringing Google Search Console data to
• third-party platforms
• Podcast advertising is expected to grow over $1 billion by 2021
• Google simplifies visiting AMP pages from image search results
• Podcasts are now playable in Google search results
• Google introduces Relative Mobile Conversion Rate metric (Rel mCvR)
• Google to favour original news reporting after updating search rankings
• Bingbot goes evergreen, just like Googlebot
• Google’s John Mueller sheds light on the ideal size for sitemaps
• Google Chrome may name and shame slow-loading websites
• John Mueller shares tips for improving web content
• The November 2019 local search update is real, Google confirms
• Google has started using BERT to generate top stories in the SERPs

2018

• Google Confirms Mid-December Algorithm Updates
• 4 Excellent Google Search Console Reports You Must Try
• Google PageSpeed Insights now use real-world data from Google Chrome
• Users Can Now Mute Repetitive Remarketing Ads
• ‘People Also Search For’ gets an interesting update
• Google’s New Speed Testing Tools
• Google’s Web Standards for non-amp content
• Google confirms a “broad core algorithm” update
• Google Panda and Penguin
• Google confirms that Structured Data indirectly improves rankings
• Google’s New Keyword Planner Tool
• Google AdWords now forecasts reach and frequency for YouTube ads
• Google just confirmed another broad core algorithm update
• Google to make audio content searchable
• Google offers extra ad real estate if you automated AdWords A/B testing
• Subdomain or Subdirectory? Google’s John Mueller Clarifies
• Google’s John Mueller reveals the SEO importance of click depth
• Google Speed Update has been released to all users
• Users to receive notifications when business goes live on Google services
• Google launches new “URL inspection” tool for webmasters
• Google has removed the public version of its URL submission tool
• Advertisers to have up to 3 headlines and 2 descriptions in Google text ads
• Users can make multiple campaign changes from Google Ads ‘overview’ page
• Google’s “exact match” now includes same meaning variations
• How to Recover from Google’s August Algorithm Update?
• How Google Assigns a Manual Spam Penalty
• Google is now displaying your website’s average ranking position in Google
• SERPs
• Google May Rank App Interstitials Instead Of Your Website’s Homepage
• Google Ads’ New Workflow Lets Advertisers Create Goal-Based Campaigns
• Users Can Now Send Messages to Businesses via Google Maps
• Google to scrap old Search Console reports from December 13
• You Can Now Build Sites Entirely With AMP With Updated AMP Plugin for WP
• Google Trends in 2018: What did we learn this year?

2017

• Google Adds Recipe Suggestions to Mobile Search Results
• HTTPS Mandatory for Collecting Sensitive Information after January 2017
• Google Makes It Possible to See and Share Publisher’s URLs for AMP
• Google App Now Shows Trending News Cards on Android and iOS
• Google AdWords to Change How “Exact Match” Works
• Google Claims to Have Reduced Fake Google Maps Listings by 70% Since 2015
• Google to Roll Out New AdWords Experience By End of the Year
• Facebook Lends Support to Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages
• 7 Features You Can Find in the New Google AdWords Interface
• Google has Abandoned Google Instant Search
• Google Explains the SEO Impact of Sticky Footers
• Google to Introduce “Annoying Ads” Notifications to Websites
• Latest Study on Google SERPs and CTRs Reveals Shocking Results
• Google to Abandon App-Install Campaigns in Favor of Universal App Campaigns
• Google Releases the Much-Awaited Landing Page Mobile Assessment Tool
• 4 Ideas to Improve Your Google AdWords Performance
• Which Pages are Considered “Low-Quality” by Google?
• Google Confirms that Top Ranking Factors Change Based on Search Queries
• Google Gets Backlash From Advertisers on Doubling AdWords Budget
• Google Announces Several Technical Updates for AMPs
• Case Studies Reveal Impacts of Google Posts on Rankings
• Google AdWords Rolls Out Showcase Shopping Ads
• The Smart Guide to Keyword Research for Google’s Keyword Planner
• Two New Google AdWords Features (And What to Do With Them)
• Google Updates Mobile Product Knowledge With Even More Information
• Google Reminds Publishers Not to Accept Bribes for Links After The
• Outline’s Controversial Article Surfaces

2016

• Google Explains Google Panda’s Inclusion in the “Core” Algorithm
• Google’s Search Results Now Allows Direct Installation of Android Apps
• Google Announces AdWords App for iPhone Users
• Google Revamps Mobile Travel Search Results
• Google Relaunches its MyMaps App With New Improvements
• Google Will Now Stop Showing Ads On The Right Side of Desktop Search Results
• Google Confirms Review Stars Bug
• A New Google Experiment Allows Business Posts to First Page of Search
• Results
• Google PageRank Is No More
• Search Drives 10x More Traffic to Shopping Websites Than Social Media
• Google’s Top 3 Search Engine Ranking Factors Revealed
• Google Warns Website Owners That Don’t Have Mobile-Friendly Websites
• AdWords Position #4 Produces Better Results
• Voice Search Reporting May Be Coming to Google Search Console Analytics
• Report
• Google Extends Lengths of Titles and Meta Descriptions in SERPs
• Introduction of Viv and The Future of Voice Search
• Mobile Search Engine Evolution: Introducing “Evie”
• Google is Removing the Custom Date Range Search Filter for Mobile Users
• Early Results of Expanded Text Ads Are Here
• Google Suggests 33-Character Limit in ETA Headlines to Avoid Truncation
• Google’s Separate Mobile Search Index To Be Released Within Months
• Google AdWords New Click-to-Text Feature Will Be Soon Live
• Google’s Mobile-First Indexing Begins
• Google Search Console “Infrastructure Update” Causing Buggy Reports
• All You Need to Know About the New Google Mobile-First Index
• Google Is Testing Images in Sitelink Extensions
• Google Testing New Direct Messaging Feature in Search Results

2015

• How Will The Knowledge Graph Dominate Google?
• April 21st – The Mobile SEO Doomsday – Are You Prepared?
• Google Desperately Requests Firefox Users to Switch Their Default Search
• Engine
• The Battle Continues: Yahoo Asks Firefox Users to Turn Back After Google
• Takes the Share
• Google’s Entity Search Is Changing How SEO Works
• The 21st April 2015 Mobilegeddon: What Steps Should a Small Business Owner
• Take?
• The April 21st Mobilegeddon: Here’s What the Impact Looks Like
• Google “Phantom” Update: Google’s Latest Algorithm Update Targets “How-To”
• Content
• Are We Done with the “Mobilegeddon”? According to a Google spokesperson:
• Not Exactly.
• After Bing, Google Also Adds Food Delivery Orders … And More!
• Google Maps: Offline Navigation and Search Coming This Year
• Is Google Plus Finally Dying?
• Google “Mobilegeddon” – The Biggest Victims are Small Businesses
• How to Keep Growing Your Search Engine Traffic Despite Algorithm Updates?
• Google Confirms Another Core Search Algorithm Update
• Google Mobile Search News Carousel Gets More Social
• AdWords Updates to Combat Accidental Clicks
• Only 3.4% Tweets are Indexed in Google’s Search Engine Results
• 6 Things We Know About The Google Panda Update 4.2 So Far
• Google’s iOS App Adds Context-Aware Conversational Search
• Google is Bringing Twitter into Desktop Search Results
• Wikipedia’s Organic Traffic Is On the Decline Because of Google
• Google Adds New Image Search Filter Buttons on Mobile
• Giant Mobile Ads for Apps Will Now Lead to Lower Search Engine Rankings
• Repeated Violations of Google Webmaster Guidelines Will Bring Harsher
• Penalties
• Google Is Still Monetising Fake YouTube Views
• Google Updates Its Voice Search and Makes It “Super Fast”
• Google Announces New AdWords Audience Insights Report
• More Than 50% of Google’s Searches Now Happen on Mobile Devices
• Google’s Penguin Update 4.0 is Expected to be Released Within Next Few Weeks
• Giant App Adverts Will Now Lead to a Penalty
• Google My Business: New Features Now Enables You To Show Pre-Set Holiday
• Hours
• Google Search Allows You to Search Content Within Apps Without Installing
• Them
• Google to Penalise Sneaky Mobile Traffic Redirects
• Local Traffic ‘Diversion’ Starts Ugly Fight With Google
• Google Posts Algorithm Information for Local Rankings and Immediately
• Deletes It
• Google to Start Indexing HTTPS Pages Over HTTP Pages Whenever Possible
• What Websites Were The Biggest Winners in 2015? Amazon, Facebook, Yelp, and
• TripAdvisor All Gain Top Google Search Visibility

The post Google Algorithm Update History appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.

SEO professionals need to stay up-to-date with all the news and recent algorithm updates to make sure they are making the right moves. 

In addition, they also need to be able to see what’s coming in the future. This allows them to prepare for what’s coming ahead — both in terms of implementing the best SEO practices on websites and in terms of personal SEO career trajectory and development.

The veterans in Google’s Search Relations team — John Mueller, Gary Illyes, and Martin Splitt — recently came together in the latest episode of the Search Off the Record podcast and predicted the future of SEO and the industry for SEO professionals.

Following are five of the big SEO predictions they made on the podcast.

1. HTML will continue to play a big role in SEO

At the start of the discussion, John Mueller suggested that SEOs won’t need to learn HTML in the future. His reasoning was that modern content management systems (CMS’s) are becoming more advanced and now accommodate a lot of the technical HTML stuff.

“Well, I mean, it’s like if you just have a rich editor and you just type things in, and then you format your text properly, and you add some links. What do you need to do with HTML?”

However, Gary Illyes disagreed. According to Gary, SEO isn’t just content, and HTML is needed for a lot of the other stuff — links, meta tags, structured data elements, etc.

“SEO is also about link tags and meta tags and title elements and all those weird things in the head section of the HTML that you can put there.

So you kind of want to know about them to control how your snippets look like or how your titles show up in search results and the rel canonical tag to control what will be the– or what should be the canonical version of a URL. You kind of want to know that,” said Gary Illyes.

In the end, all three agreed that SEOs would continue to need to understand HTML and how to use it.

2. IP addresses won’t’ replace URLs

There is a debate that IP addresses may replace URLs in the future. But Gary Illyes doesn’t see it happening.

“Fortunately, URLs cannot go away… At least not in the foreseeable future, because the URLs they are the

standard way to communicate addresses on the Internet. And without that the Internet is just not the Internet.

The same way domain names cannot go away because of how the Internet is built or IP addresses cannot go away because of how the Internet is built. The same way URLs cannot go away.”

3. The need for structured data is diminishing fast

Martin Splitt mentioned that Google still uses structured data to understand a page, and it is recommended, but Google is becoming so advanced that it might bypass the need for structured data in the future.

The following response by Martin Splitt was in response to the question: in the future, will Google not need structured data to understand a page?

“I’m pretty sure we can understand: Oh, this is a product, and the product’s name is this and the product’s price is that and this is a product image.”

However, Martin says, despite this, it’s good to have explicit machine-readable information.

4. Voice search may not be the future of SEO

The rise of voice-enabled mobile assistants and smart homes has led to the idea that voice search may become the future of SEO and the primary way searches happen.

When asked about the future of voice search, Martin Splitt says:

“Oh God, the future that never will be. I think no.”

He also added:

“I think in the future, it won’t change and will naturally or magically become the number one thing that we need to worry about, simply because it changes the input modality, and it changes probably how queries are phrased, but it doesn’t change the fundamental use of natural language to retrieve information from the Internet.”

Martin said that you don’t have to worry too much about it.

5. Machine-generated content isn’t the replacement yet

Can machine-generated content replace content created by humans? Will websites and SEO professionals need human content writers in the future?

Gary Illyes says that he sees the potential in machine-generated content, but it’s not going to have any big impact on its own in the near future, at least.

“Right now, our stance on machine-generated content is that if it’s without human supervision, then we don’t want it in search. If someone reviews it before putting it up for the public, then it’s fine.”

Conclusion

So there you have it.

The five big SEO-related predictions by Google’s Search Relations team.

Where do you think SEO is heading in the future? Let us know what you think.

The post 5 big SEO predictions from Google’s Search Relations team appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.

Is it better to have lots of (relatively) lower-quality pages, or is it better to have fewer but higher-quality pages?

These are some of the questions that have been a matter of debate for a long time. Google’s John Mueller recently shared insights into what makes a website authoritative and how the number of web pages affects it.

The conversation began on Reddit, where the OP asked why Google isn’t indexing new content as quickly as it did previously. According to OP, they have 30 articles published on their website and resumed publishing new content after a three-month hiatus.

OP also thinks their website is authoritative because of the links it has received.

Google’s John Mueller responded that “it’s really hard to call a site authoritative after 30 articles.”

He further added why Google would take more time to index content because of the three-month hiatus period. 

“Especially if you have stopped publishing for a while, I can see how Google might be [a] bit more conservative with regards to indexing more,” John said.

In his response, John Mueller also confirmed that there is nothing wrong or broken with Google’s indexation system.

“I don’t see anything broken in the way Google indexes stuff at the moment. I do see us being critical about what we pick up for indexing though, as any search engine should.”

To overcome this problem and a period of lull, John suggested OP continue to publish more high-quality content pages on their website. There is no shortcut here.

“Over time, as we see that your site is more than just “30 ok posts”, and instead something we’re keen on sending as many users to as possible, then indexing will pick up.

This isn’t something you can push through technical means though, it’s not the button-push before indexing that makes your site by far the best of its kind.”

The takeaways

There is plenty of good information here. More importantly, this response by John gives a glimpse of the mindset that Google uses to rank and prioritize websites on the SERPs.

First, Google doesn’t just send search engine users to a page; they send them to a website. And a website is more than the sum of its pages. If you want your website to be considered authoritative, it needs to cover various subtopics in a niche comprehensively.

Second, you cannot go on a big hiatus in which you do not publish anything new. This directly affects the credibility and authority of your website. As a result, it takes longer for search engines to start indexing and ranking your content again.

Use these two lessons to improve your website’s ranking and authority on the SERPs.

The post 30 pages do not make a website authoritative, Google hints appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.

The big ranking signals for the page experience include: 

1. LCP or Largest Contentful Paint. LCP refers to the time it takes for the main content on the page to load. Google recommends that LCP should be less than 2.5 seconds.
2. FID or First Input Delay. FID refers to the time it takes for the page to become interactive. Google recommends that FID should be less than 100 milliseconds.
3. CLS or Cumulative Layout Shift. CLS refers to the unexpected layout shift of visual content on the page. Google recommends that it should be less than 0.1

Google’s Page Experience algorithm rolled out to mobile searches in 2021. Now, Google has announced that the same ranking signals will be applied to desktop search results from early 2022.

Google also announced that the update for desktop results would be built on the same algorithm that came on mobile search earlier this year.

“This means the same three Core Web Vitals metrics: LCP, FID, and CLS, and their associated thresholds will apply for desktop ranking. Other aspects of page experience signals, such as HTTPS security and absence of intrusive interstitials, will remain the same as well.”

Of course, mobile-friendliness won’t apply to desktop results. 

This means that if your site isn’t optimized for mobile and has separate URLs for desktop and mobile, the desktop version of your website wouldn’t be affected because of the lack of mobile friendliness.

Rollout window

The desktop update is expected to begin in February 2022. Google expects the rollout to be complete by the end of next month, March 2022.

Measurement

To help webmasters measure how their desktop pages are performing in terms of page experience, Google will also introduce a new report in Google Search Console before the desktop page experience update rolls out.

Stay tuned for more information.

The post Google Page Experience Algorithm Update is Coming to Desktop in 2022 appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.

The common belief is that a URL should be short and without too much crawl depth. However, is it just a myth, or does a lengthy URL really have a negative impact on SEO? Moreover, if the length of a URL does not have any effect, how long can we make a URL without having any impact?

This question regarding the length of URLs was just posed to Google’s John Mueller in a recent Ask Googlebot video on YouTube.

“Do shorter URLs actually make an impact compared to long URLs or is this just another SEO myth?“

Google’s John Mueller clarified that the length of a URL does not affect SEO in the way that most people think. That’s because Google simply uses URLs as identifiers.

“The direct answer is no. The URL length doesn’t matter. We use URLs as identifiers, it doesn’t matter how long they are.”

Having said that, John also shared his personal preference to keep URLs less than 1,000 characters.

“Personally, I try to keep them shorter than 1,000 characters, but that’s just to make monitoring easier.”

This advice is in line with what John Mueller shared back in 2019 — that it is recommended to keep URLs less than 1,000 characters.

In addition to the length of the URLs, John also mentioned that “the number of slashes in there also doesn’t matter.” 

According to John Mueller, it means that there are no benefits of a flat URL structure (with fewer subdirectories or slashes in the URL).

No effects of long URLs whatsoever?

So does this mean that there are absolutely zero effects of long URLs?

John highlighted that there is one instance when the length of the URL can become a factor and have an effect, i.e., canonicalization.

“I’m currently only aware of one part of our systems where the URL length plays a role— that part is canonicalization.

Canonicalization is what happens when we find multiple copies of a page on your website and we have to pick one URL to use for indexing. 

If we find a shorter and clearer URL, our systems tend to select that one.”

He further clarified that canonicalization has nothing to do with rankings — but the appearance of search snippets.

“This does not affect ranking. It’s purely a matter of which URL is shown in the search.”

John summarized his suggestions in the following words:

“So, to sum up, when it comes to search rankings, neither the URL length nor the number of slashes matter. Use a URL structure that works for you and which you can keep for the long run.”

The post Does URL Length Affect SEO? appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.

How Google analyzes web page content

According to Martin Splitt, Google uses what he referred to as Centerpiece Annotation. Through this, Google identifies the main component or topic of the page. Based on that information — what the main topic is — Google divides the web page content into multiple components and assigns them different weightage based on their relevance.

“We have a thing called the Centerpiece Annotation, for instance, and there’s a few other annotations that we have where we look at the semantic content, as well as potentially the layout tree.

But fundamentally, we can read that from the content structure in HTML already and figure out “Oh! This looks like from all the natural language processing that we did on this entire text content here that we got, it looks like this is primarily about topic A, dog food.”

“And then there’s this other thing here, which seems to be like links to related products, but it’s not really part of the centerpiece. It’s not really the main content here. This seems to be [the] additional stuff.

And then there’s like a bunch of boilerplate or, “Hey, we figured out that the menu looks pretty much the same on all these pages and lists. This looks pretty much like that menu that we have on all the other pages of this domain,” for instance, or we’ve seen this before. We don’t even actually go by domain or like, ‘Oh, this looks like a menu.’  We figure out what looks like boilerplate, and then, that gets weighted differently as well.”

So, the most important component of the page — the “centerpiece” — gets the biggest weightage. The other sections are not given “as much of a consideration.” 

As Martin explained:

“So if you happen to have content on a page that is not related to the main topic of the rest of the content, we might not give it as much of a consideration as you think.

We still use that information for the link discovery and figuring out your site structure and all of that.

But if a page has 10,000 words on dog food and then 3000 or 2000 or 1000 words on bikes, then probably this is not good content for bikes.”

Conclusion

This is an important insight into how Google works and analyzes web page content. 

We always knew that content relevance was important, but we now know that it is possible that content relevance varies section by section on the same page. 

For content creators and SEO professionals, it is important that each page has a separate topic that it covers in detail. It is not worth mixing a bunch of different topics on the same page and expecting it to rank for all the different types of queries.

If you are interested, you can watch the full video here.

The post Google’s Martin Splitt explains how Google analyses web page content appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.

Google made the announcement last week. According to Google, this change was made to make it easier for searchers to find content easily and quickly.

“At Google, we’re always exploring new ways to help people find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. Earlier this year, we launched a redesign of the search results page on mobile for a more modern experience that’s easier to scan and navigate.

Today, we’re making browsing search results more seamless and intuitive with the introduction of continuous scrolling on mobile devices.”

A much-needed QOL upgrade for mobile users

While paginated results are not a big problem on desktop devices, clicking on tiny links to go to subsequent pages on smaller mobile screens is an issue that affects mobile searchers as well as content publishers.

Now, it would be easier for mobile searchers to scroll through an almost endless list of search results on their mobile results. We believe the success of TikTok — mainly supported by its continuous scrolling interface design — would have played a key role here.

The endless stream of content keeps engagement high. On Google SERPs, that endless stream of content would also help searchers find the content they are looking for.

Benefits for publishers

But how does this change affect content creators, SEOs, and website owners?

According to a 2020 study, the click-through rate on the second page of Google search results is less than 1 percent. That is because search engine users rarely click on a result that isn’t on the first page.

Apart from being inconvenient, it may also have something to do with the perceived quality (or lack thereof) if a website result didn’t make it to Google’s first page.

By blurring the line between page one and page two and removing the inconvenience that comes with viewing the results on the second page, lower-ranked results are also expected to receive a lot more clicks and traffic.

What’s next?

If you get a substantial amount of traffic from mobile searches in the U.S., you may see an increase in organic traffic.

At the moment, this change hasn’t been rolled out globally — but we expect a global rollout soon after.

The post Google is updating mobile search with continuous scrolling appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.

Content marketing is no different.

You can only produce so much content with the resources (time and money) you have, which leads to an important debate, i.e.,

Should you create fewer but stronger pages (that target a bunch of related keywords), or should you create lots of pages (different pages for different keyword variations) and cover as much ground as possible?

Someone recently asked the same question to Google’s John Mueller:

“I have a question about the ecommerce website. We create content based on the keyword suggestions, autocomplete by Google to include more content around the one main topic.

For example, the main topic or transactional intent is smartphones, and we’re going to create tech-related content around the smartphone, like blog posts.

Should we really need to create separate content or separate keywords around one topic, or is just combining all different keywords in one intent and optimizing all our content around this intent?”

The act of balancing

John Mueller simplified this and boiled it down to “balancing” between the two strategies.

“You can do it either way. It’s more of a strategic decision, I think.

In general, what you are balancing is making pages that are specific for individual topics and making pages that are more general but where you have fewer pages. So you’re kind of balancing many pages versus fewer pages”, said John.

Analyzing competitors

John also mentioned that the strategy should take into account what your competitors are doing.

“If you have fewer pages, generally those few pages tend to be a little bit stronger. Whereas, if you have a lot of pages, then it’s like the value is spread out a little bit more.

So if there are specific topics where the competition is stronger, then you want to have very strong pages, so maybe fewer pages.

If you are targeting areas where the competition is not so strong, then maybe having more pages is fine. So that’s kind of the balance that you would try to take there.”

Pick one?

In the end, John mentioned that if you have a new website, perhaps it’s a better idea to start with fewer but stronger pages.

“If you’re starting out, probably having fewer pages is a good idea so that you can be as strong as possible in that area.

And then over time, as you see like we’re very good here, you can split off individual pages for more niche topics.”

How do you execute your content strategy? Do you rely on fewer but stronger pages, or do you like covering as much ground as possible by creating lots of content?

Let us know.

The post Content quality vs. quantity? Google’s John Mueller shares advice appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.

This was confirmed by Google’s John Mueller when he was asked if the equity of a backlink increases based on how much traffic it sends to the other domain during a recent Google Search Central SEO hangout.

John didn’t take long to confirm that it’s not a factor.

“We don’t use things like traffic through a link when trying to evaluate how a link should be valued. As far as I know, we don’t look at things like the probability that someone will click on a link with regards to how we should value it.”

After the straightforward response, John Mueller elaborated on why referral traffic does not affect the equity of a backlink.

Spoiler: it’s because backlinks are mainly just references.

“Because sometimes links are essentially just references and it’s not so much that we expect people to click on every link on a page. But if someone is referring to your site and saying like – I’m doing this because this expert here said to do that – then people are not going to click on that link and always look at your site and confirm whatever is written there.

But they’ll see it as almost like a reference. It’s like if they needed to find out more information they could go there, but they don’t need to. And from that point of view, I don’t think we would be taking that into consideration when it comes to evaluating the value of a link.”

In the end, John shared more information regarding how Google passes link equity from one domain to another, especially in the context of PageRank.

“If you look into how PageRank works, it’s a bit different nowadays how we handle that. But essentially, the idea behind that is that in general, with PageRank you set up some value for the individual pages, and then you pass a fraction of that value on through the links there.

If the page is seen as being very high value, then the links from there will be treated with a little bit more weight compared to some random page on the internet.

As as I know, we don’t do it exactly the same way as things were in the beginning with regards to PageRank, but it’s a good way of thinking about that.”

Here is a timestamped video if you want to check out the full conversation.

The post Referral traffic does not contribute to link equity, confirms Google appeared first on Improve My Search Ranking.