SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization. It's a series of techniques used to help improve your website's rankings in search engines.

SEO can seem complicated, but if you've got a grasp on some fundamental concepts, it may not be so bad after all! This article will introduce you to SEO basics and get you familiar with the SEO lingo.

One of the most important things you can understand about SEO is that it's not just about getting your site to rank higher in search engines—it's also made to help website owners make money! To illustrate this, here are some common reasons why people use SEO:

• To attract more visitors to their websites.

• To help existing website visitors find what they're looking for.

• To increase product sales through an e-commerce website.

• To get more people to subscribe to a blog or other online newsletter.

In each of these cases, by optimizing a website so that it's easy for search engines and users to find, website owners can increase their chances of success.

SEO is a very large and complex area that's continually evolving as Google and the other search engines update their ranking algorithms. If you're interested in learning more about SEO, check out our article on how to become an SEO expert .

For now, let's talk some more about the basics…

What are the Benefits of SEO?

The goal of SEO is to help search engines find, understand, and categorize your content so that it shows up in the appropriate places whenever someone uses a search engine to look for what you have on offer. Here are some of the benefits you can expect when using SEO:

  • Natural Search Traffic

No matter how much traffic your website gets from social media, e-mail campaigns, and other advertising methods, it's natural to search traffic that really makes a website successful. SEO can help you acquire more of this high-quality traffic by making sure your site is easily accessible to the major search engines, which in turn will direct more people to your site.

  • Improved Rankings

Many SEO techniques can help improve your rankings in search results by making sure that the search engines understand what your site is about and that it's relevant to what people are looking for. When you rank higher, you'll enjoy greater visibility and the click-through rates on your site will improve, which means more traffic and more conversions.

  • More Opportunities to Convert Visitors into Customers

SEO can help you improve your conversion rates by making it easier for search engine visitors to find and navigate through the pages on your site. For example, if someone is searching for a digital camera and your website appears at the top of the search results page (SERP), there's a good chance that person will click on your link and visit your site. If you've optimized your site to include clear navigation options and great product descriptions, this visitor has a much better chance of finding what they're looking for and potentially purchasing something from you.

  • A Robust Site Infrastructure

Many SEO techniques focus on making sure the search engines understand the way your website is structured. By designing a well-organized site with clear navigation, you'll make it much easier for visitors to find what they're looking for on your site. This can help boost your rankings and also improve visitor satisfaction—which can lead to more repeat visits!

How do Search Engines Find Websites?

To make it easier for people to find websites or web pages that are relevant to what they're looking for, search engines like Google use programs called "spiders" (or crawlers) which roam the Internet and index what they find. When you type in a search term into the Google search engine, these spiders work together to scour the web, looking for new and updated content they can index so it appears in the search results.

The spiders place what they find into a gigantic database that's organized by the type of information contained on each site or webpage—called "metadata." For example, when you enter a query for "digital cameras," Google understands that you're interested in finding information on digital cameras, so it indexes all the websites that are relevant to people looking for that type of information.

What is On-Page SEO?

The term "on-page" refers to anything you can control within the actual website code—not factors like link building or off-site content promotion. When we talk about on-page SEO, we're referring to factors like page titles, meta tags, headings (H1 and H2), and the main content body. Since these factors are completely customizable by website owners, it's really important for you to make sure you understand how they work and how you can use them to impact your rankings.

On-Page SEO: Page Titles

Even if you're new to SEO, you've probably heard people mention the term "title tags" before. This is an HTML element that can be used as a title for your webpage and appears as part of the link in the browser tab. Not surprisingly, this tag has an important role in search engine optimization—specifically, because it's one of the factors search engines use to determine what your page is about.

The correct way to write a title tag is with your target keyword phrase at the forefront of your mind—and then using that phrase in the actual HTML code for the text that appears on the webpage. For example, if you're selling digital cameras and your target keyword phrase is "digital camera reviews," then the title tag for your homepage should be:

<title> Digital Camera Reviews - Digital Cameras and More </title>

The underscores ( _ ) represent spaces. So, to correctly write this title tag, you'd actually type:

Digital_Camera_Reviews_-_Digital_Cameras_and_More

It's also important to note that title tags are limited to 70 characters. Since this is a major factor in SEO, it's better to have fewer words and more impact than lots of filler text. Use your target keyword phrase as many times as possible without sacrificing readability, but don't make the text sound spammy or try to stuff in a bunch of keywords just for the sake of it.

On-Page SEO: Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are HTML attributes that provide a brief description of your website and what it contains. Similar to title tags, meta descriptions should always include your target keyword phrase at least once—and ideally more than once. They're not limited in length like title tags, but it's still best to keep them short and sweet. The meta description can be written as many times as you want across multiple pages on your site (so long as the contents of each are unique).

When someone searches for your target keyword phrase, Google uses the meta description you've provided to create a snippet that shows up in search results. For example, if someone searches for "digital cameras," Google looks at the page that includes the meta description "Digital Camera Reviews - Digital Cameras and More" and grabs this chunk of text to display as an excerpt:

Search engines like Google use programs called "spiders" (or crawlers) which roam the web and find new or updated pages. When a spider stumbles upon a page, it reads the page's code and looks for information to index—which includes the metadata discussed in this article.

If your target keyword phrase sounds like gibberish then search engines won't be able to identify what your webpage is about—and then you'll end up with a page that doesn't show up in search results for your target keyword phrase. Since meta descriptions are only visible to people who click through to your website, you can use them as an opportunity to entice visitors to check out what you have to offer.

On-Page SEO: Headings (H1 and H2 Tags)

Headings (also known as H1 and H2 tags) are HTML elements that divide your text into sections. This helps with readability and enables search engines to better understand the context of each section—which is beneficial because it allows them to index your content more accurately.

Since there's no limit to how many headings you can use on a page, you should include your target keyword phrase as many times as possible in H1 and H2 tags—especially the opening heading (H1). Not only will this help with SEO by indicating that each section is about that phrase, but it can also boost how well your content ranks because Google gives preference to keywords used in headings.

On-Page SEO: H tags (H3, H4, etc.)

Headings aren't the only HTML element that divides your text. There are 6 different types of headings (that all look like the big letter H's) and together they divide larger blocks of text into smaller chunks. Search engines give more weight to keywords used in headings because they think of each one as a different entity—that is, H1 tags are more important than H2 tags.

The H3 tag is the third most important heading after the opening H1 and closing H2 tags. Use it to write another targeted keyword phrase that's relevant to your content. Since this would be the third time your target keyword phrase appears on the page, don't go overboard—just use it once or twice.

The H4 heading is not as important as any of the headings above it (including the H2), so feel free to sprinkle in some other keywords instead. You can also repeat your target keyword phrase several times because there's no penalty for doing so.

On-Page SEO: Internal Linking

Another common mistake that beginner webmasters make is neglecting to use internal links. Search engines like Google rely on the connections between web pages because it gives them an idea of how your website is structured and how one webpage relates to another. If you want search engines to index your web pages, use the HTML <a> tag to link them together.

The HTML <a> (or anchor) tag is used to create hyperlinks—which are clickable text or images that send visitors to different locations on a webpage or website. By placing keywords in your anchor link text, you ensure that search engines know what each page is about and give your pages a higher chance of ranking than webpages with no internal links.

On-Page SEO: Outbound Linking

When you create an anchor link, you're sending visitors away from your website—which might be detrimental to your rankings if they can't find anything worth checking out when they get back. To avoid this, always link to high-quality websites that are likely to provide your visitors with relevant content.

If you're linking to a website in another country or region, make sure you use the HTML <a> tag with the proper suffix for that location. For example, if you want to create an anchor link to a web address written in English, your HTML code would look like this:

<a href="http://www.google.co.in/"></a> (the link to Google)

On-Page SEO: Short and Unique Content Titles & Descriptions

You want search engines to index as many of your pages as possible, which means including your target keyword phrase within the HTML <title> tag. Remember that each page should have a unique title—otherwise, you risk confusing Google and giving your web pages a low ranking.

Remember to include your targeted keywords in both the HTML <title> and description tags. This provides search engines with more information about what each page is about and boosts your page's ranking in the SERPs.

On-Page SEO: Keyword Density

The term "keyword density" refers to how often you use your keywords compared to the rest of your content. But before worrying about keyword density, make sure that you have solid on-page SEO—you don't want to confuse search engines and give yourself a low ranking.

Your goal should be to make sure that your rankings are as high as possible for all of the relevant keywords you want to target. Remember: Search engines like Google don't just look at how many times you use your keywords, they also look at where they're placed in relation to other important elements on the page.

Tools to Help You with On-Page SEO

To help you determine your keyword density, there are several on-page SEO analysis tools available online for free. These tools scan the content on your webpage and produce a list of words—the number next to each word represents its frequency compared to other words on the page. The ones that appear the most are your target keywords.

In addition to checking for keyword density, keep track of how often you use your targeted keywords on a page-by-page basis using a spreadsheet or a word processor that tracks changes in real time. This allows you to quickly see which pages aren't up to par and correct them before Google takes notice.

If you're looking for a highly beneficial on-page SEO strategy, start using internal links to connect your webpages together. This increases the chances of Google's crawlers indexing each page and boosts your rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Internal Links: How They Boost Your Rankings

There are several benefits to creating internal links linking to your webpages:

Internal links tell search engines what each page is about. Internal linking makes it easier for crawlers to index your pages. Boosts the chances of visitors clicking on internal links and staying on your site longer. Helps users find information faster by sending them directly to relevant content. How to Create Internal Links There are several ways you can create an internal link—the simplest option is using the HTML <a> tag in conjunction with another HTML tag (like headings, bold, italic).

You want each page's internal link to appear close together so that crawlers know which pages are similar and connect them accordingly. In some cases, Google will add a nofollow attribute onto internal links—this indicates that there's no need to pass link juice through them since they're pointing to a page that's already on your site.

On-Page SEO: The Importance of Keywords in URLs

Your URL has the potential to raise or lower your rankings in SERPs—the most important thing is that it includes keywords related to your topic. If you want to rank for "online marketing," make sure your URL includes words like "marketing", "online", and "website".

Internal Linking Strategies in Practice

You can use internal linking in several different ways, but the simplest option is highlighting one piece of content within another. For example, you could highlight an interesting quote contained in a blog post using <em> tags and then connect it with an internal link.

Another way to utilize internal linking is by using anchor text that matches the words in your URL and headline tags. Use your keywords as the anchor text, and then use those exact same keywords as a label for the link:

Putting It All Together: Your On-Page SEO Checklist

On-page SEO refers to everything you can do on a webpage before it's published or indexed. If any of these elements don't meet Google's standards, they may banish your page from SERPs entirely—Google wants every search result to be relevant and useful to searchers. To make sure that doesn't happen, check each element off of this checklist before publishing a post:

Is my title tag optimized according to best practices? Is my meta description optimized according to best practices? Do my h1 tags include target keywords (relative to the page's topic)? Are my h2 tags using target keywords inline with content? Can each page be found by at least one internal link? 

Does each page contain at least 500 words of original content, unless it's a resource or news archive page? Did I exclude stop words like "the" and "a"? Did I minimize the use of symbols like apostrophes and hyphens? Did I avoid paragraph headings formatted as bold or italicized text, instead of heading tags ( <h3> , <h4> , etc.)?

Did I check for keyword stuffing on this particular webpage using any free SEO tools?

Title Tag Best Practices

Keep your title tag length under 70 characters. Ideally, it should be between 45-55 characters to make sure Google displays enough of it before ellipses (...). Use your target keywords in your title within the first 80 characters. Place a call to action near the beginning of this HTML element—Google may use this information for search snippets. 

Place all other keywords after the colon character ( : ). Avoid using more than one exclamation point or question mark because it has the potential to look spammy. Make sure there are no additional words that don't contribute positive value—remove them with an automated tool if needed.

Meta Description Best Practices

A meta description is a brief snippet of text that describes a webpage's content and appears in search results. This HTML element should be between 150-160 characters and include your target keywords to let searchers know whether or not this page is relevant for their query.

Keep it concise and avoid keyword stuffing because Google doesn't prioritize meta descriptions for web pages that appear in the top ten search results.

H1 Tag Best Practices

An H1 tag is a headline, which can make it one of the most valuable HTML elements for on-page SEO. It appears before the title in search results, so place your target keywords at the beginning of this element to raise its chances of being found organically.

Make sure your headline reads naturally—just like the rest of your content—so it's more likely to appear in snippets on SERPs. This tag only applies to the page you are currently writing, so keep repeating your keywords with other HTML elements if necessary.

H2 Tag Best Practices

An H2 tag is an <hgroup> that acts as a subcategory for on-page SEO. In other words, it groups its child elements with H1 and any additional headings to make your page more organized.

Always use your target keywords as a label for this HTML element since it can be found in search snippets. It's not a substitute for an H1 tag, so don't let it overshadow the main headline.

Each Page Should Contain at Least 500 Words of Original Content

Google typically recommends that webpages contain between 300 and 500 words, but research suggests it can be beneficial to include more. If you want your webpage to appear in search results for queries related to lengthier keywords, consider adapting this content so it's longer than the recommended limit.

Excluding Stop Words is a Good SEO Practice

Keyword stemming is a process that matches different forms of the same word, which can cause issues when writing content. For example, if you use "running" as a keyword and it's stemmed to "run," then other variations like "runner" or even misspellings like "ruining" can trigger its appearance in search results.

To reduce the risk of including irrelevant keywords, exclude any stop words that are filtered out when using a free SEO keyword tool. Stop words are commonly used words like "and," "the," or "is."

Making sure every page contains at least 500 words will help Google determine its relevance for related queries more easily.

Using a free SEO keyword tool can ensure your page is less likely to include irrelevant keywords because it eliminates stop words.

Google uses the IP address of the user's device and location to determine search results, so it's critical that these locations are represented on every page. Don't neglect to optimize them if:

You're a local business with a physical location You want to rank higher for long-tail queries related to your location Your target audience is in a specific region

If you're a local business with a physical location, make sure it's included on every page. It's also important if you want to rank higher for long-tail queries related to your location or if your target audience is in a specific region.

Many of the most popular SEO tools contain keyword, title, description, and H1 tag generators that are useful for speeding up the on-page optimization process. They typically allow you to set your preferred format so it's easier to implement these elements throughout your entire site more quickly.

If you use an SEO tool with a content spinner, make sure to exclude stop words because they can produce irrelevant results.

An optimized title tag is one of the most important on-page search engine optimization elements because it appears in search snippets. It consists of 65 characters that are visible to users and describe your webpage for Google, so choose them carefully.

Don't underestimate the importance of title tags. These snippets appear in search results to describe your page for users and Google, so be sure to choose them carefully.

Including a target keyword as early as possible is one of the most important best practices for SEO because it makes it more likely that you'll draw organic traffic from queries related to that keyword.

On page search engine optimization elements should include a target keyword as early as possible because it makes your webpage more likely to draw organic traffic from related queries.

Google Analytics is one of the most popular free web analytics tools available, and it can provide valuable insights about your website's users. It provides information about where they came from, how they interact with your site, and what they're searching for.

You should integrate Google Analytics on every page of your website so you can use the data it provides to inform your SEO strategy. If you want to learn more about how this tool works, check out our guide on choosing the best SEO tools .

Adopting mobile-first indexing is a growing trend in the SEO world. It's defined as ranking content based on user experience, which means that Google will index responsive sites according to how they perform on mobile devices.

Googlebot evaluates load speed when crawling websites, so it's important to optimize your site accordingly by reducing its size and number of page redirects. This process can be sped up by:

Using a free SEO tool that includes a site audit service to identify and remove duplicate or low-quality content Using page segmentation tools to reduce the number of unnecessary redirects Minimizing browser redirects, app redirects, and ad interstitial pages

To speed up load time for crawling sites, use a free SEO tool that includes a site audit service to identify and remove duplicate or low-quality content, reduce the number of page redirects, and minimize browser redirects, app redirects, and ad interstitial pages.

Creating an XML sitemap for your website is a best practice because it can improve crawling efficiency by consolidating all of your site's content into a single file that you submit to search engines.

An XML sitemap consolidates a site's content into a single, easy-to-submit file for search engines and can improve crawling efficiency.

Including internal links on your pages is essential because it helps users navigate them more easily and encourages the indexing of high-quality content by search engines.

Internal links are essential for user navigation and encouraging high-quality indexing by search engines because it makes navigating your site easier.

Your sitemap should always include URLs that can be accessed directly instead of through redirects, so you should consolidate all non-essential redirects into one to prevent duplicate content issues.

If you have any non-essential redirects on your site, consolidate them into one to prevent duplicate content issues.

The best way to choose anchor text for internal links is by analyzing the most popular keywords that are relevant to your industry and including those terms in your link text whenever possible. You can do this using a free SEO tool with built-in keyword research.

When choosing anchor text for internal links, use the most popular keywords that are relevant to your industry and include these terms in your link text whenever possible by using your free SEO tool with built-in keyword research.

To improve crawl efficiency, avoid creating links with exact match or partial match anchor text because they can make it difficult for search engines to determine which page the link should be associated with.

Do not create links with exact match or partial match anchor text because they can make it difficult for search engines to determine which page the link should be associated with.

Remember that every time you fix a technical issue on your site, you'll need to re-submit your sitemap to Google through Webmaster Tools in order for the changes to take effect.

Always remember that fixing a technical issue on your site requires re-submitting your sitemap to Google through Webmaster Tools, or it won't apply.

While on-page optimization is an essential part of successful SEO, it's also one of the most misunderstood concepts in digital marketing. The idea that higher rankings are primarily determined by the content on the page is not only inaccurate, but it's also one of the main reasons that many SEOs struggle to optimize their web pages for high rankings.

While on-page optimization is an essential part of successful SEO, it can be misleading when you only focus on the content on the page.

The #1 reason people struggle with on-page optimization is that it's often misunderstood, but the main reason is that they only focus on content.

If you're looking to improve your rankings and get ahead of your competition in 2016, optimizing for real users and search engines instead of just keywords should be at the top of your list.

If you're looking to improve your rankings in 2016, optimizing for real users and search engines is more important than trying to rank for specific keywords.

When it comes to on-page optimization, there are three key factors that you must always remember: user intent, content relevancy, and internal links.

When it comes to on-page optimization, always remember that the three key factors are user intent, relevancy, and internal links.

To conclude, keep an eye on emerging web design trends and adapt your site accordingly because it will help you stay up-to-date with any changes that need to be made.

Thank you and Happy Reading..!