On Page SEO for Beginners: Complete Guide (23 Superb Methods)

In this guide, we will discuss On-Page SEO for beginners and how they can optimize their content to get better rankings. On Page SEO is a very important factor to rank in search engines.

This is chapter 8 of the free Blogging course from basic to advance.

We will discuss 20+ factors that you can improve when writing content so that it can be good for the on page SEO.

What is On-Page SEO

On-page SEO can be defined as the technique to make the content/post optimized for the search engine by focusing on a particular keyword, optimizing the keyword density (1 – 2%), optimizing title tags, internal linking of relevant posts, short URL’s, and more.

It is different from Off-Page SEO where we have to generally make backlinks, guest posts, etc. In on-page SEO you have to do everything on your website posts/pages so that Google or other search engines can identify the content and the intent of your content.

How to write SEO friendly content

To write SEO friendly content you can use any plugin like Rank Math SEO or Yoast SEO. But if you are not using any plugin and don’t want to use any SEO plugin then you can follow these methods for writing SEO friendly content.

Always write a post on a particular focus keyword
Try to write for the users intent
Use transition words like so, but, however, therefore, moreover, firstly, secondly, during, meanwhile, etc
Always use short paragraphs when you are making a post on any topic
Try to use short and easy to read sentences
Use sub-headings to explain a topic
Use relevant internal links so that it can decrease your bounce rate and users will spend more time on your website
The trusted outbound links are important to give in the content but always use trusted outbound links like Wikipedia, wikihow, etc.
Try to write content at least 500 words long. Your aim should be to solve the user’s problem, not the word count.
Do you know most of the users visit a website using Google Image Search? If they find some good images then there are more chances that they will visit your website from that image in the Google image search. So, you must optimize your images with alt attributes. If you don’t know about alt attributes then don’t worry we have discussed this point in this post and nothing will be left in this on page SEO guide for beginners. So, just focus on reading.

Understanding the search Intent

Now, let’s talk about the search intent and what it is. Suppose a user searched for the keyword “part-time jobs”.

The search intent of this keyword which the user is looking for is a job of 2-5 hours in a day. He wants to do some job to earn money.

Now, If you write content on this post explaining jobs that are not working or untrusted jobs that do not pay out money. Do the users spend more time on your website if you write such things? No.

What user is looking for genuine jobs that will give a decent amount to manage some expenses.

If you write about jobs like content writing, app development, front end development, managing a WordPress, etc in part-time work then the user may spend a good time reading about the content, skills, and how he can get these types of jobs.

Use at least 2-4 Focus Keywords (Keyword Optimization)

Whenever you are going to write content on any topic. Write at least 2 keywords that you should optimize in the content so that it becomes easy for search engines to know about the content and on which topic it is focused.

To show you an example – I am taking the keyword “part time jobs“. Now, if I have to write content on this topic then the keyword density should be between 0.8 to 1.5%.

I have to write Part-time jobs in the content 5-8 times depending on the content length so that the content will be optimized for the keyword Part-time jobs.

Always avoid keyword stuffing (means do not write keyword for more than 2.5%).

You can use this formula to calculate the keyword density in your post.

Keyword density is equal to the number of times a focused keyword appears in the content multiply with 100 and divided by total words.

Keyword Research using semrush

SEMrush is an excellent SEO tool to find new keyword ideas, keyword research, backlinks audit, and to do lots more work.

Now, I will show you the traffic on part-time jobs keyword and how difficult this keyword is for the ranking purpose using the SEMrush tool.

Keyword research is very important for new bloggers and beginners because competitive keywords are difficult to rank and you need good backlinks to rank on competitive keywords.

Yes, part-time jobs is also a competitive keyword as you can see in the image. The keyword difficult is 89%.

Try to find low competitive and long-tail keywords (keywords that are of 3-5 words).

Writing Posts on Low Competitive Keywords

Writing posts on low competitive keywords can help you to get ranking in search engines easily. But if you write only on competitive keywords then you will be frustrated if your posts don’t rank.

For the content blog, majority of the traffic of English blogs came from Google. So, you should focus on good on page SEO and use low competitive focus keywords.

Use Trusted External Links in Your Content

You should use 1 relevant do-follow link in your content. Use only trusted external links like Wikipedia, wikihow, etc.

We have discussed the difference between a do-follow and no-follow backlinks in this post at the end.

Writing long user-friendly easy to read content – Skyscraper Technique

The skyscraper technique is basically writing long content that briefly describes the topic.

Note – Don’t fill the topic with useless words that are of no meaning. Always write to the point and in-depth tutorials.

Google like in-depth content that provides the value to the users who are visiting the website from Google search results.

Skyscraper technique also helps you to build backlinks without reaching to the owners. If someone finds your content useful then there is many chances that he can provide a backlink to your content so that his audience/visitors can read the full details on your website.

Using LSI keywords in the content

LSI keywords mean latent semantic indexing. You can find these keywords at the end of the search engine results page.

Now, If I search for the keyword “on page SEO” then at the end of the search engine page it will show like this in the image.

LSI keywords are important and you should use the LSI keywords in your content. You should use the LSI in the way that it looks natural.

Use numbers in the title of the post

It is not necessary to use numbers in the title of the post.

For example – If I write on the keyword part-time jobs, Now my title can be 7 best part-time jobs but we can not use numbers in every post where it is not required.

But when you think using a number is a good idea to use in a post where it is required or can be used then you can use it in those posts.

Image optimization

Image optimization for on page SEO consist of two parts

1. Reducing the image size using tools like tinypng, shortpixel.

2. Using Image alt attributes so that your images can be seen in the Google Image for a particular keyword.

Tinypng and shortpixel are the best websites to reduce the size of your image. Always use these two websites because these sites give the best image optimization results.

What is image alt attributes? It specifies the alternative text for the image and you should write your focus keyword in the alt text. You can write related focus keywords and queries in the alt text.

Note – If you are uploading images in your post then before uploading it rename the images and write it like

Example – on-page-seo.png

My focus keyword is on page SEO so i have written the same name in my image and in the alt text, I will write on page SEO.

Title, Meta Description, and Tags

The title of the post is very important for the on page SEO. You should try to write the focus keyword at the starting of the title.

For example – I have written a post on 7 part time jobs for students and in the title, I have used my keyword part time jobs at the starting.

What is a meta description? The meta description is the summary that is used to display in the search engine page results and it displays the content written on a web page in two-three lines.

You should always use the focus keyword in the meta description. The meta description is another important factor for on page SEO so don’t ignore to write an attractive meta description that can make users to open your website. To learn more about meta tags, meta descriptions and titles, check this website.

If you are using WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math then they provide an easy way to write the meta description in the box. You can see the image below.

WordPress tags are not much important for the on page SEO but you should not leave it empty. Write all the focus keywords and related keywords in the tags.

For Example – In this on page SEO post, I have used tags like on page SEO, on page SEO beginner guide, SEO basic for beginners, how to learn on page SEO, etc.

You can see the tags option on the right side of the WordPress editor.

URL Structure

URL Structure is one of the most important factors for the on page SEO. Your URL should be short and it must contain the focus keyword on which you are writing the content.

For Example – I have a demo website z-shadow.org where I am writing content on 7 Best part time jobs for students. In this post, I have used a short URL – z-shadow.org/part-time-jobs and my keyword is also there in the URL.

Use Power words and Positive or Negative Sentiments

Power words can be the ultimate guide, complete guide, best list, etc If you are writing a well researched and brief guide on a topic then you can use words like ultimate guide, complete guide, etc.

Positive and negative sentiments or words include affordable, correct, unbiased, superb, appreciable, better than expected, clear, classic, convenient, etc.

It is not necessary to use power words or positive words in your post title but try to write it where it is required.

For example – If I am writing a post on SEO tools and I have listed 5 SEO tools in the post then I can use power in this way – 5 Best SEO tools that you must try in 2024.

Internal Linking (Internal and External links)

You must link other content of your website in your new and old posts. Internal linking can help to decrease the bounce rate and increase the time spent on your website. It is important for on-page SEO.

Use only relevant internal links.

For Example – If you have a make a post on web hosting then you can link content related to blogging, SEO, and web hosting.

Bounce Rate and Dwell time

Bounce Rate can be defined as the percentage of users who are visiting your website and leave the web page after opening some more web pages or without opening any web page on a particular website.

A high bounce rate can give negative signals to the search engines. If the users are visiting your website and he/she opens many pages on your website then in such a case, the bounce rate will be low.

If your website has a bounce rate between 10-40 then it is excellent, if your website has a bounce rate between 50-70 then it is good. But more than 85 percent bounce rate is not good and bounce rate can depend on so many other factors.

Generally, blogs have a bounce rate between 60-90%.

Interlinking can decrease the bounce rate of your website.

What is dwell time?

Dwell time is the time period that users spend on a website when he opens that website by searching any query/question in the search engine and leave that website. The time spends between opening and leaving the website is Dwell time.

Dwell time is important for a website, the more time user spend on your website the better ranking you may get.

Do-follow and No-follow backlinks

What is a do-follow backlink?

Do-follow links allow the search engine bots to follow them and this is the reason why it is important.

Do-follow links are very important so do not provide a do-follow backlink to untrusted, illegal, or any unknown sites.

Example of Do-follow link: <a href=”https://usersadvice.com/blogging/”>free Blogging course</a>

What is a no-follow backlink/link?

No-follow links do not allow the search engine bots to follow them.

Example of No-Follow link: <a href=”https://usersadvice.com/blogging/” rel=”nofollow”>free Blogging course</a>

In most cases, you should provide no-follow links to an external website. If you know the website very well and it is trusted then you can provide the do-follow backlink.

Creating beautiful Thumbnails

Creating beautiful thumbnails can attract visitors from your website Facebook page, Pinterest page, Instagram page, etc. So, Always try to create beautiful thumbnails.

You can use canva.com which is available for free as well as in the premium plan. We prefer to use canva free plan. It offers many features that we need.

You can also use canva to create beautiful thumbnails for your website posts.

Updating content and changing the date

Updating the old posts on your website and changing the dates can give a boost to your old posts.

I have tried and tested the results, in which I observed that changing the dates can increase the traffic on that particular post and also it helps to get better ranking.

Always change the date of your content after some time and if you think that content needs any changes then make the changes in the content, change the date, and then update the content.

Page loading speed and page size

Website page loading speed mainly depends on the web hosting and theme. We always recommend using the Bluehost Hosting and for the theme, we suggest using the Generatepress premium theme.

If you are using the Bluehost and Generatepress theme then your website speed is already awesome and fast.

We also recommend using CDN like Cloudflare that makes website speed faster.

Use a cache plugin such as W3 Total Cache to reduce unwanted requests and minify HTML, javascript files.

Do not use large size thumbnails. Before uploading a featured image compress the size of the image on the websites like shortpixel or tinypng.

Uninstall useless plugins and those plugins that are taking more requests and resources.

If you only follow these things then your website loading speed will become fast.

Click through Rate (CTR)

CTR is important for Google ranking and to increase your website traffic. The more visitors click on your URL from the search engine the more traffic you get and it gives a positive impression to Google.

You can check the CTR of your website by going to the Google Search Console and then click on performance. Now, you will see the CTR of your website.

If you have high CTR then it is good but if you have low CTR then you need to work on your content and optimizing the title/heading of the posts that make users open your website link.

To increase the CTR of your website write the attractive heading, add the current year in your title, use FAQ schema or review schema, write catchy meta description so that users want to open your website.

Enable breadcrumbs Navigation on your Site

Breadcrumbs is good for on page SEO. It tells the users who are visiting the website their location on the website.

We use breadcrumbs on usersadvice.com and it looks like this.

XML Sitemaps

If you are using Yoast SEO or Rank Math then they can automatically generate XML sitemaps for your website but if you are not using any of these plugins then you should create a sitemap file for your website.

The sitemap is important and using the sitemap of a website it becomes easy for search engines to crawl and index the content of your website.

You can see the sitemap file of your website by using /sitemap_index.xml.

FAQ Schema

You can use FAQ schema in your posts to drive more traffic to your website. It is a good on-page SEO technique. All you need to do is finding some commonly asked questions and put them in the FAQ section.

Write only relevant FAQ questions that match the intent of the post.

How to use FAQ schema? Plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math SEO offers FAQ schema features. But before using FAQ schema I would like to tell you that it did not work with the classic editor.

So, you need to deactivate the classic editor and shift to the Gutenberg editor (default WordPress block editor) to use FAQ schema.

Now, When you add a new post, at the top you will see the + button. Click on that and scroll down. Now, you will see Yoast structured data box, in that you will find two options

FAQ Schema
How-to Schema

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