On Page SEO Guide For 2021

A Guide To On-Page SEO In 2021 [15 Secret Tips]. Hands down, link building is the number 1 ranking factor Google takes into consideration. However, we forget the fact that on-page SEO still matters. In fact, 40% of your rankings will depend on how good your on-page SEO game is.

We have seen an increase in our own SEO rankings and organic traffic by leveraging on-page SEO techniques. If your on-page SEO is up to the mark, then you can also achieve higher rankings without making backlinks.

That’s because Google has been giving more preference to the user experience. So, if you are looking for a one-stop guide for on-page SEO then we have you covered.

In this guide, you’ll come across what is on-page, why is on-page SEO important, and top on-page SEO techniques.

What is on-page SEO?

SEO is divided into two parts. First, off-page SEO and second on-page SEO. Off-page SEO is all about increasing the credibility and authority of your website on the internet. 

While on-page SEO deals with better optimization of your content and elements for better crawling and indexing. On-page SEO will not only help you in increasing your organic traffic but conversions as well.

You can think of implementing on-page SEO techniques along with off-page and technical SEO for better results.

Some of the common on-page SEO techniques include title and meta optimization, improving website speed and navigation, content optimization, and a lot more.

Why is on-page SEO important?

People use the internet to look for various information. And if your website does not live up to the expectations of users, you’ll soon lose your rankings and organic traffic as well. This means getting traffic from Google will be of no use if your site is not able to satisfy the needs of users. 

And when it comes to satisfying the needs of users, you need to level up your on-page SEO game. 

If your on-page SEO is strong, then no one can stop you from getting better rankings and satisfying the needs of your users. With this, you can also improve your sales and conversion rate. 

15 on-page SEO tactics that nobody talks about:

Now that you might have got an overview of what on-page SEO is and why is it important. Let us move ahead and understand some on-page SEO techniques that nobody tells you about.

1. Speed

Whether or not you agree, speed is one of the most important on-page SEO techniques. Most webmasters and bloggers are aware of the importance of speed, and yet they still overlook it and regret it later.

We don’t want you to regret it. So, keep optimizing your website for better speed and performance. 

Even Google has made it clear that website speed is now a ranking factor. So, if you want to get better rankings on Google, you have no option but to improve your speed.

A good website speed will also impact your conversions positively. 

Amazon did a research and found that a 1-second delay in website speed would cost them $1.6 billion. Yes, the number is quite scary, but this is how it goes. So, make sure you optimize the speed of your website.

Here are some tips for website speed optimization:

1. Use good website hosting.
2. Optimize your images.
3. Use CND.
4. Clear your cache.
5. Keep your website as light as possible.
6. Use cloud hosting.

2. Crawlability 

We know that you might have spent a lot of time designing and creating your website. But your website will be of no use if users and search engine bots cannot find it.

This is where crawlability comes into the picture. 

In order to ensure that your website is easily crawled by Google and users, you need to create a Robots.txt file and place it in the root directory. Also, go through your Robots.txt file and check if any important web page is blocked from crawling or not. 

So, make sure that you pay attention to this. 

3. Mobile responsiveness

We are 100% sure that mobile responsiveness is not on your top-to-do list. If yes, then you’ll be losing out on great opportunities. In fact, mobile responsiveness is one of the most important on-page SEO factors in 2021.

Today, 4.28 billion people all across the globe use mobile internet. 

Therefore, it is important to have a website that is responsive on all the devices like mobile, tablets, and desktop as well. This has become of utmost importance after Google’s 2018 mobile-first indexing approach.

You also need to make sure that both versions of your site have the same content. Additionally, make sure that pop-ups, banner ads, likes, and comments do not appear on the mobile version of your site. As this can create a poor user experience.

4. SEO optimized title

We believe that first impression matters. So, if you are not optimizing your title tags for search engines and users, you’ll never be able to increase the organic traffic of your site.

Title tags appear at the top on Google in blue color. They help search engine bots and users identify the context of your content. A well-crafted and eye-catchy title tag will help you improve your CTR and organic traffic as well.

So, play your cards wisely while creating title tags.

Here are some tips that you should follow while writing titles:

• Keep your title tag limit between 60-65 characters.
• Include your primary keywords in title tags.
• Keep it engaging and eye-catchy.
• Avoid using click baits.

5. Focus on URLs

The next important element in this on-page SEO guide is URLs. 

By scanning your URLs, users, as well as search engines, should know what is the exact context of your web page. Therefore, you should also include your primary keywords in your URLs.

Another important point to note is that you should keep your titles as short as possible. 

Generally, your URLs should not exceed 50 characters. If it does, then cut it short. 

Also, try to avoid using stop words in your URLs. Stop words include: a, but, no, if, then, they, and many others. 

You should also avoid using special characters in your URLs. Special characters include: start mark, comma, hyphens, signs, and others.

6. Use internal links

An internal link is a hyperlink that connects one web page to another within the same website. Although internal link sounds as easy as washing your own clothes,  many SEO experts still overlook them.

If you use internal links wisely, then you can take your on-page SEO game to the next level.

We have seen tremendous growth in our organic traffic and SEO rankings by using internal links.

So, make sure that you also leverage internal links from now on.

Here are some tips with regards to internal links:

• Keep all your internal links dofollow.
• Use your targeted keywords in internal links.
• Internal links to all your orphan pages.
• Use 5-6 internal links in your content.

7. Secure your website

The above-mentioned techniques will surely take your on-page SEO game to the next level. But why not go the extra mile and take your on-page SEO a bit further?

If yes, then secure your website with an SSL certificate.

Until 2014, only e-commerce websites used an SSL certificate to win the trust of customers while making online payments. The tables turned in 2014 when Google made website security a ranking factor. 

That’s when all websites started enabling SSL certificates. 

Today, you’ll hardly find any website on top of Google without an SSL certificate. SSL certificates will not only help you in getting better rankings but they’ll also improve your sales and conversion rate, especially if you are running an e-com website.

So, make sure that you enable an SSL certificate on your site.

8. Write amazing meta tags

There is a buzz in the SEO community that meta description is not that important. However, this is not at all true. In fact, the meta description is an important part of an on-page SEO guide. 

Meta descriptions appear below your title tags and they help Google, as well as users, to better understand the summary of your web page.

By crafting the perfect meta description, you can surely improve your CTRs, as well as organic ranking. 

Here are the few things that you need to keep in mind while writing meta tags:

• Don’t exceed 150 characters in your meta description.
• Use primary and secondary keywords in your meta tags.
• Include eye-catchy words like best, top-rated, top-notch, and more.

9. Optimize images

The next on the list of on-page SEO guide is image optimization. Many bloggers and SEO experts are aware of the importance of image optimization, still they overlook it.

We know you might be spending a lot of time creating the most amazing images for your website. But are you putting equal effort into optimizing them?

By optimizing the images on our blog, we have seen a massive increase in organic traffic. 

So, if you want to get the same result, make sure you optimize your images in the following ways:

• Include descriptive file name for your images
• Include image alt tags.
• Compress all your images.
• Lazy load all your images.
• Leverage browser cache. 
• Include captions.

Follow these tips, and you’ll surely see results within a month or two.

10. Give outbound links to high authority websites

Getting high-quality backlinks to your website is important. However, it is equally important to link other authority sources. If you go on creating backlinks on your website, then Google may place a small penalty on it. This could affect your rankings and traffic.

You need to diversify your link-building efforts.

That’s why you should link out to other authority sources in your niche. If you give a link to another, make it no-follow so that you don’t pass any SEO juice from your site. In some cases, you can think of giving a do-follow.

For example;

You can give a do-follow link to DA 80+ websites. 

11. Write high quality and unique content

The next top-rated technique in this on-page SEO guide is high-quality content. Nothing beats the power of unique, fresh, and top-notch content. While creating content you need to make sure that you write engaging, relevant, and quality content and not copying it from other sources. 

Even if you copy someone else’s work make sure to give them credit. 

A certain amount of plagiarism is allowed, but make sure you don’t cross the limits. Check your content on plagiarism tools. If 8-10% of un-uniqueness occurs, it is fine.

More than 10% is not acceptable. 

So, make sure that you create unique content only.

12. Don’t stuff keywords

Keyword stuffing is the process of including your targeted keywords multiple times in your content. Ideally, you should maintain your keyword density between 1-2%. 

Suppose your targeted keywords are an “on-page SEO guide” then you can use it 10 times in 1000 words content. You can include more keywords by creating long-form content.

Many of our guides at BluCactus are 2000+ words which gives us an amazing chance to include a bunch of keywords. 

This helps us in better optimizing our content for primary, as well as secondary keywords.

But make sure not to stuff your keywords. Keep them flowing naturally throughout your content. 

13. Use social sharing icons

If you have created top-quality content, then make it easy for your users to share it.

Include some social sharing icons on your website on important spots so that users can see them and share your content. 

This will also help you increase your reach and social engagement of the content. 

If you are using CMS like WordPress, use the Social Warefare plugin and watch the magic. 

14. Focus on promotion

Spend 20% of your time creating content and 80% promoting it. Content promotion is of utmost importance, especially if you have recently published new content.

Here are the few things that we do after publishing new content:

• Sharing on all the relevant social media channels.
• Bookmarking it on all the social bookmarking sites.
• Send it via email to all our subscribers. 

15. Focus on content readability 

The last on the list of this on-page SEO guide is to focus on the readability of your content.

Create content for users first, then optimize it for search engines. This will help you in satisfying search engine bots and users as well.

While creating content, make sure that you don’t use too much jargon. Keep your language simple and easy to understand. Even an 8th-grade student should be able to understand your content. 

Conclusion: 

If you are into blogging or SEO for more than a while now but are struggling to grow your blog traffic, then follow this on-page SEO guide. It will surely help you take your blog traffic and SEO to the level of awesomeness.

So, what are your views about on-page SEO?

If you have any other on-page SEO tips, then do mention them in the comments below.