10 Tips for Optimising Your Website with On-Page SEO in 2024

Your website is like a shop window. On-page SEO is similar to organising a shop’s display. It has an impact on how search engines and clients see your site in 2024. This affects your visibility, traffic, and success.

So, here are 10 actionable tips you can put in place today:

Tip 1: Keyword Research – The Foundation

Understanding the words and phrases your target audience is searching for is crucial. Think of keywords as the roadmap to connecting with the right people. A mix of paid and free tools offers valuable insights. Premium, paid tools such as Ubersuggest, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Keywords Everywhere, SpyFu and SE Ranking provide comprehensive data and competitor analysis for a fee. Free tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner and Google Search Console are excellent starting points.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What questions would they ask, and what pain points are they trying to solve? Write down those ideas to expand your keyword list.

Tip 2: Placement Matters

Position your keywords strategically in key areas for search engine relevance. Focus on these crucial spots:

• Page titles: The most important on-page element for SEO. Aim for 50-60 characters and include your primary keyword.
• Meta descriptions: This is the snippet under your title in search results. Write an interesting description that entices users to click.
• Headers (H1, H2, etc.): These break up your content and signal to search engines which topics are most important. Naturally incorporate keywords where possible.
• Image alt tags: Aim for a brief but informative description of the image’s content. Where it makes sense, include a relevant keyword to enhance SEO relevance. Remember not to overstuff; focus on describing the image first, and avoid keyword stuffing that sounds unnatural.

Tip 3: Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Overusing keywords reads unnaturally to users and can hurt your rankings. Prioritise valuable, informative content that integrates your target terms for better outcomes.While keywords are important, overusing them does more harm than good. Keyword stuffing is the practice of cramming as many keywords as possible into your content, regardless of whether it makes sense or reads naturally. T

This outdated tactic not only creates a poor user experience but also signals to search engines you’re trying to manipulate rankings. Overusing keywords reads unnaturally to users and can hurt your rankings. Prioritise valuable, informative content that integrates your target terms for better outcomes.

Instead of obsessing over keyword density, prioritise creating genuinely valuable and informative content that addresses your audience’s needs. When you write with the user in mind, you’ll naturally integrate your target keywords in a way that flows smoothly and enhances the article.

Tip 4: Create High-Quality Content

In today’s crowded online marketplace, simply having content isn’t enough. To attract both search engines and potential customers, you should create high-quality content that sets the bar and stands out. Here’s what that means:

• Go beyond surface-level information. Aim for comprehensive articles (1,000+ words when possible) that thoroughly explore a topic and provide real value to the reader.
• Before writing, research the kinds of questions users are asking related to your topic. Structure your content to directly address those queries and provide solutions.
• Demonstrate your knowledge in your niche. Offer unique insights, data-backed examples, or fresh perspectives that other articles might lack.
• No one wants to see a massive wall of text. Use short paragraphs, headings (H2, H3, etc.), and occasional bullet points to be scannable and keep readers engaged.
• Consider incorporating visuals like images, infographics, or videos to enhance your content and make it more engaging.

Tip 5: Internal Linking is Your Friend

Strategic internal linking is a powerful tool for improving both user experience and SEO. Think of internal links as signposts within your website, guiding visitors to related content and helping search engines understand your site’s structure. Internal linking makes your website easier to navigate, encourages visitors to explore further, and boosts the visibility of your key pages in search results.

When creating internal links, use descriptive anchor text (the clickable text of the link) that accurately reflects the content of the linked page. This provides context for both users and search engine crawlers, enhancing the overall effectiveness of your internal linking strategy.

Tip 6: Optimise for Site Speed

Slow loading times frustrate users and search engines alike. People expect websites to load quickly. Here’s how to ensure your site delivers:

• Use tools like TinyPNG to reduce image file sizes without sacrificing quality.
• Your hosting company significantly impacts your site’s performance.
• Too many third-party plugins and widgets can slow down your site; choose wisely and only install what’s essential.

Tip 7: Mobile-Friendliness is Non-Negotiable

Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning how your site looks and functions on smartphones directly impacts its ranking potential. Here’s how to ensure your mobile experience is top-notch:

• Responsive design: Your website has to adapt to different screen sizes.
• Lighthouse audit: Google’s Lighthouse tool, built into Chrome DevTools, provides a detailed analysis of your site’s mobile performance. It tests factors like load speed, accessibility, and adherence to best practices.
• Prioritise key elements: Pay attention to how navigation, buttons, and text render on smaller screens. Ensure important elements are easy to see and interact with, even on a compact display.
• Touchscreen-friendly: Make links and buttons touchscreen-friendly by providing ample spacing between the different elements.

Tip 8: Don’t Ignore User Experience (UX)

A beautiful website that’s impossible to navigate won’t achieve your desired results. Positive user experience (UX) is essential for attracting and keeping visitors, and it directly impacts your SEO performance. Focus on these key elements:

• Intuitive navigation: Can users quickly and easily find the information they’re looking for? A clear, well-organised menu system is crucial for keeping visitors engaged and minimising frustration.
• Visual design & readability: Choose fonts, colours, and spacing that make your content easy to read and digest. Avoid cluttered layouts or jarring design choices that detract from the user experience.
• Clear calls to action: Don’t leave users guessing what to do next. Prominently display calls to action, whether it’s filling out a contact form, making a purchase, downloading a resource, or exploring another relevant page.

Tip 9: Utilise Structured Data

Structured data is like adding detailed labels to your website’s content. It uses a standardised code format (like Schema.org) to provide search engines with extra context about your pages. This helps search engines understand the specific elements on your site and how they relate to user queries.

Types of Structured Data

Schema.org offers a vast vocabulary for marking up various content types. Some of the most common include:

• Articles: Highlights the article type, i.e. blog posts, news articles, etc. Includes properties like headline, author, publication date.
• Products: Provides details like price, availability, reviews, and images.
• Recipes: Includes ingredients, cooking time, and instructions.
• Events: Lists event name, location, date, and time.
• Local Businesses: Specifies address, hours of operation, contact information.
• FAQs: Marks up frequently asked questions and their answers
• How-tos: Provides specific instructions for tasks and projects.

Benefits of Structured Data for SEO

• Structured data can enhance your search listings with eye-catching elements like star ratings, images, or event details, making them stand out.
• Helps search engines better grasp the content and purpose of your pages, leading to more accurate placement in search results.
• Structured data is increasingly important for voice search optimisation, as it helps voice assistants quickly extract relevant information.

Tip 10: The Power of a Professional SEO Audit

Even if you follow these tips diligently, there may still be deeper technical issues holding back your site’s potential. An in-depth SEO audit can provide valuable insights beyond basic on-page optimisation. A professional audit can identify crawl errors, broken links, and duplicate content, and offer an action plan for maximum impact. Some fixes, like implementing structured data, may require technical expertise.

While these on-page SEO tips lay a sound foundation, a comprehensive SEO audit can help you uncover and resolve hidden roadblocks to higher rankings. If you need continuous SEO support, check out my monthly SEO packages designed to deliver results.