What Does A Well Optimized Web Page Look Like?
A well optimized web page has the ability to attract a huge audience from search engines likes Google.
If you are able to target the right keywords and deliver a powerful message you can grow your audience tenfold with just one blog post.
So, how do you optimize a web page to attract all types of attention?
Start With Keyword Research
Your page should target a single keyword your audience is actively searching on Google and other major search engines.
SEMRush has a great keyword tool that can help you uncover some of the latest keyword trends to target.
I suggest focusing on one keyword because it will help you focus your content around the one question or one problem your audience is searching for answers for.
Additionally, focusing on one keyword will help you rank for that keyword. However, the real trick is to use semantics of your keyword throughout your content.
By using keyword semantics, a well optimized web page will rank highly for more than just the one keyword you are focusing on.
Title Tag Optimization
Your title tag and how it is arranged is going to determine how Google and other major search engines index your website.
When searchers on Google type in a question or a keyword into Google’s search box, Google displays up to 10 results. The blue clickable link is the title of the page and is pulled from the title you set for the web page.
For optimal placement on search engines, you want your main keyword as close to the beginning of the title tag as possible. In the example above, I searched “how many results is on the first page of Google”. As you can see from the results, the first result begins with “how many” and ends with “first page of google”.
In the example below, I changed my search query to “first page of Google number of results”. As you can see, the first result begins with “the first page of Google”.
By simply changing the order of my words, the results from Google moved the web page from protofuse.com from ranking 4th organically for “how many results is on the first page of Google” to first organically for “first page of Google number of results”.
Another question that is asked a lot about title tags is, how long should a title tag be? Well, Google typically displays 50 to 60 characters of your title tag.
Anything in your title tag over 60 character will likely be cut off and does not add any SEO benefits. So don’t try stuffing your title tag with a bunch of keyword and semantic keywords because it will not help and may even lead to a penalty.
To recap, a good title tag includes your focused keyword as close to the beginning of the title as possible and is 60 characters or less.
Description Tag Optimization
Your description tag is what searchers read before deciding on whether or not to click on your title tag to learn more about what you have to say.
This tag is very important because it has a direct impact on your click through rate.
Google’s #1 job is to provide searchers with the most relevant content. A high click through rate for a specific search term tells Google they are delivering very relevant content to their user. Therefore, a high click through rate means a higher ranking position on Google searches.
As you can see from the image above, the #1 position in Google gets a majority of the clicks. However, just because you rank in the #1 spot doesn’t necessarily mean you will get a majority of the clicks nor does it mean that you will continue to rank in the #1 spot indefinitely.
The key to a good description tag is to make it compelling enough to make searchers want to click through to your website. A good description tag is up to 300 characters and contains your keyword at the beginning of the tag and at least 1 semantic keyword somewhere else in the tag.
However, a good description tag isn’t going to help you rank better if your not providing quality content. This leads us to my next section about quality content.
Quality Content
You can have the perfect keyword with the perfect title and description tags but if your content sucks those things don’t matter!
As mentioned before, Google’s #1 job is to provide its searchers with the most relevant content based on their search term. If Google notices a pattern of its searchers leaving your website almost as fast as they found it, your rankings will suffer.
In the image above, we can see how your websites bounce rate directly impacts Google rankings. Positions 1 through 3, the most clicked on, provide relevant information to Googles users which is evident by the low bounce rate.
So How Do Your Write Quality Content?
The first thing you need to know is, what is your audience searching for? If you know what your audience is searching for and the products or services that can solve their problems, chances are you can easily write a blog post that answers their questions. Afterall, you are the expert in your field so you should have all the answers. = )
To find out what your audience is searching for, connect your website to Google Search Console if you haven’t already. Google Search Console is a free tool that will tell you exactly what searches are triggering your website to show up in Google search results.
When in Google Search Console look for long tail keywords (3 or more terms in a search phrase) people are searching for. Long tail keywords are generally easier to rank for because they have fewer searches.
However, writing content for longer tail keywords can provide some of the best website visitors. Additionally, longer tail keywords have the potential to rank for a number of different variations of search phrases and even short tail keywords.
Now that you have identified they keywords your audience is searching for, its time to put the content together.
Organizing Your On Page Content
It’s been said that we humans have an attention span shorter than a gold fish! This means you have to catch your audiences attention right away to have any chance of them staying on your website.
There are a number of different ways you can start your blog post to catch your audiences attention out of the gate. I suggest experimenting with a few and track the bounce rate and the average amount of time users spend on your website to see what type of opening works best.
As you get into your blog post, be sure to use header tags. Header tags will breakup your content and make it easy for users to find sections of your blog post they are most interested in.
The H1 tag is reserved specifically for the title of your blog post and should contain your main keyword. Having more than 1 H1 tag can confuse search engine spiders and have a negative impact on your rankings.
The H2 tag should be used every time you start to talk about a new topic and should contain semantic keywords. If you have a sub-topic that falls under a H2 topic, use the H3 tag for any topic that would fall under the H2 topic.
The conclusion of your blog post should be used to start a conversation, not end the conversation. Most blog post with end with a quick summary of the article and a contact us now for more information line.
Instead, ask your audience what they though about your blog post or if they have any questions or ideas related to your blog post. Not only do comments give you cred, they also keep search engines coming back to your post and help you rank for even more keywords from semantic keywords organically posted by your users.
Call To Action
A Call To Action (CTA) refers to links, forms or buttons that are designed to prompt an immediate response from your audience. Examples of CTA’s include “download now”, “call now”, “limited time offer”.
A couple of CTA’s I use include the subscribe button and the sidebar widget that ensures the last item on my sidebar remains visible as you scroll down the page on a desktop.
The subscribe button at the bottom of the page that says “Rank #1 On Google” is a tactic I use to grow my audience. What I like about this tool is that my users don’t have to give up any information, like an email address, to subscribe.
Once subscribed, I can use push notifications to reach my audience instantly on their desktop or mobile device. Below is an example of what the push notifications look like and the best part is, you can get the WordPress subscribers plugin for free!
The sidebar widget is a great CTA because it keeps your CTA visible at all times as your users scroll down your page on a desktop. You can place any CTA you want into the bottom position on your sidebar. As your visitors engage with your content, your CTA remains visible in the sidebar.
Those are just a couple of examples I use, however there are literally tons of different CTA’s you can use to grow your audience. Here are 31 CTA examples you can use to get your imagination started.
KPI’s
A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that tells you how effectively your activities are achieving your pre-determined objectives. KPI’s can include leads, email subscribers, revenue, social media followers or a million other key objectives your business is trying to achieve.
Setting KPI’s is important because it gives you direction and helps you meet your goals. KPI’s will help you quickly understand what activities are helping your business reach its goals, allowing you to focus on those activities and strategize on ways to keep moving your business forward.
Conclusion
There is a lot that goes into creating a well optimized web page. However, Google reward great content and great content leads to brand recognition and business growth.
I encourage you to take the time to come up with content for your web pages and blog posts. Don’t just post to post! Your audience deserves the best you have to offer and in the long run you will grow an audience that is always looking forward to your next blog post.
Now that you are armed with all of this great information, what are you going to do with it? Please leave me a comment and let me know how you are going to use this information or, if I missed something, please let me know so I can cover it in a future post.
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