Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of adding targeted keywords to web text to ensure it receives a high search ranking via search engines such as Google. Indeed, SEO has been around about as long as search engines have been around. Those online marketers who don’t yet have a stake in SEO are losing out on much potential revenue as well as brand visibility.

But SEO is not a static thing. As technology and they way people gather information changes, so does search engine optimization. For example, the rise of social networking has created a shift in the online marketing and SEO landscape, as more and more people are performing online searches via their smartphones. But while the devices and methods may change, there are some basic tenets of SEO that will always remain the same.

As far as effective SEO is concerned, there are two basic types:

  • On-page SEO. This is where the marketer controls the search engine optimization directly, usually as the webmaster or publisher.
  • Off-page SEO. The optimization in this instance relies more on user behavior and other publishers.

On-page SEO puts the control firmly in the owner’s hands, and it is the recommended course of action, no matter the size of the operation. With that in mind, here are some things those launching an on-page SEO marketing campaign for the first time should bear in mind.

Content curation

There was a time not too long ago when content marketers focused on flooding the Internet with as much duplicate content as possible, most of it of dubious quality. But with certain search engine updates, such as Google’s Panda and Penguin updates, targeting content of a lesser quality, the focus now is high-quality, fresh content.

Online marketers new to SEO should focus on producing the highest quality content, as it enhances the user experience and builds trust. But it’s not only important to curate stellar content, it’s also crucial this content be added regularly. Adding content once a month or even once a week will simply not cut it, as far as building an audience is concerned. Marketers need to focus on posting fresh content at least 2-3 times per week.

Optimization

In SEO, it’s all about the keyword, and that’s where optimization comes in. It’s not merely enough to produce fresh and unique content; the marketer also needs to ensure that content stands the best chance of coming up in an Internet search. And the best way to ensure a high search rank is by adding targeted keywords to the content text.

These optimum keywords should be in the title, description and body of all posts. Of course, due to the aforementioned search updates, keyword optimization has become subtle. Marketers should add just enough keywords in the right places as opposed to throwing as many keywords as possible into the text. This process is known as “keyword stuffing,” and is viewed as spam by search engines.

Site design

Once the content side of marketing has been taken care of, it’s important to focus on the vessel for content delivery. A well designed and easy-to-navigate website offers a positive experience for users and allows them to access the content easily. A professionally designed site is also going to be easily accessible to search engine bots, which will increase visibility for the website.

These are just a few pieces of advice for those new to the world of on-page SEO. Above all else, the ball is firmly in the marketer’s court as far as on-page is concerned. It’s up to him or her to take the initiative and produce top-quality, properly optimized content on a regular basis.

About the Author:

Jason Bayless

Jason Bayless is a professional blogger that gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice. He writes for BestSEOCompanies.com, a nationally recognized comparison website of the best SEO companies in the United States.

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17 Comments

  1. RAJ on March 11, 2013 at 4:46 am

    GOOD ARTICLE BUDDY THIS ARTICLE IS REALLY HELPFUL FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE NEW TO SEO

  2. Arianne on March 11, 2013 at 5:44 am

    You really have to ensure that everything you write about and post in your blog should be the best. It won’t hurt to exert extra effort when it comes to making money out of your blog. I find your guidelines and advice very encouraging. Thank you very much.

  3. Vianney on March 11, 2013 at 6:45 am

    This is quite a read. I’m really new in the business and I must say I have seen a lot of articles on SEO but this has definitely given me every bit of information I need. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

  4. Nikki on March 12, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    Judging by the slow, yet constant trickle of search engine traffic to my website, I can only assume that my on page SEO efforts are working their magic. Now I want to start focusing on web design optimization for user experience. I think a lot of bounced traffic comes from my site looking a bit under par. As a newbie, it’s not something I’m ashamed of. I’m learning HTML & CSS hands-on and I’m proud of that. But eventually I will focus on getting things looking better for my readers. For now, just depending on quality SEO content. Thanks for sharing this post. Gives me a bit more direction on my blogging journey.

    Best,
    Nikki

  5. eMagic on March 13, 2013 at 10:36 pm

    On page optimisation is even more vital now then it has ever been. I don’t just mean optimising for the search engines but the user. Engagement metrics such as bounce rate, number of pages visited and time on site all play a part in how Google will rank your site. Before no one cared, they simply put up keyword stuffed rubbish and didn’t care about who was reading it. Now this haphazard thinking will only hurt your sites rankings not improve them.

  6. Smartkathy on April 8, 2013 at 4:10 am

    Hi Jason. Onpage optimization is the for most thing in SEO. Really a great post. Thanks for sharing it.

  7. Conrey on April 17, 2013 at 7:58 am

    Hi jason,
    I really have to agree with you that duplicating other web owners work as once the common use of blog owners but since of the recent google updates this methods no longer work that why most blog owners nowadays is using content curation. Recently one of my friends suggest to use a software called CurationSoft and it really helps me curate topics of popular blogs for about 85% of the work when doing content curation and has greatly increase my audience. I’m using the PRO version as it has much more resources to curate from and has a lot of features compared to free one but to starters who want to try content curation in an easier way you can get it free here:

    Again thank you so much jason for this article as it will greatly help blog owners who is just starting out.

  8. Belen on May 10, 2013 at 8:38 pm

    I love this post. This article is very informative. I learned a lot about Best IT.Thanks and I love this post. This article is very informative. I learned a lot about Best IT.Thanks.

  9. backlink service on May 12, 2013 at 5:41 pm

    Optimization plays a vital role on your website rankings and brand awareness. You always have to put your best foot forward as you know that SEO and competition is very difficult so you make ways that will help you be ahead of your competitors.

  10. Sohan on May 28, 2013 at 8:38 pm

    Great job!! These tips are really useful & very informative. I will be back to read more of your posts. Please keep us posted. Thank you for sharing this.

  11. delhisitedesigningcompany on June 13, 2013 at 3:04 am

    There are a lot of blogs and articles out there on this topic, but you have captured another side of the subject. This is reliable content thank you for sharing it.

  12. vanessa on June 25, 2013 at 12:48 am

    Hi Jason. On page is a very important factor in SEO. Very nice post. Thanks for sharing it.

  13. Lisa Chaves on June 28, 2013 at 9:34 pm

    Kudos for having such a comprehensive scope on SEO advice for newbies. However, with Google’s announcement to eliminate external adwords tool, every tips and guides now in SEO must also be updated.

  14. Josh Nadeau on August 20, 2013 at 9:38 pm

    Thanks Jason. It all comes down to the user’s experience. I think a lot of people concentrate too much on please automated spiders and crawlers instead of providing real useful content. Great tips to follow.

  15. Raj Subramanyam on January 17, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    Hi,
    Just saw one of your comments referring to CurationSoft.com, which is our flagship product. I’d be interesting in having you run a webinar for my CurationSoft customers (we have more than 20K users). Alternative, we could also explore a JV/affiliate relationship.
    Thanks in advance, wish you a happy new year, and I look forward to your note.
    Raj

  16. kunal gupta on January 27, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    I am a newbie in blogging. I am thankful to you for such useful comments 🙂

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