What’s the Difference?
Many people understand that SEO is good for websites. However, that doesn’t mean they know how to properly optimize their content to achieve the best results.
Sure, having the right keywords appear in your website copy is good for search engines, but what else must you do to appease Google’s all-powerful algorithm?
On-page SEO and local SEO are two areas digital marketing specialists will focus on to improve a website’s efficacy. Not only is it about what satisfies the demands of the search engine, but more importantly, what makes a website’s users happy.
So what exactly is involved in accomplishing that?
What Is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO involves everything that can be done directly on the website itself to improve its ranking.
On-page or on-site SEO is the practice of optimizing your website’s content for the maximum amount of views from organic search traffic. The more visitors you can entice without paid advertising, the better. This is achieved by making your website appealing to customers and easy to find. Webpages of good quality result in higher Google rankings!
Publishing content that holds people’s attention is essential. Still, you can boost a website’s drawing power by having the correct words appear in your website’s headlines, HTML tags, URL slugs (the words after the backslash in your web address), and schema markup (a code that helps search engines understand your website’s content better).
SEO specialists have a checklist they run through each month to explore all potential opportunities.
Keyword Research and Optimization
What are the terms people type into a search engine to find your products and services? It might not be the words a business owner thinks of first. That’s why SEO and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) specialists have to be such excellent detectives.
The process involves close observation of your company’s analytics, competitors, and potential customers’ user intent. SEOToolSet, Google Keyword Planner, Google AdWords, and SEMrush are some of the tools professional marketers use to expedite matters. Keyword Tool is another free resource anyone can use to get started.
Long-tail keywords (which contain more than three words) are good to focus on because they may have less competition but are still effective at capturing the proper attention.
Content Creation and Optimization
Adding the most relevant keywords to your content is the best way to optimize your web pages. On-page SEO demands that you put those keywords in your title tags, webpage descriptions, and the copy near the top of the page.
If you’re looking for opportunities to add new content, give each service or product its own dedicated page.
There are various types you can add to engage with your audience:
Long-form content with word counts between 1,000 and 2,500 words is more likely to attract organic traffic and backlinks (a linked endorsement from another website to yours). This type of copy may include educational articles (sometimes called pillar pages), blogs, case studies, how-to guides, and white papers (lengthy reports on complex subject matter).
Videos and podcasts are other examples of long-form content that can generate interest in your brand.
Short-form posts are more concise updates on your business or new pages with 500 words or less. This type of content typically includes those service and product descriptions mentioned before, as well as shorter blogs, social content (contest announcements, Facebook posts, testimonials), and landing pages (single web pages about your company that aren’t part of your website).
Although long-form content has the potential to establish your company as a credible authority in your field, not everyone who encounters it will commit to finishing it.
On the other hand, the primary benefit of short-form content is its ability to capture people’s interest and drive action. A concise summary is infinitely more appealing for people in a hurry.
Meta Tags and Titles
Meta tags are snippets of information that let search engines (in the HTML code) and potential customers know about the content of your web pages.
Meta titles are the bolded text you see atop the search engine’s results page description. It shouldn’t exceed 55 characters. You want it to be clear and specific and include a desirable keyword.
Header Tags and Structure
Header tags improve the appearance and structure of your text by clearly identifying subject matter sections for quick scanning of a web page. Header tags help provide a hierarchical structure and designate how the copy will appear on the page.
An H1 header denotes your main headline. An H2 indicates a subheadline, and so forth. Header tags offer a nice summary of each page’s subject matter.
Image Optimization
Photos, illustrations, 3D renders, charts, and graphs all make the written content on a website more inviting to read. However, if you have too many photos of the wrong size, you could slow down your website’s loading times.
Image optimization involves selecting the correct format (JPEG, PNG), sizing, and compression rate to achieve the best quality and performance. There are plenty of tools online, including the Online Image Tool and Yoast SEO (for WordPress websites like the ones Agency Media builds), that can help.
Internal Linking
Adding clickable anchor links in the text that take users to different areas of your website isn’t just valuable for information seekers; it helps Google evaluate the relevance of your content. Pages with internal links are considered valuable as they can contribute to a better search engine ranking.
Internal links are especially critical for websites with multiple pages. They offer a hierarchical roadmap for exploration so visitors won’t get lost between the numerous parent pages (the main categories of content) and child pages (sub-categories under those topics).
Many websites will include ‘Related Content’ sections to drive visitors to their blogs and other posts of possible interest.
Mobile-friendliness and Page Speed
Content that is slow to load or disproportionately sized on smartphone screens is probably the fastest way to kill customer interest. If your website doesn’t load in 1-3 seconds, that’s a big problem!
If your website is already a few years old, ensure your pages are free of oversized images, videos, or GIF files. From a more technical standpoint, you may need to upgrade outdated coding (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) on the website’s back end.
Outdated caching and relying on a shared server for large websites can also slow things down. Google’s PageSpeed Insights can assess your website in seconds and provide suggestions for improvement.
If your website isn’t displaying well on all devices, it can be modified to be fully responsive across all screens.
Then again, if it’s been more than five years since your last refresh, it may be time to explore a brand-new build that delivers the speed and responsiveness you need.
Social Media Feeds, Sharing Buttons, and Payment Processing
Plugins are software that provides WordPress websites with added functionality. WordPress is the world’s top website content management system, with over 43.6 percent of global websites currently operating on the platform.
One of their benefits is that these plugins don’t require any time-consuming coding; better yet, many are free. With over 70,000 plugins currently available for WordPress, there are plenty of ways to boost the efficiency of your website.
Social Media feeds are one such plugin that allows you to present all your social media content on your website, saving visitors the hassle of leaving your website to browse your latest post.
The addition of a social media plugin will enable people to share your content with their contacts.
The presence of social media on your website won’t necessarily increase your Google score, but it does raise your profile in the eyes of invested customers.
E-commerce websites depend on secure payment processing. The more secure and user-friendly your system is, the more confidence you’ll instill in your customers, which leads to higher conversion rates.
As beneficial as many plugins are, if they are integrated poorly, you run the risk of slowing down your load time, which is a major turnoff for people.
Understanding Local SEO
Not every brand is going to need national exposure. For example, suppose you own a plumbing business in Burnaby, B.C. In that case, you will only want to target the people who live in your local community. One of the ways SEO professionals do this is through local SEO.
Google My Business Listing
Setting up a Google Business Profile is one of the easiest ways to help your local SEO. It offers customers a map of your location, address, hours, contact info, Google reviews, and a link to your website.
Once set up, it will let you know how many people have seen your profile, where they come from, and how many times profile visitors called the provided phone number because of the listing.
NAP Consistency
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. As a business, you need to maintain accurate information across the web, particularly on local listings, directories, and social profiles.
SEO search engines use NAP information to confirm a business’s legitimacy.
Incorrect, inconsistent phone number listings and outdated information can frustrate potential customers.
Shockingly, many companies still get this wrong.
Local Keyword Optimization
The words “shop local” resonate very deeply with many consumers today.
Using location-specific search terms like city names and neighborhoods ensures your business doesn’t get lost online. Keyword optimization is essential for restaurants, retail shops, salons, dentists, plumbers, or any other business where online browsers have a high purchase intent.
Include locations in your copy, preferably in your top headline, alt text for photos, schema markup, and meta description.
Local Citations
Local citations are online mentions of a business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) across various websites, directories, and platforms. These citations can appear on business directories like Yelp, Google My Business, Yellow Pages, and local news websites, as well as on social media and review sites.
Mentions of local institutions, sports teams, and recognizable landmarks also speak to your company’s familiarity with the area and sense of community pride. These references can be made in the bio section on your About Us page or in the directions you provide for in-store visits.
Case studies and references to other local businesses you’ve worked with go a long way to building your local cred.
If you’re a member of any local associations, make sure people know about it by adding their logo to your home page.
Reviews and Ratings
Positive reviews are social proof gold. Reviews also provide additional context to search engines, which increases your chances of appearing in a higher ranking. The more specific they are, the better!
Don’t be embarrassed to ask people for their feedback online. You’ll want to make it easy for people to do so. Including links to social media or a designated form on your website is an excellent way to achieve this.
Should you end up with any less-than-flattering reviews, ensure you respond courteously to demonstrate your professionalism and commitment to customer satisfaction.
Location Pages
Location pages provide an opportunity to expand on your products or services. If your business has different locations, this is where you can differentiate one location from the next. It is also beneficial for companies that serve a variety of communities.
Each location page should focus on a single area, include relevant keywords, ensure accurate NAP, include images of the area in question, and focus on addressing the needs of people in that community.
Calls to action, internal links, and positive local reviews should be peppered throughout.
Key Differences Between On-page SEO and Local SEO
On-page SEO aims to make the website’s content more relevant for visitors and easily crawlable for search engines.
On the other hand, Local SEO is focused more on optimizing your website to rank higher for searches with local intent. Local SEO aims to improve a business’s visibility in location-based searches for those seeking the closest available vendor.
Why On-page SEO and Local SEO are Both Important
On-page SEO ensures that your website ranks well overall. In contrast, local SEO helps you stand out in local search results for community engagement.
Combining both strategies creates a robust foundation for improving organic traffic and local visibility. Unless you’re strictly an e-commerce business, you need both to succeed!
Conclusion
Your website is critical for business growth in today’s digital world. It’s also a cost-effective way to advertise.
Agency Media in Langley, B.C., covers all aspects of SEO optimization. If you’d like to discuss your website, we’re all ears and full of optimism. Call or message us today!