When writing for SEO we always have to bear in mind that we are not writing for robots, but for humans. How do we use on-page SEO to enhance our websites’ content for the human eye and mind, ultimately improving our search engine ranking?

“Let me take you through some SEO elements and show you how to optimise them using different tools,” said Marisa Louw, sought-after professional freelancer, integrated marketing strategist and web developer, who unpacked this topic in the third session of a series of five Safrea webinars. As the session was very practical, with limited theory, Marisa focused on demonstrating the use of these online tools during the webinar.

What is on-page SEO?

On-page SEO, or on-site SEO, optimises various front-end and back-end components of your website to rank better in search engines and bring in new traffic. On-page SEO components include content, site architecture and HTML elements.

Why is on-page SEO important?

On-page SEO is important because it tells Google all about your website and how you provide value to visitors and customers. It helps your website to be optimised for both human eyes and search engine bots.

On-page SEO elements that writers must be aware of

• High-quality page content is not only about the words you use, but also about the structure such as page titles, headers, meta descriptions, image alt-text, structured markup, page URLs, internal linking, mobile responsiveness and site speed.

 After you have completed your keyword research, planned and written the content, you check whether it is search engine optimised by pasting the content into the tool called SEO Review Tools at www.seoreviewtools.com One can use the free or paid version. You can also use Yoast SEO at www.yoast.com  if you can see the back-end of WordPress (if it was used to create the content of your website). These tools evaluate your content, ask questions and make recommendations regarding the length of your content, the use of keywords, headings, etc. As you address these by making adjustments, the tools visually indicate how your optimisation grade improves. The process continues as the tools share further optimisation tips.

• Page titles – Make sure your page title is included and indicated in the page title space provided. The tools also give you tips regarding the focus keyword to be used at the beginning of the page title.
• Headers – They provide different tips regarding the use of headers and the length of content.
• Meta descriptions – They are like a pitch that convince the user that the page is exactly what they’re looking for.
• Image alt-text – This is text related to an image e.g., its size and description. When inserting an image, give it a name and share relevant information.
• Page URLs – The tools ask for relevant links to be added. The search engine optimisation score is continuously improving as you make adjustments and add information.