Google has a number of factors when ranking websites. There are on page factors and off page factors to consider. On page SEO factors are generally more important. Google ranks them more highly.
On page SEO
Here is your on page SEO Checklist to give your website the best chance of ranking in Google:
Content
Your content is the most important factor on your website. You need to have original and informative content, first published on your own site. Each page needs to have “enough” content. It’s generally recommended as a ballpark figure to look at about 300 words per page. You should also have a clear content calendar. Google likes websites that are updated regularly so make sure you update your website regularly.
Mobile friendly Website
We live in a mobile society. We’ve hit the stage where more people are accessing websites via mobile devices when compared with PCs. Google is starting to rank websites based on their mobile friendliness. If your website is not mobile friendly you may see that you are penalised.
Page titles and formatting
Meta Titles and Descriptions are important tools for Google Crawlers. HTML code throughout your website, using H1, H2 and H3 tags etc are also important. Adding title tags to any of your images are also useful so that Google can assess the relevancy of images on your page.
URL Structure
You should have a clear URL structure. It’s generally recommended that you use your page or post title in the URL structure. You can group your pages and posts into categories. It’s also important to create a sitemap.
Internal links
Internal links between pages are important. This can be as simple as having a “related posts” section at the end of each of your pages or it can be related links to other content throughout your website.
On Page SEO can be the difference between being on the front page of Google or not. The 5 factors mentioned above are the most important factors for you to consider. There are some WordPress Plugins that can help you manage these factors but you also need to have an important understanding of how they work.
