What is On-Site Optimisation?

Let’s begin with the basics.

On-site SEO involves optimising your website’s pages with keyword-rich content that directly addresses the queries of users on Google and other search engines (SERPs). If relevant to your business, this could be a product that the searcher is looking to purchase or answers a specific question.

Here are some examples of the types of searches that might be used.

“Hairbrush” – This is a short-tail keyword which shows a generic intent to view all types of hairbrushes. The searcher is more likely to see a carousel of Google Shopping ads, some PPC ads and organic listings from various retailers selling different types of hairbrushes. A retailer selling hairbrushes is likely to use this keyword as a category name, filter (facet) or as anchor text for internal links.

“Big Roller Hairbrush” – This is a long-tail keyword search term which is very specific as to the type of hairbrush the searcher is looking for. This means that the searcher is quite clear on their intent so as a retailer you would want to either have it as a sub-category name, filter and in the product name.

“What Is The Best Type Of Roller Hairbrush?” – This is a question keyword which indicates the searcher isn’t sure what type of hairbrush they want and is looking for guidance on which roller hairbrush to buy. This advice could come from retailers in the form of buying guides or customer reviews (often referred to as social proofing).

TIP: If you search Google for the products you sell and you see the ‘People Also Ask’ list of questions in Google, target the answers to those questions first, as those are more commonly asked.

Which keywords should I include on my website?

There are many ways to identify which terms searchers are using in SERPs that relate to the products or services you sell. Some are free of charge, such as Keyword Planner, which is available to you if you have signed up for a Google Ads account. Also, Google Search Console, once you have set up your domain name. I prefer to use SEMrush or aHrefs which are not free but have useful pricing tiers which you can select depending on how big your business is and what you want to achieve. There are many others available and usually offer a free trial, so shop around for which suits you best.

When prioritising which keywords you should work on first, start with those that have the highest volume of searches. Don’t be tempted to use keywords that have high traffic but don’t closely match the products you sell.

Remember, relevance is crucial to good on-site SEO.

Watch this space for the next blog related to this topic, where we’ll delve into keyword research and placement!

If you’d like me to help you build your on-site content optimisation strategy, contact me via email at josmithtoday@gmail.com.