The Anatomy of a Good SEO Optimized Website Page

The race to the top of the search engine result page or SERP rankings has become more competitive in recent years. You can’t claim success in business without leveraging on the power of search engine optimization or SEO. With millions of people using search engines every day, reaching out to more potential leads online should be your priority. This is best done through effective digital marketing, with SEO as a primary tool in driving more traffic into your website.

The effectiveness of SEO lies in the power of keywords used on a website. Keywords will play a vital role in your website optimization, much like how building blocks are to a house. If you have an existing website, you’d want to know if it already has the adequate optimization it needs. Images are also the most important factor that helps to improve the optimization of a website. So, it’s always important to perform perfect image search relevant to your website. 

Here are key characteristics of an optimized web page that you should take note:

1. Short and SEO-Friendly URL

Gone are the days when using generic domain titles on website URLs is a thing. A good URL is one that has a domain name that utilizes keywords that represent or relate to your business and a file path that is relevant to the content in that specific page. If users can only see numbers on the URL, they’re less likely to click on it. With short and friendly SEO URLs, it become easy for professionals to index site in Google.

Google, the search engine giant, also recommends keeping URLs short to about 3 to 5 words only or else, their algorithms will most likely bypass your website. Their data also shows that people are more inclined to click on websites with shorter URLs.

2. HTTPS

Https stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. The word “secure” added at the end of the usual HTTP URL protocol means that there is an added layer of security when a user visits a website. Websites with https are more likely to be clicked by users since the search engine also recommends them. Web pages without https can be deemed dangerous by a browser’s internal security feature and can prevent the website from loading fully. Users will also avoid such problematic sites out of concern for data security. So, logically, only secure websites with https are ranked well in SERPs.

3. Title Tag

The very first thing that a user will see on any results page is a list of page headlines called title tags. This is the reason why title tags are considered as crucial SEO drivers. An optimized title tag is best used with your target keywords and should not exceed 60 characters. Your brand name and subject should be included in your title tag. The target keyword also has to be placed closer or at the beginning of the title tag for it to be deemed as relevant by search engines. One significantly enhancing factor that can boost a title tag higher in result ranks is the use of modifiers, such as the specific year and nature of the content, whether it's a review, guide, or tips.

4. Description Metadata

Immediately below the headlines found on the SERP is the meta description. This brief text is an overview of the entire content found on your website. It has the power to make or break the chances of a user clicking on your website. A good meta description or description metadata is concise and keyword-rich. A recommended length of meta description is about 150 to 160 characters. The metadata you provide must be well written and free from any grammatical mistakes.

5. H1 Tags Usage

The title found at the top of your website page is the main header. It’s where the H1 tag is applied. A header tag or H1 tag is an HTML tag that looks something like this: <h1>Word</h1>.

Wrapping an H1 tag to the title, or any header of your web page will make it look large and bold from the rest of the texts. Search engines recognize these HTML tags and thereby use it in ranking web pages on the search results.

6. Intro Keywords

As mentioned before, keywords play a vital role in SEO. It’s a best practice that the first 100 words into the content of the website should contain relevant keywords. This will highlight what the content is about for the users and at the same time, it’s readable for search engine crawlers. Don’t add too much keywords. It’s always vital for you to check keyword density before posting it the content on your site.

7. Keyword Rich Content

The quality of a web page’s content is the most crucial part of SEO, especially when using the right keywords. The content of an optimized web page is rich in keywords and keyword phrases. But most importantly, it has to be well written and packed with information as well.

A reader or user has to achieve a sense of understanding of the topic being discussed. Keywords and keyword phrases have to be seamlessly and strategically placed on certain parts of the content. To determine which keywords can be used as frequently as needed, a keyword analyzing tool such as Google Adwords can come in handy.

8. Long Content

When it comes to SEO, the rule of thumb is to delve deep enough into the topic and discuss every significant dimension. The length of the content will matter in this aspect. Long and engaging content may boost a website’s ranking, but quality mustn’t be sacrificed for quantity. When the content is just the right length, it also increases the web page’s “dwell time” or the duration that a user stays on the page.

9. Relevant H2 Tags

Aside from the main header, subheaders also have to be wrapped with HTML tags. Subheaders can be wrapped with H2 up to H6 tags. The bigger the number is, the smaller the size of the subheader. So, relevant subheaders usually have the H2 tag. This helps create a hierarchy of relevance of topics within the web page content which will be interpreted by search engine crawlers.

10. Images and Videos

Without images and videos, a website would be dull. Visual elements give life to a web page. These images and videos can be utilized for optimization with the help of alt tags or alternate tags. The alt tag takes the place of an image when it fails to load on the page. It is this same text tag that search engine crawlers can decipher upon scanning through the web page.A web page with the properly tagged images can have better search result rankings. An extra step in this is to add either an external or an internal link.

11. Relevant Links

Outbound and internal links can be used to create a network of relevant data on web page content. Other blogs, articles, or online-published materials that relate to the topic being discussed on the page can step up website ranking. However, you’d have to be sure that these links are from reliable sources. Links can really help you to generate more organic traffic towards your site.

12. Responsive Web Design

Mobile phones and tablets are more portable compared to a laptop and desktop computer that is why people nowadays rely on these gadgets to access the internet for any relevant information. For a web page to be considered as responsive, it has to be viewable across different devices -- from laptops to mobile phones.

13. Social Media Links

Although search engine crawlers don’t necessarily include social media links in the factors for ranking, it can be used in other helpful ways. Aside from search engines, active users also crowd in social media websites or platforms. It’s this same reason that social media sites are flooded with ads and is also a vital approach in digital marketing.

It helps spread news and information across a diverse and vast population of potential leads. When incorporated into a web page, it allows users to share your content on their social media accounts. So, although indirectly, it can be considered as a part of a well-optimized web page.

14. Page Update

The relevance of information changes as fast as how the modern world is changing. Now and then, discoveries and breakthroughs happen. Previously perceived truths and theories can be debunked, and fresh new ideas are generated throughout the year. For a web page to stay relevant, the information it offers also has to remain relevant. When further information is added, or edits have to be made, a website’s content has to be edited and proofread as well.

Once again, relevant keywords that pertain to an important modification should be used. Frequent updates will reflect as an update timestamp on the content. When users see that your content is up to date, they’ll be confident to click and read through it.

15. Page Loading Speed

Slow loading and frequently crashing sites that take more than 5 seconds to display fully can deter users from coming back. It’s no wonder that Google has now included page speed as a factor in determining search result ranking. An SEO-effective web page can have a good number of images, graphics, and videos and still load at high speed. This can be achieved with the use of Content Delivery Networks or CDN, image and video file compression, and having a reliably fast web host.

Increasing the traffic on your website is only the start. This list should give you a more unobstructed view of how to approach the application of SEO and gather more visits and leads for your website and business. The results won’t instantly show but with diligence and perseverance, all the hard work you put into building an SEO-powered web page will absolutely pay off.