Welcome to Systems Sunday! This month, we’re diving deep into the world of digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) and I’m here to guide you through the key fundamentals that every VA should know to boost website visibility and search engine rankings in today’s lesson of On-Page SEO best practices.

Before we get started with the best practices, let’s grasp the significance of on-page SEO. Search engines like Google are continually scanning and indexing web pages to provide users with the most relevant results. On-page SEO involves fine-tuning your website’s content, structure, and HTML elements to align with search engine algorithms. By doing so, we increase our chances of ranking higher in search results, attracting organic traffic, and delivering a better user experience.

In this video, I’ll be demonstrating some of these concepts using the Yoast SEO plugin, which is particularly helpful for WordPress users and streamlines many technical and optimization tasks. I’m all about simplifying complex tasks, and I believe this tool will be a game-changer for you. So, let’s embark on this journey to master on-page SEO, enhance your website’s performance, and establish a robust online presence together!

Welcome to Systems Sunday! The theme this month is Foundations of SEO: Key Fundamentals Every VA Should Know.

I am Lisa Wells, your Virtual Assistant Trainer.

In the world of digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), on-page SEO is a fundamental element that can significantly impact a website’s visibility and search engine rankings. On-page SEO involves optimizing individual web pages to improve their relevancy, user-friendliness, and search engine friendliness. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the best practices for on-page SEO to help you boost your website’s performance and enhance your online presence.

Understanding On-Page SEO

Before we dive into the best practices, let’s briefly understand the importance of on-page SEO. Search engines like Google constantly crawl and index web pages to provide users with the most relevant and valuable results for their queries. On-page SEO is the process of fine-tuning your website’s content, structure, and HTML elements to align with search engine algorithms. By doing so, you increase your chances of ranking higher in search results, attracting more organic traffic, and delivering a better user experience.

For today’s lesson, I’m going to demonstrate some of the items using the Yoast SEO plugin. Most of my audience is using WordPress and I’m all about automation, and this plugin simplifies many of these technical and optimization tasks for you. I’m going to put a link to the Yoast SEO plugin and a link to access the free Yoast Academy SEO training https://yoast.com/academy/free-seo-training-seo-for-beginners/ in the resource section, and yes, they are free.

After you install the plugin, here’s how it will display on your page or post. I’ll be coming back to this section as we apply the best practices.

On-Page SEO Best Practices

Keyword Research and Optimization
You need to do keyword research to identify relevant keywords and phrases that align with your content and target audience.
I did a deep dive on this in the last episode, so you can review that video if needed in which I give you tools and resources on how to do effective keyword research. In this example, I’m going to use my blog post from last week. I’m going to go over the focus keyphrase and give a demo on Yoast SEO plugin in which we cover meta description, post title, subheadings, and image alt text.

High-Quality, Engaging Content
Content Relevance: Ensure that your content is relevant to the chosen keyword. High-quality, informative, and engaging content is more likely to attract and retain users.
Content Length: While there’s no strict rule, longer, comprehensive content tends to perform better in search results. Aim for content that thoroughly covers the topic, but prioritize quality over quantity.

URL Structure
Descriptive URLs: Create user-friendly and descriptive URLs that incorporate your primary keyword. Avoid lengthy, cryptic URLs that provide little context.
Hyphens or Underscores: Use hyphens (-) to separate words in your URLs, as search engines prefer them over underscores (_) for word separation.

Image Compression: Compress images to reduce file sizes without compromising quality, as faster-loading pages contribute to better user experiences and rankings.
I use the free Smush plugin. Once you install, it automatically optimizes and compresses your images.

Internal and External Linking
Internal Links: Include internal links within your content to connect related pages on your website. This helps search engines discover and index content while providing users with additional resources.
External Links: When appropriate, link to authoritative external sources to provide credibility and value to your audience. However, ensure that these links are relevant to your content.

Mobile-Friendly Design
Responsive Design: Ensure that your website is responsive and adapts to various screen sizes and devices. Mobile-friendliness is a ranking factor, and mobile users make up a significant portion of internet traffic.
Page Speed: Optimize your website for fast loading times on mobile devices. Slow-loading pages can lead to higher bounce rates and lower rankings.

User Experience and Readability
Readability: Craft content that is easy to read and understand. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and headings to break up text and improve readability.
User Engagement: Encourage user engagement by incorporating multimedia elements such as videos, infographics, and interactive features.

Remember that SEO is a long-term endeavor, and consistent effort and optimization will yield the best results over time.

Mastering on-page SEO is essential for achieving higher search engine rankings, driving organic traffic, and delivering an excellent user experience. By following these best practices, you can optimize your web pages effectively and position your website for success in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing. I have a brand new downloadable for you, an on-page SEO best practices tip sheet, a handy checklist covering all that we went over in this lesson and more! You can sign up right below the video and the tip sheet will be promptly delivered to your inbox.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to put it into action, check out my newly-updated SEO Template Pack. In this template pack, I include tools, resources, checklists, templates, worksheets, tips and strategies to help guide you through the maze of optimizing your site for the search engines. You can find a link to the product below or visit my VA Business Builder Boutique by clicking on Shop in the menu bar.

Next week we wrap up our “Foundations of SEO” series with Easy Steps to SEO-Ready Images for a Powerful Online Presence.

Bye for now.

Catch up on other “Foundations of SEO” episodes + resources mentioned in the video:

• [Video] SEO Fundamentals: Building the Foundation
• [Video] Keyword Research Techniques
• Yoast SEO Plugin (Select “free version”)
• Yoast Academy SEO training for beginners
• Smush WordPress plugin – image optimizer and compression
• SEO Template Pack

Did you enjoy this episode and want to put it into action? Grab this Template Bundle!