It’s no secret that SEO is important for any website that wants to rank well in search engines. But what many people don’t realize is that on-page SEO is just as important as technical SEO. On-page SEO refers to all the factors on your website that affect your search engine ranking, including your content, keywords, title tags, meta tags, and more.
While technical SEO factors are often out of your control (like backlinks), on-page SEO is entirely within your control. That’s why it’s essential to ensure you’re doing everything possible to optimize your website for search engines. If you want your website to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs), proper on-page SEO is essential.
If you have questions about how to implement the best on-page SEO practices for your healthcare business, contact our team of dedicated medical SEO professionals at Golden Tide Consulting. We’ll use the best on-page and off-page SEO practices to ensure your healthcare business is ranking high in search engine results and that you’re getting seen by potential patients. Call us today for a free consultation!
Technical SEO vs On-Page SEO
Both technical SEO and on-page SEO are important for getting your website to rank higher in search results. However, on-page SEO is often seen as more important because it directly affects your website’s content, which is what users are looking for when they search the web.
Technical SEO focuses on improving the technical aspects of your website, such as site speed, structure, and backlinks, to make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your content.
On-page SEO, on the other hand, refers to optimizing your website’s content and structure for both users and search engines. This includes things like title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and keyword density.
That being said, neither technical SEO nor on-page SEO can be successful if the other is neglected. For the best results, you should focus on both aspects of SEO.
Why Is On-Page SEO So Important?
On-page SEO is one of the most important aspects of search engine optimization. It helps search engines understand what your website is about and how relevant it is to users’ search queries.
Good on-page SEO can be the difference between a website that ranks on the first page of Google and a website that stays on the second or third page. By optimizing your website’s content and structure, you can improve your chances of ranking higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Some of the best practices for on-page SEO are explained below.
Organized URL Structure
An organized URL structure is vital for on-page SEO because it helps search engines understand the hierarchy of your website’s pages. It also makes it easier for users to navigate your website.
There are two main URL structures: a flat URL structure and a hierarchical (or nested) URL structure. Flat URL structures are more geared towards smaller websites, whereas hierarchical URL structures are better for larger websites with more pages that require more organization. Below are some examples of both hierarchical and flat URLs.
Flat URLs
- example.com/womens-health/
- example.com/shoulder/
- example.com/sports-injuries/
Hierarchical URLs
- example.com/services/shoulder
- example.com/spine/neck-pain
- example.com/specialty/spine
The following tips will help you create an SEO-friendly organized URL structure:
- Plan ahead to stay organized with your URLs
- Use keyword-rich URLs
- Use hyphens to separate words in your URLs
- Keep your URLs short and concise
- Avoid using special characters in your URLs
Heading Tags (H1, H2, H3)
Heading tags are an important on-page SEO practice because, when used correctly, they help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your content. By using heading tags, you can make sure that your most important information is given priority in the search results.
In addition, heading tags can be used to improve the usability of your website. They can help users skim through your content and quickly find the information they’re looking for.
Heading tags can also be used to enhance the visual appeal of your website. By carefully selecting and using different font sizes, colors, and other design elements, you can make your website more visually appealing and easy to navigate.
Heading tags vary in size and range from H1 to H6. There are different tools that can be used to check the heading tags on a website, such as SEO Minion, Semrush, and SEOquake. Below is a photo from seominion.com that shows the heading tags on a webpage.
Keyword Placement
One of the most powerful and important aspects of on-page SEO is keyword placement. Keywords are the words or phrases that people type into search engines when they are making a query. Good keyword placement helps search engines understand what your page is about.
If you include keywords in the places where they are most likely to be noticed, such as in the title, the headings, the URL, and in the first few sentences of text, then it will be easier for search engines to figure out what your content is relevant to. That, in turn, can help you rank higher in the search results for those keywords.
If you want your website to show up in the search results for those keywords, then you need to make sure that you place them strategically throughout your content. It is also important to refrain from overusing keywords and phrases in your content. This is called “keyword stuffing” and could hurt your chances of ranking in the search results once detected by Google.
Optimized Title Tags
When it comes to on-page SEO, one of the most important practices is optimizing your title tags. Title tags are what appear in the search engine results pages (SERPs) as the clickable headline for a given result. They also appear at the top of your browser when you visit a website.
Because they play such a crucial role in both SERPs and web browsers, it’s essential that your title tags are well-optimized. Here are some tips for doing so:
- Make sure your title tag is unique to each page on your site. This helps search engines understand what each page is about and also makes your site more user-friendly.
- Use relevant keywords in your title tags. This helps your pages rank higher in SERPs for those keywords.
- Keep your title tags under 60 characters. This ensures that they will be fully visible in SERPs and web browsers.
- Use capital letters sparingly in your title tags. Using all caps can make your titles difficult to read and could turn off potential visitors.
- Use the same format for your title tags on every page of your site. This helps maintain a consistent look and feel throughout your site, which can improve the user experience.
Meta Descriptions
Creating meta descriptions for your web pages may seem like a small task, but it’s an important one. Although meta descriptions do not directly affect SEO or rankings in the SERP, they can help to improve your click-through rate (CTR), as well as give you an opportunity to include keywords and phrases that you want to use to capture a user’s attention.
A meta description is a short piece of text that appears beneath the title of a web page in the search results. It gives potential visitors a brief overview of what the page is about and why they should click through to it.
A good meta description will be between 150 and 160 characters long and will contain the keyword or phrase that you want to rank for. It should also be interesting and engaging so that potential visitors are tempted to click through to your website.
Proper Internal Linking
Internal linking is an important on-page SEO practice because it helps search engines understand the structure of your website and the relationships between your pages.
By including links to other pages on your website, you’re effectively telling search engines which pages are most important and how they’re related. This makes it easier for them to index your website and rank your pages accordingly.
In addition to helping search engines, internal links can also help improve the user experience on your website. By making it easy for users to navigate between your pages, you’re more likely to keep them engaged with your content. This can lead to longer visits and higher conversion rates.
Some helpful tips for proper internal linking are listed below.
- Use keyword-rich anchor text. This will help search engines understand what the page you’re linking to is about and how it’s related to the rest of your website.
- Link to relevant pages. It’s essential to link to pages that are closely related to the content on the page you’re linking from. This will help search engines understand the relationship between the pages and give them context for indexing your website.
- Limit the number of links on a page. Too many links on a page can overwhelm users and make your website seem spammy to search engines. A good rule of thumb is to limit the number of links to no more than 10 per 1000 words per page.
- Use descriptive link text. This will help both users and search engines understand what the linked-to page is about. Avoid using generic link text such as “click here” or “more information.” Instead, use ones like “shoulder injury” or “our board-certified physicians.”
Image Alt Tags
Image alt tags are important for on-page SEO because they help search engines understand the content of an image. By including keywords in the alt tag, you can ensure that your images are properly indexed and ranked by search engines.
Not only do image alt tags help with on-page SEO, but they also help improve the accessibility of your website. When an image does not load or cannot be seen by a user, the alt text is displayed in its place. This allows users with vision impairments to still understand the content of the image.
Screen readers also use alt text to describe images to users who cannot see them. Therefore, using image alt tags can help make your website more accessible to a broader range of users.
Some best practices for image alt tags are listed below.
- Add context that relates to the topic of the page. If the image doesn’t feature a recognizable place or person, then add context based on the content of the page.
- Describe the image, and be specific. Use both the image’s subject and context to guide you.
- Don’t start alt text with “picture of…” or “image of…” Jump right into the image’s description. Screen-reading tools (and Google, for that matter) will identify it as an image from the article’s HTML source code.
- Keep your alt text fewer than 125 characters. Screen-reading tools typically stop reading alt text at this point, cutting off long-winded alt text at awkward moments when verbalizing this description for the visually impaired.
- Don’t add alt text to every image. You should add alt text to most images on a webpage for the sake of SEO, UX, and accessibility — however, there are exceptions. Images that are purely decorative or are described in text nearby, for example, should have an empty alt attribute.
- Use your keywords, but sparingly. Only add your article’s target keyword if it’s easily included in your alt text. If not, consider semantic keywords or just the most important terms within a longtail keyword. For example, if your article’s head keyword is “how to treat back pain,” you might use “back pain treatment” in your alt text, since “how to” might be difficult to include in image alt text naturally.
- Don’t cram your keyword into every single image’s alt text. If your blog post contains a series of body images, include your keyword in at least one of those images. Identify the image you think is most representative of your topic, and assign it your keyword. Stick to more aesthetic descriptions in the surrounding media.
- Review for spelling errors. Misspelled words in image alt text could hurt the user experience or confuse search engines crawling your site. You should review alt text like you would any other content on the page.
Search Intent
Search intent is important for the best on-page SEO practices because it helps you target the right keywords and create content that ranks high in search engines. By understanding what people are searching for, you can optimize your pages to match their needs and improve your chances of ranking higher in search results.
Targeting the wrong keywords can lead to low rankings and little traffic while targeting the right keywords can result in higher rankings and more traffic. When you know the searcher’s intent, you can better match your content to their needs, resulting in a higher ranking and more traffic.
It is also essential to make the article you are writing specific to the search intent. For example, it wouldn’t be wise to write a 2,000-word article on a quick how-to guide such as “How to brush your teeth,” and it wouldn’t be best practice to write a 250-word article geared toward a search query that requires more information such as “How to choose a good dentist” or “Best on-page SEO practices.”
There are four main types of search intent: informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional. Each type corresponds to a different stage in the buyer’s journey, and each requires a different approach to on-page optimization.
- Informational intent is when someone is looking for information on a topic. They may not be ready to buy anything yet, but they want to learn more about a particular subject. For this type of search, you’ll want to optimize your content for keywords that are related to the searcher’s question.
- Navigational intent is when someone is looking for a specific website or page. This could be because they saw an ad for it, or they may have heard about it from word of mouth. For this type of search, you’ll want to ensure your website is easy to find and navigate so that the searcher can quickly find what they’re looking for.
- Commercial intent is when someone is looking to buy something. They may be comparing products or prices, or they may be ready to make a purchase. For this type of search, you’ll want to optimize your content for keywords that are related to what the searcher is looking to buy.
- Transactional intent is when someone is ready to complete a transaction, such as buying a product or signing up for a service. For this type of search, you’ll want to make sure your website is set up for conversion so that the searcher can easily complete their purchase.
Article Length
Article length is important for a number of reasons when it comes to on-page SEO. First, longer articles tend to have higher search engine rankings than shorter ones. This is because search engines view longer articles as being more informative and thus more valuable to searchers.
Additionally, longer articles tend to get more social media shares and links from other websites, both of which are important ranking factors. Finally, longer articles give you more opportunities to include keywords and phrases that potential customers are searching for, which can help bring them to your website.
So what is the ideal article length? While there is no magic number, here at Golden Tide Consulting, we usually aim for at least 750 words. This will give you enough space to cover your topic in-depth and include all the relevant keywords and phrases.
Of course, not every topic will require 750 words to adequately cover it, and some require more. But in general, longer articles are better for on-page SEO purposes.
Golden Tide Consulting — Experts in Best On-Page SEO Practices
Are you looking to improve your healthcare business’ online presence? Our SEO specialists at Golden Tide Consulting can help! We exercise the best practices in on-site SEO and will make sure your website is using the right keywords and that your content is high-quality and relevant.
Don’t miss out on potential patients. Contact us today at Golden Tide Consulting and let us help you to improve your online visibility.
