Top On-Page Elements for Strong Content That Converts
When it comes to producing content that converts readers into customers or clients, optimizing the on-page elements are crucial. We’re talking about optimizing from both a user experience (UX) and SEO perspective.
Basically, the way you optimize your content affects who can find your website and how relevant that traffic is to your overall goal, whether that’s a sale or lead generator by signing up for a newsletter. By formulating good content and implementing SEO best practices, you will achieve a win/win situation for increased rankings, strong UX and the ultimate end-goal – conversion.
But what is good content and how exactly does it help? Here are six elements that can help you build good content.
1. Optimal Content Answers Reader Demand
They type of content you put out on your website is very important for SEO. Readers have a demand, and to rank, you should fill that void. Your site could answer questions, provide helpful tips, or just put out a relatable comic strip. You must supply what the readers demand. People want what they want and the best way to find that out is to perform keyword research and study analytics.
What do people search for when they land on your website? Is it what you intended? How are they finding you? Where is the ROI? Analytics can provide all these answers. Research and find out what your audience wants.
2. Internal Links to Keep Readers Engaged
Okay – so they like the content, now provide them with more. We always want more and that includes finding what we need. If an article makes suggestions, has additional information, or provides a service we are looking for, we want to be able to reach it. Linking content internally can help direct readers to the right place. These internal links keep readers on your site and improve your site’s SEO rankings.
3. Concise Title Tags
When we look for something, we want to make sure the message is clear. No one wants to dig through articles in the hope of finding the right one. How is this possible? An optimal title tag – the title of the article shown in search engines – can do the job. Clear title tags are crucial to getting a searcher to click your link. The title tag should let the readers know exactly what your webpage is about.
If these titles are too vague or overreaching, readers may not click into them. The best way to craft a title is by being simple and direct: what is this webpage about? Be precise and it will help draw in your audience. And for best SEO practices, keep the titles between 50-60 characters.
A solid title should have a complementary meta description. The title should let readers know where they are, and the meta description should provide them with a concise summary. The meta description should contain keywords your potential customers are looking for and should be optimized to find your target audience. Though they don’t directly affect search results, any search terms included will be bold. The more key terms, the higher the likelihood a reader will click. Of course, you don’t want to overdo it. The meta description should be short, sweet, and to the point. Best practice for length is 150-160 characters before truncation occurs in the search results.
5. User-Friendly Page Design and Easily Navigated
When they finally click onto your webpage, it should be easy for them to navigate. Your web page performance should be up to par. It should load quickly, have a good response time, and easy to access on a computer or mobile device. Nothing is more frustrating than coming to a site and not knowing how to find what you are looking for. Your web page design should be clean, clear and user-friendly.
Adding images with supporting alt text, clear copy and easy navigation tools is a great way to increase the UX factor.
6. Precise and Readable Content
Beyond the look and navigation of your page, readers should be able to understand the content easily. Provide them with excellent written content that is a breeze to read and understand. A simple way to address this is by using subtopics to chunk sections of contact – or headline tags (H tags) as they are known in SEO.
Also, remember it’s all about the end user. Most companies go wrong when they cannot connect their content with their audience. If your content is too jargon-heavy and isn’t accessible to everyone, your audience will be very limited. Optimize your content with the proper message and you can successfully bring your audience in.
Concluding Thoughts
From the page URL to the title tag to internal links, everything should be optimized. Be careful not to overdo it. Too many keywords, links, or an overabundance of text in the wrong places can have a detrimental effect on your site traffic, not to mention your search engine rankings and user experience. As you take the steps to maximize your site’s UX and SEO potential, remember – keep it simple. While best practices for SEO and UX take some extra steps, the increased conversions will be worth the hard work.
