By now, I’m sure you’ve heard enough about on page optimization (on page seo) to last a lifetime. I never want to repeat the same mantras, you have been hearing since last years. Yes, on-page-SEO (On Page Search Engine Optimization) has become more important (I can hardly remember a time when it wasn’t), and yes, on-page-SEO can make or break all of  your chances at ranking high on Google SERPs (Google-Search engine results page). But what has changed is the way we perceive and behave toward on-page SEO tips.

Most SEOs tend to think of on-page optimization as a very specific technical influx of code. You know the drill: - meta tags,  meta description, alt tags, canonical URLs,  proper encoding, well-crafted, character-limit-abiding(Keyword Density) title tags(Title of your post), etc.

Those are the basics. And at this point, they are very old school (Ha Ha Haaa....:D). They continue to appear on the on-page SEO checklist, and, you and I know very well  that what is the whole demography of SEO has changed vastly(day by day), even though the basic premise has remained the same. Well, Because of that change, the way you perceive on-page SEO has to adjust as well. And, that’s what we’re going to look at now.

SEO Best Practices in 2013

If your website isn’t properly optimized on-page, your efforts off the website (link building, content marketing, social media) probably won’t yield substantial results (as you want....). Not that they won’t generate anything at all, but more than half (yes, only half..:D ) your efforts may end up going down the drain.

There’s no clear rule book that says: do A, B, and C in on-page optimization and your rank will rise by X, Y, or Z. On-page optimization is based on tests, analytics and errors (bugs). You learn more about it by discovering what doesn’t work than what does.

But of these things to keep in mind, there’s this: If you don’t take care of your on-page SEO, you’re likely going to fall or stay behind: in rankings, in conversions, and in ROI.

Why The Fuss?

But first let’s clear this one up: Why the fuss about on-page SEO (On Page Search-Engine-Optimization)? After all, there’s a ton of material available about it already. Many experts have written more and well about it.

The changing demography of search engine algorithms has altered the factors playing in to how one chooses to perform SEO (Search Engine Optimization). You can no longer think about terms of keywords and inbound links (in-links) alone. Similarly, you can no longer think in terms of the meta and alt tags alone (yes, this includes title tag too).

It's not just about how your website/blog is coded. It’s also about how your website/blog looks bare-bones (the robot view...), and how your website/blog responds to different screens. It includes load times (Load Time Of your Website/Blog) and authority. And..., with the direction that Google (Or other search engine, like bing, yahoo etc) is headed in 2013 and beyond, it is 100 percent clear that on-page elements and off-page elements must line up and agree with each other in a natural, clear and, organic manner. That’s why we need to reevaluate on-page SEO a little more carefully.

On Page SEO/On-Page-Optimization

1. Meta Tags Are Just the Beginning

We’ve known and used meta tags since their arrival. The meta “keyword” tag is long-gone (Not Used in google), as an SEO (For google, bing, yahoo) ranking factor, but, a lots of heat has been generated in discussions about the utility of meta description tags from an SEO point-of-view.

More significantly than SEO ranking factors, is the fact that meta "description"(Description about your your blog/article post) tags provide an opportunity to affect how your website is displayed in search results. A great meta description (about your website/blog) tag can get your result clicked before the guy ranking above you(in terms of search results). It is still good practice to use keywords whenever you can, along with the geographic identifiers (when applicable..!!!), but first, and forever, should be the intent to attract clicks from humans.

2. Canonical, Duplicate, Broken Links (error 401,403), etc.

Google’s robots have become very smart, to the point where broken links (401,403 page error links) and duplicate pages raise red flags faster than a bullet.....:D. That is precisely why you will find some canonical links (and their corresponding codes) to be highly important.

Broken links and dupes aren’t just anti-SEO. They are anti-user too...:D. What’s your first reaction when you click on a link that just shows a page error?

3. The Robot’s Point of View

Text remains the most important part of any website/blog even today. While Google (or Bing/yahoo) does rank some videos and media higher than others for certain keywords, well-formatted and content-rich(unique and original content) websites still rule the roost.

To get a view of how your website or blog looks to the crawlers, you can disable the javascript and images (under Preferences/Settings of your browser) and take a look at the resulting page.

Though not totally accurate, the result is pretty much how your blog or website looks to the crawler. Now, verify all the items (rules) on the following checklist:

• ·         Is your website logo showing up as text ?
• ·         Is the navigation working correctly or not ? Does it break or not ?
• ·         Is the main content of your page/post showing up right after the navigation ?
• ·         Are there any hidden (not visible on website/blog) elements that show up when JS (javascript) is disabled ?
• ·         Is the content formatted properly (heading, sub-headings..etc) ?
• ·         Are all other pieces of the page/post (ads, banner-images, sign-up forms, links, etc.) showing up and after the main content ?

The "main and basic idea" is  "make sure the main content" {the part you want Google (or any search engine) to note} comes as early as possible with the relevant titles(about your post/page) and descriptions in place.

4. Load Time Averages (about your site/blog) and Size

Google has long noted the size and the average load times of website-pages/blog posts. This goes into the ranking algorithm of google by most counts and affects your position in the SERPs(Search Engine Results Page). 

This means you can have pretty good content (unique and original ) on your website or blog, 
but if the pages/website/blog load slowly, Google is going to be wary of ranking you higher than 
other websites that load faster.

Google is only for user satisfactions. They want to show their users relevant results that are also easily accessible. If you have tons of javascript(for enhancing website design) snippets, widgets, and other elements that slow down the load times of you website/page/blog, Google will never going to award you a high ranking.

5. Think Mobile, Think Responsive

This is one of the most hotly and most discussed topics in online marketing today. From mobile ads/classified ads and local search to market trend in desktop or tablet/ mobile consumption, it is hundred percent clear that moving toward a mobile-optimized site is the wave of the future.

When you think of a mobile or responsive website, just think, how do you go about it?  

Responsive as in CSS (Cascading Style Sheets ) media queries, or entirely new domains like “m.domain.com”? The former is recommended often because this keeps things in the same domain (no duplication, link juice etc.). It keeps things simpler.

6. Authority & Author-Rank

The author-meta gets a new lease on life with Google promoting the Author-Rank metric. It is a little and  more complex than that now, however. You'll have to enable the rich snippets for your website, make sure your Google+(Google Plus) profile is filled up completely, and link them up with your blog or website. Author-Rank has emerged as a unique, very important and tangible metric that affects PR (page rank), and is one of the on-page SEO (on-page optimization) tactics you should definitely do. And, not only will it improve your website/psot/blog rankings, but it will also improve your CTR ( click-through rate in the SERPs ).

7. Design Should not Be the Last Thing On Your List

Ironically, I had to write about this as the last thing because many people remember only the last thing they’ve read in an article/post/page. Hardcore SEO-people (webmasters) regularly overlook the importance of design.

Aesthetics and readability stem directly from the design of a website. Google is very good at figuring out what shows “above the fold” on websites/blog/post, and Google explicitly recommends that you place content above the fold so your readers are treated to information rather than ads.

On-page SEO isn’t only about the meta code and the canonical URL(Universal Resource Link). It’s about how your website connects to the user and to the robot. It’s only about how you make sure your blog/page/post/website is accessible and readable, and still has enough information (related to your post title) under the hood for the search engines to pick up easily.