On Page Optimization: Strategies For Dominating The Search Engines

In order to be successful with your SEO long term, you should always start with on page optimization. On page optimization refers to everything that has to do with your actual web site and web pages from a search engine optimization perspective. This would include factors like web site age, URL, Meta tags, on page links, etc. It's important that you start with on page optimization because it ensures that your pages will be fully recognized by search engines.

Let's start with looking at your URLs. Many people believe that the only way to get number one rankings is by having your keywords in your domain name. For example, if your keyword is sneakers, you should have a URL that says Sneakers.com. Sure, this would help but its only one of many factors considered in search engine optimization. Not to mention the difficulty of finding a good URL that includes your keywords.

It is true that including your keyword phrase in your URL is beneficial even though it is not the end all be all. This is especially true with search engines like Yahoo and Bing. One thing you can do is to use a sub-domain strategy. This means setting us sub domains from your main site that includes the keyword you're optimization for. It would look something like this: sneakers.yoursite.com where "your site" is the name of your main web site.

You can also create new pages that include your keyword as part of the URL. This is almost as equally strong as the sub-domain strategy and very easy to implement. Simply create a folder or page on your server that includes your keyword. An example would be: Yoursite.com/sneakers. By adding the keywords as part f your URL, you are improving your chances of appearing in search results given other on page SEO criteria is met.

After optimizing your URL, it's time to focus on other on page attributes. One of the most important is page load time. This is a function of the number of images you have on your page, scripts, external calls, use of CSS, etc. and requires a good deal of experience from a programming perspective. The best bet is to have someone with SEO experience review your pages to make sure that you are applying SEO best practices from an on page perspective.

Once you've covered on page optimization attributes associated with a high ranking web site, it's time to focus on off page optimization. Off page optimization is really a function of how the search engines see your site and how other web pages link to your own web site or blog. Off page optimization is often equated to link building as building external links to your site is at the core of search engine optimization.

Start with on page optimization to build a strong foundation to your web site. Once you have the proper URL structure and address other on page optimization factors, you'll be in a good position to roll out your link building strategy. As you develop more inbound links, your search engine results will improve.