Onsite SEO Cheatsheet
Creating SEO title tags and Meta Descriptions
What Are Title Tags?
Title tags are HTML elements that define the title of a webpage. They appear as clickable headlines in search engine results pages (SERPs) and are one of the most important on-page SEO factors.
Best Practices for Title Tags:
Length:
The ideal length for a title tag is 50-60 characters, including spaces. Google typically displays the first 50-60 characters, and longer titles may get cut off in search results. Aim for a concise, relevant title that conveys the key content of the page.
Keywords:
Place the most important keywords closer to the beginning of the title tag, as search engines give more weight to the words appearing earlier. Avoid “keyword stuffing,” which means overusing keywords. Make sure the title reads naturally.
Unique for Each Page:
Each page should have a unique title tag to avoid confusing search engines and users. This helps differentiate your pages and ensures each page can rank for different searches.
Include Your Brand:
If possible, add your brand name at the end of the title tag (e.g., “Page Topic | Brand Name”). This helps with brand recognition.
Remember, all your content represents your Brand.
Engaging Language:
Write titles that are appealing to users. A compelling title encourages more clicks from search results, which can lead to higher click-through rates (CTR).
Meta Descriptions
What Are Meta Descriptions?
Meta descriptions are short snippets that summarize the content of a webpage. They appear under the title tag in search results and serve as a “preview” to attract users.
Best Practices for Meta Descriptions:
Length:
Meta descriptions should be 150-160 characters. Google usually truncates descriptions that are longer than this, so keeping them within this range helps ensure the entire message is visible.
Use Keywords:
Include relevant keywords in the description, as they may be highlighted in bold in search results, making your listing stand out. However, like with title tags, avoid keyword stuffing.
Describe the Page’s Content:
Clearly explain what the page is about. Make sure the meta description matches the content on the page to avoid misleading users.
Include a Call to Action:
Use action-oriented language that encourages clicks, such as “Learn more,” “Discover,” or “Find out.”
Unique for Each Page:
Just like title tags, each page should have a unique meta description to avoid duplicate content issues and ensure better user experience.
Example:
Title Tag: “Affordable Debt Collection Services in Australia | Agency Name”
Length: 55 characters Keywords: “Debt Collection Services in Australia”
Meta Description: “Looking for reliable and affordable debt collection services? Our agency helps Australian businesses recover debts quickly and professionally. Contact us today!”
Length: 152 characters Call to Action: “Contact us today!”
Key Takeaway:
Title tags and meta descriptions are crucial for both SEO and user experience. Keep them concise, keyword-optimized, unique, and compelling to improve your website’s visibility and encourage users to click through to your site.
Internal Linking
An effective SEO strategy for internal linking from blog posts focuses on creating a clear, logical structure that helps both users and search engines navigate your site. Here are key steps to implement:
1. Use Descriptive Anchor Texts
When linking to other blog posts or pages, use descriptive and relevant anchor text. Avoid generic terms like “click here” and instead use keywords or phrases that reflect the content of the page you’re linking to. For example, instead of “read more,” say “learn more about effective SEO strategies.”
2. Link to Relevant Content
Ensure that the links you include within your posts are highly relevant to the topic at hand. This not only boosts the user experience by directing them to related content but also helps search engines understand the context of the pages.
3. Use Deep Links
Rather than linking only to your homepage or top-level pages, link to deeper content within your site. This helps spread authority across your pages and ensures that older or lesser-known posts also gain visibility.
4. Maintain a Hierarchical Structure
Internal linking should support a logical hierarchy within your website. Link up to category or pillar pages from individual blog posts and down to sub-topic or related content posts. This structure helps search engines better understand the relationship between content and prioritize important pages.
5. Limit the Number of Links per Post
Avoid overwhelming your readers and search engines with too many internal links in a single post. Focus on quality rather than quantity, and only link when it’s genuinely useful to the reader.
6. Update Old Posts with New Links
Regularly audit older posts and add internal links to your newer content. This not only keeps older content relevant but also helps spread authority to newly published pages.
7. Use Breadcrumbs for Navigation
Breadcrumbs are an excellent way to show the hierarchy of your pages and help users and search engines navigate back to higher-level pages. Ensure they are visible and easy to follow.
8. Prioritize High-Authority Pages
Identify your highest-authority pages and link to them strategically from other blog posts. This can further boost the authority of these pages while improving the flow of SEO value across your site.
9. Ensure Mobile-Friendly Linking
Make sure your internal linking strategy works well on mobile devices, as more users are consuming content on mobile. Test how easy it is to navigate between blog posts via internal links on different screen sizes.
10. Monitor and Adjust
Use tools like Google Search Console to monitor the performance of your internal links. Adjust your strategy based on traffic patterns, user engagement, and how well search engines are crawling your linked pages.
How many internal links for a blog post?
There is no strict limit to the number of internal links you can include in a blog post, but it’s important to balance the quantity with relevance and user experience. Here are some guidelines to consider:
1. Focus on Relevance
Every internal link should be relevant to the content of the post. If the link doesn’t enhance the user’s understanding or provide useful information, it’s better to leave it out.
2. Avoid Overloading with Links
Too many links can overwhelm readers and make the post feel cluttered. A good rule of thumb is to include a reasonable number of internal links—typically 3 to 5 links per 1,000 words is a common practice. However, this can vary depending on the depth of the content and the amount of relevant material on your site.
3. Linking for SEO and User Experience
The main goal of internal links is to improve both SEO and user experience. Include enough links to help users find more information and guide them through your content journey, but not so many that the post feels like a link farm.
4. Context Over Quantity
Instead of worrying about a specific number, prioritize contextual linking—meaning, link where it naturally fits within the content. If you have a longer, more detailed post, you may need more links. For shorter or more focused posts, fewer links may be better.
5. Avoid Keyword Stuffing in Anchor Texts
While you can include multiple internal links, make sure the anchor texts are varied and natural. Over-optimization by repeating the same keywords can look spammy to both users and search engines.
6. Use Internal Links Strategically
Place links where they’ll make the most impact, such as in the introduction to direct users to related guides, within body paragraphs for context, or near the conclusion to encourage further reading.
7. Regular Audits and Adjustments
Regularly review older blog posts to add or update internal links as you publish new content. This keeps the user flow dynamic and helps new posts gain traction.
In summary, there’s no hard limit, but the key is to maintain a natural flow that benefits both the user experience and SEO.