When it comes to SEO, the technique of On Page SEO is crucial for higher search engine rankings.

In this article, we will discuss the 8 techniques of On Page SEO. Apply them for your website and you should notice improvements in your rankings.

Let’s jump right in!

8 Techniques of On Page SEO

1. H1 tag
2. Meta Title and Description
3. Short URLs
4. Keyword Density
5. Internal Linking
6. Content Optimization
7. Include Image And Video
8. Boost Site Speed

#1 – H1 Tag

The H1 Tag is the one of the most powerful signal for search engine on the relevancy of your site. Utilise it by including your main keyword in the H1 Tag.

If your website is using WordPress, you may select the H1 in your editor:

As a rule of thumb, only include ONE H1 tag per page to ensure clarity in the page content and SEO signal.

#2 – Meta Title And Description

These are the titles and description you see each time you perform a search on Google.

For example, if you search for online business in Malaysia:

The red arrow would be the meta title while the blue arrow is the meta description.

Include your main keywords in the meta title, and use attractive copy in your meta description to convince users to click through to your page.

Install the Yoase SEO plugin to alter your meta title and description.

#3 – Short URLs

Here’s an interesting finding, short URLs have higher chance of ranking higher as compared to long URLs.

Include 2-5 words in URL with the main keyword in it.

#4 – Keyword Density

Avoid the tendency for keyword stuffing. If the keyword appears too many times on your page, it’s actually doing more harm than good.

We recommend a keyword density of 1-3%. For example, if your content has 1,000 words, your keyword can appear 10 to 30 times. Aim to have the keyword within the first 150 words of your content.

Another best practice would be to look at the keyword density of your existing competitors on Page 1. Aim to mimic that percentage as it has been proven to work.

#5 – Internal Linking

Internal linking is the best way to display relevance to the search engine.

If you have pages that are of the same topic, use internal links to each pages to pass on the link juice and keep users on your site longer.

#6 – Content Optimization

Here are the three recommendation for the ultimate content optimization:

1. Sprinkle LSI keywords throughout your content. LSIs are the synonyms of your main keyword, you can find them under the “Searches Related to” section at the bottom of the search engine page
2. Use outbound link and link to authority websites. Include 1-2 outbound link per 1,000 words
3. Search engine love long form content as it provides the users with the most information. Aim to write longer and more informative content as compared to your competitors.

#7 – Include Image & Video

For images, include your keyword in the alt text as it signals to the search engine what the image is about.

As for video, if you can create a video about the topic, upload them to Youtube and then embed it on your website. If not, you may search for a relevant video on the topic and embed it.

#8 – Boost Site Speed

Page loading speed contributes to the ranking factor as it’s a key factor in user experience.

If your site is loading too slow, users will leave and go to the other website for information.

Here are ways to boost your site speed:

1. Install a caching plugin like WP Fastest Cache or WP Super Cache
2. Optimize heavy images using plugin like ShortPixel or WP Compress
3. Invest in a premium hosting service instead of the typical shared hosting

SEO Service in Kuala Lumpur

If you are looking to apply the On page SEO techniques yourself, go ahead and perform it for your main pages and use the Google Search Console to resubmit for indexing.

However, if you would like us to perform the SEO for you, book a free SEO consultation with our team from KL > https://axceldigital.com/seo-kuala-lumpur/

Conclusion

We hope this On Page SEO guide has been useful for you. Now it’s your turn to implement it for your website.

Here’s a recap of the 8 techniques:

1. H1 tag
2. Meta Title and Description
3. Short URLs
4. Keyword Density
5. Internal Linking
6. Content Optimization
7. Include Image And Video
8. Boost Site Speed

Happy ranking!

The post On Page SEO – 8 Key Techniques With Step by Step Guide appeared first on Axcel Digital.

It all begins with the keyword. Keyword research is the first step for any SEO campaign.

Performing a proper keyword research will let you know if you should put your time and energy to rank for the keyword (it’s impossible to rank for all keywords).

A keyword is basically the search term a person types into Google. For example, someone may type “best laptop in 2018” into Google, and this would be the keyword.

Before we start diving into the step by step guide to performing a full keyword research, let’s look at the 3 key components of keyword research.

3 Key Components of Keyword Research and Analysis 

#1 – Search Volume

Search volume is a monthly estimate from Google on the number of people who search for the keyword.

For us, in the B2B industry, we will consider ranking for keywords that have a minimum of 50 or more monthly searches. On the other hand, if you are in the B2C space, your numbers should be higher.

There is no universal number for this as everyone has their own judgement of how high or low their targeted search volume should be.

However, if you are just starting out, go for keywords with lower search volume as it usually means there are lesser competitions.

Which brings us to the next point.

#2 – Competition

Once you know your search volume, the next step is to figure out the level of competition for this keyword.

If the keyword has a high search volume and high competition, we recommend you to stay away from this keyword and rank for other related keywords. (unless you are an advanced SEO).

We will discuss how to determine the competition level later below.

#3 – Relevancy

Once you have identified keywords that meet your search volume criteria and has low to medium competition, the last step is to ensure the keyword is relevant to your website’s topic.

For example, if your website is about basketball and your keyword is “basketball shoes for men”, don’t rank for “football jersey for men”.

Even if the search volume high and competition is low, this will confuse Google and as football is not relevant to basketball.

We will now cover how you can determine the search volume and competition level for your keywords below.

How to Do Keyword Research: Step by Step Guide

Step 1: Find Your Seed Keyword

A seed keyword is a general keyword that you wish to rank for.

For example, if you are running a restaurant in kl, your seed keyword would be “restaurant in kl”

Step 2: Use KW Finder to Search for Related Keywords

Use the KW Finder software to enter your seed keyword and set your country.

In this example, we will use the keyword “restaurant in kl” and set the country to Malaysia:

You can use KW Finder as a keyword research tool for free 5 times per day. If you are searching for more than 5 times per day, we recommend going for their paid plans.

KW Finder is still one of the more affordable and useful SEO keyword research tools we have come across.

Step 3: Assess Competition Level and Search Volume

KW Finder will then show you the search volume, cost per click and keyword difficulty (KD).

To assess your competition level, we recommend going for keywords with KD of 35 and below. If the KD is 35 and above, it probably means there are plenty of established websites already targeting this keyword and you should probably stay away if you are new to SEO.

So if your keyword is “restaurant in kl”, pick another keyword since the KD is 44 and has high competition.

You can go for say “best buffet in kl” since the KD is 35 and it has a decent monthly search volume of 1,600.

Step 4: Rank for Multiple Keywords Using Google’s Autosuggest

Here is a hack that will save you a lot of time.

Don’t just rank for one keyword, there are plenty of related keywords you can rank for locally as well.

And the best part is, Google will let you know what to include in your content.

Head over to Google and type your keyword “best buffet in kl”.

Click on the search term and Google will show other suggested keywords. This is called Google Autosuggest.

You should still target “best buffet in kl” as your primary keyword and sprinkle these related keywords into your content if it makes sense.

This will help you rank for multiple keywords in one page.

Also, when you scroll to the bottom of Google, you will see “searches related to”

In this case, the keywords are the same as Google Autosuggest, but for some other keywords, you will notice different keyword suggestions in Searches Related to and Google Autosuggest.

Consider adding these keywords as well if it makes sense to your topic and business.

Step 5: Write the Article

Once you have the list of keywords ready, you can now write the article and include the primary and related keywords.

Repeat the process again for all other keywords you wish to rank for.

A Vital Component of Keyword Research – Understanding the Buyer’s Journey 

We will now tap into the buyer’s journey and how to utilize the keywords to convert strangers into buyers.

Here’s the thing, we often go through a buyer’s journey, whether we are aware of it or not.

The buyer’s journey is a process that follows a buyer’s progression from awareness to making a purchase.

Here are the 3 stages in every buyer’s journey:

Stage 1: Awareness

The buyer becomes aware that he or she has a desire.

In this stage, 72% of buyers will turn to Google to research and gather information.

Stage 2: Consideration

Moving onto the consideration stage, the buyer now is now aware and would begin to explore the available options.

Stage 3: Decision

This is the stage we all love!

The buyer is now prepared to make a purchase decision and would select the preferred product or service.

Keyword Research Tips to Mimic the Buyer’s Journey 

It’s crucial to have a keyword research strategy that mimics this buyer’s journey. If your keywords only focus on one stage of the journey, you are leaving A LOT of money on the table.

You can mimic the buyer’s journey by producing content at each stage to address the buyers’ needs and seamlessly bring them from Stage 1 to Stage 3.

For example, let’s say you are running a hotel in Penang.

Stage 1: Awareness

At the awareness stage, your hotel could produce content such as:

• Top 10 Things to Do in Penang
• Where to Travel in Malaysia

Stage 2: Consideration

At the consideration stage, the buyer is now considering to travel to Penang. You can produce content such as:

• Best Seafood Restaurants in Penang
• When Is the Best Time to Visit Penang

Stage 3: Decision

At the decision stage, the buyer has decided to go to Penang. Now you can close the sale by ranking keywords such as:

• Best Hotel in Penang
• Hotel Discounts in Penang
• Affordable Hotel in Penang

Before you start producing the content, use the 5-step keyword research process to search for suitable keywords and rank for all 3 stages of awareness, consideration, and decision.

Here’s a recap of the 5-steps:

Step 1: Find Your Seed Keyword

Step 2: Use KW Finder to Search for Related Keywords

Step 3: Assess Competition Level and Search Volume

Step 4: Rank for Multiple Keywords Using Google’s Autosuggest

Step 5: Write the Article

Conclusion

Keyword research is one of the important components of SEO as it builds a solid foundational base to allow you to rank for your desired keywords.

Keyword research should ALWAYS be the first step toward producing content. Don’t start writing until you know which keywords you are going for.

Performing keyword research will also help you to understand your customers better as you will know what are the search terms your target customers usually type into Google.

We hope this article has provided you a step by step guide to performing the keyword research. Apply the strategies covered above and you will find plenty of relevant keywords for your business.

If you need a done-for-you keyword research service, head over to our SEO KL page to learn more.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below or email us at info@axceldigital.com

The post Keyword Research: Step by Step Guide to Uncover Profitable Keywords appeared first on Axcel Digital.

Getting that number one spot on Google is not easy.

Especially when Google controls the boards and making their 200+ ranking factors a mystery. This has left many people with no clear direction when it comes getting their site higher on Google.

However, there’s something you need to know:

Although Google guards their algorithm well, multiple studies have shown that top 3 Google ranking factors will work for any websites.

And here’s where it gets better:

If you manage to hit these 3 SEO signals perfectly, your website will climb to the top of page one over time.

Obviously, there are still some other hidden factors, but these are the top three Google ranking factors fundamentals you need to get them right.

In this article, we will discuss the three main principles Google use in their algorithm to rank websites. Two of them are relatively old (and still works), but one has only just been released.

So, let’s get to it.

#1 – High-Authority Backlinks  

If Google didn’t use backlinks in their algorithm, they wouldn’t be the giant they are today.

That’s a known fact.

If you didn’t know already, one of the main factors that govern a site’s authority is their backlink profile.

A backlink (putting it simply) is a link that connects two websites.

They allow people to travel from website to website without the need to use a search engine. They are normally found within the content itself and are usually highlighted in a different colour.

And Google’s algorithm uses them to rank websites – they act as a signal of authority and trust.

The more quality websites that link to you, the more authority you have.

There are a range of other factors that contribute to the power of backlinks. Things like your anchor text profile and referring site quality also come into play.

We will be discussing backlinks in more detail in a future article.

#2 – Create Quality Content that Educates Your Audience 

Content is what keeps the internet alive and kicking.

To put it simply, content is king.

It is also the reason search engines are around in the first place. Search engines are built to help you find information on the web. They search the internet’s database and provide you with the most relevant result.

Because of this, Google factors content quality into their algorithm. If they didn’t, users would get crap results and wouldn’t get the answers they require.

You really have to create quality content that can benefit readers on your website, and Google will reward you handsomely.

To find examples of great content, head over Buzzsumo and type your keyword:

Buzzsumo will show the articles that are most shared around the web. This can only mean one thing – the content is outstanding, and people love it.

Go through each article to get an idea of the type of content you should be writing for your audience.

*The Lazy Way – If you are too busy to write your own content, outsource to someone on Fiverr. Our tip is to only select level two writers and pick those with at least 30 five star reviews.

#3 – Positive UX Signals to Feed the RankBrain AI

Now, this is where things get interesting…

If you haven’t heard already, Google has finally confirmed their third main ranking factor.

That third factor is known as RankBrain.

RankBrain is Google’s newly developed artificial intelligence and it has two jobs in the search pages.

Firstly, RankBrain identifies the context and can understand the use of language in content.

As a result, it can quickly understand what a page is about with little effort.

The reason this has been included is because Google experiences many searches every month that have never been seen before. So, to help produce the best results for new search terms, RankBrain can analyse the context of a page to see if it answers the searcher’s query.

The second job RankBrain has is relying on user experience signals as a sign of quality.

Put it this way:

If your search result (the actual Meta title) is getting a higher click-through rate than other first page results, RankBrain will place you higher on page 1.

However, if people are clicking on your search result, go to your website, and are then instantly clicking the back button, Google will decrease your position and your competitor will rise up in the rankings.

So to capture your visitors on your page, having great content to hold their attention is crucial.

Dominate Search Engine Rankings With These Google Ranking Factors

In 2019, backlinks, quality content, and UX signals remain the most crucial element of ranking well on Google. As an SEO agency in Kuala Lumpur, we have observed the substantial impact of these 3 key factors.

These factors would determine if your website is ranking on the first page OR the back pages of Google.

Conclusion

Nobody knows the specifics they need to get higher rankings in Google. And Google will never release the specifics for the fear of SEOs manipulating their algorithm.

What we do have, however, is the top 3 Google ranking factors.

If you get these three things right (backlinks, content, and RankBrain) you will observe improved rankings.

Happy ranking!

The post The 3 Most Important Google Ranking Factors (Out of 200+ Factors) appeared first on Axcel Digital.

In other words, getting them to convert into a customer for your business from online to offline.

If you have a local business, you can utilise local SEO to target location-specific traffic to your site through specifically targeted local rankings to reach the right customer demographics.

Here’s a local SEO example:

In this article, we will discuss how you can get your local business to rank in Google’s listing.

Let’s dive in!

Ranking Local SEO: 3 Steps Process

#1 – Google My Business

The number one factor for ranking local SEO is having Google My Business (“GMB”) listing. If you have a local business, claim your GMB here.

Once you have done that, get it up and running by having:

-Add a unique description of your business.

-Add a local phone number to the listing.

-Add your business address that is shown on your website and other local directories.

-Upload photos of your business (high-resolution photos if possible)

-Choose the right categories to let customers and Google know what your business does.

-Add your business opening times.

Basically, Google wants your business to show as many relevant information to people for them to get a better search experience.

#2 – Get Local Reviews

How does Google know if they should rank your listing?

One of the factors they rely on is reviews. If you have bad reviews, the chances to rank for local SEO is slim.

Studies have shown that 97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses and 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from their family and friends.

When you improve your online reputation, you get an increase in consumer trust, a boost in search rankings, and an opportunity for increased sales.

To collect positive reviews, simply ask your satisfied customers to leave a review. The more quality, positive reviews you get, the higher your chances are in automatically convincing potential customers who are doing their research on your business. Besides getting positive Google reviews, you can also get reviews on Yelp and Facebook Page.

Google has also mentioned that positive reviews from customers can increase the chances of your potential customers visiting your business location due to higher business visibility online.

Another point to take home is to resolve all negative reviews and personally liaise with them to take down those damaging reviews.

#3 – Local SEO On-Page Optimization 

There are a few major things you’ll want to make sure you do in order to rank your website locally.

Title and meta description tags are simple on-page elements you can perform to better reflect the content of your web page. The text of your title and description tags will be displayed in search results and in many ways, is the first impression of your brand.

Firstly, perform on-page optimization by including your keyword in the title tag and meta description. Remember to include the location as well. If you are a plastic manufacturer in Selangor, make sure you have this keyword in the title tag especially. To do this, install the Yoast SEO plugin.

The next step is to embed a Google Map to your location to let customers find you easily. Here’s how you can do it.

Lastly, make your page mobile friendly as Google is focusing on mobile first, while the increasing number of people shifting to higher mobile usage. Ensure your website is responsive and take this test from Google to find out if your website is mobile friendly.

Conclusion

Follow the 3-step local SEO process and you will already be ahead of most local businesses. The goal is to get your listings on top of your local traffic competitors.

Thank you for reading our blog and we hope you have gained some valuable insights on local SEO.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@axceldigital.com.

The post Local SEO Guide: How to Do Local SEO in 2020 appeared first on Axcel Digital.

Every website needs traffic to be profitable. Without traffic, your website will not make you money.

However, driving traffic to your business is incredibly difficult in the digital world.

There are a lot of noise and competition in this digital era as everyone aims to grab the attention of their target market.

In most cases, if you are going to increase traffic and sales for your business, you will need to go for paid advertising and incur the cost of paying Google for each click to your website.

In the long run, the costs of paid advertising could add up pretty quickly.

Fortunately for you, there is an alternative solution that can generate free traffic for your website…

SEO.

So what is SEO? SEO is a method to help your business get free organic traffic in search engines such as Google. In fact, Backlinko has used SEO to increase his website’s traffic by 110%!

In this article, you’re going to learn what is SEO and how you can utilize it in your business to skyrocket your website’s traffic.

What is SEO and How It Can Increase Your Website’s Traffic

SEO stands for search engine optimization.

It is one of the best and effective ways to help expose your business to millions of people without having to pay for advertisements.

SEO is essentially the process of ranking websites on page one of the search engines – specifically Google.

Google is currently the largest search engine in the world and receives billions of searches a day. So getting a top spot on Google is an absolute gold mine for businesses.

For example, say your business does event management and is currently on page one of Google, anyone that types the search term “event management” on Google would be able to locate your website and contact you from your website.

An SEO’s job is to make sure your website is ranking for important search terms associated with your products and services.

Whenever people are searching for the service, they will be targeted and directed to your website IF your website appears on the first page of Google.

Top 3 Benefits SEO Provides to Your Business

SEO ensures your business grow organically for FREE. There isn’t a lot of marketing methods out there that can make this possible.

Although SEO is difficult and can be a long process, it is still the most cost-effective digital marketing channels.

Here are the three main benefits of SEO:

#1 – Targeted Traffic for Higher Conversion

Here’s the thing…

Although paid ads can give you exposure fast, they are often limited to how much of a budget you possess each month. And if your budget is insufficient, your online exposure and traffic will stop immediately.

With SEO, the story’s a little different.

Doing SEO can help you rank for targeted terms that signify buying intent to drive traffic to your website and convert them into customers.

For example, if people are searching for local keywords like “Lawyer in Kuala Lumpur”, it means that they need a lawyer and these are highly targeted customers that you will want to go for.

Imagine if you are a lawyer in Kuala Lumpur who is ranked at the top of Google for the keyword “Lawyer in Kuala Lumpur”. Your profits would definitely increase as the enquiries will come flooding in!

#2 – Massive Exposure for More Clicks

Google gets billions of searches a day. They are one of the largest companies in the world.

This leads to one thing:

A ton of traffic.

If you’re achieving a top spot for a targeted keyword your business will blossom.

The first spot on Google gets approximately 33% of all first page clicks. If you’re ranking for a keyword that gets over 1000 searches a month, your website will be receiving around 330 clicks.

Multiply that by 12 months, you are getting 3,960 visitors yearly for just one keyword alone.

#3 – Brand Recognition and Become An Industry Authority

Google has plenty of information in their database.

This is the reason why people will often search on Google to learn something new or to find a solution to their problems.

If you are running SEO campaigns, you can place yourself as a source of authority on Google that provides valuable information to the searcher.

The more spots you can claim for search terms on Google, the larger your brand grows and the bigger of an authority you will become in your industry.

Key Components of SEO

Now that you understood what is SEO and the importance of it, let’s look into the key components of SEO and how it works.

There are three main components of SEO:

#1 – Keyword Research

Keyword research is a fundamental process of SEO. Picking the right keywords will be the difference between ranking on page one or page ten.

Avoid going for keywords with high competition. This can be done by using tools as KW Finder to assess the keyword difficulty.

KW Finder will provide the data on each keyword and its difficulty score. This will save you a lot of time to find the suitable keywords to go after.

Click here to read the step by step guide to performing a proper keyword research.

#2 – On-Page SEO

The next element is on-page SEO. This includes optimizing your website by including the targeted keywords in your title tag, content, URL, and H1 tag.

Having a strong On-Page SEO will boost your rankings for keywords with low to medium competition. Best of all, On-Page optimization is free and does not cost you money to do it.

#3 – Off-Page SEO

Finally we have off-page SEO, also known as backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to your website.

The more high quality backlinks you get, the higher you will rank on Google.

Combining these 3 elements will guarantee a solid SEO strategy for any search term you are trying to rank for on Google.

Conclusion

SEO is one of the best ways to market your business online.

The exposure you get versus the amount you invest in SEO will almost always result in a positive ROI in the long run.

While SEO does take time to see results, it will pay off handsomely for your business.

If you have any questions on SEO, please feel free to leave them in the comments below or email us at info@axceldigital.com

The post What Is SEO And How It Actually Works appeared first on Axcel Digital.