The Usual On Page SEO is now Dead?

[Irsan Komarga]

Like everyone else, I have used the usual on page seo such as
1. Keyword is first and last paragraph
2. H1, H2, and so on
3. Density 2-3%
4. Minimal 500 words
5. Image alt tag with keyword
6. Keyword in URL
7. anchor text to inner page
8. anchor text to authority site
etc....

I have a feeling that this is not working as great as before, google now considered that with over on page optimization?

What are guys experiencing nowadays?

[outwest]

I have not noticed that it does not matter
perhaps backlinks are way more highly weighted, and internal structure but to say that onpage SEO is not important , is a bit of an exaggeration

[dadamson]

I'm not going to say that stuff is dead but stop being so analytical about it!

Just write to entertain, write to inform, write to review!

Do not over analyze it because Googles algo is so refined that you will probably get caught out.

Write your content around your keywords and write high quality stuff that keeps your visitors reading.

For example if you follow the formulas you are suggesting and then you have 50 pages all at 504 words, 2.5% KW density, etc. I am betting Google will realize you are trying to MANIPULATE the SERPs, instead of writing for quality.

[BRAIN_PAIN]

I think that onpage seo matters only when you are directly competing whit another site. If your backlinks are pretty much the same, google takes a look on your onpage seo and decides who to put on top.

I could be wrong but that is what I think

[GGpaul]

Trust me, it matters. My keyword went from ranked 4 (which was stuck there for quite some time) to 1 in a week after I added h1 h2 h3 tags.

[murrad]

I agree outwest but still it is very much needed at places. I was not listed on google for a keyword and then adding h1.., title, meta kw/desc etc., I found my site was listed at #55 and now its at #18. I personally feel, if there is no/less competition...we can just bring them to first page w/o on page optimization.

[prcys]

Originally Posted by Irsan Komarga

Like everyone else, I have used the usual on page seo such as
1. Keyword is first and last paragraph
2. H1, H2, and so on
3. Density 2-3%
4. Minimal 500 words
5. Image alt tag with keyword
6. Keyword in URL
7. anchor text to inner page
8. anchor text to authority site
etc....

I have a feeling that this is not working as great as before, google now considered that with over on page optimization?

What are guys experiencing nowadays?

As this time if we talk and more concetrate on the panda update then we can not see the on page method name anywhere. And the panda update is all about the content , video , social media and traffic. Nothing more. But yet for to see the content on the top position title still matters so that is the thing about on page also. So just here we can consider the on page method but now the results whole on the off page seems like this as per the updation.

[DavidYvon]

Onpage is the first step of SEO, that's no doubt. But what is the focus, onpage or offpage? I think it depends on your site, new or aged.

[dows]

i consider my resourses as my home,where i must care about the internal oder.so onpage seo never can be shifted on the second place and it always works

[usaimarketing]

On page optimization is not dead but Google is relying on Link popularity of any web page while calculating relevancy of that page with search query. Still the relevancy of web page title with anchor text of back links play important role in search rankings of that page.

[Kauzmo]

On Page SEO is not dead. BUT... If your content is garbage any on page seo efforts will provide no real results.

Panda is all about quality and relevancy and this applies to your site and those sites pointing at you!

[Crank]

I think it is important as never before. It should be done perfectly. You can reach the top 10 (in no competitive niche) with the on page seo only.

[OmarNegron]

I think on page seo still matters and will always matter.

But backlinks are important as always as well.

- Omar

[dburk]

Hi Irsan,

On page optimization is just as important as it has always been.

Kauzmo alluded to your likely problem. Google introduced "Quality" ratings to content that lowers the ranking score for poor quality content. So, in addition to all the same relevancy signals, your content must pass a quality assurance check.

Those changes make it easier to rank, as long as your content meets minimum quality standards, due to reduced competition from low quality content. The same keyword relevancy signals still apply, just as they always have, to your overall ranking score.

[Rankx]

It doesn't matter as much as it used to especially because of keyword stuffing. Google has caught up with that and has decided to look more at backlinks. So now, off page seo is much more important than on page seo.

[3000]

I think it still matters because I had a couple websites sitting at #2 or #3 on Google with the top spots taken by big sites like Wikipedia or WebMD.

I redid my onpage seo and before you know it my sites passed those bigger sites.

[mosthost]

It's probably best to stay on the safe side and have great on page and great off page.

[googlepage1]

its working pretty good for us, maybe because we take care of a couple of more things and also the links we build are anchored with most appropriate/main keywords.

[Mike Hutton]

its far from dead its the basis of SEO tbh, but as mentioned what google is really looking at now and i have to agree with this is: content!

since the last big google update myself and a lot of SEO's agree that google is really taking content serious, so provide good quality content plus incorporate all the onsite SEO just as before and you will be golden

[devonm]

Originally Posted by Kauzmo

On Page SEO is not dead. BUT... If your content is garbage any on page seo efforts will provide no real results.

Panda is all about quality and relevancy and this applies to your site and those sites pointing at you!

Exactly, my thoughts.

[Mike Anthony]

On page SEO is dead? How does a thread like this even exist post Panda?

[Deltia]

You shouldn't consider any method of trying to manipulate the SERPs as the sum of your attempts. Obviously it varies on case to case, but fitting to an exact structure can make your writing to rigid and frankly boring at times.

There is no doubt that on page SEO still plays a huge role, but it only makes up one part of a huge algorithm that we don't know exactly what is like so you should make sure you work on all elements of your SEO

[deeznuts]

I'm ranked 31-35 for a one article website, for a pretty competitive keyword (ppc goes for $40+). I haven't even backlinked yet, and the site has been up less than a week.

I haven't even optimized the site yet for on page. Will it stay there? Who knows. But onpage is so important it's much more important now.

[myshow]

The only thing that isn't working as earlier is the keyword stuffing. Rest of activities remain valid. The change is the weightage being given to onpage factors and the inbound links.

[JammerJones]

On-Page is always going to matter, if you're not ranking you're not doing it right... I made a post about proper on-page tactics earlier:

"There are tons of onpage factors you'll need to take care of with a new site, what kind of site is it? Ecommerce? Blog? Here are the things that I take care of prior to any linkbuilding that apply to any website:

-silo site structure
-URL structure (ie: widgets.com/blue-widgets/light-blue-widget.html)
-title tags
-header tags (h1, h2, h3)
-content (unique, well-written, keyword variations, LSI)
-internal linking structure
-image names & folders (site.com/images/keyword.jpg OR even better; site.com/keyword-images/keyword.jpg)
-alt tags
-breadcrumbs

Few things I want to add, putting the .html in your URL at the final pages signifies the end of the road. Otherwise it looks like you have more sub-folders. Think of it like a .txt file in folders. My Computer\My Documents\Blue-Widgets/Light-Blue-Widget.txt - this is a direct path to your product. People searching for "light blue widget" want this path whereas a search for "Blue Widgets" would be satisfied by a list of products in your Blue Widgets folder: widgets.com/blue-widgets

As for image optimization, you want to properly name the image file. So the name for your Light Blue Widget product is going to be light-blue-widget.jpg (.png, .tif, .gif etc.) so the image path will read: widgets.com/images/light-blue-widget.jpg OR widgets.com/widget-images/light-blue-widget.jpg. The idea is to make things as clear as day. Confusing bots will lead to poor rankings. Google wants to show the most relevant results for their users, so the easier you make it for them to understand what your site is about the easier it will be to gain rankings.

It'll take some work but if you can polish off these factors prior to linkbuilding you're setting yourself up for success. "

[rowanman28]

You just have to mention the keyword so Google knows that's what your page is about. There is such a thing as over optimization.

[edegreeusa]

Irsan,

Nothing died, SEO is still running the same way it used to earlier, just to eradicate spammers from building their network around the web now Google and other search engines have opted to look and consider only quality and fresh content that actually provides something reasonable and what it says.

[johnsonsmith]

SEO has two factors. One is On Page Optimization & Off Page Optimization. As Kauzmo said On Page won't dead.

[usaimarketing]

@Irsan Komarga
I didn't fully agree with you that on page is now dead.
It is not dead even title and content optimization is so much important part to get good rankings in search results.
Yes that happen that Google is reliance too much on on-site factors have decreased as compare to past.

[Lucas Becker]

Originally Posted by Irsan Komarga

Like everyone else, I have used the usual on page seo such as
1. Keyword is first and last paragraph
2. H1, H2, and so on
3. Density 2-3%
4. Minimal 500 words
5. Image alt tag with keyword
6. Keyword in URL
7. anchor text to inner page
8. anchor text to authority site
etc....

I have a feeling that this is not working as great as before, google now considered that with over on page optimization?

What are guys experiencing nowadays?

Irsan, you still need to implement all this on-page SEO stuff, but in addition to it, I recommend that you give something to your visitors that will make their stay on your site more enjoyable. I'm talking about relevant pictures (at least per page) that give value to them in some way. Another great thing you can do is to create your own video that describes somehow what the page is about and put that video on the page. Make it entertaining. This should increase the amount of time your visitors stay on your site and also make them bookmark your site, tweet about it or share it elsewhere, both of which outcomes should have a great benefit on your site's ranking.

[Fernando Veloso]

Originally Posted by Mike Anthony

On page SEO is dead? How does a thread like this even exist post Panda?

Agree. And why people don't analyze it backwards? IE, how Google understands (and ranks) a website? Without OnPage details Google would be lost.

[GeorgR.]

I am still using the "classic" on-site factors PLUS high quality articles. And i rank WELL with it. So whatever you assume...i am convinced on-site SEO still counts.

[stephaneM20]

No, on page SEO is still important. Your on page strategies must be good and implemented properly within different pages of your website. Along with on page SEO you should have useful off page strategies, so that you can get high quality backlinks for your website.

[IMSince2003]

Originally Posted by Irsan Komarga

I have a feeling that this is not working as great as before, google now considered that with over on page optimization?

What are guys experiencing nowadays?

And what is this "feeling" based on? Google comes to your site and analyzes it. If you don't make it clear what your site is about, how will they ever rank you for the keywords you want to be ranked for?

[warehouselarry]

Originally Posted by eurekapsycrille

Don't make it hard for yourself my friend. dadamson is right. Don't over analyze everything. Just follow the guidelines and you'll be alright.

Bingo, that's pretty much what I was going to say

SEO is a blend of several things...just make sure you're doing as many as you can pull off and you'll be good. It's very hard to quantify the SEO value of any single element such as an H1 tag, or using an alt tag, unless you have time to conduct some very in-depth testing, which most people do not.

I work with a very large site that has been around a long time (15+ years) and ranks very well in Google for thousands of keywords, and I can see positive and negative changes within 24 hours of making on-page SEO changes, so these changes are definitely still important.