On-Page SEO Has Become Even More Important

On-page SEO is extremely important since a website's ranking in the search results depends primarily on content. Content can be text, ALT tags on images or a video with closed captioning or a transcription.

Keyword research is vital; websites have to be optimized for the keywords that people use to search for sites like theirs. Content is king; keyword-rich headers and text that are both informative and engaging are the most important parts of on-site SEO. E-commerce sites need their product descriptions to be unique; copying the manufacturer's description won't cut it.

Images need ALT tags, not only for SEO; visually impaired consumers also shop online. On a large, multi page website, tagging each image with a description is overwhelming. Tagging each image as soon as it is placed on the website is much easier than going back and tagging all of the images at once.

Analytics is essential to know how changes, such as new content, are working. A high bounce rate will show if visitors are seeing what they expected to see when they clicked on the link in the SERPs. Google Analytics provides all of the information needed, plus it is free.

With each new update to Google's algorithm, on-site and off site has to be evaluated, in addition to making constant tweaks based on analytic results. Anyone doing on-site SEO has to continually update their knowledge to stay on top on the latest trends.

Tagging every image and frequently updating content is time consuming, which is why so many website owners hire an SEO firm to do this for them. Professionals will invest in tool for keyword reach and SEO audits, which make the tasks go much faster.

Generating backlinks and other off site SEO is important as well, but links that point to a site with thin or old content are worthless.