Why Is On-Page Optimisation Important?
Getting found online is crucial for charities to spread awareness of their cause and drive donations. Optimising the on-page elements of your site ensures your content is set up in the best way to allow search engines to understand each page. Doing this increases your chance of appearing for relevant terms. This in turn helps potential donors and supporters discover your site. With a well-optimised site, you can cost-effectively reach more of your target audience online.
Maximising Search Optimisation for Charity Marketers: A Complete Checklist
URL Optimisation
Make your website URLs short, use all lowercase letters, and include words that describe what the specific page is about. This makes it easier for visitors and search engines to understand the page content from the URL.Define Target Audiences
Think about who you want to reach with each page - donors, volunteers, beneficiaries. Tailoring the content to a specific audience keeps it focussed and makes it more relevant and impactful.
Understand What Visitors Want
Put yourself in your audience's shoes. What are they hoping to get from this page? Make sure your content answers their questions or fulfills their need.
Be Clear On The Page Topic
Each page should focus on addressing one main issue, problem or topic related to your cause. Covering too many things can make it difficult for search engines to understand the core purpose.
Choose Target Keywords
Identify the most relevant and popular search terms people use when looking for information related to the topic of each page.
Naturally Use Target Keywords
Incorporate the main keywords you've identified in a natural, readable way that fits the context of what you're discussing.
Optimise Title Tags
The title tag is the main page title that shows up in search results. Keep it under 60 characters and include the most important keyword for that page.
Write Compelling Meta Descriptions
The meta description is the short preview snippet in search results. Make it compelling with a call-to-action in under 160 characters.
Make Use Of Headings
Use headings with H1 tags for the main title, H2 for section titles, H3 for sub-sections, etc. This makes for a logical structure that's easy for visitors and search engines to follow.
Summarise Content in Introduction
The first paragraph or two should briefly cover the key points using the main page keyword so both users and search engines can quickly understand the core content.
Ensure Quality, Trustworthy Content
Your content should be expert-level, factual, unbiased and trustworthy. Follow Gooogle's E-E-A-T guidelines to provide the best experience for readers.
Check Reading Level
Write your content at a level understood by your target audience without being either too basic or complex.
Add a Table of Contents
A table of contents with links to different sections makes longer pages easier to navigate and scan.
Optimise Images
Properly size, name and add alt text descriptions to all images on the page so they are accessible and web-friendly.
Include Valuable Extras
Add downloadable files, videos, infographics or other multimedia content to provide additional value.
Use Internal Linking
Clear internal linking allows visitors to easily find related information. Link to other relevant pages on your site where appropriate to help search engines understand your content structure.
Reference External Resources
Citing your sources is best practice. Linking to other authoritative third-party content lends credibility to your page.
Use Schema Markup
Adding schema markup gives search engines additional context about your page content to potentially enhance how it's displayed.
Add Analytics Tracking
Integrate analytics software to monitor important metrics like traffic, engagement and conversions. This helps recognise the value provided by each page and optimise it further in the future.Check Indexing and Sitemaps
Ensure there are no accidental "no-index" tags and that your XML sitemap is working properly so search engines can fully crawl and index your site.
By following this checklist, charity marketing teams can refine their on-page SEO and give their websites the best chance to get found by the right audiences through organic search.
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