Internet Marketing Glossary

Definition: On Page Factors

On page factors are those factors under the control of the website operator that search engine ranking algorithms use to calculate rankings. On page factors have declined in importance in recent years because they are easy for webmasters to manipulate. Off page factors are now generally more important, but on page factors still require careful consideration.

On page factors include the following attributes of a web page:

• content relevancy and amount
• semantic theming 
• internal linking structure
• outbound links (link neighborhood) 
• keyword density and distribution
• keyword use in title tag
• keyword use in body text
• keyword use in domain name
• frequency of updates to page
• arrangement of items on page

Some of these are much more important than others, but none except content relevancy, semantic theming, and outbound linking structure are extremely important in and of themselves. This is because they are completely under the control of each webmaster who is hoping to rank well in the search engines, which means they have little to say about the TrustRank of a particular website.

This does not mean that on page factors don't matter! This only means that they matter less than they once did, and matter less compared to other factors. If you ignore its on page factors, your website will certainly suffer in the rankings.

The bottom line: know your on page factors, do them right, and make it a habit.

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