You’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into a new asset (okay, maybe significant time, research, and energy). It’s good stuff and you know your audience will find great value in it. You’re eager to get it in your hub so you pop it in your flipbooks or paste it in your blog Stream, and viola—done and ready to distribute. Not so fast! Take a look at it again. What does that experience look like for the visitor? Is it engaging and designed in a way that will catch and hold someone's attention? Is it optimized for search (if that’s the goal)?

Investing a bit of additional time in your asset beyond the creation process is worth all the effort. By making small adjustments to your on-page experience, you’ll be giving your asset the canvas it deserves to stand out and shine.

The optimization tips

Here are six tips for optimizing your asset’s on-page experience.

1. Add H2 and H3 headers

We all know how important H2 and H3 headers are for search engine optimization (SEO). Not only do they add hierarchy to a page but they break up the content to make it more scannable and easy to read. Including keywords and important information in your headings lets humans and search engines alike know exactly what you’re bringing to the table and helps to catch the visitor's eye.

Try to avoid using your bolded paragraph styling in place of H2 and H3s. If the styles of your H2 and H3 headers aren’t right, update your style sheet! By following the heading style structure set up in your hub, you can ensure brand consistency across all assets.

2. Include images and infographics

It’s a well known fact that more than half of the general population are visual learners, so naturally it makes sense to add visuals to your assets. By incorporating images on the page, you are giving your audience a snapshot of what they can expect to get from the asset. Your asset may already be visual (video or flipbook) so it may not make sense to add another picture, but when it comes to articles and blog posts adding images is a must.

When adding a visual to your asset, remember to:

• Always add descriptive alt text to help with SEO and accessibility. Follow these alt text best practices from Moz. Don’t forget this step!
• Ensure your image is contextually relevant to the content on the page.
• Format it in a way that makes sense for your article.
  • Did you know you can wrap text around an image? Simply double click on the image and adjust the width and height to the size/scale you want it. Select either right or left alignment and watch the formatting shift.
    
    
     

3. Embed videos

It’s no surprise that, if images can help optimize a page, embedded videos can do more of the same. Research done by Wistia showed people spent on average 2.6x more time on pages with video than without. If increasing visitor time on page is a KPI you’re looking to improve (and why wouldn’t it be?) then consider incorporating videos into your next blog posts. Ensure the video is relevant and complements the content without adding unnecessary confusion.

When adding a flipbook or video to your hub, ensure you are adding some copy above or below the asset. Many marketers upload these assets and call it a day but, by adding a summary of the asset to the page, you will be giving visitors and search engines the context they are looking for. 

Follow these steps to embed a video into your blog post.

4. Add bullets and lists

Adding bullets and lists to your page offers some significant benefits:

1. Visual appeal: They break up the page and stand out amongst larger chunks of text, which means they are more likely to be read.
2. Scannability: They are easy to digest and quickly consumable.
3. SEO: Many experts site bullets as a factor in a pages search ranking score.
4. Keyword optimization: Including keywords and important content in bullets or lists means they are more likely to be read.

Be sure to keep your bullets concise and to the point. Using too many bullets can counteract any benefits of incorporating them, so make sure to wield them wisely!

Bullets and lists can be especially effective when summarizing an asset. Next time you add a video or flipbook to your hub, consider adding a list above or below the asset to communicate what the visitor can expect to take away from reading/watching it.

5. Use hyperlinks

Another familiar best practice is to add hyperlinks in your content. Interlinking to other content on your site allows you to keep your piece clear and concise, with the option for your audience to dive deeper into a topic by clicking through to other pages with more information. Setting yourself up in this way gives your other pieces of content added exposure and, in terms of analytics, a boost in average items per session, longer session duration, and reduced bounce rate.

When it comes to improving your search ranking, adding interlinks helps search engines get a better understanding of your site architecture and your niche so it can index your site in the best way. Ensure you are making your links contextual by adding the hyperlink to words that tell users and search engines what you’re linking to, and not to generic words like “click here.”

By externally linking out to reputable sources, you can build authority, trust, and credibility in your content BUT getting backlinks to your page from credible sources is even better. Backlinks tell search engines that your page is also trustworthy and build authority. It’s also a great way to bring in more traffic.

While links are highly encouraged, remember not to go wild and add too many. Too many links can become overwhelming for your audience as they won’t know where to look or what to click.

6. Hit your word count

Plenty of websites will recommend the best word count to help your ranking. While it’s easy to get caught in the trap of always aiming for that 1,500 word count on each post, it’s important to remember that quality is more important than quantity. Keep your content clear, accurate, and comprehensive. Write first and foremost for your readers with the goal and message top of mind and the rest will follow.

Bonus Tips

• People and search engines love guides, tips, and lists. Try to break down your content in easy-to-follow formats with clear messaging and takeaways.
• Use formatted quote blocks to break up content and highlight key points.
• Add an author profile to the bottom of the asset to make a personal connection.

Take note of your actions next time you visit a blog or website. Where do your eyes go first? Do you jump to the part of the page with the keywords you’re looking for? Approach each new asset with this fresh perspective and see your average time on page soar.

If you are looking for more help optimizing your assets’ on-page experience, reach out to your Customer Success Manager or speak to an Uberflip Expert Services consultant :)