Seomoz on-page analysis, how strict to be

[BobGW]

Hello,

In a competitive niche, how important is it to be strict with the seomoz on-page analysis? If it gives a page/keyword an A, am I good to go?

Or do I need to be more strict in that. We've had some competition move above us and we want to make sure we're on-site optimized well.

site: nlpca(dot)com

Thanks.

[Thommas]

Hi Bob

I think it is always important to have your on-page optimisation spot on. I'm pretty sure your competition will also do their homework. Just remember that optimisation doesn't end on-page there are of-site factors as well.

[icecarats]

I think your larger question is, "If I do everything in the SEOMoz Page Report am I going to rank well?" and of course the answer is "Maybe?". The SEOMoz tools are good, but the concepts involved are far too diverse for one tool to be perfect in this regard. They are a great starting point and troubleshooting tool, but there's usually more to it than dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

This doesn't mean your effort is wasted, or that an A rating on the page is not worth attaining, but rather that internet search methodology is such a large topic and changes so rapidly there's no way to guarantee a tool like this's results. Put another way, if they >could< guarantee the results, there'd be a lot of SEO/SEMs out of business right now!

So what's the best answer for you? It's hard to say; this is really the grey area where SEO expertise becomes more than the tools you use and solid analysis. If you've examined this recently moving competition's factors and can't find anything to action I'm not sure. Having an A rating on page means you can probably prioritize other factors like backlinks, article submission, press releases, etc. It means that your on page metrics likely aren't currently a weakness, you can concentrate on other things.

[EGOL]

I really REALLY like Valery's answer.   (Who gave that a thumbs down?  I hope that you are my competitor  

Lots of people here seem to worship SEO tools.

I think that you gotta be careful.

Becoming a slave to SEO tools will dull your wit and damage your ability to think out of the box.  It also resigns you to a position where you hand over your most important money-making decisions to "somebody out there" who produced a tool.

The tools here are SEOmoz are really good but there are a lot of tools out there that were build by people who are really good programers but bumbling oafs when it comes to SEO.  Do you want them as the Captains of your ship?

Q: If millions of webmasters are using the same kickass tool who will win?

A: The smart guy who thinks for himself.

OK..... your original question was "How strict should you be?"

My answer to that is... don't rely on tools.  Develop your skill to a level where you can rely on yourself.  Use tools to check things and when you find a really good one it might be handy to optimize a million database pages - until you have time to tweak the best ones yourself.  Don't be afraid to doubt tools and go with your gut.  Once you become a better-than-average SEO you are better than most of the tools.

Use your brain. Bet on yourself.  You will not defeat your competitor by mimicking him.  You will beat him by doing something that is clearly superior.

If all of your competitors are slavin' to the tools you have a chance to make a lot of money.

[icecarats]

EGOL -

I thumbed myself since I felt I didn't really answer the question, e.g. gave him a concrete plan of action.

[EGOL]

oh...  OK

I was only 1/2 way through reading your post and I am thinking... "This is the best stuff I've read in a year."

Looking forward to more of your posts.

[BobGW]

EGOL and Valery, I am very impressed by both of your answers. I will work on getting good enough that I don't need the on-page analysis tool, but for now I will use it and look for ways I can go beyond what the tool suggests.

Thanks again, great posts!

[Cyrus-Shepard]

I thumbed up a lot of answers here, so will just add my 2 cents.

Tools like the On-Page optimization are very good, especially when you are a beginner-intermediate SEO, but by themselves won't earn top rankings.

Consider that most ranking factors happen off the page, including the multitude of ranking signals that come from  inbound links.

We all have "F" pages that rank #1 for high-volume terms, and "As" that don't even rank in the top 50. Are On-page grading tools important? Absolutely. They can uncover serious problems, educate us, and open our eyes to our on-page structure.

However, the "perfectly" optimized page is a bit more nuanced. I highly recommend this WBF by Rand.

Best of Luck with your SEO!

[TheGrid]

Good responses all around. Nothing in SEO is guaranteed. Anyone guaranteeing you anything in SEO is lying or trying to sell you something. SEOmoz metrics are a measurement of best practices. You will do well to follow these but getting straight A's will guarantee you nothing. In extremely competitive niches, it is important to max out in all categories including on-page and all off page methods. In such a niche quantity AND quality must work in concert to get any kind of results and EVEN THEN, it is a gamble.