MKTG2001 · Digital and Social Media Marketing
Content Optimisation for Organic Ranking
Week 7 continues search-engine marketing into on-page and technical SEO: how content is structured, optimised for keywords and made crawlable so it ranks organically. It draws on Google's SEO Starter Guide as the industry standard and introduces audit tools such as Screaming Frog. This is thinner in the available course materials, so treat the public Starter-Guide standard as the reference and confirm specifics on Canvas; the skills feed the content and channel recommendations in the plan.
What this chapter covers
- 01On-page SEO — title tags, headings (H1/H2), keyword placement, meta descriptions, internal links, image alt text
- 02Keyword research and search intent — matching content to what users actually search
- 03Content structure and readability — organising a page so both users and crawlers can follow it
- 04Google SEO Starter Guide — the industry-standard reference for the elements Google prioritises
- 05Technical SEO basics — crawlability, site structure, mobile usability, page speed
- 06SEO audit tools — Screaming Frog SEO Spider for competitive on-page audits
- 07How organic SEO complements paid search within an integrated SEM strategy
- 08Ethical SEO — avoiding manipulative tactics that risk penalties
Audit a weak landing page against the SEO Starter Guide
- +1Title tag. Replace 'Home | Untitled' with a descriptive, keyword-led title (e.g. 'Reusable Coffee Cups | [Brand]') so the page states its topic to users and crawlers.
- +1Headings and keyword placement. Add a clear H1 and H2 subheadings, and work the target keyword naturally into the H1 and the first paragraph rather than burying it in the footer.
- +1Internal links. Add relevant internal links (to related products or a guide) so crawlers can discover related pages and users can navigate — improving structure and dwell.
- +1Images. Rename files descriptively and add alt text describing each image, which aids accessibility and gives crawlers context they cannot read from IMG_0421.jpg.
Key terms
- On-page SEO
- Optimising elements within a page — title tag, headings, keyword placement, meta description, internal links, image alt text — to help it rank and be understood.
- Title tag
- The page's title shown in the browser tab and search result; a descriptive, keyword-led title tells users and crawlers what the page is about.
- Search intent
- What a user is really trying to accomplish with a query; content ranks best when it matches the intent (informational, navigational or transactional) behind the keyword.
- Technical SEO
- The behind-the-scenes factors that let search engines crawl and index a site — site structure, crawlability, mobile usability and page speed.
- Google SEO Starter Guide
- Google's public, industry-standard reference describing the on-page and structural elements it prioritises when ranking content.
- Screaming Frog
- An SEO spider tool that crawls a site to audit on-page elements (titles, headings, links, images) for competitive SEO analysis.
Content Optimisation for Organic Ranking FAQ
What's the difference between on-page and technical SEO?
On-page SEO is about the content elements of a page — its title, headings, keywords, links and images. Technical SEO is about the site's plumbing — whether crawlers can reach and index pages, site structure, mobile usability and speed. A page can be well written yet invisible if technical SEO blocks crawling, so both matter for organic ranking.
How does SEO fit into the assessments if there's no SEO-only task?
SEO informs the channel and content recommendations in the group plan and the interpretation of organic-traffic data in the analytics task. Understanding on-page optimisation lets you recommend concrete, defensible fixes ('rewrite the title, add H1 and internal links') rather than vague ones, which is what earns marks.
This week feels thin — what should I rely on?
The available course materials are lighter here, so lean on Google's public SEO Starter Guide as the standard reference and practise auditing real pages with a free tool like Screaming Frog. Confirm exactly what your offering expects — any set activity, tool or rubric — on Canvas and in the course outline, and do not assume specifics that are not stated.
Can AI help me learn on-page SEO?
Yes — Sia can run a mock page audit with you, explain why each element (title, headings, alt text) affects ranking, and quiz you on search intent. It teaches the method and checks your reasoning; it will not do graded work, and academic-integrity rules apply.
Exam move
Because the cohort material is thin here, anchor your study in Google's public SEO Starter Guide and learn on-page SEO as a repeatable audit checklist — title, headings, keyword placement, internal links, images/alt, mobile. Practise by auditing a real landing page (your focal brand's is ideal) and listing concrete fixes, since specific recommendations carry into the plan. Keep the on-page-versus-technical distinction clear. Confirm any required tool or activity on Canvas rather than assuming, and ask Sia to walk a mock audit with you so the checklist becomes second nature.
Working through Content Optimisation for Organic Ranking in MKTG2001? Sia is AskSia’s AI Business & Marketing tutor — ask any MKTG2001 Content Optimisation for Organic Ranking question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how MKTG2001 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
