What is the current take on SEO so as to get website traction?

There are a number of elements to consider when approaching SEO for your website. These elements can be split into Technical SEO, Content Strategy (On-page & Off-page) and Link Strategy

For page title structure (which is still one of the most important elements):
- Try to include your primary target keywords
- Try to write a flowing call to action based page title if possible
- Remember that there are specific charcater limits (that are actually measured in pixel width) for page titles. A great tool to help with this is http://www.seomofo.com/snippet-optimizer.html

Meta Descriptions
- Again these have character limits so make sure you test them via the tool above
- Try to include your unique USPs that are numbers based and show the value proposition
- If you are running any Google adwords campaigns, review which descriptions are performing the best and integrate these wordings into your main meta descriptions

In terms of Keyword inclusion:
- Research numerous keyword variations that are related to your main target keywords. Use the Google Keyword planner to gain an idea of your main target keywords you want to use. Then check out http://keywordtool.io/ which scrapes Google a to z of related search terms. It also provides question based search terms that you can base blog content on. There are a number of similar tools like this but I prefer this as it supports multiple languages. For English http://answerthepublic.com/ is also pretty cool for Q&A based keyword research.
- Make sure you integrate your keywords into your text that reads naturally with high quality copywriting standards

What other onpage activity should one consider for making the site SEO friendly?
- Analyse your page speed via https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/ and https://gtmetrix.com/
- Check for mobile friendliness https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/ as Google has a separate rankings set and algortihm for mobile search results based on how your site is optimized for mobile user experience.
- Make sure you don't have any URLs that show the same content within your website so they are duplicated
- Getting a good in depth and thorough internal linking structure has become much more important int he last few years
- Write high quality blog content on your website and promote this content via specific social media platforms, related forums and also related theme blogs via genuine and useful comments. You should also internally link to other relevant page in your site that a blog post reader may be interested in. Also don't be afraid to externally link out to other authoritative sites when relevant.
- Create and upload an .xml sitemap to your site.

How do I find which keywords of my website has some ranking in search engine?
- Setting up Google Search Console on your website (which requires verification via a html file upload to your server root or by placing a meta tag on you home page code in the HEAD) will allow you to use the Search Analytics function which allows you to see what keywords are being referred to your website, how many clicks and impressions they are getting and what the average position of the terms are at. This can also be viewed at a page level which is often more important.
- There are a number of ranking checker tools out there. Recommended free tools are http://www.link-assistant.com/rank-tracker/ and https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/seo-serp-workbench/ehbgolklgacemnfnmkkpgekngaaggjjl. If you are willing to pay in the region of 50 to 100 dollars per month for ranking tracking software then I would recommend https://www.advancedwebranking.com/online/pricing.html.

Hope this helps and good luck optimising your site.

Lloyd