Everybody wants to appear on the first page of the search engine. However, search engines only rank the best of the best content on the first page. So, if you want to rank in the top results on a search engine, you must master the search engine optimization (SEO) game.
SEO is integral to any digital marketing strategy. It improves your website’s exposure in search engine results pages (SERPs), which can help you generate more organic traffic.
However, SEO is a complex and ever-changing process, and knowing where to begin and how to manage it according to the latest trends can be challenging.
In this guide, we will dive into on-page, off-page and technical SEO. We will also explain why you need to use all three of them for your website’s success, so stay connected.
What Is On-Page SEO and Why Is It Important?
On-page SEO (also known as on-site SEO) involves optimizing web pages to rank higher in the search engine and earn more relevant traffic. It includes optimizing various elements of a website’s content and structure to make it more search-engine friendly.
The primary goal of on-page SEO is to provide the best user experience while making the website more appealing to search engines.
It involves producing high-quality, relevant and keyword-rich material, employing a clear and straightforward URL structure and optimizing pictures and other media for search engines.
The final result is a website that is simple to use, gives a great user experience and ranks high in search engine results pages for relevant keywords.
Key On-Page Optimization Factors
Several factors included in on-page SEO optimization directly impact the page’s ranking. These factors include (but are not limited to):
- Meta Title and Meta Description: The title and meta description of the page is the primary on-page SEO factors. These items give information about what’s described on the webpage. For this reason, the two should clearly convey the intent of the webpage.
- Keyword usage: Using relevant keywords throughout the content is also an excellent on-page optimization factor. However, naturally use keywords and avoid keyword stuffing, as stuffing might destroy your page’s ranking.
- Internal links: Internal links help provide context for search engines and make it easier for users to navigate your site. It’s essential to link relevant pages together and use descriptive anchor text, etc.
It is crucial to use a natural but potent combination of these and other on-page SEO factors, To attain a perfect on-page SEO score and a high ranking in the SERPs.
Real-World Example of Onpage SEO
A website about dogs might contain all the factual data about dogs. However, if the keywords, page title and meta description don’t match the users’ query or aren’t relevant, there’s no chance the site will rank well in the SERP.
It is also vital to use header tags H1 for the title, H2 for the headings, H3 for the subheadings and so forth, as these header tags help the search engine recognize the topics in your post.
What Is Off-Page SEO and Why Is It Important?
Off-page SEO is also known as off-site SEO. It refers to optimizing a website’s visibility and ranking on search engines through factors that are not directly within the website’s control.
Off-page search engine optimization focuses on building the authority and reputation of a website through external sources, such as links from other websites, social media signals and online citations.
What Are the Key Off-Page Optimization Factors?
The main off-page SEO factors include (but are not limited to):
- Content Marketing: Creating and publishing well-written content on a particular topic to gain relevant traffic is a part of off-page content marketing. It includes creating and publishing e-books, video content, infographics, etc.
- Link Building: Getting other websites to use links in their content leading to your website is called link building. This practice helps your site gain authority in the eyes of the search engine.
- Social Media Marketing: It involves using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., to gain more organic traffic. Moreover, this practice also helps increase your website’s visibility, etc.
Although off-page SEO isn’t directly under your control, you can still use these and other off-page SEO techniques to help your website gain more credibility and visibility.
Real-World Example of Off-Page SEO
A website about fitness might contain all the necessary keywords in the title, meta description, text, etc. However, if the site is not well-optimized with off-page SEO, i.e., it contains no solid backlinks, the search engine will not show it in the top results.
It is because link building and collaborating with other websites help a website gain authority on the search engine, drastically improving its ranking. In addition, off-page SEO also increases the site’s visibility.
Onpage SEO Vs. Offpage SEO
On-site SEO and off-site SEO are equally important for your website and directly impact your rankings in the search engine.
On-page SEO focuses on the visual factors of your website. These factors include the title, meta description, header tags and more. It makes your website seem attractive to the users and the search engine.
On the other hand, off-page SEO aims to strengthen your website’s credibility and visibility in the SERPs. Therefore, we can say that off-page SEO techniques help your website gain popularity and authority on the web.
The websites that want to rank high should use both of these techniques. However, doing all the SEO on your own can seem intimidating to some people. If this is the case with you, you can hire a freelance SEO specialist who will manage your SEO intricacies.
What Is Technical SEO and Why Is It Important?
According to technical SEO consultants and specialists, technical SEO makes a website easier to crawl for search engine crawlers. Technical SEO also improves the website’s ranking on the SERPs.
What Are the Key Factors of Technical SEO?
Some critical factors included in technical SEO are:
- Website Speed: How fast or slow your website loads significantly impacts its ranking. Even if your site is well-optimized with the on-page and off-page factors, but its page loading speed is slow, search engines won’t show your website in the top results.
- Mobile Optimization: Most users prefer searching the internet on their mobile phones, so your site must be desktop and mobile-friendly.
- Website Structure: A website needs to be easy to navigate as it enhances the user experience and makes them want to stay on the website for longer.
Technical SEO Vs. On-Page SEO
Technical SEO and on-page SEO target different areas. However, both of these strategies are extremely important for websites that are after the number one spot on SERPs.
Technical SEO is a practice carried out behind the curtains, i.e., it is noticeable but not obvious. Therefore, you can only tell a site’s technical SEO is well-maintained by surfing it. In contrast, on-page SEO includes page titles, meta descriptions, keywords, etc., which a user can spot right away.
If you want your site to rank well on the SERPs, it must be optimized correctly in terms of technical and on-page SEO. For this purpose, you can seek help from a professional freelance SEO specialist who will analyze your website and help you with proper optimization.
What Type of SEO Strategy Is the Best? On-Site SEO Vs. Off-Site SEO Vs. Technical SEO?
All three types of SEO strategies that are on-page, off-page, and technical SEO – are equally crucial for a comprehensive and effective SEO strategy.
If you give importance to just one strategy and ignore the others, your website will not be able to rank well.
So, the question should not be which one to choose over the others but how to effectively employ all three types of SEO to gain the highest rankings on the SERPs.
How To Approach a Comprehensive SEO Strategy
A comprehensive SEO strategy should encompass all aspects of on-page, off-page, and technical SEO. You can take the following steps to approach a comprehensive SEO strategy:
- Carefully plan and optimize your website’s structure and content.
- Focus on using the right keywords for your posts.
- Use clear and concise titles and meta descriptions for your posts.
- Optimize your site’s page load speed and fix or remove the orphan pages on the website.
- Optimize your website for desktops and mobile phones.
- Work on internal links and also acquire high-quality backlinks for your website.
- Review and redesign your SEO techniques according to the latest SERP algorithms.
Based on your needs, you can employ these and other SEO steps to rank high on the SERP. You can also seek help from a freelance SEO specialist who will help you optimize your website in the best way possible.
Conclusion: The Importance of Focusing on All Three Aspects of SEO
To summarize, every website seeking to increase its visibility and ranking in search engines must have a comprehensive SEO plan that includes on-page, off-page and technical SEO.
On-page optimization focuses on optimizing a website’s content and structure, off-page optimization on creating high-quality backlinks and technical optimization on improving a website’s technical infrastructure and architecture.
By handling SEO holistically, you can attract more relevant traffic, enhance the user experience of your website and eventually boost its ranking in search engines.
