A search engine optimisation strategy can generally be divided into two broad categories – on-page SEO and off-page SEO.
With Google constantly updating their search engine algorithm, one thing that stands clear is the fact that you cannot oversimplify things and focus on one dimension; your SEO strategy needs to contain a fine balance of both on-page and off-page SEO.
Let’s take a look at both on-page and off-page SEO in greater detail to uncover their importance in your digital marketing efforts.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-Page SEO is the process of optimising different parts of your site that affect search engine rankings. Think of it as the fundamental search engine optimisation tactics:
- Adding keywords to necessary meta data, site content and page copy
- Optimising meta descriptions, titles, and image alt texts
- Using semantic HTML code
- Optimising heading and URL structure
- Internally linking
- Optimising speed and mobile friendliness
- Adding schema markup
The tactics used in on-page SEO are measures taken directly within your website to potentially improve its rankings in search engine results pages.
Now that we have a clearer understanding of on-page SEO, let’s take a look at off-page SEO.
What is Off-Page SEO?
Off-page SEO can be seen as the act of increasing your site’s domain authority and rankings through backlink building. With the number and quality of backlinks you to have to your site being a huge signal in Google’s ranking algorithm, off-page SEO has the overarching goal of building trust and reputation of your site from the outside.
Some common off-page SEO techniques are:
- Guest blogging
- Press releases
- Event hosting
- Participating in industry communities
- NAP syndication
- Social promotion
When deciding which to prioritise, it’s not about choosing between the two. On-page and off-page SEO work in unison to improve search rankings in a complimentary fashion.
