When a website has higher visibility on the search results, it will likely get many customers and conversions. An SEO strategy is a surefire way to rank a website on the search engine. Since Google undergoes several updates every now and then, the strategies and the factors affecting SEO keep evolving. However, one thing that remains constant is its categories. To rank your website on the SERPs, you have to work on two types of SEO:
- On page search engine optimization.
- Off page search engine optimization.
Both categories target different aspects of a website and depend on various factors. The better your websites perform in these categories, the greater the ranking on the search engines. If you are a beginner and wondering what is on page SEO and off page SEO, this blog will help you understand these categories and devise a plan to strengthen your site’s SEO campaign.
What is On Page Search Engine Optimization?
On-page SEO refers to the practices, tactics, and factors you can control and apply to a website for ranking on SERPs. It optimizes individual web pages and content like blogs, infographics, and articles. One of the most basic ways for on page optimization is to write meaningful and informative content and optimize the HTML source code. However, other factors, such as an attractive interface, titles, and tags, are also necessary for on page SEO. On page optimization assists Google’s bots and crawlers find relevant web pages and add them to its search index.
Important Factors for On Page Optimization
1. Page Loading Speed
A person searching for information will not stick to a site if it takes longer than a minute to display the information. Google wants its user to find everything in a matter of seconds. Loading time can take a toll on your site’s SEO and result in lower conversion rates. How can we fix this? The page loading speed depends on factors such as image compression, content loading time, and server response time. You can analyze your site’s load speed using this tool. It will give you a thorough report of your mobile and desktop page speed and what you can do to improve it.
2. Mobile User Experience
Mobile users generate 60% of the traffic on the web. Therefore, it’s important to design a mobile responsive layout for your website. A mobile-friendly webpage will rank higher on the SERPs than websites that appear tacky to navigate.
3. Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are a great way to increase your click-through rate. A meta description is a concise summary of your topic that encourages the reader to view the webpage. Meta descriptions must include information that the reader wants to know. They should be about how the user can benefit from the content or how it can resolve their problem. It should be a concise two-line (between 155 to 160 characters) summary of your topic that includes your keyword and relates to the title.
4. HTML Tags
Title tags specify web page topics and help the search engine read them. It should give a concise description of the content. These tags appear as clickable links on the SERPs and boost the SEO and link sharing of the webpage. HTML tags for every web page must be unique. Creating a special title tag every time can be difficult for websites posting content regularly. You can use your primary keyword first, then the secondary keyword, and conclude it with your brand name to make it different. The optimum length for a title tag is 50-60 characters since the user can read shorter titles easily.
5. Image Optimization
Image optimization is important in helping Google rank your website on traditional and image search results. It uses HTML tags as descriptions for the reader to understand the context of an image. As a backup, browsers use image alt text when pictures fail to load on the page.
6. Internal Link Building
Links that connect the posts and webpages on a website are called internally linked. Search engines and users find content through internal linking since it crawls through the links to find related information. Without internal link building, Google will not include your content in the SERPs and search index. When you add an internal link to your content, you provide Google with more resources to reach and rank it. You can add contextual links, links to menus, homepages, and post feeds.
What is Off Page Search Engine Optimization?
Off-page SEO refers to the practices applied out of your website to improve its ranking on the SERPs. The main objective of off-page SEO is to make a domain authoritative and trustworthy using link building, social media, and guest posting.
Important Factors for Off page Optimization
1. Creating a Google Business Profile
A Google Business profile represents your business on Google Maps and Google Shopping when a person searches for a product or service near your location. When a user clicks on your site or profile, it displays your business name, contact details, address, and website URL. If they find your details compelling, they’ll visit your website. It is a good way to attract traffic from users of a specific region.
2. Build Domain Authority by Backlinking
Backlinks are citing information present on your website from an external source. Google views backlinks as votes of trust and confidence. If a page has an optimum number of backlinks, Google will prioritize its ranking on SERPs. Although it takes time to gain backlinks, they boost domain authority and bring referral traffic.
Only authentic backlinks can boost your SEO strategy. Using low-ranking third-party sites for domain authority can backfire on your SEO campaign. Domain authority is a scoring system that determines website position based on a score from 1 to 100. It is a way to assess your competitiveness in your niche based on your score.
3. Unaffiliated Site Mentions
Unlinked mentions are a great opportunity to create backlinks. When an unaffiliated website, page, or social media account mentions your product or business name in its content without a backlink, it’s called an unaffiliated site mention. These unlinked mentions are not as powerful as linked ones, but they can help you elevate your brand if you monitor them and convince the web admins to include your website’s URL. You can use Google alerts to learn where and when people talk about your brand, product, or website. You can turn on notifications to get an alert every time a website uses your company name to determine which are unaffiliated mentions.
4. Social Media Marketing
Another way to strengthen your SEO strategy is social media marketing. You can utilize third-party apps like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to bring traffic to your website. Showcasing your products and services on posts and stories can increase user engagement and CTR to your website. Not only that, social media sharing can create backlinks for your site on different platforms in no time.
Takeaway
There is no all-in-one way to rank your business on Google. You must understand what is on page and off page SEO to develop the perfect SEO strategy. Overall, on-page SEO makes a website user-friendly and visible to search engines. Off-page SEO is about making the website popular and credible for the search engine and the user. Both categories add different values to your strategy, and you can’t neglect any of them. However, working on on-page SEO before heading towards link building and domain authority is the best practice to get positive results.
Lincoln SEO can devise a successful SEO campaign and get traffic to your business. Contact us today to start your SEO journey.