Difference Between On-page and Off-page SEO
On-Page and Off-Page SEO
There are two categories of search engine optimization strategies: on-page SEO and off-page SEO. What are the differences between on-page SEO and off-page SEO? Both of these strategies are essential to any effective SEO campaign, but they are actually very different. In this article, we will discuss the differences between on-page SEO and off-page SEO.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-page search engine optimization refers to the optimization of the pages that are on your website, including the content as well as the backend.
The ultimate goal of on-page SEO is to improve web pages on their own to rank as high in the search engines as possible by driving organic, qualified, and targeted traffic to the marketing website.
It offers control over a variety of factors that can have an impact on your ranking.
Let’s take a look at some of the main features you need to know.
Title Tags
The title tag is designed to inform search engines and visitors of what a specific page is about. It also helps to establish proper relevance.
Title tags are among the most important on-page SEO factors. Because of this, you want to ensure that your targeted keyword for that page is within the title tag.
Ultimately, your title tag should be limited to 60 characters — and this does include spaces.
URL Structure
Google is all about user-friendliness, which is something to keep in mind as you are building your URLs.
Your URL should always have your main keyword in it, but the keyword shouldn’t be repeated. It should only appear once in the URL; otherwise, the user experience can be negatively impacted.
Heading Tags
The user experience is an important part of building your website, and this includes the use of heading tags.
One of the very first elements that visitors will notice on your website is the H1 tag, which is the headline or heading.
Headings are designed to assure visitors that they’ve landed in the right place and found what they’re looking for.
Internal Text Links
Internal links lead to other pages of your website. This is useful for search engines and visitors.
For some context, internal links should always have a relevant anchor text, which is the text that you click on to take you to another internal page.
Alt Text for Images
Some people have never heard of alt text, but it is an additional identifier for your images.
This alt text is only visible to you in the backend of your system and to Google. You never have to worry about visitors seeing this text.
The alt text should always accurately describe the image, which aids search engines in understanding the content of your page.
What is Off-Page SEO?
Off-page SEO refers to the steps that are taken outside of the website that influence search engine rankings.
You don’t have as much control over these as you do on-page SEO features.
This type of optimization ultimately takes a look at how popular and authoritative your marketing website is.
Here are the most important features you need to know.
Link Building
When other websites link to your website, it is considered a vote of confidence.
The more votes you receive, the more likely it is that you will rank high on search engines.
The opposite is true as well. The fewer votes you receive, the harder it will be to get your site into the SERPs, as Google doesn’t view you as authoritative and trustworthy.
Social Media
Many people assume that social media has incredible SEO benefits. However, Google does not take into account your social media presence when ranking your digital site.
While that may be true, it doesn’t mean you should forget about social media. In fact, there are indirect SEO benefits that social media can offer.
Brand Mentions
A great way to build more links is to locate brand mentions that are unlinked.
It can be particularly helpful for new digital websites that are trying to get those first 50 to 100 backlinks.
Which Is More Important?
Despite what you may believe, both on-page SEO and off-page SEO are important — equally important.
In order to obtain high rankings on search engines, both of these are necessary.