It may seem so difficult to read about the optimization of a website for the first time. You have many technical aspects there, you need to look for some phrases to include in the content, create linkable articles, and so much more.
And the terms! On-page, off-page, technical, etc. What’s the difference? What to start with?
No worries, we’re here to help! Let’s find out what is on-site and off-site optimization, which one to use first, and how to do it.
On-Page SEO: What You Need to Know
On-site or on-page optimization concerns everything that is done within the site. These things are under your control since you can change them anytime:
- Keyword choice for the main pages and blog articles;
- Their placement;
- Metadata in the code of the page;
- Content structure and quality;
- Image file names, alt-tags, and the media content itself (find here more about photo editing);
- Design of the website, how fast every page loads;
- User experience;
- Mobile-friendliness of the site;
- Page interlinking within the website, etc.
Some of these things are also under technical optimization, but this is a topic for another article.
It’s a massive volume of work that creates a website with high-quality blog articles that bring value, non-flashy keywords, absence of spam, great media content that helps people perceive information, etc.
This is a site that people want to visit, read, and buy from in the long run. Also, it’s a source that search engines rank high and recognize its credibility just because of its great structure and contents.
Off-Page SEO: What You Need to Know
Off-page or off-site optimization gives you less control because it concerns everything about your site online. This section includes:
- Link-building;
- Social media engagement, etc.
The main factor in this strategy is building proper links from relevant, credible blogs and websites. Usually, this means that you have amazing content and other sources mention it in their articles.
Of course, most website owners boost the process a little bit. You can choose blog backlinks and write guest content for those sites with a mention of your business. This is the main way to manipulate high-quality references in a white-hat way.
Get more guest posts with time to present your products, new website sections, etc.
There are other ways to get more mentions:
- Look for broken links online that may be substituted with your;
- Look for mentions of your business and products that have no link and negotiate to put it there;
- Write linkable content (large guides, how-tos, etc.) and create infographics, promoting them to other blogs, etc.
Make sure to analyze the backlink profile to make sure that all the references you’re getting are from medium to highly rated websites. There should be no spammy ones or those bought in bundles. You can get a penalty for such link types on the portfolio.
The more balanced and diverse it is, the higher you will be ranked.
Also, don’t forget about social media. Create accounts there, hire professionals to design and run them. Talk to potential readers and customers, and encourage them to visit your site for more information. Thus, you’ll have more backlinks and more traffic, leading you to TOP-3 on the focus search results page!
To Summarize
Even if you’re not going to do everything yourself, it’s still very useful to know about the different ways to do SEO before you order specialists’ services. At least learn the basics, and you’ll be able to talk to contractors in their language.
You will know where every dollar goes, which is perfect for a business owner. Optimization stretches all over the Internet. If your site isn’t adjusted to the new trends and algorithms, it may not be indexed properly or will be ranked pretty low.
By investing in proper SEO from all sides, you invest in a high rating and success of your project!