SEO TECHNIQUES: ON-PAGE Vs. OFF-PAGE

In general, Search Engine Optimization or popularly known by its acronym "SEO" has been around for nearly as long as the internet exists. Since the early periods, many organizations have utilized it to reach new audiences, drive traffic to their websites, spread knowledge, and escalate growth. Over the years since the existence of internet, SEO has become a sophisticated and technical practice informed by web user behavior. With that being said, today’s incarnation of content digitalization employs both on-page and off-page techniques to ensure high-quality websites to make it to the top of search engine result pages.

 

ON-PAGE SEO

The On-page SEO, technically speaking, is the practice of optimizing content on website pages so that they rank at the top of Google and can be easily searched by users. As it focuses more on how to create valuable content so that it looks SEO-friendly, it uses content and technical elements to improve the overall quality of a page. Simply put, the more On-page SEO optimization you do, the more traffic you will drive to your website and the more relevant that traffic will be.

Next, when discussing further about its implementations, there are quite a number of technical aspects of a webpage that can be optimized with On-page SEO to increase your site ranking such as:

- Title tags.

- Headings.

- URL structure.

- Alt text for images.

- Site speed.

- Internal links.

- Meta descriptions.

- Responsiveness.

All those technical aspects must be maximized properly. For example, the meta description you write must comply with applicable SEO rules for which there must be keywords placed and cannot be too long. This has to be performed so that users can find your website instantly on the Google search engine. Not only that, other technical facets such as URL title, title tag, etc. must also be optimized effectively. By placing internal links that are embedded in one piece of your content which will lead to other content on one website, this in turn will slowly increase your website's visibility in search ranking.

Furthermore, relevant and optimized headings are essential when it comes to the implementation of On-Page SEO. Headings are basically the titles you give to your content, and these should be in H1 format for the best results. As they should focus on relevant and descriptive words while you can optimize them with relevant keywords, do not stuff them. Hence, in order for you to break up your content, you can also use subheadings (H2 through H6) by following the same best practices, yet, try not to repeat keywords or phrases throughout your post.

Meanwhile, one of the most critical elements of On-Page SEO is none other than your content because this is what brings traffic to your website. As mentioned, today’s web users are looking for relevant, interesting, engaging, and informative content that can fill their need or offer them a solution. In other words, people must consume the content you have created as authentic as possible, which can come in a number of popular types, such as:

1. Blogs.

2. Videos.

3. Info graphics.

4. Podcasts.

5. EBooks

6. Case studies

7. Reviews

8. Instructional articles

9. And many more.

Above all, the content you create is something that others must be able to link to it which in this case; you should avoid creating content that requires a login, copyrighted material, and certain slide shows.

OFF-PAGE SEO

Aside from the technical elements which are the On-Page optimization, the Off-Page SEO concentrates more on the external factors. It is basically a series of activities carried out to optimize your website from the outside. The so-called Off-Page SEO, on the other hand, refers to the way of promoting your website by executing the practice of link building, backlinks, and so on. Just as the keyword stuffing used to be an acceptable practice, filling your webpages with irrelevant backlinks however will get you penalized rather than being promoted. Although search engines take into consideration the number of your backlinks as well as the number of your referring domains, still, the quality of your content is far more important than quantity. Therefore, a single quality backlink from an authoritative site is worth more than 10 or even 100 of low-quality links.

Last but not least, writing content that mentions influencers in your field or perform some blogging activities to promote yourself as an expert in your realm is another example of the Off-Page SEO. Although building quality backlinks are the backbone of the Off-Page SEO strategy, there are other techniques you can use to increase site authority and encourage more links, such as:

1. Adding your business website to local listings and internet directories including things like Google My Business, Yelp, Yellow Pages, and other local listings.

2. Getting involved or participating in discussions on sites like Quora while answering questions from others and this will render you an opportunity to introduce them your website.

3. Submitting content to various sharing sites including images, audios, and video sharing sites like Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, Soundcloud, Dailymotion, YouTube, and so on.