ByOn-page vs off-page are two fundamental parts of any SEO strategy. But which is more important? The battle between on-page and off-page causes great debate, but in truth, they are both equally important as they can impact your website in different ways.
Optimising the structure and content of webpages is the primary focus of on-page SEO, while off-page explores improving a website’s authority and credibility through methods like link building or social media marketing. Each of these has different benefits to businesses that will help them rank better. It’s important to understand the differences between the two to get the full impact.
Continue reading this article to find out more about the core differences between on-page and off-page SEO and how they combine for a successful digital marketing campaign that will boost your rankings on SERPs.
The Impact of On-Page SEO
Every change you make to your website could be considered on-page SEO. However, the types of changes you make to your website can significantly dictate how well it ranks on SERPs, with not every change being considered a good change. When creating a successful on-page SEO campaign, you need to have a clear understanding and research relevant keywords, HTML tags, page titles, meta descriptions and mobile optimisation.
The main goal of on-page SEO is to make the webpage more crawlable so that it is better understood by both search engines and users. This contributes towards higher rankings, as Google prefers pages that have a good presentation and are easy to navigate (aka more beneficial for UX, user experience). With that being said, there is so much more to on-page SEO than crawlability, and we are here to share some of the most actionable steps to take.
Page Speed
Faster load speeds tend to rank higher on Google and other SERPs than slower pages. You should aim to optimise the speed of your web pages so that most users are enticed to go on the site and it can rank higher.
Mobile Friendly
The way a website functions on a mobile device can play a big part in SERP rankings. In today’s world, more people are using mobile devices to access websites so this is very important. This SEO technique can make more users feel enticed to access your website.
Title Tags
Google uses the keywords in title tags, among other things, to determine whether or not a page is thematically related while searching for information that answers a user’s query. This also applied to meta descriptions.
Content Quality
The Helpful Content Update by Google changed the game and meant that more helpful content on a webpage will help it rank higher. It also needs to be unique and easy to read. This added to the overall website design and if it looks good, more users will visit.
HTML Headers
These help website visitors better understand your content, as it makes it easier to read. It can also help search engines be able to tell if the content is good enough to display on its higher results pages.
Internal Links
Linking to other pages on your website through each page will help the spread of traffic, which can increase domain authority and rankings. The anchor texts chosen can tell search engines what to expect from the destination page.
The Impact of Off-Page SEO
While on-page SEO is everything that you do on your own website, off-page SEO is everything that you do away from your website to try to increase SERP rankings. One of the main goals of off-page SEO is to build your website’s reputation and authority online through innovative techniques that can’t be achieved by simply focusing on what’s on your website.
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) is one of the best ways to build credibility within search engine results. This is a concept that Google’s Quality Raters use to evaluate search results and provide feedback that will improve future algorithms. Off-page SEO utilises this concept to achieve a better SERP ranking for your website, which we will explore here.
Let’s take a look at some off-page SEO techniques you can use to boost your website rankings, reputation and authority:
Link Building
Getting other websites to link back to your website is great for helping you rank higher on SERPs. The more backlinks your domain has, the more authoritative it appears to Google. You should especially look to get your site linked to other sites that are authoritative for the best results.
Local SEO
Focusing on optimising your online presence can increase traffic, visibility and brand awareness within your local area. For example, SEO in Manchester will help you rank in Manchester and surrounding areas. The two main techniques for local SEO are Google Business Profile Management and NAP SEO.
Digital PR
Using PR techniques to gain backlinks can be another good link building strategy. A high quality PR campaign can increase brand awareness, driver referral traffic and better reach your target audience.
Social Media
Sharing your content on social media platforms is a great way of getting more users to access your website. More attention can lead to heavier traffic, more brand searches and an increase in mentions.
Review Management
Having good reviews can make users trust your business and Google will take this into account when evaluating your site’s reputation. You should reply to every review, whether good or bad, as it will show that you’re attentive to customer requirements.
Competitor Analysis
Completing a thorough analysis of your competitor’s backlink profiles can make linking opportunities more apparent and help you build better links. This gives you the best possible chance of ranking higher on SERPs.
Conclusion
SEO on and off the page is essential for raising a website’s search engine ranks. Off-page SEO establishes external authority and credibility whereas on-page SEO optimises the content and structure of websites. Businesses may greatly improve their online visibility, boost organic traffic and rank better in SERPs by putting both strategies into practice.
