Difference between On-Page and Off-Page SEO
Several marketers and businesses keep trying to understand the SEO landscape but, Google makes it quite difficult for everyone by updating the systems regularly. Some businesses hire SEO experts in London and other big cities to understand these systems. In the midst of the competition and new strategies, people think that stuffing content with lots of keywords is the only way of ruling the search engine rankings.
To decipher SEO and its tactics, you must know about its two domains known as on-page and off-page SEO. You have to focus on both to get success in SEO techniques. However, both of them are completely different from each other in function.
Now, the question arises that what is on-page and off-page SEO and how these two are different? To understand them in simple terms, you will have to consider how search engine algorithm evaluates your website. It looks at two things:
1. What your site is about? (On-page SEO)
2. How much popular is your site? (Off-page SEO)
It means the value of your content is determined by on-page SEO and your brand’s popularity is determined by off-page SEO. Both factors work simultaneously for your search engine rankings. Let’s have an in-depth glance at these two branches of SEO:
What is On-Page SEO?
In simple terms, every single measure that you take within your website to improve its search engine ranking comes under the category of on-page SEO. It includes each basic tactic, every function of website, page performance, your content quality and its structure.
On-Page SEO Factors:
On-page SEO is made up of some basic factors which are as follows:
- Keywords: Selecting the highly searched keywords and incorporating it into your content is known as keyword optimization. Keywords still work like gems within any content when it comes to SEO. Nowadays, long tail keywords are in trend. So, fitting them into your content is part of on-page SEO.
2. Meta Description: The short description related to your post that appears just below your post on Google is known as Meta description. These descriptions are also optimized for SEO by adding relevant keywords and blog related information in it. You should keep it under the limit of 300 characters to make sure the entire description appears in results.
3. Alt Text: It comes into picture when you insert images into your content. Alt text is a word or phrase that is attributed to an image and defines it in simple words. It helps the search engines to read your pictures and rank you accordingly. Viewers also take the assistance of these texts when the image couldn’t load.
4. Headings/Title Tag: Headings are the largest visible content of your page so; they are given extra importance by search engine algorithm. Clear, understandable and relevant headlines make your entire content stand out. Adding keywords in heading to make them accurate also counted under on-page SEO.
5. URL Structure: The URL structure of your content should also be optimized. It navigates search engines to crawl from various pages to your website. URLs should contain keywords or main headings to give a better understanding to readers.
6. Page Load Speed: Providing the best user experience is the responsibility of the search engines like Google. Hence, Google evaluates the page load speed on any website while ranking it. You should optimize your website to load faster as slowly loading pages irritates the users.
7. Page Content: The value of your page content matters a lot. It should at least serve the purpose of the user by providing relevant information. You can make it engaging with stories, real-life incidents and other things with which readers can connect. Google provides a higher ranking to the pages which have more valuable content.
Many SEO experts in London assist companies in handling their on-page SEO. You can contact them for better results.
What is Off-Page SEO?
Off-page SEO refers to all the things or activities that happens off your website but, still affects your SEO ranking. You can also control these factors as they define the popularity and reach of your pages. Off-page SEO depends on other sources and websites that help in improving your site’s image.
Off-Page SEO Factors:
Let’s move to the factors of off-page SEO to get extensive knowledge.
- Backlinks: The quantity and quality of backlinks of your site highly affect its off-page SEO. However, quality rules over the quantity in this case. Including valuable external links into your website can help in attaining a better search engine ranking for it.
Remember that, receiving links from high rated websites is more important than getting a high number of links. You can try organic methods to get these links like guest blogging, contact building and getting featured in industry trade publications.
2. Domain Authority: Just like grades, domain authority is a rank given to your particular domain by the search engines that signifies the strength of your website. Achieving high domain authority will give you preference over other websites in the Google ranking. Contrarily, a low domain authority can become a reason for your lower search engine rank.
A few things play an essential role in determining your domain authority like the amount of time since you bought the domain name, the number of backlinks and the history of your domain name. You can enhance your domain authority by ensuring the efficiency of your website.
3. Social Promotion: Social media platforms also play a significant role when it comes to off-page SEO. Your page’s traffic can be increased via social media posts and shares. Companies use these platforms to promote their websites and other contents as they help in building a better connection with the audience.
On-page and off-page SEO are like the two wheels of a vehicle. Just like removing one wheel can affect the entire balance, leaving one branch of SEO can decrease your ranking. So, you should focus on both for better SEO results.
