An effective search engine optimization plan is divided into two vital categories: off-page and on-page SEO. Both are necessary for the success of any search engine optimization plan.
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On-page search engine optimization deals with your actual website and what within it needs to be optimized for better search engine performance. This includes page speed, content, and mobile-friendliness. On the other hand, off-page search engine optimization consists of engaging other websites to link to your website to improve your site’s ranking.
What Makes Up On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO entails optimizing various parts of your actual website that affect search engine rankings. You have full control over many of these things, so it’s fairly straightforward to run at prime efficiency. Common components of on-page SEO include the following:
- URL – You can add keywords to URLs, but you should not change existing ones entirely, or you’ll cause links that may already point to those URLs to break.
- Title Tags – Place targeted keywords on the page title tags of your website. This will help optimize your web pages for the search engines.
- Page Load Speeds – Google wants to afford visitors the best possible user experience, so check if your web pages are loading quickly or slowly. Take time to optimize your web pages, so they load faster and help your rankings in earch results.
- Copywriting – Your content must be relevant and useful for your visitors. It must be easy to read and offer value to the end user. Google prefers websites that provide high-quality, unique content to visitors.
- Alt Text – All images on your website should contain Alt texts. This text helps search engines better understand what an image is about.
- Internal Links – It is important to build internal links into your website. This is done by linking to other pages found on your website that might be useful to visitors and the search engines.
What Makes Up Off-Page SEO?
Off-page SEO focuses on boosting the authority of a website by obtaining links from other reputable websites. The effectiveness of your off-page SEO is often quantified by a score called “domain authority” which evaluates and calculates how authoritative a website is when compared to other websites.
The most important aspect of off-page search engine optimization is the amount and quality of backlinks to your website. Here are some ways you can increase your domain authority:
- Guest post on websites that are of the same niche as yours. They will build a link back to your website which will boost your website’s value and authority.
- Create highly engaging content that people want to link to.
- Tap into social media shares and become a respected leader in your industry.
Don’t get so caught up in amassing a high quantity of links that you skimp on quality. Although the quantity of links is of value, content creators and SEO pros both agree that the quality of links is equally important. Building and earning valuable links will ultimately improve your off-page SEO.
Now you may be wondering whether on or off-page SEO is more important. The answer is that they must both work hand in hand to boost search engine rankings in a complementary manner. Balancing these two is the best way to increase your website’s rankings and bring it up to the number one spot.