Without search engine optimization (SEO), your website’s chances of appearing in the top-ranking results on any search engine are slim to none. Ranking is vital for getting your website, products/services, and content found by the right audience. Without both on-page and off-page SEO, the chances of being discovered, let alone clicked on, are nonexistent.
For example, the first organic search result on Google (the one below any result marked “ad” or “sponsored”) gets an average click-through rate (CTR) of 31.7%. However, the second organic search result dropped, with a CTR of 24.71%. By the time you get to the 10th result on Google, you’re looking at a CTR of 3.09%
The only way to ensure that your website and content start to rank the way you want it to is through proper on-page and off-page SEO.
Is There a Difference Between On-Page and Off-Page SEO?
On-page and off-page SEO are two of the most commonly practiced tactics used by businesses across all industries. While they may seem rather similar upon first glance, they actually perform two different functions.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO focuses heavily on the right use of keywords in both your content (on the page) and your HTML tags, such as your content/page titles and your meta descriptions.
However, it’s essential to point out that on-page SEO also refers to things such as your page load time, the crafty use of your keywords in your URLs, and your alt tags for videos and images.
Off-Page SEO
Your off-page SEO is a bit different. If an on-page SEO refers to the optimization tactics for your site’s content, off-page SEO involves tactics to use on sites/platforms outside of your website. The easiest way to think of off-page SEO is optimizing your outside sources, such as your social media profiles, your Google My Business listing, and even in building your backlinking strategy.
On-Page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO: Why You Need Them Both
Both on-page and off-page SEO are vital if you expect website traffic. Without optimizing your posts both on and off your website, your audience will never be able to find you, and search engines won’t find your content relevant enough to show those who may benefit from what you have to offer.
Believe it or not, you really can’t have one without the other, especially if you’re working to build brand awareness. Think about it for a moment – you can have a website, but if you have nowhere to share it, how can you hope to spread the word about your brand and your products or services? You can write informative content, but again, if you have nowhere to share it, how will your audience benefit from it?
To become the authoritative voice you wish to be, you need to optimize your activities both on your website and on your other online presence, whether it be your brand’s social media pages or creating quality guest posts to share on authoritative websites.
Examples of On-Page and Off-Page SEO Tactics
Believe it or not, even if you aren’t familiar with the difference between on-page and off-page SEO, you’ve likely utilized various tactics that fall under both categories.
On-Page SEO Tactics
These tactics are most often associated with target keywords that tell search engines and your audience what your page or content is about. On-page SEO tactics include:
- Optimizing site content
- Title and meta tag optimization
- Image and video optimization
- Internal linking
- Page hierarchy optimization (such as using your keywords in your H1, H2, and H3 tags.)
Off-Page SEO Tactics
Your off-page SEO tactics are associated with optimizing the content outside of your website. That means properly optimizing social media posts, your business listings, etc. Some of the most common off-page SEO tactics include:
- External link building
- Optimizing your external content
- Optimizing your social media posts
- Optimizing reviews/testimonials
- Guest posting
- Local SEO
- Influencer marketing
- Other brand building activities
By combining various on-page and off-page SEO best practices, you’ll be able to maximize your reach across the internet and become that authoritative voice within your niche.
Optimize Your SEO Practices with CadenceSEO Solutions
SEO is a complicated topic – and the team at CadenceSEO understands that. That’s why we work hard to provide you with SEO services that get you the results you want.
It all begins with an SEO audit of your site to identify where you are succeeding and where possible issues may be lurking. From there, we can help you develop a strategy for success!
Are you ready to get started? Then contact us today for your FREE SEO audit!
