Every search engine optimization strategy is usually divided into two different categories: On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO.

Even though each of them consists of various techniques both are crucial when it comes to increasing organic search traffic.

To show you exactly how they differ we’ll take a really close look at each of them.

We’ll start with On-Page SEO.

On-Page SEO

So, the On-Page part – as the name suggests – is about everything that happens on your site. If it’s done right it helps Search Engines to understand what your page is about.

This is the stuff you have full control of.

When optimizing the on-page stuff we usually deal with lots of different things but the most important factors are the ones listed below.

1. Title Tags

This one refers to the title of your web page or the main (H1) heading people will see in the SERPs. To optimize it you should put the keyword you’re targetting in there.

2. Meta Descriptions

The meta description is a description that appears below your URL in the search engine results pages. To optimize it make sure to add your keyword there, describe what your page is about (and encourage the searcher to click your link) and keep it a maximum of 155 characters long because Google may not display a longer one.

3. Keywords

To get traffic from Google you need to target the right keywords. When your site is new you should go after low-competition keywords and as soon as you start gaining some authority you can target some more competitive ones. Anyway, when it comes to keyword research you have to analyze your competitors, your strengths and weaknesses.

4. URLs

What are the URLs? They’re uniform resource locators which basically means that they show the resource’s address on the Internet. They can be optimized, too. The structure should look like this: yoursite.com/keyword.

Why? Simple enough for the web crawlers and optimized for a particular keyword.

5. Heading Tags

These are the tags that start new sections in articles. Since they work like additional titles in the text the search engines give them a bit more importance. For optimization, you should use relevant keywords within them.

6. Internal Links

These are the links within the articles or blog posts that send your visitors to your other pages. They not only give them more value but they also tell search engines what the destination pages are about which is crucial when you want to rank for more keywords.

7. Website’s Speed

Another important on-page SEO factor is the speed of your website.

Why?

Because search engines want users to get their answers as quickly as possible and therefore you should do everything that’s in your power to make sure your website is running smoothly.

8. Alt Text For Image

Images you add to your content can be optimized, too.

How?

By adding an alt text.

To optimize it describe all of your images relevantly.

9. Content Quality

This one is obviously super important. No quality – no traffic.

It’s as simple as that. Always make sure that you put effort into your articles and blog posts.

Don’t publish fluff because even if it’s optimized for search engines it won’t get too many visitors.

10. Page Security

Google already said that safety is important for them.

To make sure you care about security you have to get an SSL certificate for your website.

11. Responsiveness

What does it mean? It means that your website displays correctly on any type of device.

It doesn’t matter if it’s mobile or desktop the design elements should be in place.

So, as you can see on-page SEO consists of many various factors that the webmasters are in full control of.

Let’s now take a look at the other side.

Off-Page SEO

I guess you know by now that Off-Page SEO deals with everything that happens out of the website. If it’s done right it increases your site’s authority in the eyes of search engines.

There’s however, definitely less control over it compared to the on-page stuff.

Well, this category mostly consists of building links and generating social signals and that’s what we’re going to look at. Check how to work on these factors below.

1. Outreach Link Building

Like I previously mentioned the off-page SEO is mainly about backlinks and the first important thing is to get links pointing to your site by outreaching to other people in your niche.

It doesn’t matter whether these are the bloggers, influencers, brands or some institutions. What matters is if they’re willing to link to you to increase your site’s authority.

To learn more about outreach link building check this article here.

2. Guest Posting

Another method of building links is simply writing for others.

How to do that?

Well, some sites accept guest posts that allow you to create content for them.

How do you get links doing it this way?

Simple! You just put links pointing to your site into those articles.

3. Creating Links Yourself

Another tactic is a bit different as you don’t have to reach out to anyone to get a link.

All you need to do is add your site to some directories like these ones here.

Well, these links aren’t as powerful as the other ones but they still pass some authority to you.

4. Social Signals

These are all the likes, comments, shares you get when you upload your content to social media.

They’re not as authoritative as links but search engines look at them, too.

So, as I previously mentioned the off-page SEO is mainly about link building.

It’s definitely much harder to do than on-page SEO but is it more important?

Let’s try to answer that question in conclusion.

Which One Is More Important?

Well, there’s much more diversity when it comes to the on-page SEO compared to the off-page part.

However, the on-page part is pretty straightforward. It’s much easier to execute. Mostly because you have full control over it.

What you can’t control is getting some other blogger or influencer to link to you.

But, does it mean that the more difficult the task the more important it is? In other words: is off-page SEO more important than on-page?

Personally, I wouldn’t say so. I believe they’re equally important.

Why?

Because even with high-quality links you won’t be able to rank content that is very poorly written. The two categories of SEO strategy work together very closely.

The on-page tries to help the search engines in understanding the content and improving the user experience while the off-page is trying to increase your authority. In other words: without on-page, you won’t rank at all, without off-page you won’t rank high enough to get a decent amount of traffic.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Do you agree with me or you think one of the two is more important?

Let me know in the comments!

The post What Is The Difference Between On-Page and Off-Page SEO? appeared first on Grow Yourself Online.