Understanding On-Page vs. Off-Page SEO: Key Differences

SEO requires a concerted effort of multiple strategies to see the results your company deserves. While many people think of keywords when they begin their SEO journey, the best results happen with a combination of both on-page and off-page SEO.

What is On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO is optimizing the elements that are on your company’s website and within your control to improve the rank of individual web pages. Common improvements include optimizing content, using keywords, and adding HTML elements.

Marketers often ask about technical SEO vs on-page SEO. Technical SEO, which includes improving page load speed and site structure, actually under on-page SEO because the changes happen on the company’s own website.

For example, a Boston wedding venue uses on-page SEO tactics by first determining that local brides are searching for tips on finding photographers in the area. The venue then creates a new blog post using the keys words “Finding a wedding photographer in Boston” and increases traffic the website.

Key On-page Elements to Optimize

Many companies use an on-page optimization checklist to make sure that they cover all aspects of their strategy. Here are the key on-page SEO techniques to consider when optimizing on-page SEO for your company’s website:

• Title tags: Because the title tag defines the text to display as the title of the website page on the SERP, this element can significantly increase your click-through rate (CTR). To prevent the title from being truncated, keep the text under 60 characters for each page. Instead of using the same title tag for all pages on the website, create a unique title tag for each page that includes your company name.
• Meta description: This 160-character text displays underneath the title tag on the SERP. By describing the content on the page in an engaging manner and using the primary keyword, this element can improve both your CRT and your page rank. Consider writing the description in a call-to-action style using active verbs and present tense.
• Header tags (H1, H2, H3): Search engine crawlers are looking to understand the page hierarchy and structure. By using these header tags in chronological order on the page, you can improve both page rank and readability for visitors. Be sure to include only one H1 on each page.
• URL structure: Instead of using the auto-assigned URL your web development software creates, carefully select a URL that improves SEO. Use readable characters that include the main keyword, such as Boston_wedding_photographers instead of Wedding_134$.
• Page content quality and relevance: Search engines want to direct visitors to webpages that contain high quality content that directly pertains to their search. For example, if the Boston Wedding Photographer page contains information about photography spots at the specific venue, search engines will likely penalize the site for relevancy instead of guiding brides to the page to find a photographer. Marketers should focus on creating a SEO content strategy to develop interesting and relevant content that helps solve potential customers problems.
• Image alt text: Because search engines do not view images, they use the image alt text to index the image for SEO. In addition to high quality pictures with effective image alt text appearing in Google images, image alt text helps visually impaired readers understand the context of an image through text readers.
• Internal linking with descriptive anchor text: Search engine crawlers index the website’s internal links to understand page hierarchy as well as evaluate the user experience. When you use relevant text for internal links, visitors know what type of content to expect on the new page. Avoid using links with text that does not provide context or add value, such as “Click Here.”

What is Off-page SEO?

Each time your marketing team or website developers take an action outside of your website to improve your SEO ranking, they are using off-page SEO strategies. This approach uses external signals and support to increase the authority, relevance, and trustworthiness of a website. While many people focus on the importance of on-page SEO because keywords are often the first strategy organizations turn to, off-page optimization techniques are also a key component of SEO results.

Common Off-page SEO Tactics

Off-page SEO isn’t a single strategy, but a collection of different tactics that can work together to improve website rankings. Here are common off-page SEO examples:

• High-quality backlinks from authoritative websites: When someone sees your link on another reputable website, your site gains the trust that they have in the hosting site. Backlinks help sites increase their ranking through higher reputational value as well as increased traffic.
• Social media marketing and engagement: Each time someone engages with a post either from or about your company, it increases brand awareness. Additionally, social media posts can generate considerable traffic to the site as well as provide new backlink opportunities.
• Influencer outreach and brand mentions: By convincing trusted influencers to mention your brand, you increase both awareness and traffic. This type of off-page SEO also typically provides new backlink opportunities.
• Guest blogging on relevant industry sites: Marketers who seek out guest blogging opportunities on reputable sites that serve the same audience as your target customers often see an increase in new visitors to the site, increasing brand awareness. This approach also provides new backlinks and keyword opportunities.

How On-page and Off-page SEO Work Together

Because SERPs consider multiple SEO ranking factors, marketers must use many different tactics to see the best results. By using keywords to rank relevant search terms, you can make sure it’s easy for search engines to index your site as well as visitors to find your content, which is a key part of SEO.

However, authority and credibility, which are not addressed by on-page SEO, are also top considerations in search engines’ ranking. By using off-page tactics, you can demonstrate and increase your website’s reputation, which can then positively impact SEO.

The Importance of Balancing On-page and Off-page SEO

Marketers often ask which type of SEO they should prioritize to maximize visibility and organic traffic. But if you only focus on one aspect of SEO, you may not see the results your business needs to grow.

Organizations that use both approaches together as part of an overall SEO strategy typically see the greatest success in terms of ranking, traffic, and a positive user experience. By consistently creating high-quality, relevant content with strategic keywords (on-page) and earning authoritative backlinks (off-page), businesses earn the sustainable search engine ranking needed to improve awareness and turn website visitors into long-time customers.

Measuring the Impact of On-page and Off-page SEO

Because effective SEO depends on many factors, marketers must constantly evaluate their results and make changes. As you move through your SEO journey, you learn what works and doesn’t work for your specific audience and industry.

The only way to continue to improve your SEO results is by monitoring progress and then making changes based on data. Instead of using a gut-feel approach, organizations should gather and analyze data to make smart SEO decisions.

Here are the best practices for measuring impact:

• Track your website metrics. The best way to make sure your SEO is moving in the right direction is to start with baseline data and then regularly measure changes. Key metrics to watch include organic traffic, rankings, and user engagement metrics. By using tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you can gather accurate, real-time data to guide your strategy. Consider monitoring traffic on a daily basis and rankings and user engagement on a weekly basis.
• Monitor your backlink profile. A key part of off-page SEO is knowing which websites are linking back to your website. By monitoring your backlink profile, which is a complete list of your backlinks, you have real-time, accurate data to make changes and grow your backlink strategy. Because manually monitoring backlinks is challenging, if not impossible, consider using an AI-based tool to review your profile. Tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush also help to identify high-quality link building opportunities and track your progress over time.
• Regularly assess and adjust your on-page and off-page SEO strategies. Most importantly, you must actively use the website metrics and backlink data you collect to map out your SEO journey. By seeing what is working well and what areas are not responding to your active tactics, you can make the necessary changes to improve your search engine rankings and organic traffic.

Moving Forward with a Balanced SEO Approach

Many marketers jump right into SEO best practices and quickly begin making changes to on-page and off-page SEO. However, making too many changes in a short time and not giving the strategies time to work will give you poor results and even more work. By instead making incremental and consistent changes with both on-page and off-page strategies, you can begin to see sustainable growth that provides long-lasting results.