SEO strategies can be divided into 2 categories: on-site (also referred as on-page) and off-site (off-page) optimization.
In order to get a good grasp of how they work, you need to have a basic idea of how search engines rank web pages. When it comes to evaluating or ranking websites in searches conducted for certain keywords, there are 2 main criteria that search engine considers: on-site and off-site.
The Differences Between On-site and Off-site Optimization
When talking about on-site criterion, search engines evaluate what websites are all about, or how relevant they are for certain keywords. It involves making sure that your website pages, titles, tags, content and overall structure are optimized for your target keywords. If they are not optimized in the way search engine crawlers want, you are making their task more difficult and this will not work in your favour.
For off-site criterion, search engines evaluate how popular or authoritative websites are for certain keywords. The way to achieve this is by having a significant inbound link, or links pointing to your website from external websites with high authority rankings. Links from social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram are also considered in the equation, albeit at a much lesser weight.
Should I Do On-site or Off-site Optimization First?
Our team SEO expert would start by optimizing the on-site first before doing any off-site SEO techniques. After all, you need to be considered relevant first before you can even think of climbing in ranks.
You can think of your website as a house. If you want people to visit it, the first thing you do is to revamp what’s inside the gate of your house (On-Site SEO). Only once you have decorated the lawns and interiors as nicely as you can, you would go outside and spread the word about your sparkling new home to your neighbourhood (Off-Site SEO).
On-site and Off-site SEO, Which One is More Important?
These 2 types of SEO improve your website’s search engine rankings in different ways, but practices strive for the same goals—to promote your business organically, and to increase your online presence. So you definitely can’t neglect one or the other.
The world of SEO is scary when you don’t know what steps to take. But with a basic understanding of SEO, you are already ahead of the competition. If you are ever unsure on how to improve On-Site and Off-Site SEO, consult with a SEO professional.