Search Engine Optimization – it’s elusive, it’s important, and teams of people specialize in it. But did you know that there’s more than one form of SEO?

 

On-page vs. off-page SEO are both equally important when it comes to maximizing your visibility online. But what are the key differences?

 

In simple terms, on-page SEO determines what you rank for, while off-page SEO affects how well you rank. They’re interconnected and work together to improve your overall search visibility.

 

Of course, we can’t just leave it at that, so let’s explore a little more.

 

 

On-Page SEO Explained

On-page SEO is the process of optimizing different sections of your website to maximize your search engine ranking overall.

 

Several elements determine if your website is going to appear in organic searches based on various ranking factors, including accessibility, the speed of the page itself, content that's optimized with keywords, title tags, and more.

 

Essentially, on-page SEO is the process of optimizing things that you have direct control over – AKA, your website and its pages.

 

 

 

On-Page SEO Checklist

To truly understand the level of control you have over on-page optimization, we’ve comprised a comprehensive list that explores and explains just about every element that impacts your SEO:

 

Title Tag Optimization

  • It’s essential to use unique and descriptive titles for each page that properly indicate what users can expect to see.
  • Keep it around 60 characters or below and include targeted keywords when possible.

 

Meta Description

  • Make sure you write a concise and specific meta description (around 150-160 characters).
  • Include your targeted keywords where you can, this boosts your visibility. You can also encourage clicks by making the meta description engaging.

 

Header Tags (H1, H2, H3)

  • Try to use at least one H1 tag per page (it’s best utilized as the page title).
  • Use H2 and H3 rags for additional subheadings.
  • Include targeted keywords naturally in the content.

 

URL Structure

  • As a general practice, keep URLs short and easy to read.
  • Include your targeted keywords naturally in the content.
  • Use hyphens to separate words, avoid using underscores.
  • Example, a good URL slug (the one we’re using for this blog, in fact) is: “on-page-vs-off-page-seo-differences-explained.”

 

Content Optimization

  • When crafting content, make sure it’s high quality, relevant to your industry, and informative.
  • Include targeted keywords naturally throughout the content.
  • Write content that the users want to read – things that are engaging and relevant to your industry.
  • Use internal links to other pages on your website, this encourages them to click-through.
  • Use external links to authoritative sources, this strengthens the authority of the content.

 

Keyword Optimization

  • Have your internal team conduct keyword research to find both long-tail and relevant keywords. Avoid using broad keywords.
  • Use keywords within the first 100-150 words of the content.
  • Avoid keyword stuffing – too many keywords muddle the content and makes it non-specific.

 

Image Optimization

  • It’s not just the written on-page content, you need to use descriptive file names and alt-text containing keywords.
  • Compress images so they load faster on the page.
  • Use the appropriate formats (i.e., WebP, JPEG, PNG).

 

Page Speed Optimization

  • Have your DEV team minimize CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.
  • Enable browser caching.
  • Optimize server response time.
  • Utilize a content delivery network (CDN).

 

Mobile Friendly Design

  • Make sure your website is responsive and translates well to mobile devices. Many people use their phones to browse the web, and if your website only operates smoothly on a computer, that could deter traffic.
  • Test the mobile usability. Websites that don’t translate well to mobile can lose out on essential traffic.

 

Internal Linking

  • Link to relevant pages within your existing website.
  • Use anchor-text with appropriate keywords when you can.
  • Create a logical linking structure.

 

Schema Markup

  • Implement structured data (e.g., rich snippets, reviews, and products) This helps search engines understand the content better, increasing your ranking.

 

Social Sharing Buttons

  • Add social sharing buttons to encourage your user base to share your content. This is a way to help SEO by increasing site traffic organically.

 

Secure Site (SSL)

  • Ensure your site is HTTPS secured. Google and similar search engines tend to favour secure websites over non-secure ones.

 

User Experience (UX)

  • Ensure your website has a clear structure that is easy for users to navigate and optimize it for fast loading times. 

 

Canonical Tags

  • Utilize canonical tags to avoid issues with duplicate content - duplicated content can harm your SEO.
  • Point search engines to the optimized version of a page.

 

Sitemap & Robots.txt

 

 

 

Off-Page SEO Explained

WHEW! That was a lot of info but fear not; we have more. Please keep reading, we promise it’s worthwhile.

 

Off-page SEO, in contrast to on-page, refers to activities that happen outside of the direct control of your website that improve its visibility and overall ranking in search engine results. Rather than developing direct content, it focuses on building your website's online reputation and authority through things such as external indicators like backlinks, social mentions, and online reputation management (PR, for example).

 

The main goal of off-page SEO is to increase your website's trustworthiness, relevance to your respective field, and general authority – all which search engines use to rank pages. Essentially, off-page SEO is your overall digital reputation, and the better that reputation, the more likely you are to appear in search engines as a domain authority (DA).

 

 

 

Off-Page SEO Checklist

To get a better idea of what off-page SEO actually looks like, we’ve created a comprehensive list of off-page SEO techniques. This requires a little more in-depth explanation, so bear with us:

 

Quality Backlinks

  • Websites that link back to your website increase your site’s credibility. The more high-quality backlinks your site has, the more trustworthy it looks. This is why presenting quality, authoritative information is essential.
  • Focus on getting quality backlinks from reputable websites – you don’t want a link from a spam-ladlen site that no one is going to read. This harms your SEO.
  • Writing articles for other websites in exchange for a backlink to your site can increase your off-page SEO.

 

Guest Content

  • As we mentioned above, writing articles for other websites can be very beneficial for your website, especially if they provide a backlink. You can create a comprehensive article or video for a similar website and pull in more visibility. Focus on websites with high domain authority (DA).

 

Social Media Marketing

  • While it’s unclear if Google favours content shared on social media, it can be an effective strategy for reaching a wider audience.
  • You can use social media to promote blogs, videos, and infographics across popular social media sites such as Twitter (X), LinkedIn, or Instagram. This encourages engagement and promotes visibility.

 

Forum Participation

  • It can be beneficial to engage with niche forums and communities, especially if your targeted audience has a strong presence there.
  • For example, you can answer common questions on forums such as Reddit or Quora, linking back to your website when appropriate. Just make sure you’re not directly advertising - Reddit can be finicky about that.

 

Former PR Representative here: make sure that if you DO want to post on Reddit that your online reputation is strong. Reddit can be RUTHLESS and negative content on your business is difficult to remove.

 

PR and Press Releases

  • Writing press releases about important company news or new products and having them posted through PR platforms keeps your audience informed. It also encourages them to engage with your business.
  • Make sure you get content published on high-authority news sites or online magazines relevant to your industry.

 

Brand Mentions

  • Having your brand mentioned by others, perhaps without necessarily receiving a link, is still valuable off-page SEO. For example, being featured in a blog or news article that highlights your company or product and encourages organic traffic to your business.
  •  

Podcasts and Webinars

  • It can be greatly beneficial to participate in podcasts or even host webinars to help expand your reach. In fact, just recently, our resident Sanj Rajput just hosted a webinar that really hit it out of the park.
  • Or, in the podcast example, you can participate in one related to your industry and link back to your website in the show notes.

 

 

 

Working With SEO Experts - Like REM Web Solutions

REM Web Solutions is a leading expert in providing digital transformation marketing. We can take your business to the next level by providing digital marketing solutions geared towards increasing your SEO and outreach.


Our talented team of content writers and web developers can maximize the visibility of your website and business.


We provide the following services:

  • Digital transformation marketing.
  • Web design.
  • AODA web design.

 

Don’t let your SEO fall through the cracks, let REM Web Solutions raise your business to new heights.