When it comes to on-page vs off-page SEO, what is the difference?

Many aspiring digital marketers and small business owners ask this question every day. While most know that optimizing your website so it ranks high on search engines is essential, the intricacies can make things a little more confusing.

For example, one of these you have lots of control over. The other you can only influence in certain—perhaps limited—ways.

Here’s the difference between on-page and off-page SEO.

What Is On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO refers to all the tactics you employ directly to make your website rank high on Google and other search engines.

For example:

Creating web content (blogs, podcasts, videos)
Writing well-research H1s/H2s
Doing keyword research
Using alt title tags for images
Page speed and performance
When combined, these efforts help search engines index your website more easily. Over time, they can help you rank higher and give you more organic traffic.

What Is Off-Page SEO?

Off-page SEO refers to factors that are less in control, such as how authoritative your website is and how many people visit your website.

Examples of off-page SEO include:

The number of backlinks you acquire
The quality of backlinks you acquire
Monthly visits to your website
Domain authority
Local SEO
Website owners and entrepreneurs don’t have direct influence over these items, although following trends and working hard to be seen on other platforms can help. In the same cumulative sense, all of these attributions help your site rank higher on search engines.

Why Are They Both Beneficial?

For those asking, “What is on-page seo and off-page seo?”, you’re probably also wondering if one is better than the other.

The truth is, you need both SEO practices to succeed. Here’s why.

Google and other search engines are very picky about what they’ll index and rank. If your website runs slow, is disorganized, or isn’t focused on one major topic, there’s a very low chance it will ever rank.

On the other hand, Google wants to see that others value your website, too. Today, authority matters as much as organization. And as Google continues to crack down and change search results for low-value websites, you can expect more websites that don’t have high authority to disappear, too.

On-Page vs Off-Page SEO Strategy

Devoting resources to on-page and off-page SEO is the best way to go. In the on-page vs off-page SEO debate, the truth is that stacking the deck too much one way could hurt you.

For on-page SEO, make sure your website is organized, high-performing, and easily indexable. Creating valuable content on a regular basis also shows that your website is active. (Plus it helps you rank for new keywords later on.)

For off-page SEO, invest in strategies like guest blogging, paid advertising (PPC), and local search engine optimization. A good (and free) place to start is to get your business listed on Google My Business.

Digital Marketing and SEO

The “debate” of on-page vs off-page SEO is actually not a debate at all. You need both to thrive in 2021, and your digital marketing strategy should be working to grow both your web presence and authority.

Learn more about our web design and development solutions today.