How to Use On-Page and Off-Page SEO to Rank Content 

A variety of factors and terminologies make up this umbrella term known as SEO. Especially when marketing your website. Professionals have coined strategies that help your content become more visible online in search engine results pages (SERPs). Two more of these terms are on-page and off-page SEO, which we will focus on in this article. 

If you are new to SEO, don’t worry, it can be overwhelming at first. Before diving into on-page and off-page optimization, read this guide to get comfortable with SEO: 

What is On-Page and Off-Page SEO? 

Per their names, on-page SEO refers to actions you take on your website, to optimize your content, and create a positive user experience. On the other hand, off-hand SEO refers to marketing efforts outside of your website, to promote your site and business as a whole. 

Both of these strategies work together to balance out your marketing efforts. Think about on-page SEO as building a website that retains users and makes them want to invest in your brand. Off-page SEO refers to any external actions you conduct to gain exposure and drive traffic to your website. 

On-Page Optimization 

First, let’s talk about what it means to have a high-functioning website, and how you can implement these on-page optimization techniques to improve your rankings in searches and create more quality content. 

On-Page SEO Factors 

Algorithms collect data about user behaviors, patterns, and interactions, and then store this information to determine what content appears on each user’s feed. Therefore, there are a series of factors that help rank content: 

Core web vitals 

This is a score that measures user experience on your website. This is a newer update on Google but helps a brand understand if users enjoy browsing through their site, or if they click off early. You can conduct a Core Web Vitals report through Google Search Console to see your website scores. The report also groups URLs by performance, allowing you to see which pages need improvements, and which ones users are drawn to. 

Page speed 

We can all admit that we prefer websites that load quicker. Google seems to think the same and favors sites that load faster over slower ones. Also, speeding up your website can help more of your content appear in searches. How can you speed up your website? Optimizing your images, using browser HTTP caching, removing unnecessary JavaScript render-blocking, and limiting redirecting are just a few techniques to improve your website speed. 

Internal linking 

This is a rather easy technique that allows users to interact with multiple pages on your website, thus increasing the chances that they will complete a purchase, sign up, check out your socials, or return to your site later. Internal linking will also give your content more context, as well as help your site gain authority. Search engines also favor sites that use internal linking. 

Title tags and Meta descriptions

Title tags and Meta descriptions are both HTML tags that define the title of the page and accurately describe what the article is about. Google relies on keywords for these tags, so you must optimize your keywords in all titles and descriptions. This will trigger the search engine to recognize and categorize your sites. 

Quality content

I will say it once, and probably a thousand more times, but quality is key. If you work on all these other techniques with low-quality content, the chances are your content will not succeed. What does “quality content” mean? The overall goal of this is to provide value to users. Is your content easy to read? Did it help a user solve an issue? Is it relevant to user’s searches? Is the content original? These are some questions you can ask yourself when thinking about the quality of your content. 

Off-Page Optimization

Now let’s get into off-page optimization, which is broader since this can be done through numerous channels. However, brands seem to use similar channels to promote their business website including backlinks, social media marketing, mentions from unaffiliated sites, and listing your business on Google Business Profile. 

Off-Page SEO Factors 

Similar to on-page SEO, some factors determine how your efforts are working outside of your website. Even if we don’t notice it, these efforts happen all around us. You have probably scrolled on social media and a brand or business has prompted you to head to their website. That is an example of off-page SEO through social media marketing. 

Backlinks 

One of the most important factors in off-page SEO is backlinks. This refers to a link on one website that links to another website. Having more backlinks on your website means that your brand is being mentioned across other sites, therefore helping boost your position in SERPs. Creating linkable assets will make it easier for users, brands, influences, or businesses to tag that link in their content. 

Social media presence 

A larger task than just a simple paragraph, but it’s important to consider this in terms of off-page SEO. Your social media content going viral doesn’t necessarily mean your website will also, but the more awareness the better. Since so many people are on social media, this is a great place to get your brand in front of users, especially those who may be interested in your brand. We recommend using a tool like Metricool’s SmartLinks, to create a page with all your important links, which you can generate into a single URL to add to your social media bios, descriptions, or caption. 

Mentions 

Whether this is through social media, or from unlinked site mentions, these can help Google recognize your site as a legit, and authoritative website worth prioritizing. Just as Google can detect keywords, it will track your brand mentions even if your website isn’t linked. 

Google Business Profile 

I think every business should create a Google Business Profile, even if your brand doesn’t have a physical store or location. This provides all the necessary information about your business at a glance. For example, your location, hours, contact information, and service/business type. If you do have a local business, Google will populate local results, which is a great opportunity for your business to be found. 

Are you a local business and want to learn more about local SEO ranking factors? We got you. 

Conclusions 

Creating a winning SEO strategy doesn’t happen overnight, and it often takes a lot of trial and error to see what performs best. However, implementing these strategies can help you see results pretty immediately, so you can continue to measure your success. On-page and off-page SEO can work together to create noise about your brand and improve your user experience. 

You may be wondering, where can I measure my successes and downfalls? At Metricool you can connect your website or blog, and all social media platforms, to view in-depth analytics of how your content is performing. The best part is that you can do this for completely free. This is a game-changer if you are looking to improve your website and social media channels. 

Anniston Ward , 08 December 2023