The Three Main Parts of SEO
Search engine optimization is the process of optimizing your website so that it appears on Google and other search engines. There are over 200 ranking factors which influence how Google ranks a webpage, and these factors can typically be broken down into three main parts of SEO. They work together to get you the results you want.
The three main parts of SEO are:
- On-Page SEO
- Technical SEO
- Off-Page SEO
By breaking your strategy into these three parts it is easier to understand, design and execute your plans for search engine optimization success. Any successful strategy should take all three parts into account. Simply focusing on one will not get you the results you need. An effective SEO strategy is the sum of all its parts.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO refers to the content and all of the other elements you can control on a webpage. Content is the foundation of your website, and how your write your copy has a profound impact on how well you are going to rank.
However, content is not the only thing to consider when it comes to on-page SEO. This component also consists of how your page is structured and the keywords you integrate. Your on-page optimizations should be in line with SEO best practises. An SEO specialist will be to show you how to structure your site.
On-page SEO tactics consist of:
- Conducting keyword research
- Writing copy which meets search intent
- Optimizing headings and URLs
- Optimizing title tags and meta descriptions
- And more
Technical SEO
A website must be technologically sound for it to rank on search engines. Search engines will not serve pages that are clunky or deficient in some way. They prioritise sites that are fast, user-friendly and can be easily crawled and indexed by search engines. Like most of SEO, it is a delicate balance between pleasing people and search engines.
A website should not just look good. It should have a simplistic sitemap and capitalise on tools like structured data so that a website page can get Rich Results and other benefits which could help them rise in the search engine page results. If this all sounds a bit foreign that’s OK, it’s your SEO specialist’s job to take care of these technical aspects from behind the scenes.
Technical SEO tactics consist of:
- Improving site speed
- Monitoring website health
- Checking for broken links
- Generating Schema
- And more
Off-site SEO
Off-site performance refers to how your site is performing externally and backlinks are an important part of this. A backlink is a link from another website back to yours. Search engines use backlinks to help determine the quality, relevance and authority of your site.
However, It is important to mind the quality of the sites that link back to your own. If they are all low quality or spammy, search engines will assume your site is as well. But you are getting backlinks from high quality and trustworthy sites, they will assume you have a high quality site, too. Each backlink you get represents a vote of confidence that your webpage is of value and worth linking to.
Off-page SEO tactics consist of:
- Generating backlinks
- Monitoring domain authority
- Generating citations
- Performing guest post outreach
- And more
The goal is simple: create the best possible experience for your visitors. This means creating great content and having an easy to use site that people will want to link to. Tackling SEO holistically is the only way to get the search engine success you are looking for.
If you want to improve the quality or quantity of your organic search traffic, then reach out to our team today to get started. We offer audits, packages and consulting opportunities to fit your needs and budget. At Harvest Moon Marketing, we will be your biggest fan and secret weapon all rolled into one.
Leave a comment: