What is On-Page and Off-Page SEO?

Search engine optimisation uses many jargons, including ‘on-page’ and ‘off-page SEO’. Business owners who want to promote their websites, may feel overwhelmed when they read so many technical terms.

That’s okay. Design Point can give simple explanations, for topics that seem too mysterious. We want our clients to feel confident in our SEO knowledge, and also our ability to communicate in simple language.

What is Search Engine Optimisation?

SEO refers to any activity that may help improve your rankings in search engines. While there are a number of search engines, Google is the most commonly used search engine in Melbourne. SEO experts usually direct their attention towards Google, because this will return higher ROI for their clients.

The two SEO categories

Many digital marketing activities can be considered SEO, but they all fall within two categories – on-page and off-page SEO. The first refers to changes made to a business’s website. These can have the most immediate effect on search engine rankings. They can also be the easiest to do, if you actually know what you’re doing.

Some aspects of on-page SEO can be quicker and easier, because you have control over your own site. Website owners (or their designer or SEO provider), can log into their website, make the changes required, and then ask Google to crawl the revised page.

Off-page SEO, refers to activities that don’t directly relate to your own website. The most common example is backlink building, which is encouraging other websites to link to your website. This task can be slower and more challenging than on-page SEO, because you are relying on other people, who may not even know you.

Understanding on-page SEO

If you create your own content, and care about search engine rankings, on-page SEO will definitely be important for you. Every time you create a new blog post or page of content, Google is forming more opinions about your website.

Your content tells Google about your products and services, and even if you are a reputable organisation. Search engines want to place the most relevant and useful web pages at the top of their search results. Your content will help them make decisions about the relevance and usefulness of your own site.

As a content creator you can either learn about on-page SEO yourself, or you can partner with a digital agency like Design Point in Melbourne. We can help you make the right decisions about the content you include in your website, to ensure you are maximising your opportunities with search engine marketing (SEM).

Websites need design structure

The structure, or architecture, of your website is also considered on-page SEO. A website’s architecture refers to the way pages are grouped on a website. Navigation bars and hyperlinks within pages, help establish a website’s architecture. They link all of your ideas and topics together, and provide meaning for both users and search engines.

Understand what is metadata

Metadata is information about information. Website metadata includes descriptions and titles for every page. Search engines use these, to display in their search results. When you look at Google’s ten blue links, you are usually looking at titles and descriptions that have been created for each of these pages.

Metadata is a very important example of on-page SEO, and is one of the first steps for insuring your pages are optimised for search engines.

Keep revising your website

As technology and culture changes, your website will need to be revised. Even if you have a high performing website, existing content will need to be optimised again. Some businesses are doing this now to maximise their opportunities with Google voice searches.

The power of off-page SEO

Receiving a quality backlink to your website is powerful. In the eyes of Google, a backlink shows that somebody recognises your website, and thinks it is good enough to link to.

Backlinks are evidence of social credibility. When people use the Internet, they share the things that interest them, and the things they think will interest others. The external links coming into your website tell a story. They tell Google what other people think of your organisation, and the content you are sharing.

Link building is an essential part of search engine optimisation, but it is not always well understood. Some people think that the more links you have, the higher rankings your website will have in search engines. This can be the case, but not always.

Know your website links

Not all links are the same. If you are carrying out SEO on your own, you may waste your time, energy and money. Chasing the wrong backlinks can have no positive effect on your search engine rankings, and can even have a negative effect.

This is one of the reasons so many businesses partner with a digital agency that specialises in SEO. Marketing agencies like Design Point have the knowledge and expertise required, to make important SEO decisions. We know which backlinks are most credible and influential for your website.

Search engine optimisation specialists may also use a range of tools to learn about the highest quality backlinks, gather SEO data, and monitor rankings.

Other off-page SEO strategies, can include improving your social media and overall web presence. Your competitors can be analysed, and your reputation can be improved. The better you look on the web, the better Google will think of you.

What does Google think of you?

How is your own website ranking at the moment? Improving your presence on Google, has the potential to drastically increase your leads and sales. When consumers are ready to make a purchase, they often reach for their phones or sit down at their computers, to research the decision.

Googling is normal. Everybody Googles. When somebody in your target market is looking for a business like yours, can they find you from a quick search?

Design Point can improve the on-page SEO for your website, and your off-page SEO. Talk to our team today, so you can stop thinking about technical jargon. Let our professionals at Design Point guide you towards a marketing success.