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Difference between Off-Page and On-Page SEO Optimizations

Off-page optimizations refers to any actions taken outside of the website to improve search rankings. This can include link building as well as creating local listings. On-page optimization refers to any actions taken on the actual site. This can include adding schema mark up and optimizing H1 tags and metadata with keywords. Both contribute and can be the difference between showing up on Page 1 of a Google search and not ranking at all.  

Why are Backlinks so important for off-page SEO optimizations?

Backlinks or ‘inbound links’ are generated when one website ‘links’ to another.  According to MOZ, backlinks represent a ‘vote of confidence’ from one site to another.  It signals to the search engines that others vouch for your content.

Denver Post
Link Building

This article was written several years back, but no link for the dealership name has been established.  With a little outreach the dealership could have its name link back to their website.

What constitutes a high quality link?

Domain Authority is a ranking score developed by MOZ and widely accepted in the SEO industry as a standard to grade a site on its ability to rank.  The highest score a site can receive is 100.  Brand new sites start at 0 or 1. The Denver Post DA is 86.

MOZ domain authority checker

Creating your free Google Business Listing is a great way to get started on off-page SEO optimizations. Check out our previous article regarding the importance of setting up your Google Listing and other listings.

On-Page Optimizations

To ensure every page on the site is fully optimized, here is a list of on-page optimizations that need to be completed.

  • Important keywords need to be first on title tags for all internal pages.  
  • Search engines put more weight on terms found at the beginning of your title tag.  

  • SEO-Friendly URL Structure
  • Search engines use the URL to help understand the topic of the page. Short, keyword-targeted URL’s can make a big difference in ranking

      Bad Example:

    https://www.volvocarsofnaples.com/showroom/index.htm (Lack of Keywords)

    https://www.mbloveland.com/blogs/747/mercedes-benz-service/whats-the-difference-between-mercedes-benz-service-a-and-b/ (Too long)

      Good Example:

    https://www.bmwoffreeport.com/bmw-x3-lease-offers-long-island-ny.html (Keyword specific to what page is about.)

  • Alt Text
  • Alt text is an often overlooked aspect of on-page SEO Optimization. Alt text is very important for visual impaired users. Users who are at a sight disadvantage need screen readers to help them understand images on a webpage. The screen readers ‘read’ the alt text to the users. We don’t recommend keyword stuffing for alt text on images. This provides no benefit to anyone. The best practice for alt text is to describe the image without repeating your keywords over and over.

    alt text examples
  • Structured Data
  • Search engines use structured data to help understand the content of a page as well as enabling search result features such as a graphical search result. Structured data or Schema Mark Up helps the crawler better understand the content on the page. By enabling Schema, we can specifically tell the crawler details about the content that they might otherwise miss. Items like, the title of the article, when it was published, who the author is, a brief description and more.

    Check out our previous article on Schema Mark Up.

    Additional On-Page Optimizations Steps

    Consider creating longer content. Long form content tends to rank higher in search results. It’s best to create content that fully answers any questions user might have regarding your product. Below is data collected by SEMrush detailing how important long form content is.

    Long Form Content

    Any further questions on off or on page optimizations, please contact us today.