Exploring the Different Types of SEO: A Comprehensive Guide

Search engine optimisation (SEO) isn't only one digital marketing strategy. It's a comprehensive set of many techniques and tactics. 

All these SEO elements have one goal: to improve a website's visibility.

We can divide SEO into four broad categories, each with its unique purpose. These include on-page SEO, off-page SEO, technical SEO, and local SEO.

As a business owner, you must be well-versed in all four types of SEO.

This article will go into detail about the different types of SEO. We will also talk about how they can help your website climb to the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).

📌 What Are the 4 Types of SEO?

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a group of online marketing strategies.

SEO can increase your website's search engine rankings. It also has the power to attract more potential customers to your site.

There are four main SEO categories every business should use, which include:

1. On-page SEO
2. Off-page SEO
3. Technical SEO
4. Local SEO

Some businesses focus on only one type of SEO. Others invest in comprehensive SEO services.

As a business owner, you need to take advantage of all four types of SEO. Make sure to tailor them to your business's needs and goals. 

This way, you will draw more attention to your site, both from users and search engine crawlers.

A good SEO strategy will also help search engines understand your content better. It translates what your business has to offer. Google and other search engines will then increase the search results for your website.

If you want the best results from your campaign, you must understand the different aspects of SEO.

📝 On-Page SEO

When people think about SEO, they most likely imagine on-page SEO. All SEO techniques for improving a site's search engine results fall under on-page SEO. 

On-page SEO is also sometimes called on-site SEO.

It's the process of optimising various website elements to improve online visibility. In other words, on-page SEO helps you gain better results on SERPs.

On-page SEO includes the following activities:

• Doing keyword research
• Writing high-quality content for your blog
• Adding meta descriptions and title tags to your content
• Writing SEO-friendly page titles
• Creating internal links throughout your site
• Optimising images
• Cleaning up the URL structure

Most businesses invest in on-page SEO instead of different types of SEO. This is because it's the most common and easiest way to improve your search results.

On-page SEO is similar to homepage SEO. It focuses on optimising your homepage for Google and other search engines.

⌨️ Quality Content

Every business website needs to have a blog. And every blog needs to include relevant content.

It doesn't matter what business type you have; writing high-quality content for your blog is a must.

Your content needs to be equally relevant, engaging, and accurate. 

You can write informative blog posts relevant to your industry. It's also a good idea to share tips and advice. You can also provide updates about your products and services.

🔗 Internal Linking

Creating internal links is one of the most essential aspects of on-page SEO. Internal linking refers to creating links that lead to other web pages on your website.

Thanks to internal links, search engine bots can crawl your website faster. Internal links help them better understand its architecture. 

As a result, search engine crawlers can rank web pages on your site according to relevance.

These types of links are also helpful to website visitors. They can navigate through your web pages to find something they're looking for. 

This has a good impact on valuable metrics. For instance, page views per session and dwell time.

The best place to put internal links is your blog. It's common practice to link different blog posts. You can also create shortcuts to your homepage, contact page, or product pages. 

📩 Off-Page SEO

All the steps you take away from your website to improve your rankings fall under off-page SEO. 

It's also called off-site SEO.

Unlike on-page SEO, off-page SEO focuses on external ranking factors. Google uses these factors to check your site's quality and relevancy.

Off-page SEO includes the following tactics:

• Link building. Getting backlinks from other websites makes you more visible online. It also makes you an authority in your field.
• Social media marketing. Using social media channels builds relationships with potential customers. You can use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to promote content.
• Content marketing. Promoting content through various channels improves your online visibility. For example, email newsletters or paid advertising campaigns.
• Online reputation management. Managing your online presence helps keep a positive image. Responding to customer reviews is always a good idea. 
• Influencer marketing. Working with influencers or industry experts can help you earn quality backlinks.
• Guest blogging. Publishing articles on relevant and authoritative websites can increase brand awareness.

Off-page SEO doesn't only help boost search results. It also builds brand awareness and drives traffic to your site.

🔨 Building Backlinks

Backlinks or inbound links are very important for your SEO strategy. 

Link building isn't only vital for authority. It's also one of the most important ranking factors.

When search engines crawl websites, they look at your backlinks. They look at both the quality and quantity of backlinks. Websites with a strong backlink profile usually rank higher in search results.

Your goal should be to get as many links from reputable and authoritative sites as possible. This signals to search engines that your content is valuable. It also makes search engines trust your site more. 

It can impact your website's authority and credibility.

Backlinks can also send referral traffic to your site. 

When someone clicks on a backlink on another site, they will automatically come to your website. This can improve your site's online presence. It can also increase engagement and conversions.

🔧 Technical SEO

This type of SEO refers to optimising the technical aspects of a website. 

It can improve your visibility and search engine rankings. In other words, it's what happens "behind the scenes."

Technical SEO includes the following SEO strategies:

• Improving site speed
• Auditing the site's infrastructure
• Creating an XML sitemap
• Configuring canonical URLs
• Using structured data markup
• Optimising your site for mobile devices
• Using robots.txt files
• Installing 301 redirects
• Fixing broken links
• Enabling HTTPS protocol
• Identifying and resolving technical issues

Site performance is important for both users and search engines. It has an impact on user experience and search engine rankings. 

It's essential to make sure that all pages are indexed correctly. This allows them to appear in relevant search queries.

Technical SEO also requires ensuring that all URLs are properly formatted. Doing this can lead to more visibility in SERPs.

It's beneficial to use structured data markup. For instance, schema markup or rich snippets. They provide information about your content. This can help attract more clicks from potential customers.

Technical SEO is a little bit more complicated than other types of SEO services. But, this aspect of SEO is just as important as the others. That's why you might want to consider hiring a technical SEO specialist. 

🏬 Local SEO

Local SEO is a completely different type of SEO compared to the other three. When talking about local SEO, we can differentiate it from international SEO.

Local SEO focuses on optimising a website for local search results. It aims to attract customers from a specific geographic region.

International SEO targets audiences across larger territories. It's much more complex and costly than local SEO.

Local businesses can benefit the most from local SEO. Especially brick-and-mortar businesses that rely on in-store traffic. 

Service-based businesses also need local SEO. Even online businesses that offer products or services in a local area can use local SEO.

A good local SEO strategy may include the following:

1. Creating and optimising your My Google Business listing
2. Doing local keyword research
3. Optimising your website for local search results
4. Writing geo-targeted content
5. Building local links
6. Getting local reviews
7. Tracking results

There are many benefits of local SEO for small local businesses. 

The most important one is that it attracts more customers from your area. These customers might not have heard about your business. Local SEO connects you to them.

Up to 46% of all Google searches are from users searching for local information.

Using local SEO strategies can help users looking for something on Google search. They will be able to find your website at the top of search results pages.

Local SEO is important for small business websites because it brings new customers. It also ensures repeat customers. 

Building brand awareness leads to more organic traffic and a higher conversion rate.

🎩 What Are White-Hat, Black-Hat, and Grey-Hat SEO Categories?

We already talked about the four types of SEO. But, there is another way to divide different types of SEO.

We can also divide SEO into these three categories:

1. White-hat SEO
2. Black-hat SEO
3. Grey-hat SEO

White-hat SEO techniques include practices that follow search engine guidelines. For example, writing quality content or any other on-page SEO technique. Basically, everything we have talked about so far. 

Black-hat SEO techniques involve practices that violate search engine guidelines. They may include keyword stuffing, cloaking, and link farms. 

In other words, they are not allowed. Google penalises sites that use black-hat techniques.

Grey-hat SEO techniques are a combination of white and black-hat SEO tactics. Users take advantage of certain loopholes within search engine algorithms.

Black-hat SEO can result in short-term benefits. But, they come with a higher risk of search engine penalties. Grey-hat SEO has lower risks and provides faster results.

We recommend only sticking to white-hat SEO techniques.

📱 Mobile SEO

Mobile SEO isn't considered a specific type of SEO. But it's still important to mention. 

Even 63% of Google searches come from mobile devices. That's why optimising your website for mobile searches should be a part of your strategy.

Mobile SEO is a type of search engine optimisation (SEO). It focuses on optimising a website or web page for users who access it through a mobile device. It can be a smartphone or tablet.

This process involves making sure that the website is optimised for smaller screens. You also have to keep faster loading times and improved user experience in mind.

To make this happen, you'll need a responsive design. This ensures the website automatically adjusts its layout based on your screen size. 

This allows users to easily navigate through your site. It doesn't matter what device they're using.

Optimising your site for mobile devices makes it easy to read and understand. This includes making the text legible. The images should be properly sized, and the videos compatible with different devices.

Page speed is another important factor of mobile SEO. Slow-loading pages can result in higher bounce rates and lower rankings.

💳 E-commerce SEO

E-commerce SEO refers to optimising e-commerce websites for search engine results. 

E-commerce websites are online stores. It's your digital storefront on the internet. 

‍The focus is on optimising product pages so that they appear on top of search engine results.

E-commerce SEO requires a comprehensive approach. It combines:

• Technical optimisation
• Keyword targeting
• User experience
• Content marketing

If you're selling products online, you need this type of SEO.

An effective e-commerce SEO strategy can improve your online visibility. It can also help attract relevant organic traffic. This is very important for e-commerce websites. More traffic means more sales. 

Keep in mind that this is a specific branch of SEO. E-commerce businesses should hire an expert in this field for the best results. 

⛔ What Is Negative SEO?

Negative SEO is an unethical SEO practice. It refers to the situation where someone is trying to harm your rankings on purpose. 

This SEO tactic involves malicious activities. For example, building low-quality backlinks or unnatural link building.

It can also refer to spamming a website with content or inaccurate information. Negative SEO can also include creating duplicate content across different domains. 

In some cases, negative SEO can even include hacking the targeted website. That person could delete all your content. They could even redirect visitors away from the website altogether.

There are ways to protect yourself from negative SEO.

Website owners can track their backlink profiles for any suspicious activity. Monitoring the SERPs regularly will also help protect against sudden ranking drops.

Websites should also install proper security measures. This will prevent hackers from accessing sensitive data. Not to mention taking control of the website.

🌟 Hiring an SEO Specialist

There are various types of SEO. SEO varies when it comes to scope, focus, and goals. Understanding the different types of SEO can be challenging. Especially if you're new to this digital marketing concept.

If you're interested in improving your SEO, you can outsource an SEO specialist. You can also hire a digital marketing company.

SEO agencies offer different types of SEO services. This includes writing blog posts and doing keyword research. It can also include monitoring your competition and keeping track of results.

SEO specialists also have the necessary expertise to help you gain the best results.

🏆 Get the Best from SEO

If you're new to SEO, it's important to understand what it includes. There are different types of SEO. It's not enough to only use one. 

Understanding all types of SEO will help you create an effective strategy.

If you're struggling with this, consider hiring experienced specialists. SEO experts understand the complexities involved with optimising a website for search engines.

RankRise can help you with this task. We're a digital marketing agency that specialises in SEO. We offer various types of SEO services aimed at improving your search engine rankings. 

If you would like to know more, feel free to contact us.