Exploring the Different Types of SEO: A Comprehensive Guide

Search engine optimisation (SEO) isn't only one digital marketing strategy, but a comprehensive set of techniques and tactics aimed at increasing a website's visibility.

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

As a business owner, having a good command of SEO requires you to be well-versed in all four types of SEO. This article will explain the different types of SEO and how they can help your business achieve better rankings on relevant search engine results pages (SERPs).

📌 What Are the 4 Types of SEO?

Search engine optimisation (SEO) can be defined as a group of online marketing strategies that can increase your website's search engine rankings and attract more potential customers to your site.

There are four main SEO categories every business should utilise, 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, while others invest in comprehensive SEO services.

By strategically implementing these four pillars of SEO and tailoring them to your business's needs and goals, 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 and what your business has to offer. By doing so, Google and other major search engines will position your website higher in relevant search results.

In any case, it's important to understand different aspects of SEO to gain maximum results from your SEO campaign.

📝 On-Page SEO

When people think about SEO, they probably imagine on-page SEO. All SEO techniques used to improve a website's search engine results fall under on-page SEO or on-site SEO.

To be more precise, on-page SEO refers to the process of optimising various website elements to improve online visibility and gain better results on search engine results pages (SERPs).

On-page SEO includes the following activities:

• Performing keyword research
• Writing high-quality content for your blog
• Implementing meta descriptions and title tags to your content
• Optimising 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, which 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 have 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, share tips and advice, and provide updates about your products and services.

Internal Linking

As one of the most important 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 and better understand its architecture. As a result, search engine crawlers can rank various web pages on your site according to relevance.

These types of links are also helpful to website visitors, who can easily navigate through your web pages to find something they're looking for. This automatically increases the number of page views per session, dwell time, and other valuable metrics. 

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

📩 Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO or off-site SEO refers to all the steps taken away from your website to improve your search rankings. 

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

Off-page SEO includes the following tactics:

• Link building: Creating backlinks from other websites to your website to increase visibility and authority.
• Social media marketing: Using social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to promote content and build relationships with potential customers.
• Content marketing: Promoting content through various channels such as email newsletters or paid advertising campaigns.
• Online reputation management: Monitoring and managing your online presence by responding to customer reviews and feedback to maintain a positive image.
• Influencer marketing: Collaborating with influencers or industry experts to gain exposure, generate buzz, and earn quality backlinks.
• Guest blogging: Publishing articles on relevant and authoritative websites can generate exposure and increase brand awareness.

Not only does off-page SEO help boost search results, but it also builds brand awareness and drives search engine traffic to your site.

Building Backlinks

Backlinks or inbound links are a crucial aspect of SEO. Not only does link building matter for earning authority, but it's also one of the most important ranking factors for search engines.

When search engines crawl websites, they assess the quality and quantity of backlinks leading to a particular site. Websites with a strong and diverse backlink profile tend to rank higher in search results.

When reputable and authoritative websites link to your site, it signals to search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy. This can positively impact your website's authority and credibility.

Backlinks can also drive referral traffic to your site. When users click on a backlink from another website, they are directed to your site, potentially increasing your website's visibility, engagement, and conversions.

🔧 Technical SEO

Technical SEO refers to the process of optimising the technical aspects of a website to improve its visibility and search engine rankings. In other words, it's what happens "behind the scenes."

Technical SEO encompasses 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
• Implementing 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 as it affects user experience and, therefore, search engine rankings. It's also essential to make sure that all pages are indexed correctly so that they can appear in relevant search queries.

Technical SEO also requires ensuring that all URLs are properly formatted and optimised for maximum visibility in SERPs.

It's beneficial to use structured data markup, such as schema markup or rich snippets, to provide additional information about your content, which can help attract more clicks from potential customers.

Technical SEO is slightly more complicated than other types of SEO services. Since this aspect of SEO is equally as important as the others, 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 discussing local SEO, we can differentiate it from international SEO.

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

International SEO, on the other hand, targets audiences across larger territories, and 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 and even online businesses that offer products or services in a local area can also take advantage of 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. Generating local reviews
7. Tracking results

There are numerous benefits of local SEO for small local businesses. The most important one is that it attracts more customers from your area who might not have heard about your business.

You'd be surprised to find out that 46% of all Google searches are conducted by users searching for local information. By utilising local SEO strategies, users looking for something on Google search can find your website at the top of search results.

Another reason why local SEO is important for small business websites is that it brings new customers and 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?

Aside from the four main types of SEO, SEO techniques can also be divided into these three categories:

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

White-hat SEO techniques include practices that adhere to search engine guidelines, such as quality content creation, on-site optimisation, link building, and the proper use of meta tags.

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

Grey-hat SEO techniques are a combination of white and black-hat SEO tactics. In other words, users take advantage of certain loopholes within search engine algorithms.

While black-hat SEO can result in short-term benefits, it comes with a higher risk of search engine penalties. On the other hand, grey-hat SEO has lower risks and provides faster results.

📱 Mobile SEO

Although mobile SEO isn't considered a specific type of SEO, it's still important to mention. Approximately 63% of Google searches are done on mobile devices. That's why optimising your website for mobile searches should be a step you take to improve your SEO. 

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

This process involves making sure that the website is optimised for smaller screens, faster loading times, and improved user experience.

To make this happen, you'll need a responsive design, which ensures the website automatically adjusts its layout based on your screen size. This allows users to easily navigate through your site regardless of what device they're using.

In addition, your content should be optimised for mobile and desktop devices so that it can be easily read and understood. 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 in search results.

💳 E-commerce SEO

E-commerce SEO refers to optimising e-commerce websites or online stores for search engine results. With this type of SEO, the focus is on optimising product pages so that they appear on top of search engine results.

E-commerce SEO requires a comprehensive approach that combines technical optimisation, keyword targeting, user experience optimisation, and content marketing. 

By implementing effective e-commerce SEO strategies, businesses can increase their online visibility, attract relevant organic traffic, and ultimately drive more sales.

Since this is a specific branch of SEO, e-commerce businesses should hire an expert in this field for maximum results. 

⛔ What Is Negative SEO?

Negative SEO is a practice in which one attempts to harm another website's rankings in search engine results pages. This SEO tactic involves malicious activities, such as building low-quality backlinks or unnatural link building.

It can also refer to spamming a website with content or inaccurate information and creating duplicate content across multiple domains. 

In some cases, negative SEO can even include hacking the targeted website and deleting its content or redirecting visitors away from the website altogether.

To protect your website against these types of attacks, it's crucial for website owners to monitor 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 to prevent hackers from accessing sensitive data or taking control of the website.

🌟 Hiring an SEO Specialist

There are various types of SEO that vary in terms of 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 strategy, you should consider hiring an SEO specialist or a digital marketing company.

SEO agencies offer different types of SEO services, from writing blog posts and doing keyword research to monitoring your competition and keeping track of results.

SEO specialists also have the necessary expertise and experience to help you gain maximum results from your SEO campaign.

🏆 Get the Best from SEO

When creating an effective online presence for any business, understanding the different types of SEO and how to successfully implement them is key to success. But to create the perfect SEO strategy, businesses should consider hiring an experienced specialist who understands 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.