SEO or ‘search engine optimisation’ is a series of tactics used to rank a business higher in Google. But there are many different types of SEO, with some tactics being a lot harder to implement than others. We thought we’d take a look at different types of SEO and explain the purposes and primary functions of each strategy that falls under the SEO umbrella.
Different types of SEO covered in this article:
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO centers on the basic functionality of your website, such as site speed, user navigation and indexing. It’s one of the more harder SEO techniques to implement, as it involves sifting through the back end of the website.
What is technical SEO, and can you implement it yourself? Considering this is one of the more difficult SEO tactics to execute, we recommend sourcing external help from an SEO Brisbane based agency to do all the technical aspects for you.
What is technical SEO: Examples
Site architecture
Simply put, site architecture is the organisational structure of your website. It’s how your webpages link together and how users navigate the site’s hierarchy. Things like ‘Orphan pages’ or pages without any links, are difficult for site crawlers to find and can tax your SEO ranking if there’s a high number of them. Similarly, a website with a large number of broken links ‘404 pages’ will be penalised as it distracts web crawlers from finding crucial information.
SSL
Obtaining an SSL certificate or ‘https’ means that your website is secure as it provides a protection between a server and the browser. This means that when a user provides personal information, such as bank details, they’re less likely to get hacked. It’s recommended that you get a web developer or digital agency to move your webpages across to a more secure server.
Site speed
When it comes to websites, site speed is crucial to keeping a user’s attention. How many times have you clicked on a website only to leave because it wasn’t loading quick enough? Not only does a slower website speed result in a quicker bounce rate but it’s also penalised by Google. The ideal website speed is three seconds or less, which you can determine by running a series of speed tests.
Top reasons a website is slow:
- Too many large media files such as an excessive number of photos and videos
- JavaScript issues
- Having too many plugins
- Excess usage of ads
- Bad web hosting plans
- Unnecessary page redirects
What is On Page SEO?
Of the different types of SEO, on page is the most traditional form as it’s all about optimising web content with keywords for Google to track. Think of Google like a scanner – it sifts through web pages to pick up keywords so that it can accurately match content with what a user is searching for. But to do that, a website must be set up properly. It’s not as simple as just cramming a whole bunch of keywords into one page. That tactic, known as ‘keyword stuffing,’ will likely be picked up by Google, resulting in a low ranking or ‘penalisation.’
But how do you catch Google’s attention properly and what are the important factors in include in your page? What is on page SEO?
What is on page SEO: Examples
Headings
Headings are the bread and butter of SEO driven content. By properly using the headings tag, a website content can give Google a clear understanding of what the page is about. It’s also a great way to break up text and guide users through an article – kind of like chapters. HTML (hypertext markup language i.e. computer language) offers six different headings which serve separate purposes:
Some different types of SEO headings include:
- H1: Indicates the heading of a webpage (the most important heading)
- H2 & H3: Subsections of the page
- H4, H5, H6: Further subsections (if needed)
Any headings outside of H1 are used mostly for user optimisation as they improve the navigability of the page.
Content length
Ever wondered why cooking websites are filled with paragraphs before you even get to the recipe? Despite users’ attentions spans growing shorter with every generation, long form content ranks better than short form. Why is that? Simply put, the more words a page has, the better Google can determine what the content is about. It’s also an easier way for the writer to place keywords evenly, as they have more room to space to work with.
Content keyword density
There’s no set rule for the number of keywords necessary to rank in Google, but it’s estimated that a webpage should have a keyword density of 1-2% – or roughly five to six keywords per 800 words. Once you’ve used Keyword planner to determine the popularity of keywords related to your website, creating content based around that keyword, whether it’s web content or a blog piece, should ideally aim to include the keyword once every 100 words if possible. This makes it easy for Google to crawl through your website and match your content to a user’s search.
Internal links
Internal links connect pages of your website together and are a relatively easy way for Google to understand the structure of your website. Ultimately, Google rewards websites that are interconnected and easy for users to navigate.
What is Off Page SEO?
Off page SEO refers to activities outside of your website – such as Google maps, social media and backlinking. What is off page SEO and what are some simple things you can do to get Google to recognise your business?
What is off page SEO: Examples
Google My Business
One of the most important parts of raising your Google ranking and establishing your website as a credible business is by claiming your Google My Business listing. The simplest way to do this is by giving Google all the information they require for your Google My Business profile, such as the following:
- Business address
- Business hours
- Business description
- Business category
- Booking button
- Question prompts
- Upload photos and videos
To increase your ranking even more, upload weekly posts to your GMB profile and encourage clients or customers to post reviews.
Link building
External links
One key thing to remember is that you don’t want the user to exit your website for another one, so it’s important not to include too many external links. But if you’re writing an article that requires crediting an external source, try to aim for government or educational organisations (quality links) as Google views them as more important.
Backlinking
Backlinking, or getting other websites to link back to yours, is a great way of establishing yourself as an authoritative source. But that’s easier said than done, given that the main way to encourage other websites to link to yours is writing content that people want to share. Aside from having an educational blog, the only way you could do this is by partnering with other sites under the agreement that you’ll mutually link to each other.
Some creative ways to get backlinking to your website include:
- Guest blogging for another website
- Creating high quality content people want to share
- Social media sharing
What is Local SEO?
The easiest way to optimise your website for local SEO is to include the city your services are based in your keywords i.e. hairdresser Brisbane. Google uses people’s IP address to source their location, and prioritises showing services close to user. So, if someone is searching for a product and service and they haven’t specified their location, Google will still prioritise showing them businesses within a certain radius of their home.
Like off page SEO, a business can improve their local SEO by claiming their Google My Business listing and encouraging users to review their product or service. Another way a business can improve their listing includes claiming a listing in the local directory such as Yellow Pages, Yelp and government directories.
We hope we’ve given you a good idea of the different types of SEO and how to implement SEO techniques into your website. If you’d like some help improving your website ranking contact us and a member of our SEO Brisbane digital team will get in touch shortly. Or check out some of our other digital marketing agency Brisbane based services for more information.