The Differences Between Technical & On-Page SEO
When it comes to optimizing your website for search engines, two terms often come up: technical SEO and on-page SEO. Although they sound like they refer to the same thing, they are different. Understanding these differences can help ensure you’re focused on the right things for your site’s SEO performance. Let’s jump into these differences.
Technical SEO: Macro-Level Optimizations
Technical SEO involves optimizing your website’s infrastructure so search engines can properly crawl and index it. It covers site speed, mobile friendliness, and site architecture.
Site Speed
Site speed is a major component of technical SEO. A fast-loading website improves user experience and engagement rates. Search engines, especially Google, prioritize faster websites in their organic search rankings because a fast website provides a great user experience. Focus on site speed to get the foundation of your SEO strategy right. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights GMetrix can help you identify areas to improve your site’s speed.
Mobile-Friendliness
With more and more people using mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly website is a no-brainer. Still, no matter how much we talk about it in SEO and web development, we still come across sites that completely overlook the mobile experience. This aspect of technical SEO means your site is responsive and adapts to different screen sizes and devices to deliver a great user experience. We also know that Google uses its mobile impression of your website first for indexing, so you want to make a great first impression.
Site Architecture
A well-structured site makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your pages. This means creating a logical hierarchy of pages, proper URL structures, and a clear XML sitemap. Good site architecture also improves user navigation, which can lead to better engagement with the site.
Robots Directives
Your site’s robots.txt file is how a search engine determines what it can read on your website. If there are errors in this file, it could cause indexing trouble for Google and Bing. This part of technical SEO ensures your site is correctly configured for what you want search engines to read and index from your site. For large websites, robots.txt directives are a way to control crawl bloat so search engines can prioritize crawling of your most important pages.
HTTP Header Responses
Lastly, technical SEO covers HTTP header responses to ensure Google has the right signals. This means checking a site for 404 errors, redirect errors or redirect chains, 500 server errors and more. Serving the right header response lends itself to a better user experience, which Google tends to reward.
On-Page SEO: Micro-Level Optimizations
On-page SEO involves optimizing individual pages on your website to rank higher and attract more relevant traffic. It includes optimizing content elements like keyword intent, title tags, descriptions and alt tags for images, proper heading structure, and internal linking. As you can see, these are the intricate details that need to be analyzed page by page.
Content Quality
Content is king in on-page SEO. High-quality, relevant content that answers users’ questions is key. Search engines reward informative, engaging, and well-written content. Updating your content regularly to keep it current and relevant also plays a big role in maintaining high rankings.
Keyword Intent
Keywords are still a part of on-page SEO. Including relevant keywords naturally in your content helps search engines understand what your page is about. This is the research portion of on-page SEO where we investigate what people search for to find your website and how they find your competitors.
Meta Tags
Meta tags, including title tags, meta descriptions and alt tags, are part of on-page SEO. Title tags are a ranking factor and should include the primary keyword of each page. Meta descriptions are not a direct ranking factor but can influence click-through rates from search engine results pages by summarizing the page’s content. And alt tags apply to image optimizations; since a search engine can’t truly see an image on a page, the alt tag helps describe the image.
Internal Linking
Internal linking means linking to other pages within your website. This helps users navigate your site and also helps search engines understand the relationship between different pages. Good internal linking can distribute page relevance and ranking power across your site to improve overall SEO.
Technical SEO vs. On-Page SEO: Larger Differences
While both technical SEO and on-page SEO aim to improve your website’s search engine rankings, they differ in their focus and approach.
Focus
Technical SEO concerns your website’s backend. It’s about how well search engines can access, crawl, and index your site. This includes technical elements like server performance, SSL certificates, and XML sitemaps.
On-page SEO is about the content and elements on individual pages of your site. It’s about optimizing these elements to make your pages more relevant and appealing to search engines and users.
Methods
The methods used in technical SEO are more technical and require a deeper understanding of web development. These can include optimizing your site’s code, setting up redirects, and ensuring its security by using an SSL certificate.
On-page SEO methods are more content-driven. They involve writing high-quality content, optimizing keyword usage, and creating engaging titles and descriptions that stand out in results pages. These methods are more about improving the content and user experience directly on the site.
Tools and Skills
Technical SEO requires special tools and technical skills. Technical SEO specialists use analysis tools, including Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, and GTmetrix, to help identify and fix technical issues.
On-page SEO, while using tools like Google Analytics and SEMrush, is more about content creation and optimization skills. This involves a good understanding of SEO copywriting, keyword research, and user behavior analysis.
Getting the Foundation Right
For a full SEO strategy, you need to integrate technical and on-page SEO. A solid website infrastructure is the foundation for your on-page and content efforts. By optimizing both, you can improve your site’s visibility and user experience to be on your way to better search engine rankings.
Hopefully, this gives you a solid understanding of technical and on-page SEO differences. If you have any questions about your site’s technical or on-page SEO, we’re happy to help take a look. Schedule a consult and let’s ensure the foundation of your SEO strategy is all set.
