3 Pillars of SEO: technical, keyword and off-page

Written By Marjorie White

The Three Pillars of SEO: Technical, Keyword Research, and Off-Page

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps websites rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). To achieve top rankings, it's crucial to understand and implement the three main types of SEO: technical SEO, keyword research, and off-page SEO. Each plays a vital role in improving your website's visibility and user experience. Technical SEO and Keyword research are sort-of a one and done while off-page is a reoccurring project.

Technical SEO: This pillar focuses on optimizing your website’s structure and performance to ensure that search engines can easily crawl, index, and rank your content. It’s pretty straight forward:

  • Website Speed: A fast-loading website is not only better for user experience but also ranks higher in search results. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify areas for improvement.

  • Mobile-Friendliness: We all are on our phones way too much. Ensure your site is mobile-friendly.  Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool can help you assess and improve your site's mobile usability.

  • XML Sitemaps: An XML sitemap helps search engines understand the structure of your website and discover new pages. It’s easy to add to WP sites and comes innate with other CMS’s

  • Robots.txt File: The robots.txt file tells search engine crawlers which parts of your site they should and shouldn’t crawl. Properly configuring this file can prevent important pages from being indexed or crawled.

  • SSL Certificate: Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates encrypt data between the user and your server, enhancing security and trust. Websites with an SSL certificate are often prioritized by search engines. No one wants to go to a suspicious site!

  • Internal Linking: Internal linking helps distribute link equity throughout your site, making it easier for search engines to understand the hierarchy of your content. Use relevant anchor text to guide users and search engines to related pages.

  • Canonical Tags: Canonical tags help avoid duplicate content issues by specifying the preferred version of a page. This ensures that search engines know which version to index and rank.

  • Structured Data Markup: Structured data markup (also known as schema markup) provides additional context to search engines about your content. This can enhance your site's appearance in search results and provide more detailed information.

Technical SEO may sound daunting, but there is so much helpful content out there if you get stuck. It’s important to do and get right. There’s more to the list, get connected if you want to learn more.

Keyword Research: Identify and analyze keywords and phrases that potential visitors might use to find your content. This step is critical because it’s the best way to target consumers in all aspects of the decision-making process.

  • Identify Seed Keywords: Start by brainstorming seed keywords related to your business or industry. These are broad terms that can help you generate a list of more specific keywords.

  • Use Keyword Tools: Utilize tools like the Keyword Sheeter (I’m not kidding) or keysearch.co  to gather data on search volume, competition, and other metrics. These tools provide insights into how many people are searching for each term and how difficult it will be to rank for them.

  • Long-Tail Keywords/ Hub and Spoke Model: Focus on long-tail keywords, which are longer, more specific phrases that typically have lower competition and higher conversion rates. For example, instead of targeting "SEO," consider "best SEO services for small businesses."

  • On-Page Optimization: Incorporate your target keywords naturally into your content, meta descriptions, headers, and alt tags. Do not over optimize!

  • Content Planning: Use your keyword research to plan and create content that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience. This could include blog posts, videos, infographics, and other formats.

  • Regular Updates: Keep your content fresh and up-to-date with the latest trends and information. The Search Engines like ‘newness’.

Off-Page SEO: build backlinks and brand reputation.

  • Backlink Building: Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to your site. They are one of the most powerful ranking factors in SEO. Aim to get high-quality, relevant backlinks from authoritative sources. Use outreach, guest blogging, and broken link building to acquire backlinks.

  • Social Media Engagement: Social media platforms can drive traffic to your website and improve your brand’s visibility. Share your content on social media, engage with your audience, and participate in relevant conversations to build your online presence.

  • Local SEO: If you have a local business, optimize for local search by claiming and verifying your Google My Business listing. Include your business address, phone number, and hours of operation. Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews.

  • Community Involvement: Engage in community events, sponsor local initiatives, and contribute to industry forums. This can help build relationships and improve your brand’s reputation.

Frankly off page SEO is the most important and it’s the one everyone struggles with. For good reason, SEO is a competition and everyone want’s to get more traffic. SEO is a multifaceted discipline that requires a comprehensive approach. It may seem like a lot, but it’s required nowadays. Please connect if you feel overwhelmed and want someone to talk you through the process!

Marjorie White
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