Numerous website owners want to increase their organic traffic but often need clarification about which SEO model to choose. They contemplate whether to focus on on-page SEO vs technical SEO.
Technical SEO and on-page SEO are two key parts of search engine optimization (SEO). They have different roles but also complement each other. Each task requires a specific set of skills and tools to carry out effectively.
In this article, we will explore the differences between these two types of SEO, their importance, and how they work together to improve your website’s ranking on search engines.
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO focuses on the backend structure and technical/advanced part of your website, ensuring that it meets the technical requirements of search engines and users.
Key elements of technical SEO include:
Site Speed
Improving your website’s load speed is crucial for keeping users engaged and optimizing for user experience. Search engines like Google and Bing prioritize page speed, making it a key factor in your site’s success.
A slow load time can hurt your user’s satisfaction rate, lowering conversion rates and negatively impacting business growth. A statistic from Portent shows that an ecommerce site that loads within a second converts 2.5x more visitors than a site that loads in 5 seconds. This stat is sufficient to prove that technical is worth the time as it doesn’t help you gain higher search rankings but more sales too.
Here are some of the best ways to improve your site’s speed:
- Compress your images
- Implement caching
- Keep all aspects of the site up-to-date.
- Minify your code
- Use a Content Delivery Network
Mobile-Friendliness
A mobile-friendly site ensures your site works well and is easy to use on mobile devices. Google has stated that it will only index mobile-friendly websites in the Google Search Central Blog. In essence, your site must be mobile-friendly to show in search results.
If your site is mobile optimized, users on mobile devices will have a good experience. This will encourage them to visit other pages and come back in the future.
There are important tips to take into account when optimizing for mobile, including:
- Keep your page simple and easy to read by avoiding too much information at once.
- Make sure to use shorter paragraphs throughout the whole website.
- Focus on the information that people need the most.
- Ensure the landing page is clear and concise. Visitors should be able to find more information easily on a separate page.
- If your website has a lot of information, add a search bar. This will help visitors find what they are looking for and navigate your site smoothly.
- Keep the number of form fields minimum to ensure the page looks clean and organized.
- Direct potential customers to the most important information they need quickly.
Crawlability
One key element of technical SEO is crawlability. You can improve your crawlability by optimizing your website’s structure and using XML sitemaps to make it easy for search engines to find your pages. Without optimizing for this, search engines like Google will have difficulty indexing your site. As a result, your pages will struggle to appear in search results.
To help search engines crawl, index, and rank your pages, follow these steps:
- Have a high-performing server with a fast response time.
- Ensure your page load speed is optimal.
- Submit your sitemap to Google so that your web pages can be crawled and indexed.
- Remove low-quality and duplicate content from your website.
- Regularly check your website to discover and fix any broken links.
- Use robots.txt files to guide search engines in crawling your website.
- Check your website’s redirects to identify and remove any redirect errors.
Security:
This aspect of technical SEO aims to protect and secure the website and its data from cyber threats and attacks. When your website’s security is compromised, it can disrupt business and damage your brand’s reputation. It’s easy to see why this is important and should be taken seriously.
Some technical SEO measures for securing a website include:
- Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates for encryption,
- Web application firewalls (WAF) to filter and block malicious traffic,
- Security plugins or software to scan for threats,
- Content delivery networks (CDN) to block DDoS attacks, and
- Practice regular updates and patches to the CMS, plugins, and website themes.
Structured Data:
One key technical SEO practice that some SEOs consider on-page SEO is implementing schema markups on your web pages. Schema markup is a type of structured data in JSON format that search engines read to understand the content on the web page it crawled.
Schema markup helps search engines better understand your content, allowing them to present your content more clearly and organizedly in search results.
Technical SEO is critical because it lays the foundation for effective on-page SEO. If a website has technical challenges, even the best content may not rank well or be accessible to users.
Now let’s understand what on-page SEO is and how it compares to technical SEO.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO is optimizing individual web page content to improve search engine rankings and user experience. Simply put, onpage SEO is every thing you do within your content and webpages. It includes different parts that users can easily see and interact with, such as:
Content Quality
Quality content is all about creating relevant content that satisfies user intent. When people find your content valuable, they are more likely to share it with others and link to it from their own websites. This can help increase your site’s visitors and improve its search rankings.
Keyword Optimization
Identifying and utilizing strategic keywords in your content to match people’s search. Doing this well gives your website a vantage position to receive quality traffic.
SEO Meta Tags
Crafting effective SEO meta title tags and meta descriptions that encourage clicks from search results. SEO meta tags are crucial because they are the first thing users see in search results before clicking a page.
If your title or meta description isn’t well optimized, your target user will skip it and visit your competitor’s site.
Header Tags
Onpage involves utilizing headers (H1, H2, H3) to structure your content for better readability and SEO. Like this post you are reading now, we use headings to structure our content for the best user experience as you read it.
Internal Linking
Linking to other relevant pages on your website is a crucial component of on-page SEO. Internal links help users navigate easily and share page authority.
On-page SEO is essential because it directly affects how users perceive your site and how search engines interpret its relevance to specific queries. A well-optimized page can lead to higher rankings, increased traffic, and better user engagement.
Now, let’s compare on page and technical SEO so you can distinguish between the two SEO types.
Technical SEO Vs On-Page SEO
| Feature | Technical SEO | On-Page SEO |
| Focus Area | Backend structure | Content of individual pages |
| Primary Goal | Improve crawlability, user experience, and site structure | Optimize individual pages for user experience and rank your target keywords |
| Key Elements | Site speed, mobile-friendliness, site security | Content quality, keyword optimization, internal linking |
| Implementation | Backend/server-side changes | Frontend changes, content creation |
| Measurement | Crawl reports, site audits | SERP rankings, keyword performance |
| User Experience Impact | Indirect/Direct (through site performance) | Direct (content relevance/quality) |
| Search Rankings Impact | High (especially for large sites) | High (affects perceived content quality) |
| Tools and Techniques | Crawling and indexing tools, server logs | Keyword research tools, content management systems |
Source: TRIOSEO
Why Technical and Onpage SEO are Important For a Successful SEO Strategy
Understanding the importance of technical and on-page SEO and how they work together is vital for anyone looking to improve their website’s performance.
- Foundation and Engagement: Technical SEO provides the necessary infrastructure for search engines to access and index your site effectively. Potential visitors may not see even the most engaging content without this foundation.
- User Experience: On-page SEO enhances user experience by ensuring visitors find relevant information quickly and easily. This can lead to higher engagement, lower bounce rates, and ultimately more conversions.
- Holistic Approach: A well-rounded SEO strategy incorporates technical aspects and content optimization. Neglecting either can hinder your overall performance in search engine results pages.
Steps to Balance Technical SEO and On-Page SEO
Balancing the technical SEO and on-page SEO is crucial for achieving optimal results in your website’s performance and search engine visibility. While both types of SEO have different roles, they work together to create a smooth user experience.
Here’s how you can effectively balance these two crucial aspects of SEO:
1. Establish a Strong Technical Foundation
Before you start improving your website’s content, ensure that your site is working properly and isn’t having any technical issues. Conduct regular audits using tools like Google Search Console or Niche Empire to identify issues such as:
- Broken links or images
- Slow loading speeds
- Missing or incorrect sitemap files
- Security issues (e.g., missing SSL certificates)
Addressing these technical elements first sets the stage for effective on-page SEO. A well-functioning website helps search engines find and index your content better. This can improve your chances of ranking higher in search results.
2. Create High-Quality Content
After ensuring a solid technical foundation, focus on creating valuable content that resonates with your audience. This includes:
- Conducting thorough keyword research to identify terms relevant to your target audience.
- Crafting engaging and informative articles that answer users’ queries.
- Regularly updating content to keep it fresh and relevant.
Beyond engaging users, High-quality content also encourages backlinks, which can further enhance your site’s authority.
3. Optimize for User Experience
Both technical and on-page SEO should prioritize user experience. This means:
- Ensuring fast loading times by optimizing images and using caching techniques.
- Creating a logical site structure that makes navigation intuitive.
- Making sure your site is mobile-friendly to accommodate users on various devices.
A positive user experience leads to higher engagement rates, lower bounce rates, and ultimately better rankings on search engines.
4. Monitor Performance Regularly
Use analytics tools to track the performance of both technical and on-page SEO efforts. Look for metrics such as:
- Organic traffic growth
- Bounce rates
- Average session duration
Regularly monitoring these metrics allows you to make data-driven decisions about where to focus your optimization efforts next.
5. Stay Updated with SEO Trends
SEO is a constantly changing field because search engines frequently update their algorithms. Follow trusted SEO blogs like the Niche Empire and join SEO forums to keep up with the latest trends. This will help you adjust your on-page and technical strategies effectively.
Key Indicators of a Well-Balanced SEO Strategy
1. High Search Engine Rankings
A key sign of good SEO is your target keywords’ ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). If your website ranks high for relevant keywords, it shows that your on-page and technical optimizations work well.
Technical SEO ensures that search engines can crawl and index your site, while on-page SEO helps align your content with user intent and search queries.
2. Improved Click-Through Rate (CTR)
A high click-through rate (CTR) indicates that your content appeals to users and encourages them to click on your links in search results. This can be influenced by compelling SEO titles and meta descriptions (on-page SEO), as well as the site’s loading speed and mobile-friendliness (technical SEO).
By monitoring click-through rates (CTR), you can improve both areas for better results.
3. Low Bounce Rate
Bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. A low bounce rate suggests that users find your content engaging and relevant, which is a result of effective on-page SEO practices.
However, technical issues such as slow loading times or poor mobile usability can lead to higher bounce rates. Therefore, a balanced approach will help keep this metric low.
4. High User Engagement Metrics
Metrics like average session duration and pages per session are key signs of user engagement. When users spend more time on your site and view multiple pages, it shows that your content is well-optimized (on-page) and your website works well for easy navigation (technical).
5. Positive User Experience
A smooth user experience is essential for keeping visitors on your site and increasing conversions. This includes fast loading speeds, mobile responsiveness, intuitive navigation, and high-quality content.
On-page and Technical SEO can improve user experience. You can find ways to improve your website’s UX (User Experience) signals by monitoring user feedback and behavior.
6. Effective Internal Linking Structure
An organized internal linking strategy improves users’ navigation of your site and helps share page authority across your pages. This practice is part of on-page SEO but requires a technically sound website structure to work properly.
A well-balanced strategy will ensure that both aspects are optimized for better search engine visibility. Learn more about internal linking best practices and discover how many links a page should have.
7. Structured Data Implementation
Using structured data, also known as schema markup, helps search engines understand your content better. This can lead to rich snippets in search results, improving your search ranking enhancements.
Additionally, it supports your on-page efforts by providing context about the content you present.
Conclusion
In summary, both technical SEO and on-page SEO play crucial roles in enhancing your website’s visibility and performance in search engine results.
Technical SEO ensures your site is structurally sound so search engines can crawl it easily. Meanwhile, on-page SEO primarily focuses on creating valuable content and optimizing it to engage users positively.
By incorporating both tactics into your website optimization efforts, you can build a strong online presence that draws traffic and converts visitors into buyers.
Have you gained value from this content? If so, please share it with your network. They might learn something from your kindness (sharing valuable resources with them).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are Technical SEO and On-Page SEO the Same?
No, technical and on-page SEO are not the same. However, they both work together to create a comprehensive SEO strategy.
What is the difference between on-page SEO and technical SEO?
On-page SEO involves optimizing individual web pages to improve search engine rankings and user experience. Meanwhile, technical SEO includes processes involving backend elements like site speed, mobile-friendliness, security, structured data, and crawlability.
Can a website rank well without technical SEO?
Yes, it’s possible, but it will unlikely happen to some extent. Technical problems can prevent search engines from crawling or indexing a site properly, negatively impacting rankings.
Does on-page SEO depend on technical SEO?
Yes. While they are distinct areas, technical SEO lays the foundation for effective on-page optimization.
What tools can I use for technical SEO?
Tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, and Niche Empire can help identify your site’s technical problems.
How does mobile-friendliness impact my rankings?
Search engines prioritize mobile-friendly sites in their rankings due to increasing users accessing websites via mobile devices.
Can I do both types of SEO myself?
Yes, individuals with basic web development and content creation knowledge can manage many aspects of on-page and technical SEO.
