Getting SEO Results By Investing Your Time in the Right Places

There seems to be a new, hot topic lately among some of the visitors to my blog. Many have asked me about the relative effectiveness of on-page versus off-page optimization. One reader specifically said that he had just spent a fair amount of time optimizing his web page with Word Presser but saw very little improvement in his page’s search engine results ranking.

Had he wasted all that time optimizing his page, when he should have concentrated on off-page optimization instead? Is one more important than the other, or should each type of optimization receive the same amount of our time? In short, where do we get the most bang for our buck, on-page or off-page?

The most definitive answer I can come up with, unfortunately, is…. it depends.

The Power of Backlinks; It’s All About Who You Know

Most of us have caught onto the fact that Google is far less interested in what is on your page than who likes your page. Google actually relies a lot on popular opinion; if someone reads your article and likes it enough to link back to it, that’s worth Google juice.  If this backlink comes from a “trustworthy” site, even better!

Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of social media, either. “Likes” on Facebook and “Tweets” on Twitter are just as effective as backlinks, as is positive feedback through Diggit and StumblelUpon. Any time that one human refers your webpage to another human, Google takes note and presumes that is a positive thing.

Acquiring quality backlinks, particularly by using applicable anchor text, is the best way to improve your page’s Google ranking for the most competitive keywords. Consequently, whether you’re selling books, offering free online car insurance quotes, or recruiting students for weekend snorkeling classes, your time will be well-spent optimizing off-page.

Producing Quality Content; Optimization by Accident

One happy result of the recent Panda update is that we will begin to see more quality content in the top search engine results. The new Google standards will require that articles be written to be read by people, not just the search engine, and that they be informative and relevant to a specific keyword.

Another happy result of this is that writers will be able to concentrate on writing well and still enjoy the benefits of some inadvertent on-page optimization. By simply explaining your topic properly, you will be including – and ranking well for – some low competition, long-tailed keyword phrases.

Proper Keyword Placement; Optimization with a Purpose

Once you’ve crafted a well-written and informative article, though, it is still worth your while to make sure the target keywords are in the right places. For instance, that keyword should be in your article’s title as well as the first or second paragraph. If you could include the keyword in your H1 tag, that’s bound to help, as well.

If your page doesn’t have a meta description, Google will create one by grabbing a random block of  160 characters from your page, and using those characters as a page description under your link on the search engine results page.

If you’ve carefully written your first paragraph as an introductory paragraph and included your target keyword in the right place, and if you’re reasonably sure that the algorithm will know enough to pick that particular paragraph as a text sample, this practice will work well.

On the other hand, if you would rather not take the chance, creating a good meta description is the best way to showcase your keywords – and your article – to Google and any prospective site visitors.

As most of you have already concluded, any website that offers free online auto insurance quotes, under-priced designer shoes, or over-priced teacups would benefit from a customized meta description rather than any random 160 characters that Google grabs from your page.

On-Page vs. Off-Page Optimization; the Final Verdict

Optimization is important, whether it takes place on-page or off-page. The different kinds of optimization accomplish different tasks; that’s the only distinction.
If you want to rank well for the lower-competition, long-tailed keyword phrases, then on-page optimization will do the trick. If you want an overall improvement in your search engine results ranking for all keywords, then off-page optimization will do the job nicely.

Perhaps most importantly, if you want a successful webpage, both kinds of optimization are necessary. You should optimize on your page with properly placed keywords and quality content, as well as off of your page by establishing quality backlinks.

This has been my experience, anyway. If you have other thoughts, I’d love to hear them!

About the Author:

Jason Monroe is one of the young guns in affiliate marketing loving life in his mid-twenties with all the luxuries that come from being single. Being an avid football player through college gave birth to his love for the NFL as he continues to fuel his football passion watching weekend games with his friends. When football isn’t on you can often find Jason researching classic cars, preferably the Camaro SS, in car magazines and online. But even this young gun knows how to get serious when it comes to affiliate marketing, a career that was born from his innate tendency to be a research hound, a knowledge that shows through his success online.

Tags: backlinks, off page seo, on page seo, SEO, seo results