SEOs: Types, Techniques, Benefits and Tips & Tricks

There are broadly 6 types of SEOs or Search Engine Optimisation processes and they have their separate techniques and benefits.

SEO is the process of optimising a website’s pages for search engines so they rank high in search results for greater visibility.

I’ll discuss 6 SEO techniques and their benefits in this Innocams blog post.

What is SEO?

Suppose you have a business website that highlights the product you sell. 

But you’ve a problem: your website’s pages are ranking in the 1000th search engine results page (SERP). Unfortunately no one, including you, goes beyond the first 3-4 listings in the first SERP while googling for something.

How you wish your pages were in the first or second position in the first SERP! 

No worries, SEO got you covered. Optimising your pages for search engines, an SEO executive can get you there.

Benefit of SEO

And when you get there, the entire game will change. 

People searching for the product you deal in will see your pages, visit them, like what they see, call you and buy your product. Each time they call, you will hear the rustle of dollar bills. That’s what you, he and I ultimately want, don’t we?

This is the true benefit of an SEO campaign. Get the pages higher in the SERPs, let them know about you, let them like the way you are, let them convert and give you money. 

But how did the SEO executive do it? This is the guts of this discussion. Read on.

There are 6 SEOs

There are 6 ways the optimiser can do it. But remember, in most cases, he needs to use many or all of them simultaneously. Any one of these 6 types cannot do it alone.

The types are: on-page, off-page, Technical, International, Local and ecommerce SEO. Now let’s see what these SEOs are and how they can pull your pages from the depth of nadir to the zenith of success.

1. On-Page SEO

On-page SEO (also known as on-site SEO) involves optimising internal elements of a web page so it can rank high in SERPs. The key components in this type of optimisation process and their benefits are listed below:

Title Tags Optimisation

A title tag is a HTML code that contains the title of a web page. It appears in browser, SERPs and link previews.

Title Tags Benefits

It helps search engines and your users understand your pages better. This understanding helps search engines to evaluate and rank your pages properly and it helps your users to like and get engaged with your pages.

Title Tags Tips 

Title tags should be concise and attractive. Use your primary long-tail keyword, numbers and dates to make them compelling. The ideal length of a title tag is 50-60 characters. Try to stay within this limit. 

The Internal Links

Internal links direct users to other pages on the same website. It is a key activity in these 6 SEOs. 

Internal Links Benefits

They help search engines understand the structure and content on your site and help your users navigate your site easily. Effectively used, internal links will increase rankability of your pages and user experience.

Internal Links Tips

Internal linking best practices include prioritising the best pages, inserting them at contextually relevant places in your pages, using them in the navigation menu, using breadcrumbs for easy navigation and incorporating consistent and accurate anchor texts. 

The Header Tags

SEOs depend on hypertext markup language (HTML), the basic coding used to create web pages. Header tags are HTML tags that differentiate headings from subheadings on a web page.

Header Tags Benefits

They let search engines understand the structure of your pages and evaluate them correctly. They also improve user experience by making the navigation easier. 

Header Tags Tips

An ideal header tag is not too long, contains keywords and guides users across a page. 

The Image Optimisation

This is primarily the process of adjusting an image’s size and quality to make it best suited for the device it will be viewed on. 

Benefits of Image Optimisation

An optimised image can improve response time and accessibility of web pages. 

Image Optimisation Tips

Use clear descriptive file names, alt texts and titles, use the format and dimension that are ideal for the target device and use image sitemap so search engines can find and index images easily.

The Content Improvement

Updating and/or creating content that incorporates target keywords and aligns with your target customers’ needs is a crucial aspect of these 6 SEOs. 

Benefits of Content Improvement

Optimised content helps a web page rank higher in search results, drive traffic, increase conversion rates and improve brand awareness.

Content Improvement Tips

Write engaging, long-form and relevant content, incorporating target keywords in them. Do thorough keyword research and competitor analysis. Go all out to get some quality backlinks from authority sites in your niche.

2. Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO (also known as off-site SEO) is the process of optimising a web page through activities that take place outside the web page. 

The key off-page SEO best practices are listed below:

Get Valuable Backlinks

Backlinks are links to your pages from other authoritative domains in your niche. 

Benefits of Backlinks

They are a major ranking metric for search engines. A backlink from a reputed site in your niche tells search engines that your page is so good that even your competitors are appreciating it and referring their users to it. 

So search engines take valuable backlinks seriously and usually rank pages that have them higher in SERPs. 

Tips to Get Backlinks

Create high-quality relevant content. Do some guest blogging. Contact authorities in your niche and ask for backlinks, promote your site on social media platforms.

Utilise Social Media

Promoting a website on social media platforms is a key aspect of SEOs. 

Benefits of Social Media Utilisation

A robust social media presence increases brand awareness, engages target audience and drives traffic. 

Tips to Use Social Media

Monitor and use trending topics, rich in relevant keywords, in your shareable content on social media platforms, engage with your fan followers, link back to your site and use targeted hashtags.

The Online Directories

Listing your business’s vital information like name, address, telephone numbers etc in online directories is a crucial SEO strategy. 

Benefits of Online Directories

Listing in trusted online directories may help a web page rank high in SERPs, get found by its target customers and improve sales and profits.

Tips to Use Online Directories

Use trusted and relevant directories in your niche. Get listed in GBP, Yelp etc. Be accurate and consistent in NAP info.

3. Technical SEO

The 6 SEOs will not be effective if they can’t improve a web page’s technical SEO. Technical SEO accounts for 40% of the total SEO endeavour. It involves optimising web pages so they meet search engine requirements.

Technical SEO has the following key activities:

Improving Crawlability of Page

This process ensures that search engine crawlers can easily scan and index pages on a website by removing broken links or errors.

Benefits of Crawlability

Sound crawlability helps search engines find, evaluate and rank a web page properly. It is a key SEO requirement.

Tips to Improve Crawlability

Use HTML sitemaps, optimise the site for mobile devices and make sure your every page has at least one link pointing to it.

Improving Response Time

How quickly your pages load is a crucial factor in user experience and SERP ranking. Any loading speed more than 200 milliseconds is considered dangerous for a website’s SERP performance.

Benefits of Fast Loading

A fast loading page tells search engines, technical experts and non-technical laymen that this site is good and is developed and maintained by true professionals. It improves user experience and engagement and betters SERPs ranking.

Tips to Load Fast

For better SEOs, compress and optimise images, utilise caching, use a CDN and minimise HTTPs requests. 

Improving Page Compatibility

Your pages should be compatible with a variety of devices like PCs, smartphones, tablets etc. Search engines love pages with a wide compatibility range. 

Benefits of Compatibility

Compatibility improves user experience, makes brand reputation, helps pages rank higher in SERPs and attracts and engage users.

Tips on Compatibility

Adjust the page layout for cross-device compatibility and adjust the coding to align it with browser features.

Improving Website Structure

A well-structured website helps search engines and users understand and navigate a website easily. 

Benefits of Good Structure

An organised structure improves a site’s crawlability, user experience and rankability.

Tips for Better Structure

Use internal links, create a sitemap, improve URL structure, incorporate descriptive anchor texts and employ breadcrumbs.

Getting Rid of Duplicates

Identical content on different pages on the same website negatively impacts that site’s rankability. Get rid of them for better SEOs.

Benefits of Removing Duplicate content

Duplicate content confuses and irritates search engines. Removing them will improve your trustworthiness and authority for them and this may result in better SERP performance for your pages.

Tips to Remove Duplicate Content

Use canonical tags, rewrite stories and use 301 redirects.

Improving the Security

A website that takes security seriously ranks well with search engines. You need to secure both your and your users’ sensitive data from prying eyes.

Benefits of Improving Security

A secured site pleases search engines and it is a crucial ranking factor. Strong security cover makes a site trustworthy and responsible and improves its chances of getting a high SERP rank.

Tips to improve Security

Implement HTTPS encryption as search engines trust it.

Using Structured Data

Structured data provides search engines additional information about a page like product details etc. This process involves implementation of schema markup.

Benefits of Structured Data

It helps search engines understand a site better and index it, resulting in possible higher SERP ranks and increased click-through rates. It also helps pages appear in rich snippets.

Tips on Structured Data

Use proper schema types that will accurately represent your information. Wrong markup will negatively impact SEOs.

Providing a Sitemap

A sitemap is an XML file that contains all important pages on a website so search engines can easily find and index them.

Benefits of Sitemap

A sitemap helps search engine bots find and index web pages easily, resulting in higher possibility of better SERP ranking and increased conversions.

Tips on Sitemap

Use consistent URL format in your sitemap (for example, presence or absence of www etc). Inconsistent formatting may result in duplicate content issues.

4. International SEO

Yours is a multinational company. You’re rolling in money. So go for international SEO to make your pages visible to the entire world. No matter where he lives, you can take care of his pain point.

An SEO agency will take the following steps to make your pages sitting above your competitors’ in SERPs–

Do Keyword Research

The first thing the SEO executive will do is find out what your target customers are searching for in different regions and languages. This is a multilingual multinational keyword research. Takes time, patience and hardcore professionalism.

Benefits of Keyword Research

Lets you find out words, phrases or sentences people are using in different regions and languages, enabling you to create ideal content for them.

Keyword Research Tips

Use Google Keyword Planner and go for long-tail keywords.

Get Local Backlinks

The SEO executive will help you get some local backlinks in regions you target for hunting. If you are dealing with New York there is no point in getting backlinks from a guy living in New Delhi. 

Benefits of Local Backlinks

Local backlinks will tell search engines that you know the region, its culture and people well and it is okay to showcase you in the SERP for that particular region.

Tips to Get Local Backlinks

Oh, I’ve forgotten to tell you the most important thing, SEOs are tough. You probably cannot do it. It is no job for the DIY enthusiasts. It is the job of professionals. Your best bet is to hire a good SEO agency for your International business.

Apart from the above two jobs, the SEO executive will also do the usual–link building, creating or updating localised content etc. All on the global scale. Region and language specific. 

5. Local SEO

Yours is a small business. You watch those MNCs and turn green with envy.

Don’t. 

Remember, even Apple first considers its local markets. So optimise your pages so people near you can find you, buy your product and give you their hard-earned money. This is local SEO.

I won’t burden you with the benefits and tips on this. You know it. High SERP visibility, more traffic, more conversions, more money. You are successfully tapping your local market potential and now it’s time for your rivals to turn green. 

Here let’s do some quick comparison between global and local SEO.

International SEO	Local SEO
Suitable for MNCs	Suitable for SMEs.
Targets global customers	Targets local customers.
Uses multipurpose keywords	Uses location-specific keywords.
Targets general search results	Targets map pack and local search results.
Follows international SEO techniques	Follows local SEO techniques.
Targets backlinks from MNCs	Targets backlinks from local niche businesses.
Focuses on cultural, social and financial nuances of different regions in the world.	Focuses on cultural, social and financial nuances of local areas.

6. Ecommerce SEO

Got an online store? Congrats. Now let’s make your pages visible to the guys you want to sell your products to. Let’s do some nice ecommerce SEO, which is one of the most important among all SEOs.

• Thorough keyword research to identify targeted keywords.
• Optimisation of product pages using those keywords.
• Building a strong link profile.
• Creation of relevant high-quality content to attract and engage target audience.
• The use of appropriate schema markup to help search engines understand and index your pages easily.
• Optimisation of your pages for different devices like mobile phone, tablet etc.

Benefits of ecommerce SEO

An effective ecommerce SEO will help your pages stand out among the oppressive crowd and get a high SERP rank. This visibility will get you serious traffic, conversions and profits. 

Ecommerce SEO Tips

Sharply focus on the optimisation of your product pages and schema markup. The use of wrong markup will have a negative effect on your SEO campaign. Be careful.

How to Select An SEO Agency

As I said, SEOs need experience, expertise and talent. It is a multi-disciplinary approach to optimisation. You’ll do well by hiring a reputed SEO agency for your SEO jobs. 

But for one efficient agency there are nine inefficient frauds. Follow these methods to choose the right SEO agency–

• Read reviews and case studies.
• Go through the agency’s site with a fine-tooth comb. If it is not impressive, run. 
• Ask around about the chosen agency.
• Contact people who used the agency before you and take their opinions into consideration.
• If the agency guarantees anything, run: nothing about SEO can be guaranteed. 
• Don’t fall for smooth talk about fast results: SEO never gives out fast results.
• Look into the price point. What we want is the best for the least. 
• Monitor the progress and outcome of your SEO campaign.
• If the agency shows reluctance to keep you in the loop, get rid of it: It is the duty of the agency to regularly update its clients on SEO outcomes.

Conclusion

SEOs are processes of optimising pages of a website for search engines. 

Proper optimisation may jack up the pages in the SERPs. This high SERP rank will yield enhanced visibility, increased traffic, conversion rates and profits. 

An efficient SEO agency can help you get this visibility provided you choose it carefully. 

Frequently Asked Questions