When we talk about search engine optimization, people often consider it as using relevant keywords while writing their content and waiting for a miracle to happen. The truth is it comes with so many layers of responsibility and implementation, so many are surprised when they learn about the different types of SEO.
So, if you have a serious intention of ranking organically on search engines, you need to know you have a few available options. The first one is to establish an SEO team in your company and work with an in-house team, and the second one is hiring an agency like Alpha Victor Charlie to help you with your SEO efforts.
No matter what you choose, it’s essential to know the basic SEO types and learn how they would improve your overall web performance when appropriately implemented.
Technical SEO
You can’t even start implementing any other SEO strategy before resolving some of the most common technical issues. Your goal is to provide a great user experience, which means a faster and mobile-friendly website is a must these days. Keep it simple, limit the rich media, and optimize the visual elements.
When it comes to website structure, you will have to employ technical SEO strategies and provide clear navigation and keep it nice, clean, and easy to grasp.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is the process of content optimization, which means improving the meta titles and descriptions, including more relevant keywords, or even re-tailoring the content body for better optimization.
During the process, you need to research the matching terms and phrases your website could rank on search engines for. Then, you will have to rewrite the metadata and add internal links to provide a better connection between different blogs, articles, or descriptions.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO is everything you do for exposure, including link building, competition research, social media promotion, and all activities that may bring more traffic to your website.
Most of the time, off-page SEO is focused on link building, according to Google’s most recent guidelines.
Local SEO
We must say this is our favorite type, especially for businesses that cover a specific country, city, or area. Your local SEO specialist can explore the market and give you recommendations according to it.
Furthermore, when you know the exact location of your business, it’s easier to target the right potential customers and encourage them to come to your store and buy your products.
Your search engine results should be localized, and it all depends on Google My Business profile, where you completely describe your working hours, exact address, and even customer reviews.
For example, if your business is located in Austin, you have to meet the various customer requirements and enhance your local SEO Austin approaches to gain the wanted results. Don’t forget to submit your business on Google Maps, build local links, and become a part of local listings to improve your overall performance.
White-Hat SEO
This is not a separate practice but refers to all optimization techniques that follow Google guidelines. When you create your strategy according to these guidelines, the result is a well-performing website that ranks and converts properly.
The struggle is you will have to wait a few months, or even a year, until you detect performance improvements. The goal is to analyze the SERPs, see where you are, and decide what you need to do to overrank the competitors.
All the efforts, like writing quality content, using relevant keywords, and creating a magnificent backlink profile, fall under the white hat of search engine optimization. As a result, you build authority and enhance your online exposure.
Black Hat and Negative SEO
Black-hat SEO and negative SEO are pretty similar because it refers to the loopholes, weaknesses, and other not recommended activities. Sometimes you may get away with it, but often, Google detects that unusual behavior and can penalize or de-index your website.
The difference between negative and black-hat practices is the following:
-The black hat goes against Google guidelines, and
-Negative SEO is making your competitors rank lower for your benefit
Among the black hat SEO practices, you can find spammy links, keyword stuffing, cloaking, etc. And you have to know that even though sometimes these practices work, the result is short-term and not worth the risk.
At the same time, negative SEO is even worse because it includes practices like hacking into someone’s website or posting ordered negative reviews. Sometimes, it may even end up in court and result in legal ramifications.
Gray-Hat SEO
This is quite an exciting zone because it is somewhere between black and white-hat practices. It refers to quick-pressure SEO practices to test if the performance will get better in a given time. Sometimes it may work perfectly, but the calculated risk is still there.
Gray-hat SEO covers practices like clickbait titles and no valuable content, link exchange, paid reviews, and similar activities. Even though there aren’t explicit guidelines against it, it’s better not to overdo them or don’t practice them at all.
Final Thoughts
SEO is a huge part of digital marketing, with a single focus on an organic way to achieve desired website traffic. Eventually, these visitors will convert into users or buyers. You can only achieve this by offering something better than your competitors, but not at the cost of undercutting them or working against them.
When we talk about SEO, we are talking about a long-term commitment from many aspects. That’s why every company has the choice to form an internal team or cooperate with an agency that will lead the whole process in the background. But whatever you decide, always be guided by the fact that you are against bad and negative SEO practices, which can bring permanent penalties to your website.
And don’t forget that every business has strengths and weaknesses, which result in exceptional performance or, again, a more invested effort for these purposes. Stick to the proven white-hat practices, and your results will be durable, fulfilling your long-term project goals. And we are sure that’s what you aim for with your business.
