Any information you read about building a successful website will include the words Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This digital marketing tactic determines how easy or difficult it is for search engines to find and index your site. For more information about Search Engine Optimisation, click here.

While most concepts of SEO are easy enough to understand, others are not. One such concept that many tend to grasp is on-site SEO versus off-site SEO. At Macrocosm, we offer a fully encompassing SEO service, which means we do both. But what is the difference, and how much of an effect does it have on your website? All of this will be discussed below.

On-Site SEO VS. Off-Site SEO

For higher rankings, and maximum exposure to search engine result pages, it is of vital importance that one has a deep understanding of both. The name itself gives a summary of what the difference is between the two. On-site SEO is done on your website, and off-site SEO is done on the internet, off your website.

In terms of on-site SEO, this part of the process refers to optimising different parts of one’s website, which affect one’s search rankings. It is what you do to your website to make it easier for search engines to find. Some of these tasks include optimising your page titles and meta descriptions, using alt text for graphics on your site, as well as including internal links where possible.

Off-site SEO, on the other hand, focuses on increasing your domain authority by obtaining links from other websites through content creation and earning backlinks. There are several different ways that you can build up valuable external links, such as by creating press releases, creating company profiles, guest blogging on sites related to yours, etc.

So, which is more important?

The truth is – it’s not about choosing between the two. That would be like having to choose between a roof for your house, or a foundation. Both are of vital importance. On-site and off-site SEO work together to improve your search engine rankings. However, we recommend first getting your on-site SEO in order before conducting any off-site SEO. You wouldn’t put your roof on your house before you have built the foundation, let alone the actual house, would you? Exactly. Balancing the two is the key to improving your rankings.