As earlier established, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a technique or a strategy, that helps to bring your site or blog at the top of the SERP (Search Engine Result Page) i.e. Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. or gather traffic to your site or blog.
There are a few ways to accomplish this fit and that is what we will be focusing on: How to achieve a good PageRank on search engines.
Take a look at this diagram:
Welcome back! Hope you loved my SmartArt? Feeling pretty cool right now.
The above diagram pretty much explains the types of SEO as well as the various techniques used to achieve the desired results.
Let’s dive into details about the types of SEO.
Paid SEO vs Organic SEO
Paid SEO is also known as Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising while Organic SEO is simply called “SEO”.
As the word PAID connotes, you pay “Google” or any other search engine to rank on the first page for specific keywords that you have bided for.
While in Organic SEO(the SEO you want to learn), you naturally rank high for specific keywords simply by practicing or obeying certain principles that we will discuss later on.
How paid and organic search results display.
PPC’s true strengths are its speed and expansiveness. With a PPC campaign, you can be on the first page for a multitude of targeted terms within a day. However, the terms can cost anywhere from pennies to many dollars per click.
When it comes to the long-term lifeline of your internet marketing, the result is clear – SEO offers the better value in search marketing.
You won’t rank #1 overnight, but SEO is more affordable and the long term benefits have been proven.
On Page SEO vs Off Page SEO
The SEO process includes a number of techniques that you need to apply in other to move your website to the top of the search engine rankings and drive traffic to your website.
These SEO techniques include different on-site and off-site strategies, which are known as On-page and Off-page optimization methods.
On-page SEO
The On-page SEO techniques simply refer to the optimization methods applied to the website or blog pages that will appear in the search engine results when the user types specific search terms.
These methods are the first step in the optimization process which starts as early as when you are choosing your business or website name and identity.
On-page SEO techniques:
- Page Titles
- Meta Descriptions
- Meta Tags
- URL Structure
- Body Tags (H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.)
- Keyword density
- Internal Linking
- Image SEO
- Content Engagement( Plus word count)
- Site Design etc.
Off-Page SEO
On the other hand, Off-Page SEO refers to all the things that you can do directly OFF (outside) your website to help you rank higher.
These methods may use third-party tools or websites such as directories and social networking websites to help build links that point search engines or referrer people to your site.
Off-page SEO techniques include:
- Search Engine submission.
- Link building.
- Social Bookmarking submissions.
- Directory submissions.
- Press releases.
- Article submissions.
- Blog Submissions.
- Forums and comment posting.
- Media submissions.
- Infographics
- Video Marketing
- Blogging etc.
Both the On-page SEO and Off-page techniques are important and we will focus on them in our next set of lessons.
White Hat SEO vs Black Hat SEO vs Grey Hat SEO
White hat SEO:
This is the best SEO technique and it is one which utilizes acceptable methods and techniques to improve search engine rankings of a website without breaking search engine guidelines.
When you use white hat tactic, it means you staying within the terms and conditions set by your police officer (your chosen search engine, which will be Google for 99 percent of you).
White hat SEO not only follows all SEO guidelines but also focuses on content readability, relevance, and usefulness to people who read it.
This method of SEO creates a gradual yet steady but lasting growth in your rankings.
Black hat SEO:
Black hat SEO, on the other hand, is an SEO technique which exploits the various weaknesses in the algorithms of search engines in order to get high rankings for websites. These techniques are in violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
Black hat SEO encourages websites to create poor user experience and unethically present content in different visual and non-visual ways to search engine spiders and human users.
When you choose this method, you can expect unpredictable, quick but short lasting growth in ranking.
The danger of engaging in Black Hat SEO practices is that when Google determines that you’re engaged in Black Hat practices (they will always get to know) they could decide to punish you by radically lowering your ranking, or delisting your site entirely. If your site is delisted, you will not show up in any Google rankings at all.
Grey hat SEO
Grey Hat SEO is the practice of using technically legal methods to improve your site rankings, but which are ethically dubious, and could one day become Black hat.
This is a transformation from black to white and from white to black.
Grey hat SEO techniques are safe up until they’re not. It is all about risk versus reward.
So now that you know the various SEO techniques and methods, you must decide for yourself which practice do you most agree with.
For a complete guide to SEO, click here to take our SEO Training For Beginners: How To Get 1,000 Daily Visitors