Top SEO Techniques to Increase Traffic

The term SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to improving your site’s visibility in Google search results for relevant keywords and search phrases. SEO helps generate site traffic organically. Online consumers are more likely to choose one of the first 10 results in a search engine when looking for a service or product. These 10 results are preferred because they are well-crafted and thoroughly optimized using SEO. There are about 12 types of SEO that help increase your website’s ranking on search engine result pages.

12 Types of SEO

There are a total of 12 types of SEO. Here is a brief description and benefits of each:

1. On-Page SEO (On-Site SEO):

On-site SEO refers to the technique of optimizing website elements such as content and HTML code to improve ranking on search engine result pages and attract more relevant traffic to your website. This is different from off-site SEO, which optimizes external factors such as backlinks and social media signals.

SEO Keyword Research

Identify relevant search terms (keywords) that users are searching for and strategically incorporate those keywords into your website content to increase search engine visibility and relevance.

High-quality SEO content

High-quality SEO content means creating content that is user-friendly and search engine-friendly by focusing on the needs and interests of your target audience, using relevant keywords, and attracting links and shares to improve search engine rankings.

Internal Linking in SEO

Internal linking in SEO involves placing links within your website to connect related pages, improving user experience, and helping search engines understand your website hierarchy and content.

Metadata SEO Optimization

Metadata SEO optimization involves optimizing HTML elements such as title tags, header tags, and meta descriptions to accurately and concisely communicate what your page is about to both search engines and users. This increases your page's visibility and relevance in search engine result pages (SERPs).

Image SEO Optimization

Image SEO optimization is the process of optimizing your website’s images with descriptive filenames, alt tags, and captions to improve both user experience and visibility in search engines, intending to increase traffic to your website from Google Image Search.

URL Structure

URL structure refers to the way your website’s URLs are organized and designed. Incorporating relevant keywords helps search engines understand your website’s content and improves your ranking, while also improving user experience and facilitating your link-building efforts.

2. Off-Page SEO (Off-Site SEO):

Off-page SEO (also known as off-site SEO) is the technique of improving a website’s search engine ranking by optimizing elements outside of the website itself. This can be achieved by building high-quality backlinks, promoting your website on social media, and other forms of online marketing.

The goal is to increase the authority, reputation, and relevance of your website in the eyes of search engines, increasing your search engine rankings and increasing organic traffic to your website.

Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is a common off-page SEO technique used to build backlinks.

The idea is to write an article for another website and include a backlink to your site in return. This will increase your website's visibility and authority, and drive more traffic to your site.

H.A.R.O

Increase your media exposure by responding to inquiries from journalists and reporters, gaining backlinks, and improving your SEO.

Competitor Research and Analysis

Research your competitors' backlinks, content, and keywords to gain insights and improve your SEO strategy.

Internet Advertising

Place paid ads on external websites and search engines to drive traffic and generate leads for your website or business, ultimately improving your online visibility.

Press Distribution

Share your press releases with relevant media outlets to secure backlinks, attract potential customers, and increase brand awareness.

Brand Signals

Brand signals in SEO refer to the online presence and reputation of your brand. This is established through activities such as social media engagement, online directory listings, and mentions on other websites. These signals help search engines determine your brand's authority and trustworthiness, which can positively impact your search engine rankings.

3. Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves optimizing your website so that search engines can crawl and index it more easily, improving your search engine rankings. This includes tasks such as optimizing your site's load time, ensuring your robot.txt file is properly configured, and setting up redirects correctly.

The goal of technical SEO is to make your website more accessible and usable for both search engines and website visitors.

Site Load Time

Optimizing site load time involves improving the speed and performance of a website to improve user experience and increase search engine rankings.

Mobile Friendly

Mobile friendly refers to a website's design and features that are optimized for viewing on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This ensures that the website is responsive to different screen sizes, loads quickly, and is easy to navigate on mobile devices.

Identifying Crawl Errors

Identifying crawl errors is the process of finding and resolving errors that prevent search engines from accessing website content. These errors include broken links, missing pages, and other issues that can negatively impact search engine visibility. Fixing crawl errors can help website owners improve their website's search engine rankings and overall visibility.

Keyword Cannibalization Audit

A keyword cannibalization audit is the process of identifying and fixing instances where multiple pages on a website are competing for the same or similar keywords. This can dilute search engine visibility and reduce overall organic performance.

Duplicate Content Audit

A duplicate content audit identifies and fixes duplicate content on your website that may be negatively impacting your search engine rankings.

Site Structure

Site structure refers to the process of creating a clear, organized website structure that makes it easy for users and search engines to navigate and understand your website's content. A clear site structure makes it easier for visitors to find the information they're looking for, improving the user experience.

4. International SEO

International SEO improves your website’s organic traffic from different regions and languages. If you want to be successful in international SEO, you need to cater to the cultural background of your target market and allow them to transact in their local currency and language.

Use the appropriate format for dates and times based on the location listed. If there is any concern, converse in their native language. International SEO aims to provide a great online experience for your target users.

5. Local SEO

Local SEO strategies for local businesses are one of the most important SEOs as they make your business more visible in Google’s local search results.

Local SEO helps your business reach local users by analyzing their behavior through trillions of searches. Using local SEO techniques, local businesses have the opportunity to rank high in search results and local map packs at the same time. This helps your business grow and increase traffic to your website.

6. E-commerce SEO

E-commerce SEO is one of the best ways to get traffic through paid search, but the SEO costs are much lower. It helps to ensure that your online store website ranks high whenever someone searches for your products or services.

It is important to ensure that your website appears in the SERPs. Otherwise, you will lose important access to potential and qualified e-commerce customers. If your competitor research, focus on home page SEO, and website architecture are done properly, e-commerce SEO can optimize your website to bring you traffic and increase search volume.

7. Content SEO

Another name in the list of types of SEO is content SEO. This refers to creating unique content, such as written content, graphics, and videos, to structure your website and rank it higher in the SERPs.

There are three things to consider when working on content SEO: copywriting, site structure, and keyword strategy. Without quality content, your website will not appear in search results. That is why it is very important to balance all three.

Moreover, it is important to review your content after publication as well as before. Track the performance of your content. Make necessary changes, add new products, and apply some strategies to expand the reach of your website.

8. Mobile SEO

Mobile SEO means optimizing your site for search engines and at the same time making sure it displays well on devices like mobiles and tablets.

If your customers have a bad experience with your brand on their mobile phones, they may never come back. If you want to give your customers the best possible experience, you need to apply this type of search engine optimization. It is important to ensure that your site’s style, structure, and page speed do not make mobile users change their minds.

9. White Hat SEO

If you hear the term white hat SEO, it means SEO techniques that are in line with the terms and conditions of major search engines, including Google. White hat SEO improves search engine rankings in SERPs while regulating the integrity of your website according to the search engine’s terms and conditions.

White hat SEO techniques are the best way to create a successful website. Here are some white SEO practices that you should strictly follow:

Use keyword-rich, descriptive meta tags

Provide quality services and content to your website, visitors

Make your website easy to navigate

10. Black Hat SEO

Black Hat SEO exploits weaknesses in Google's search algorithm to rank higher in search results. Spam and paid link-building strategies, keyword stuffing, cloaking, etc. are used to rank higher in search engine results. Although these practices bring immediate results, they can hurt your website if detected by Google. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid black hat SEO.

11. Grey Hat SEO

This is a riskier SEO practice than white hat SEO. This is because grey hat SEO practices do not belong to either white hat or black hat. The terms on this issue are not clear.

However, using grey hat SEO practices will not get your site banned from search engines. In simple terms, the material or content you publish following grey hat SEO remains ambiguous in the definition. Knowing grey hat SEO practices will help you better understand their negative effects and adopt fair practices, so you can avoid losing website traffic.

12. Negative SEO

Negative SEO is a type of abhorrent and unethical SEO practiced today. The goal of negative SEO is to lower your competitors’ search rankings to overtake or gain an advantage over them.

Bad SEO techniques include hacking into someone’s site, creating a suspiciously large number of low-quality links to that site, and publishing negative feedback and reviews about the site on numerous internet forums, discussion boards, etc. If someone is caught doing bad SEO, it can lead to various legal issues.

Conclusion

If you want to become an SEO expert, you need to know more than just about the different types of SEO. Learn more advanced concepts and skills in SEO and digital marketing with Simplilearn's Digital Marketing Graduate Program.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What types of marketing does SEO involve?

One way to improve your website's visibility in Google search results is search engine optimization (SEO). It is a major part of digital marketing. SEO is used in all digital marketing strategies.

2. Is it possible to do SEO yourself?

Yes, it is easy to do SEO yourself.