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Semalt: Which Is Better On-Page SEO Or Link Building?

The Only Off-Page SEO Walkthrough You'll Ever Need

Table of Content

  1. Introduction
  2. On-Page SEO
  3. Link Building
  4. The Difference Between the Two
  5. Which Do You Need?
  6. Conclusion 

Introduction

Both on-page SEO and link building are two facets of SEO that are well needed for website optimization. Where one is more compound than the other, it is normal to be faced with the question of which one to go for. But why read through this guide?

Many online sources might give you a direct answer to choose 'a' or 'b' but the truth is this. The answer provided is likely a disguise to endorse some sort of service they deliver. This guide is not aimed at promoting any service but is strictly dedicated to helping you decide on what option is best for you as an e-commerce site owner or manager.

Note that there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. Your pick will depend on the position of your website and what you lack. So follow through this text to the end to find out whether you need on-page SEO or link-building strategies. 

On-Page SEO


If you do not know what on-page SEO is, then you might not understand the meaning of the question or the answer that will be provided. To a lot of novice and amateurs online, on-page SEO means keyword building and research. Some others could mistake on-page SEO for content creation alone. If you are among these sets of people, it is time you learned the truth. 

On-page SEO is an SEO activity that is carried out directly ON your website. With this definition, it means that keyword research and content creation are only a part of on-page SEO activity and not a totality of what it is. Other parts of on-page SEO are header and headline optimization, keyword mapping, inclusion and standardization of meta title and description tags, image optimization, structured data, and so on. 

So when positioning on-page SEO against link building, know that it is not only about keywords or the right kind of content, it is also about the images, headers, and all of the factors that have been mentioned. 

Link Building

Link building faces a little conflict with its definition and meaning as well. There are many different types of links - internal links, external / outbound links, inbound / backlinks, and so on. Link building doesn't include all of those link types. It is restricted to backlinks alone. 

If you can recall, on-page SEO is any SEO activity that is done ON the website. This makes internal and external links an on-page SEO factor because they are links that move from your website to another webpage (with or without the same domain name). It is only an inbound or a backlink that involves links coming in from other websites. 

Now onto the definition. Link building is a part of off-page SEO that involves acquiring and improving the quality of backlinks to your site for an increase in website ranking. In other words, it is the process of looking for quality websites that will link your webpage's URL to their website. 

The Difference Between the Two


So how are they different? For starters, link building rarely touches your website directly and does most of the SEO process 'off-page.' Additionally, on-page SEO takes care of the quality of the website, touching up your content structure, and so on while link building works to put your website out there for the world to see and reference. 

See it this way; your website is an upcoming celebrity. On-page SEO ensures that your hair is done and you wear the right kind of outfits in case you are sighted by the paparazzi. Link building, on the other hand, is your manager. It tells newspapers and blogs about you so that your name can be mentioned repeatedly (in a good light) to increase your fan base.

Which Do You Need?

From the analogy that has been created, it is obvious that the two SEO activities are very much important. If you leave out on-page SEO and focus on Link building alone, you might be broadcasting a poor, low-quality website - which is a waste of resources. Conversely, if you eliminate link building and spend all your time with on-page SEO, you would own a very good website with low traffic and clicks. So how do you go about it? 

Below are four scenarios that you might find yourself in with the best solution to improve your ranking for an e-commerce website.
If you own or are managing an authority e-commerce website then you need to focus on on-page SEO. This is why - your page can only be 'authority' if you have thousands or even millions of backlinks. That means that the link-building part of your SEO has been taken care of. But you don't have to stop it completely. You only need to invest more in on-page SEO - not because you don't have great content but for the following reasons:
  1. There is a big chance some of your content is outdated (old links, outdated keywords, and so on).
  2. Some topics need re-write or restructure.
  3. Your page is likely suffering from keyword cannibalism where a single keyword is appearing too many times across your website.
  4. Old site structure, and so much more.
See it this way. Your website is great and many people appreciate the value you provide. But you need a little spring cleaning just to ensure that weeds don't cover you up.
This can happen to corporate websites as well. It is only termed 'the personal website scenario' because most personal website owners are faced with this situation. Here, the website is filled with great posts. Keywords are where they are supposed to be - ranking high. The website structure is also top-notch. 

In short, the owner or manager of the website has followed all the rules in the book. But link-building is a bit more technical and might not be easy - hence, is lacking. If this is your case, pause on the on-page SEO (emphasis on 'pause') and invest in link building. Your website already looks good and has met Google's requirements. 
 

What you need to focus on is how to get other websites to link to you. The good news is that there is a solution for that. Professional SEO experts can help you manage your website's link-building activity and keep you from the headache involved. That way, you can relax and watch your site rank higher than your competitors with the touch of a professional. 
If you fell into neither of the two scenarios above, odds are - this is where you belong. Here, your website has poor content, no links, and all the bad things that can ever happen to a site. Relax, there is a way out. But first, you need to forget about link building for now. 

Think about it, what is the essence of promoting a website that carries no value - no offense. What you need to do is to work intensively to improve your website's on-page SEO. Below are a few things you can do to get started.
  1. Look for relevant topics and create unique and valuable content
  2. Update your website regularly
  3. Use headings and subheadings when writing and spilt your texts using paragraphs
  4. Add and optimize images
  5. Do in-depth keyword research and ensure that you avoid keyword stuffing while writing
  6. Use meta title and descriptions (and optimize them)
  7. Add quality external links
  8. Organize and optimize your website's landing page. 
People in this scenario are the 'baddies and bad boys' of the four groups. You might have paid someone to help with the on-page SEO but you also paid for backlinks. Therefore, the rate of low-value links is high, and you have an aggressive feature of anchor-text targeting that seems too unnatural in the long run. 

This means, your content might be good but your links are not just bad but can compromise your whole website's existence. If this is where you fall under, you need to take immediate steps to fix your links. Stop all the 'paying' and start doing things that can help you build your links naturally before you get cut off. Some of the things you can do are:
 
  1. Pursue your competitors' backlinks
  2. Do a manual outreach to get quality backlinks
  3. Promote yourself on your and other people's social media
  4. Write a post as a guest blogger
  5. Answer relevant questions on famous query sites and include your link

Conclusion

Just as on-page SEO is important, so is link building. One cannot be completely sacrificed for the other. As mentioned within the course of this guide, the two work as your beautician and your manager. On-page gives your site value and makes you 'attractive' while link building spreads your name (link) around so that your fan base (backlinks) can increase. 

But despite their importance, the situation you find yourself in will determine which one you need more and with what intensity. But if you believe that you are on a middle ground where your on-page SEO and your website's backlink structure are fine, then you can manage your whole website's SEO. Do this by ensuring that things remain intact and don't fall out with the flexible SEO trends. 

If you need to learn more about the subject of SEO and website promotion, we invite you to visit our Semalt blog.