Do you think search engine optimization (SEO) is for tech wizards? Think again. In a bustling digital world, understanding what are the three types of SEO will help your voice stand out.
From bloggers to business owners, SEO helps attract free traffic, build trust, and grow your brand. The secret? Knowing the right type of SEO for your goals.
In this article, you will discover what are the three types of SEO, how search engines like Google work, and how these strategies can help you succeed online.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s about attracting free traffic by enhancing your website’s ranking on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
For example, here’s an SEO result that shows up on Google after searching “best shoes for summer.”
SEO is not just about Google and Bing. Many people turn to platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and other social media for information. To stand out from your competitors, make sure you optimize for all these platforms.
All three types of SEO will always remain a cornerstone of digital marketing. Since people often click on results that rank higher in search engines, SEO leads to more visibility and more opportunities.
The real magic? SEO brings you free long-term traffic for years without having to pay for a single dollar. Organic traffic is likely to convert. This is because people are actively searching for what you offer.
If you don’t optimise for SEO, you won’t appear for the keywords you want in search results. This means that potential customers won’t even know you exist. A good SEO strategy will boost your search ranking. Higher rankings mean more visibility, which turns to a high return on investments (ROI).
Search engines are tools that people use online when they have a question and need an answer. Some of the popular search engines include Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
Search engines use complex algorithms to find the website or content that best matches a user’s query. These algorithms consider factors like relevance and quality. This way, they can display the most helpful results first.
There are the three steps of how search engines work: crawling, indexation, and ranking.
1. Crawling
Crawling is the first step in how search engines operate. They use crawlers, also called spiders or bots, to find new web pages. These crawlers scan the pages and collect information as they go.
They do this by following a uniform resource locator (URL) from your website. Let’s say you already have a blog; search engines will start by crawling your homepage. From there, they will follow the links from your homepage to discover other pages connected to it. That’s how they find your blog.
Search engines also come back to pages they have already found to look for content updates. This is to make sure they serve the user with the latest version of your page.
2. Indexation
This is the second step that comes after a crawler processes your page. At this stage, search engines decide whether to include your content in their index.
If your content is high quality and fits their algorithms, it gets stored in their database. This means it can show up in search results when users look for related information.
To see which of your pages Google has indexed, type “site:yourdomain.com” into the search engine’s bar. The image below shows which of my pages are being displayed on Google.
Low-quality content – if your page has thin, duplicate, or spammy content, search engines may ignore it.
Lack of internal links – if your page has no other pages linking to it, search engines may not find it.
No index tag – this is a code that you can add to tell search engines not to index your page.
Blocked by Robot.txt – this is a file that you can use to tell search engines not to crawl certain pages on your website.
3. Ranking
Ranking is the third and most important stage. If search engines haven’t crawled and indexed your page, it won’t appear in search results. This means that ranking can’t occur without those first two steps.
Once they index your page, search engines consider many ranking signals. They use these signals to determine where your page appears in the search results.
These signals include everything from keywords, backlinks, page speed, and user experience. The three types of SEO influence these factors. In short, ranking results from how you optimize your site in all three areas of SEO.
As Phil Frost, (Founder of Main Street ROI) puts it: “Successful SEO is not about tricking Google. It’s about partnering with Google to provide the best search results for users.”
You might know what SEO is, but are you aware of what are the three types of SEO you need to focus on optimizing your site? Let’s break it down here.
On-page SEO focuses on creating and optimizing the content of your website’s pages. It plays a big role in helping search engines understand what your content is about, and how relevant it is to the searcher’s query.
Here are the key elements of On-page SEO:
Focus on high-quality content: create original, valuable, and clear pieces that answer what the searcher wants to know.
Keyword research: good content needs careful keyword research. This helps you grasp the searcher’s intent behind the keyword you want to target.
Title tags: write a natural and engaging title tag that includes your main keyword. These appear in search engine results and affect your click-through rates (CTR).
Meta descriptions: while it’s not a ranking factor and often gets overwritten by Google, it describes what your page is about to users and search engines. It’s about 150-160 characters long and appears below your title on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.): Use proper headings to organize your content. This makes it easy for users to scan through your page and read what interests them.
Internal linking: Linking to other pages on your site increases user engagement and helps search engines explore your site better.
Uniform resource locator (URL): Create clean, keyword-rich URLs. This helps search engines understand your page’s topic better.
Top Tip: Avoid keyword stuffing by using keywords naturally and only in relevant places on your page. This helps you not to violate Google’s spam policies, which can lead to penalties.
Off-page SEO means working on factors outside your website. These efforts help to improve your ranking in search engines.
This is driven primarily by link building, which involves obtaining links from other relevant and authoritative websites to your site. These links are called backlinks. They prove the quality and authority of your website’s content to the search engines.
Here are other key elements of Off-page SEO:
Social sharing: Social media links don’t impact rankings. But sharing your content on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (Twitter) can boost your traffic and enhance visibility.
Guest blogging: this is writing content for other websites in your niche. It helps you gain exposure and earn backlinks to your site.
Brand mentions: even when other sites talk about your brand without a link, it still boosts your online visibility.
Influencer outreach: Teaming up with industry influencers can help you reach more people and boost your chances of getting quality backlinks.
Top tip: focus on earning backlinks by creating valuable content that attracts attention. Avoid link-building tactics that seem spammy, like buying backlinks. These methods break Google’s guidelines and can damage your rankings.
Technical SEO focuses on fine-tuning your website’s technical features. The goal is to make it easier for search engines to crawl, index, and rank your site.
Here are the key elements of Technical SEO:
Website speed and performance
The screenshot above shows how my site, boostdigihub.com, performs according to Google PageSpeed Insights. It scores 99% for performance, 100% for accessibility, best practices, and SEO. This is a good example of a strong technical SEO.
Website speed is vital for Technical SEO. A fast site creates a better user experience and is easier for search engines to crawl. Tools like PageSpeed Insights can spot and suggest ideas to fix performance issues. They analyse things like load times, render-blocking sources, image optimization, and cache policies.
Mobile friendliness: your website should function well on all devices, especially smartphones. Google uses mobile-first indexing to rank sites. This means your site’s performance on mobile devices matters most.
Secure connection (HTTPS): Protect your website with a secure socket layer (SSL) certificate. This builds trust with users and search engines. An SSL certificate encrypts data between the user’s browser and your website. This ensures secure communication.
Schema markup (structured data): adding schema to your website helps search engines understand your content better. This lets your site show up in rich snippets and featured snippets on Google searches. You can do this by using a tool like Google Structured Data Markup Helper.
Crawlability: Make sure search engines can crawl your site. Create a proper robots.txt file and submit your sitemaps to Google Search Console (GSC).
Indexability: you can also check if the most important pages on your site are being indexed by Google. Use GSC to track and fix indexing issues.
Fixing SEO errors: Conduct an audit of your site to address issues such as 404 errors (page not found), broken links, and duplicate content on a consistent basis. These problems can harm your rankings. You can do this by using tools like Ubersuggest, Semrush, and Ahrefs.
Below are my site Audit results from Ubersuggest. It shows my on-page SEO score, SEO issues discovered, pages crawled, etc.
TOP tip: even if your content is great, technical issues can block your SEO progress. Perform audits on your website to ensure it remains optimized and free of errors.
The main job of SEO in digital marketing is to boost your website’s visibility and rankings in search engine results. Unfortunately, many small businesses overlook SEO because they focus on quick results. They often hesitate to invest in time-consuming strategies that bring long-term rewards. This is a big missed opportunity.
Unlike any other form of digital marketing, SEO brings in free, organic traffic. Think of it as your 24/7 salesman. It works around the clock to attract visitors and potential customers to your website without direct intervention.
SEO needs time, consistency, and the right strategies. However, it brings traffic that generates leads for years. This makes it one of the most powerful tools in digital marketing.
Understanding what are three types of SEO is essential for any SEO strategy. But there are also other types of SEO that serve specific purposes. Some of them include: Local SEO, Video SEO, and Image SEO.
1. Local SEO
This means boosting your online visibility to attract more local customers. This is very helpful for businesses that focus on a specific area, such as cafes, salons, or local service providers.
When you search for “best coffee shop near me” on Google, you’ll see local SEO results. These include a map and three business listings at the top of the results page. We call this the local pack.
These results come straight from Google’s business profile. They show up above the usual website links. Want your business to appear in the local pack? Start creating or claiming your business in Google Business Profile today. This is the first step to showing up in Google Maps and local search results.
Some tactics of local SEO include:
2. Video SEO
It’s about improving your video content to rank higher on Google and platforms like YouTube.
As videos grow in popularity, a good video SEO strategy can help you reach more people and increase engagement time.
For example, if you search for “how to make a car” on Google, you’ll find videos at the top of the results. They appear even before blog posts and websites. This demonstrates the results of a good optimized video.
Key tactics of video SEO:
3. Image SEO
It’s the process of optimising images on your website to help them rank higher in Google image search. This can also improve your page’s SEO performance.
To help more people find your website, optimise your images. They will appear in search results like this:
Key tactics of image SEO:
I know starting with SEO can feel so overwhelming, but don’t worry, you don’t need to master everything at once. Here are the areas that you need to focus on to build a strong foundation in your SEO journey:
1. Keyword research
This means finding the words or phrases your audience uses when searching on platforms like Google. It helps you understand what people are searching for and why, also known as search intent. Choose ones that have a high search volume but aren’t too competitive. Tools like Ubersuggest, Semrush, and Ahrefs can help you find keywords for your topic.
Here’s a keyword research overview from Ubersuggest. It shows the search volume and SEO difficulty for the term “SEO.” The higher the SEO difficulty, the harder it is to rank for a certain keyword.
Top tip: use long-tail keywords, e.g. best coffee shop in town, instead of coffee shop.
2. Content creation
Create quality content that meets the searcher’s intent to rank for a keyword. Google values unique, high-quality content that provides answers or solves problems.
Make your content easy to read by using:
3. Link building
This is the process of getting other relevant and authoritative websites to link back to your site. These links are called backlinks. They act like a “vote of trust” to search engines and help boost your ranking.
To earn backlinks, you can use these strategies:
Write guest posts.
Share content on social media.
Request links from relevant websites in your niche.
Getting backlinks can be tough in SEO. But if you create quality content, other websites will link to you without prompting.
4. Tracking your results
Tracking helps you understand what’s working and what needs improvement. Use Google Search Console (GSC) and Google Analytics (GA) to track performance. You can find out which keywords bring traffic, see which pages do well, and know how many visitors visit your website.
5. Keep learning SEO.
SEO keeps evolving, meaning? Only mastering what are the three types of SEO won’t be enough. To stay ahead of the competition, it’s important to keep up with the latest trends and updates. Check out popular SEO blogs and use free courses from experts like Neil Patel, Semrush, Moz, and Ahrefs.
As Brian Dean (SEO expert) once said:
“The people who are the best at SEO are the ones engaged in continuous learning.”
SEO comprises three main categories:
On-page SEO: creating high-quality content and optimizing it for users and search engines.
Off-page SEO: boosting your site’s authority through backlinks and social media sharing.
Technical SEO: fixing behind-the-scenes issues of your site, such as site speed and structure.
Keywords are words and phrases people type into search engines like Google. You should use them in your content so that search engines can understand what your page is about.
Yes, in a technical sense. Many websites rank on Google by making quality content on topics that interest people. However, SEO ensures that your content is easily discovered and remains visible over an extended period.
SEO can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months to deliver solid results. This timeline depends on the strategies you use and the keywords you’re targeting. That’s why you need a smart plan that’s going to keep you steady over time.
Yes, if you do it yourself. All you will need is your time. But hiring an expert can save you time and help you avoid potential pitfalls.
Well done for making it through this guide on what are the three types of SEO in digital marketing. You’ve made a key step in grasping the three types of SEO, other SEO forms, and how search engines work. Feel free to come back to this post whenever you need a refresher on the basics of SEO. Remember, mastering SEO is a journey, not a race, and every SEO expert starts where you are right now.
What are you planning to improve after learning what are the three types of SEO, Is it your content, backlinks, or website speed? Let me know in the comments!
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