Find out what types of services can help your business execute on your SEO strategy.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of modern marketing that can prove overwhelming as your company expands its operations. In such times, choosing an experienced service provider that offers specialized SEO strategies can provide your business with many advantages, including higher click-through rates, improved brand visibility, and added customer satisfaction.
SEO is essential for helping your brand secure quality leads. According to a study by BrightEdge Research, 68% of online experiences[1] begin with a search engine. Therefore, it is crucial to choose an agency that offers the full range of SEO services and strategies that your business needs in order to successfully engage and convert your target audience, regardless of scale. This article will help you understand the different types of providers that exist, and which will be a good fit for your company.
What are the types of SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization and refers to a combination of activities to help attract customers to your site. This systematic process requires careful planning and monitoring of content and strategies across three main areas:
On-page SEO
On-page SEO refers to the technical features of your website that affect traffic. These on-page elements usually include internal site links, meta descriptions, HTML, title tags, alternate text, keywords, and the written copy itself.
Your on-page SEO is crucial because it represents what site visitors see and seek when they browse for something they want on the internet. The search engine interprets the on-page information and links it to the target audience based on their search preferences.
Technical SEO
As the term might suggest, technical SEO refers to webpage elements that determine how a search engine interacts with your site. Technical SEO elements can include the page loading speed and site structures that affect a search engine's crawling and indexing speed. The main elements of your site's technical SEO include its indexation (how Google stores and categorizes site content to rank your page), crawlability (a factor that determines how easy it is for search engines to find updated content), and site performance.
Off-page SEO
The off-page elements of your SEO refer to components or external signals found outside your webpage that direct online traffic to your page and determine its rankings. These elements include backlinks and site recommendations from other channels, such as social media platforms.
Off-page SEO focuses on link-building that boosts your brand's market exposure, customer awareness, and engagement. Poor off-page SEO might indicate a lack of online interest in a company and affect its overall credibility in the eyes of a search engine.
What are the types of SEO services and techniques?
It is important for your company to discuss the various available SEO services and techniques with your hired agency to create a comprehensive organic search strategy. What to expect from an SEO agency often depends on the SEO tactics applied according to your audience's preferences. Agency experts offer a variety of SEO practices, which we’ve included below, that can boost your website’s SERP rankings and reach your target audience with precision.
Local SEO services
Local SEO refers to any website strategy connecting your brand with local Google search queries. As such, it improves your website's visibility to local users, which are widely known for their high levels of conversion.
An SEO agency or service that is focused on local SEO will usually use a range of techniques, including implementing popular local search terms, creating content that taps into local practices, cultures, and traditions, and ensuring online business profiles are properly set up.
Foundational SEO services
Foundational SEO covers the basic functionalities that optimize your website. These elements determine the relevance of your content, its credibility/authority, and the technical aspects that help make your site likelier to appear at the top of an online search query.
A specialized marketing agency usually offers foundational SEO services such as:
Conducting keyword research and optimization.
Overseeing on-page setups/layouts.
Managing technical audits to ensure that your website meets the latest search engine guidelines.
Conducting competitor analysis to outperform sites with similar offerings.
White hat SEO services
White hat SEO refers to implementing marketing strategies that meet the latest search engine directives. Essentially, you can consider any legal SEO strategy white hat as long as it fulfills the latest regulations or accepted best practices for ranking your web pages.
Specialized agencies usually offer quality white hat SEO services that include:
Creating and maintaining a strong internal linking strategy
Building quality web content that is clear, concise, and engaging
Establishing a vast network of collaborators and partners for quality backlinks
Performing keyword research to select the best options for attracting site visitors
Developing your web structure for optimized online traffic
White hat SEOs are the opposite of black hat techniques, where site owners turn to deception and illegal practices to improve their SERP rankings. It is important to conduct thorough research when outsourcing your company's SEO services.
Red flags such as the lack of reviews and promised rankings may indicate the risks of black hat SEO practices that could significantly damage your rankings in the long term.
Content SEO services
Content remains king in the world of SEO. The strategic and systematic process involves creating useful and relevant online information that attracts quality traffic to your website and raises its ranking. Content SEO prioritizes the needs and perspectives of your target audience to help them resolve an issue or improve an experience.
Specialized marketing agencies provide various content SEO services that help your website win the SERP game. These may include content strategies such as scheduling keyword-focused social media posts and engaging multimedia engagement such as podcasts and videos.
Top-performing content SEO tactics usually leverage semantic keywords, interactive elements, and mobile-first formats that make them appealing and accessible to a wider audience for added reach.
Ready to hire an SEO agency for your business needs? Browse our list of top SEO companies and learn more about their services in our hiring guide.
Narrow your search with our list of companies in the following areas:
Off-page SEO services
Off-page SEO service takes place beyond your website. These include practices such as promoting your brand across various social media platforms that increase the authority of your site.
A specialized SEO marketing agency can help improve your site's off-page traction by guiding you through link-building opportunities such as guest blogging, posting on forums, and establishing quality relationships with leading influencers.
Outsourced experts can also provide link audits that review the functionality of your backlinks and how you can improve them through best practices. For example, an SEO expert might support your website with linkable assets (i.e., quality content that promotes social sharing and backlink creation).
On-page SEO services
On-page SEO services include any ranking-focused initiative that occurs on your website. A reliable SEO specialist can help you boost on-page SEO performance through a combination of services and strategies:
Conducts website audits: Measure the performance of your website traffic, engagement, and conversions.
Optimizes your meta tag: Create a relevant and concise summary of your site content, which creates a winning first impression on site visitors.
Monitors landing pages: Implement the latest keywords and polish calls to action that drive the best response.
Performs advanced keyword searches: Identify the trending words and phrases on Google and other leading search engines so you can cater your site content accordingly.
Optimizes content: Fine-tune your website with the most effective written content, images, and videos.
Technical SEO services
Efficient technical SEO services ensure that your websites follow the latest search engine rules, regulations, and guidelines. Technical services facilitate the crawling and indexing process required to help your website achieve the top spot on the SERP.
An outsourced technical SEO expert helps optimize your site's technical SEO through the following services:
Utilizes robots.txt: Apply a standard set of instructions that streamlines the web crawling process and avoid overloading user requests.
Checks for broken links: The presence of broken or expired links on your website can negatively affect SEO and site traffic by presenting your pages as outdated and irrelevant.
Eliminates duplicate content: Duplicate and redundant elements on your site can cause confusion among search engines and potentially cause deindexing in severe cases.
Ensures HTTPS security: Check that site visitors receive the necessary security by encrypting data-sharing practices.
Manages XML sitemaps: Create a list of secondary directories that makes it easier for search engines to locate your website.
Mobile SEO services
Applying mobile SEO strategies optimizes your site layout and loading speed when viewed from mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. The added measure improves your website function through mobile use, which can help boost lead generation, site traffic, and conversions.
Mobile SEO remains a priority for most businesses since an estimated 59.74% of online traffic[2] comes from mobile sources. An outsourced marketing agency can boost your mobile SEO through the following strategies:
Applies accelerated mobile pages (AMPs): These special pages optimize page loading functions on mobile devices. Your SEO specialist can also perform regular load testing on your AMPs to diagnose and troubleshoot lagging performance.
Implements mobile-responsive designs: SEO specialists can help you toggle displays between desktop and mobile views to ensure seamless viewing experiences for all site visitors. Experts can improve results with site plugins that effectively create responsive designs for optimal engagement across all platforms.
Rethink pop-ups: Pop-ups appear differently between mobile and desktop views. Mobile-first experts can help your business apply the best use cases for pop-ups to optimize user experiences.
Consider leveraging local SEO for your mobile-focused initiatives, since 30% of Google searches from a mobile device include a location. It is also important to note that Google prioritizes mobile indexing[3] and ranking practices. Applying a combination of mobile search engine optimization techniques can help increase the chances of ranking high in the SERP by offering a consistent user experience.
Take your SEO to the next level
While it is possible to manage SEO campaigns with your internal marketing team, outsourcing to specialized agencies can help you keep up with the latest tactics for a competitive advantage. When hiring an SEO company, it is important to seek an expert who can guide your company through the most suitable combination of strategies while adhering to the latest search engine guidelines.
Are you still deciding on the most suitable types of SEO services for your company? Check out the following resources to help you learn more about embarking on a smooth and effective SEO journey.