SEO is an ongoing process involving many different optimization types that all work towards the same goal. The main task of SEO is to make sure your website ranks higher on search engine results pages. In order for these optimizations to be effective, an integrated approach is required that includes more than one optimization technique. In this article, we will look at the different types of SEO. We will give a brief description and highlight the benefits of each approach.

The different types of SEO are:

• White-Hat SEO
• Black-Hat SEO
• Grey-Hat SEO
• On-Page SEO
• Off-Page SEO
• Technical SEO
• International SEO
• Local SEO
• E-commerce SEO
• Content SEO
• Mobile SEO
• Negative SEO
• Youtube SEO
• Appstore SEO
• Social SEO

Types of SEO

The idea behind SEO is to improve a website or your business’s visibility in search engines. Many digital platforms incorporate some form of search engine and rank content based on different criteria. The highly ranked content is usually displayed on the first page of the results page. The objective of Digital marketers and SEO experts is to ensure that they optimize to rank highest on all platforms where they are present.

SEO is not a one-size-fits-all and neither is it cast in stone. From time to time Google and other search engine platforms update their algorithms. These updates mean what was ranking yesterday maybe not rank anymore in the near future and vice versa. Hence the reason why we have so many optimizations. The list above contains 13 different optimizations that can be performed. In the next section, I will be going into further detail on each of the listed so that you are more informed.

White-Hat SEO

The connotation “White Hat” is used in the context of what is perceived to be honorable and admirable. The same applies to White-Hat SEO. By definition, it means making optimization that falls within the regulations of most search engines, particularly Google. White-hat SEO is considered the best way to build websites that will be a great success.

There are a few things or best practices that must be followed in White-Hat SEO and these are as follows. Firstly, you must use keyword-rich and descriptive meta tags. Second, write quality content and meet your readers’ and your visitors’ needs in your articles. Lastly and more importantly, make your website easy to navigate. In the next section, we are going to discuss Black-Hat SEO, which is the opposite of White-Hat.

Black Hat: Type of SEO

This technique is considered the opposite of White-Hat SEO because it employs techniques that seek to exploit rather than conform to regulations. The goal of every SEO strategy is to rank higher in search results and get more traffic. Black Hat techniques typically give instant results, but in the long run, may result in penalties.

Techniques under Black hat SEO are as follows:

• Keyword Stuffing
• Paid Backlinks
• Spammy links
• Cloaking.

Grey Hat

This approach is a compromise between Black Hat and White Hat. The approach cannot be clearly deemed to fall within the regulations. Because of the lack of clarity, it is much easier to avoid bans from search engines using this approach. The biggest compliment of this technique is that it can be used to gain and maintain traffic. The downside is readers and visitors might not be best pleased with what they are seeing.

The best example of Grey Hat SEO is clickbait. With clickbait often the headline or title of the link is tantalizing or very exciting. However, the actual content itself does not do justice to the title and it is of low value.

Negative SEO

This is one of the most unethical practices that SEO and digital marketers implement. Practices within this approach are illegal. It involves diminishing the value and integrity of your competitors so that you can rank higher than them. Often organizations hire hackers to login into competitors’ social accounts and websites to put spammy links and anything that will derail the competitor.

From an ethical standpoint, this is the most detestable of them all.

On-Page SEO

In a related article on On-page SEO, I wrote about the nine different ways or strategies you can use for On-Page SEO. This technique involves creating quality content, using image alt tags, and meta descriptions. To be more concise this is the list of actions you can take although not exhaustive.

• Minimizing the size of images and photos
• Removing broken links and duplicate content
• Optimizing the structure of URLs or using canonical URLs.
• Using relevant tags to optimize content.
• Improving site speed by using platforms like Ezoic.

In case you were not familiar with canonical URLs. A canonical URL is a link that best represents the most accurate version of a webpage among many duplicates, as per Google’s definition. In a nutshell, On-Page SEO refers to those actions that you can perform on your website to improve its standing with search engines so that it can rank higher. This brings us to the next point which is also an SEO type that you can implement to rank higher in SERPs Off-Page SEO.

Off-Page SEO

Firstly, it is important to mention that Off-Page SEO is almost the opposite of its counterpart mentioned before, “On-Page SEO”. It refers to actions taken outside of your website in order to rank high in search engine result pages. Second, it might include other types of SEO mentioned in this article.

Activities under Off-Page SEO include:

• Getting referral links from credible and reputable websites.
• A strong social media presence.
• Good reviews from other websites such as forums and google my business.
• Running paid advertising campaigns.

Backlinks from reputable and established websites are considered the best way to perform Off-Page SEO. Websites such as CNN and BBC will definitely improve your reputation with search engines if they do share a link to your website.

Technical SEO: Type of SEO

This is technique is used to assist web crawlers to easily and efficiently be able to index and see your content. The most fundamental actions that you must take are to firstly, create an XML sitemap for your website. Next, you must make your website mobile compatible and then use an HTTPS connection.

There are many things that you must do under technical SEO. I have written a full article mentioning the benefits and different actions you must perform under technical SEO. You can click here to read the full article.

International SEO

The purpose is to cater to a diverse audience across the globe. It involves presenting content in the user’s preferred language, currency, and the correct date/time. Websites can be configured to auto-detect the current browser’s preferred language which makes it easier to implement. You can also use geolocation to allow you to determine the user’s location. This will help your website to display the correct currency, language as well as dates.

Local SEO

This is by far one of the very important techniques to get visibility for your business and get customers walking in through the door. Google My Business is one of the platforms that will help you become visible on the local landscape. It shows customers that are looking for related services and products your website, phone number, business hours, location, and reviews from other customers.

The image above shows some typical results which users will get if they search for something that is local. Examples of such queries are “restaurants near me”, “Gym close to my area”, and many others. The higher the positive reviews the more likely your business will appear first in search results. Google aims to deliver the most relevant and up-to-date information. As a business owner or digital marketer, you must provide accurate information about your location which they will ask you to verify by sending you a pin. Also, update your opening times for weekends, and public holidays and always there must be a working contact number listed.

E-commerce SEO

It refers to optimizing online stores for greater visibility in SERPs. Every time someone searches for a related product or service. Your optimized website must show in the results with the images of your product and the price together with your store’s name. If your E-commerce store is not optimized then it will be difficult to make money. You may have to run paid ads from time in order to boost visibility. This is because there is high competition when it comes to online stores and as each day passes more stores are being set up.

Content SEO

This is centered around creating quality and valuable content for your audience. Content can be in various forms such as video, graphics, slides, music, and words. The more unique it is the greater the chance that it will outrank other content. There are several actions that you can implement as part of your content strategy and these are as follows:

• Keyword research.
• Copywriting.
• Content Restructuring.

Tools such as Grammarly can also help yo produce high-quality written content. Grammarly has the following features:

• Plagersims checks
• Tone adjustment
• Word choice
• Sentence rewrites
• Formality level checks
• Grammar and spell checks

Running your content through such tools will correct any errors you might have missed during production improving the overall quality.

Conclusion

As mentioned earlier, SEO is not a size fits all solution. Some types are aligned to specific objectives and applicable only to specific circumstances. For example, E-commerce SEO is more suited to online stores. While on the other hand Local SEO is suited to physical businesses and stores. A comprehensive SEO strategy must be adopted and this will make use of a combination of the types described in this article.