In the world of SEO two get thrown around all the time: on-page SEO and technical SEO. Both are important for your website and search engine rankings but how do you decide which one to focus on? Should you focus more on optimising your content or make sure your website’s technical bits are running smoothly?
It’s a common dilemma and the truth is both are important. However one might need your attention more than the other right now. In this post we’ll break down the differences between on-page SEO and technical SEO, go into each category and help you decide which one you should focus on for better SEO results.
Let’s start with a quick overview of both before we get into the details, so you can make a smart choice for your SEO strategy.
Image- Comparison of on-page SEO and technical SEO elements
TL;DR: On-Page SEO vs Technical SEO
Below is a quick comparison before we dive in:
| On-Page SEO | Technical SEO |
| Pros: Optimizes content relevance, improves user engagement, enhances ranking with keyword optimization | Pros: Optimizes size performance, improves crawlability, ranks with backend fixes |
| Cons: Requires regular content updates, can get repetitive in keyword focus | Cons: Complex to implement, often requires technical expertise and ongoing monitoring |
| Best for : Content heavy websites, blogs, e-commerce sites focused on keyword optimization | Best for: Websites with technical issues, poor crawlability, slow site speed or indexing problems |
What is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO refers to all the optimizations you do on your website to improve its rankings. Unlike technical SEO, which works in the background, on-page SEO is all about the visible elements that both users and search engines interact with.
On-Page SEO Elements
- Title Tags: These are the clickable headlines in search engine results. They should contain primary keywords and reflect the content of the page.
- Meta Descriptions: A meta description is a short summary of the page’s content that appears under the title in search results. Although it’s not a ranking factor directly, a well-crafted meta description can increase your click-through rate (CTR).
- URL Structure: URLs should be short, descriptive, and contain keywords relevant to the page content.
- Headings and Subheadings (H1, H2, H3): Structuring your content with headings makes it easier to read and signals to search engines what the content is about.
- Content Quality: Content is the heart of on-page SEO. Google rewards pages that provide relevant, high-quality, and comprehensive answers to user queries.
- Internal Linking: Linking to other pages on your website helps search engines crawl and index your site more effectively and also guides users to related content.
Benefits of On-Page SEO
- Improved Content Relevance: By targeting specific keywords and optimizing for user intent, on-page SEO makes your content more relevant to search queries.
- Enhanced User Experience: Clear content structure, easy navigation, and optimized media ensure users have a good experience, which can lead to higher engagement and lower bounce rates.
- Better Rankings: Proper keyword optimization, content freshness, and technical enhancements such as page load speed all contribute to better rankings on search engines.
On-Page SEO Checklist
- Optimize your title tags with primary keywords.
- Write unique and compelling meta descriptions that encourage clicks.
- Structure your content with relevant header tags.
- Use descriptive, keyword-rich URLs that are easy to understand.
- Incorporate keyword-rich internal links that connect related content.
- Ensure your content answers user intent and includes variations of target keywords.
- Optimize images by reducing file sizes and using descriptive alt text.
- Utilize schema markup to enhance search results with rich snippets.
What is Technical SEO?
While on-page SEO focuses on optimizing visible elements, technical SEO is about making sure your website is technically sound. It deals with the backend of your site that affects how search engines crawl, index, and rank your pages.
Technical SEO Elements
- Site Speed: Fast loading times are important for user experience and for SEO. Google has confirmed that site speed is a ranking factor.
- Mobile Optimization: With more mobile users, Google now uses mobile-first indexing. Your site must perform well on mobile devices.
- Crawlability: Search engines must be able to crawl and index your pages. Technical SEO addresses issues like robots.txt files, sitemaps, and broken links that could prevent search engines from crawling your site properly.
- SSL Certificate: Websites with HTTPS are considered more secure. Google rewards secure sites with better rankings.
- Structured Data (Schema Markup): This code helps search engines understand the content on your pages more effectively, often resulting in rich snippets in search results.
- XML Sitemaps: An XML sitemap is like a roadmap for search engines, helping them crawl and index your website more efficiently.
- Canonicalization: Avoiding duplicate content is important. Canonical tags ensure that search engines index the correct page when there are multiple versions of similar content.
Benefits of Technical SEO
- Improved Crawlability and Indexing: A well-structured site ensures that search engines can easily find and index your pages.
- Faster Load Times: Page speed is directly related to user satisfaction. Optimizing technical aspects like image sizes and server performance leads to faster load times.
- Mobile-Friendly Sites: A mobile-friendly website is important for both user experience and ranking purposes.
- Secure Website: SSL certificates not only protect user data but also help your rankings.
Technical SEO Checklist
- Make sure your site is mobile-friendly by using responsive design.
- Improve page speed by optimizing images, using browser caching, and reducing server response time.
- Fix crawl errors by reviewing your Google Search Console for broken links or pages that aren’t indexed.
- Secure your site with HTTPS by installing an SSL certificate.
- Optimize XML sitemaps to ensure search engines can crawl and index your content effectively.
- Implement structured data (schema markup) to enhance search results with rich snippets.
- Check for duplicate content issues and use canonical tags where necessary.
Relevant Characteristics Between On-Page SEO and Technical SEO
To help you understand how on-page SEO and technical SEO differ, let’s break down the characteristics in terms of their impact on SEO performance:
| Characteristic | On-Page SEO | Technical SEO |
| Site Speed | Affects user engagement and bounce rate | Directly impacts rankings and user retention |
| Mobile Optimization | Focuses on making content readable on mobile | Ensures site design and structure are responsive |
| Keyword Optimization | Targets specific keywords in content, URLs, and meta tags | No direct impact on keyword targeting but affects crawling and indexing |
| Content freshness | Updates content to stay relevant to users | Does not directly impact content but ensures technical elements (like crawlability) are optimized |
| Crawlability | Ensures content is easy to read for search engines | Focuses on the backend (site structure, sitemap) to allow proper crawling |
| User Experience | Focuses on providing valuable content to visitors | Focuses on backend optimization (site speed, mobile-friendliness) |
Which Is More Important: On-Page or Technical SEO?
Now that we’ve broken down both on-page SEO and technical SEO, you might still be wondering which one to prioritize. The truth is, neither is more important than the other—they both complement each other and are essential for a well-rounded SEO strategy.
However, the right focus depends on the state of your website:
- If your website is brand new or has technical issues: Prioritize technical SEO first. If search engines can’t crawl or index your site correctly, no amount of content optimization will help.
- If your website is technically sound but lacks high-quality, optimized content: Focus on on-page SEO. Improving your content’s relevance and optimizing it for user intent will boost rankings significantly.
In most cases, both types of SEO should be done at the same time. Start by fixing technical issues that might hinder crawling and indexing, then shift your focus to creating valuable content that meets search intent.
Tips/Strategies/Best Practices
For On-Page SEO
- Optimize Your Content for User Intent: Instead of just focusing on keywords, create content that answers the exact questions users are searching for. Google rewards content that matches search intent.
- Target Featured Snippets: Structure your content to answer questions directly and concisely. This increases your chances of appearing in Google’s featured snippets, which often get more visibility.
- Improve Internal Linking: Make it easy for users and search engines to navigate your site by linking to relevant pages within your content. This can also help distribute link equity across your site.
For Technical SEO
- Monitor Your Site’s Health with Google Search Console: Regularly check for crawl errors and fix them immediately to ensure search engines can index your site properly.
- Regularly Audit Your Site’s Performance: Use tools like GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights to monitor site speed. Aim for under 3-second load times for best user experience.
- Make Your Site Mobile-Responsive: Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to ensure your site adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes.
Conclusion
In the end, the real SEO winners don’t choose between on-page SEO and technical SEO — they do both. If your site is full of great content but takes forever to load or has crawling issues, technical SEO has to be your starting point. If your site is technically sound but not ranking, then laser-sharp on-page SEO strategies like title tags, keyword placement and internal linking are the missing pieces.
Think of technical SEO as the foundation of your house — strong, invisible, essential. Think of on-page SEO as the interior design — what makes visitors fall in love at first sight. Without one, the other can’t work.
So whether you’re an SEO newbie building your first blog, a marketer optimizing an ecommerce store or an entrepreneur trying to master SEO basics, remember: Balance is key.
Do both technical and on-page SEO and watch your rankings — and business — grow.