SEO isn’t just one strategy. It’s a mix of moving parts. Some technical, some creative, and all essential if you want long-term visibility online.
When people talk about “doing SEO,” they often focus on rankings or keywords. But behind the scenes, real results come from combining different approaches that work together to boost your site’s relevance, authority, and usability.
In this guide, we’ll break down the four core types of SEO, explain what each one does, and show how they overlap in a modern digital strategy.
On-page SEO is exactly what it sounds like: everything you can control on the actual page. That includes content, internal links, meta tags, and overall structure.
Good on-page SEO helps both users and search engines understand what your content is about, and why it matters.
✅ Why it matters: It improves relevance, UX, and your chances of ranking for targeted queries.
Off-page SEO covers all the things that happen outside your own website but still influence your rankings, primarily your backlink profile.
Search engines use backlinks as signals of trust. If reputable websites link to your content, they’re essentially endorsing it.
Not all backlinks are created equal. A single link from a high-authority domain can be more powerful than 50 low-quality ones.
✅ Why it matters: It builds trust and domain authority, which directly influences your ability to rank competitively.
Technical SEO deals with the infrastructure behind your site, the elements that make it easy for search engines to crawl, index, and serve your content.
It’s not just about fixing errors; it’s about creating a solid foundation that supports everything else.
If your site takes too long to load, returns errors, or blocks crawlers, your content could be amazing and still never show up.
✅ Why it matters: It ensures search engines can access and understand your content efficiently, without technical blockers.
Local SEO helps businesses show up in geographically relevant search results. This is especially critical for physical shops, service providers, or any brand with a regional presence.
When someone searches “SEO agency near me” or “coffee shop in Bristol,” your local presence will determine whether or not you appear.
✅ Why it matters: It drives highly targeted traffic from people ready to visit, book, or buy, right now.
Each type of SEO plays a unique role in improving visibility and performance. But it’s not about choosing one. The real power comes from combining them.
When they work together, you build a site that’s not only optimised but sustainable, scalable, and valuable for real people.
If your SEO strategy feels off, the issue might not be the effort. It might be that one piece is missing.