On-Page & Off-Page SEO
The two halves that decide rankings: pages built to answer their query completely, and the external authority that lets them compete for it.
Overview
On-page work decides whether a page deserves to rank; off-page work decides whether it is allowed to. A page that answers the query better than anything else still loses to a weaker page on a stronger domain, and a strong domain still cannot rank a page that misses the intent.
Most sites are unbalanced in one direction. Companies with good content and no authority publish into silence; companies with authority and neglected pages rank for their brand and nothing else. The audit's first job is to say which of those you are.
Who this is for
- Sites that rank on page two for terms they should own
- Companies with strong content and a weak backlink profile
- Businesses that bought links previously and are unsure what they inherited
How we approach on-page & off-page seo
The specific pieces of work a typical engagement covers. Scope is agreed up front — nothing here is a surprise line item later.
Page-level intent match
Whether the page answers what the searcher meant, judged against what currently ranks rather than against a checklist of tags.
Titles, headings and structure
Clear hierarchy and titles written for a human scanning a results page. Still one of the highest return changes available on most sites.
Internal link optimisation
Directing authority to the pages that need it, with anchor text that describes the destination. Free, fast and consistently underused.
Backlink profile analysis
What you have, what it is worth, and whether anything in it is a liability inherited from a previous agency.
Digital PR and outreach
Earning links through data, research or commentary worth citing, rather than through paid placement on sites that exist to sell links.
Competitor gap analysis
Where competitors earn links you could plausibly earn too, which is a far better prospecting list than a generic outreach database.
From first call to measured result
The same sequence every time, so you always know what happens next.
Diagnose the imbalance
Establish whether you are content-limited or authority-limited. The answer determines where the budget goes.
Optimise what exists
Improve pages already ranking on page two before writing anything new. Cheapest traffic available on most sites.
Build authority
Digital PR aimed at the pages that need it, with a story or dataset worth covering rather than a request for a link.
Measure and repeat
Track movement by page and by intent group, then redirect effort to whichever half is now the constraint.
Outcomes, not deliverables
A pile of artefacts isn't progress. These are the changes the work is meant to produce — and what we report against.
Quick wins from existing pages
Page two to page one movements need far less effort than ranking something new, and they arrive sooner.
Authority that survives updates
Earned coverage is not at risk from the next crackdown on link networks.
Effort where the constraint is
Diagnosing which half is limiting you stops the common pattern of buying more of what you already have enough of.
A clean profile
Auditing inherited links means you know what is in there before an update decides for you.
Common questions about On-Page & Off-Page SEO
The things people ask before they get in touch. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
How many links do we need?
The wrong question. What matters is relevance and authority relative to whoever currently ranks for your target queries. Ten links from genuinely relevant publications routinely beat two hundred from directories.
What is the difference between digital PR and link building?
Digital PR earns coverage by creating something worth writing about, and the links follow. Link building in the older sense means asking or paying for placement. The first is slower, costs more per link and does not need to be undone later.
We bought links in the past. Is that a problem?
Possibly. We audit the profile and identify anything that looks manipulative. Modern search engines often just discount bad links rather than penalising, but where there is a clear pattern a disavow is worth doing.
Which should we do first, on-page or off-page?
On-page, nearly always. It is cheaper, faster and it means that when authority does arrive it has somewhere good to land. Building links to a page that does not answer its query wastes the links.
Thinking about On-Page & Off-Page SEO?
Tell us what you are trying to change. If we are not the right fit we will say so, and point you somewhere better.
Looking at the wider picture?
On-Page & Off-Page SEO usually sits alongside other work in Search & Organic Growth. Browse the full area to see what it connects to.