SEO Types: A Comprehensive Guide to 2025 SEO Techniques
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the backbone of digital marketing, helping websites gain visibility in the eyes of search engines. When businesses ask “what are the types of SEO?”, they are essentially trying to understand how to drive traffic to your website, improve rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs), and attract potential customers.
In this guide, we will define SEO state types of SEO, explore different types of SEO in digital marketing, discuss types of keywords in SEO, and explain how to use the right SEO strategy for better visibility.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of making your website more user-friendly so that search engines can comprehend your content and give it a higher ranking in search results. By focusing on SEO optimization, businesses increase their chances of appearing on the first page of Google, which is crucial because most users rarely go beyond page one.
At its core, SEO involves:
- Creating content relevant to users.
- Improving site structure and internal links.
- Enhancing page speed and mobile responsiveness.
- Using tools like Google Search Console to monitor performance.
SEO isn’t just one technique; it’s a combination of multiple strategies. That’s where types of SEO come in.
How Many Types of SEO Are There?
Marketers often ask, “how many types of SEO are there?” While there are various subcategories, SEO can broadly be divided into three main types:
- On-Page SEO
- Off-Page SEO
- Technical SEO
Apart from these, there are specialized approaches like Local SEO, Video SEO, and Image SEO that target specific needs.
Types of SEO in Digital Marketing
Let’s dive deeper into the different types of SEO that play a vital role in a complete SEO strategy.
1. On-Page SEO (Content & Keywords)
Everything you can optimize on your website is the goal of on-page SEO. This includes:
- Optimizing product pages, blog posts, and service content.
- Using the right types of keywords in SEO (short-tail, long-tail, LSI, branded, transactional).
- Adding internal links for better site structure.
- creating informative alt text for photos to help search engines comprehend them.
A superb on-page SEO optimization will make your pages both search engine friendly and easy to use.
2. Off-Page SEO (Authority & Trust)
Off-page SEO builds your website’s authority outside of your own domain. This includes:
- Backlink building from high-quality sites.
- Guest blogging and influencer collaborations.
- Social media signals that increase visibility in the eyes of search engines.
Strong off-page SEO shows Google that your website is trustworthy and relevant in its niche.
3. Technical SEO (Crawling & Indexing)
Technical SEO makes sure that your website can be properly crawled and indexed by search engines. Key elements include:
- Improving page speed and mobile performance.
- Fixing broken links and duplicate content.
- Submitting XML sitemaps via Google Search Console.
- Optimizing site structure and schema markup.
Without solid technical SEO, even the best content may struggle to rank.
4. Local SEO (Targeting Local Customers)
Local SEO helps businesses appear in location-based searches. For example, “best coffee shop near me.” It involves:
- Setting up Google Business Profile.
- Collecting reviews and citations.
- Optimizing for local keywords and maps.
Local SEO is especially important for small businesses that want to attract potential customers nearby.
5. Video SEO
With YouTube being the second-largest search engine, Video SEO has become critical. It includes:
- Optimizing video titles, descriptions, and tags.
- To help search engines comprehend the content, include captions and transcripts.
- Embedding videos on product pages or blogs to drive traffic to your website.
6. Image SEO
Images are powerful for engagement, but they must be optimized. Image SEO involves:
- Using descriptive alt text.
- Compressing files to improve page speed.
- Including keywords in file names.
Images that have been optimized increase user experience and search engine presence.
Types of Keywords in SEO
When discussing SEO, we can’t ignore keywords. The types of keywords in SEO include:
- Short-tail keywords – e.g., “shoes.”
- Long-tail keywords: “top running shoes for men,” for example.
3.Transactional keywords – e.g., “buy Nike sneakers online.”
4.Branded keywords – e.g., “Adidas originals.”
5.LSI keywords – related terms like “sports footwear,” “running gear.”
Each type of SEO serves a different purpose:
- On-Page SEO → Improves content relevance.
- Off-Page SEO → Builds trust and authority.
- Technical SEO → Ensures your site is crawlable.
- Local SEO → Attracts nearby customers.
- Video & Image SEO → Boosts multimedia ranking.
When combined, these create a powerful SEO strategy that can skyrocket your search engine optimization efforts.
The suggested image is a Venn diagram that illustrates how technical, off-page, and on-page SEO overlap.
Ranking Factors to Consider
Search engines use multiple ranking factors to decide where your website should appear. Some key ones include:
- Page speed and mobile optimization.
- Quality of creating content.
- Use of internal links and clean site structure.
- Engagement metrics (click-through rate, bounce rate).
Best Tools to Implement SEO Strategy
For effective SEO, marketers use tools like:
- Google Search Console (monitor indexing, fix errors).
- Google Analytics (track user behavior).
- SEMrush / Ahrefs (keyword research & backlinks).
- PageSpeed Insights (improve site loading).
Final Thoughts
Understanding the types of SEO is crucial for building a holistic SEO strategy. By combining on-page, off-page, technical, local, video, and image SEO, businesses can improve visibility in the eyes of search engines, rank higher on search engine results pages, and attract more potential customers.
In 2025, SEO is not just about keywords but about creating content, optimizing performance, and building trust across platforms. If you want to stay ahead in digital marketing, invest time in mastering these different types of SEO.
what are types of seo
There are mainly three types of SEO: On-Page SEO (optimizing content, keywords, and HTML tags), Off-Page SEO (backlinks, social signals, and authority building), and Technical SEO (site speed, mobile-friendliness, indexing, and crawlability). Additionally, specialized types like Local SEO, Video SEO, and Image SEO help target specific platforms and audiences.
what are the types of seo in digital marketing
In digital marketing, the main types of SEO are:
On-Page SEO – Optimizing website content, keywords, titles, meta tags, and internal linking.
Off-Page SEO – Building backlinks, brand mentions, and improving domain authority.
Technical SEO – Enhancing website speed, mobile-friendliness, site architecture, and crawlability.
Local SEO – Optimizing for local searches using Google Business Profile and location-based keywords.
E-commerce SEO – Optimizing product pages, descriptions, and structured data for online stores.
Video SEO – Optimizing video titles, tags, thumbnails, and transcripts for YouTube and search engines.
Image SEO – Using alt tags, compression, and proper file names to rank images in search results.
how many types of seo techniques
SEO techniques are generally divided into three main types:
-
White Hat SEO – Ethical practices that follow search engine guidelines (quality content, proper keyword use, mobile optimization).
-
Black Hat SEO – Unethical shortcuts like keyword stuffing, cloaking, and link farming (can lead to penalties).
-
Grey Hat SEO – A mix of both, using riskier methods that aren’t strictly against rules but may turn harmful if overused.
what are four types of seo
The four main types of SEO are:
-
On-Page SEO – Optimizing website content, keywords, headings, meta tags, and internal links.
-
Off-Page SEO – Building backlinks, social signals, and external authority for ranking.
-
Technical SEO – Improving site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability, and indexing.
-
Local SEO – Optimizing for location-based searches through Google Business Profile and local
what are types of seo explain in detail
Types of SEO in Digital Marketing
1. On-Page SEO
-
Focuses on everything within your website.
-
Includes optimizing content, keywords, titles, meta descriptions, headings, and URL structure.
-
Also covers internal linking, image optimization (alt text, file names), and improving user experience.
-
Example: Writing keyword-rich blog posts with proper headings (H1, H2) and optimizing them for readability.
2. Off-Page SEO
-
Refers to actions taken outside your website to improve rankings.
-
Mainly about building authority and trust through backlinks from other reputable websites.
-
Also includes brand mentions, guest posting, influencer outreach, and social media marketing.
-
Example: Getting your blog link featured in an industry-leading website to boost credibility.
3. Technical SEO
-
Deals with the backend and technical structure of your site.
-
Ensures your website is easy for search engines to crawl and index.
-
Key aspects: site speed, mobile-friendliness, SSL security (HTTPS), XML sitemaps, schema markup, and fixing broken links.
-
Example: Compressing images and enabling caching to make your website load faster.
4. Local SEO
-
Helps businesses rank in location-based searches.
-
Focuses on optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP), using local keywords, getting customer reviews, and building local citations.
-
Example: A clothing store in Delhi optimizing for keywords like “best fashion store in Delhi” to attract nearby customers.
5. E-Commerce SEO (specialized)
-
Tailored for online stores and product-based websites.
-
Includes optimizing product titles, descriptions, images, and adding structured data for rich snippets.
-
Example: Using unique product descriptions instead of manufacturer’s copy to avoid duplicate content.
6. Video SEO
-
Optimizing videos to rank on YouTube and Google.
-
Includes keyword-rich titles, tags, descriptions, closed captions, and attractive thumbnails.
-
Example: Adding transcripts to a YouTube tutorial so it ranks better in search.
7. Image SEO
-
Ensures images appear in Google Image Search and improve page ranking.
-
Uses descriptive file names, alt text, compression for fast loading, and proper dimensions.
-
Example: Naming an image file “black-cotton-tshirt.jpg” instead of “IMG1234.jpg.”
About the Author
