Off-page SEO is one of the most important ranking factors in search engines – but it’s complicated.
I’ve put together this guide to simplify things for beginners, as well as to provide some tips and tricks that more experienced marketers can use.
What is Off-Page SEO?
Off-page SEO refers to techniques that you use outside of your website to impact your rankings within SERPs: these include link building, social media signals and appearing on podcasts, among others. Off-Page SEO is used by marketers and webmasters all over the world; however, there are many different opinions on how much weight should be given to Off-Page SEO compared with On-Page SEO. In our experience you do need both but if more emphasis is placed on content on your site and on-page optimisation the better. You need to be seen as trustworthy in Google’s eyes. Having said that we have a portfolio project where we beat out a competitor with both higher page authority and domain authority.
Backlinks – what are they and how do they help?
A backlink is simply a link from another website to your own. They are an important part of Off-Page SEO and can be used to increase your site’s authority – and, as a result, your ranking – in the eyes of search engines.
There are numerous ways to acquire backlinks, but the most common methods are through guest posting, blog commenting and directory submissions (often called citations).
The value that a backlink holds for your website depends on several factors, including the website’s authority, the relevance of the content on your website to the content on the other website, and how recent the backlink is. An easy way of determining this is to download the MOZ SEO chrome extension and see for yourself what the domain rating/authority is.
Citations
Citations on website directories are another form of backlinking that is commonly used for local businesses.
Citations are essentially mentions of your business on local directories. Many companies will use citation link building services – we don’t do that. We have found it can lead to mass spamming the citation directories and having a spam score is not a good idea. it does more harm than not for your website.
Guest blogging
Guest blogging is another form of backlinking. It’s where you write a post for another website, and include a link back to your website in the post.
Blog commenting
Blog commenting is another way of acquiring backlinks. It’s where you leave a comment on another blog, and include a link to your website in the comment. This can be seen as comment spam. Please be careful when doing this and ensure the link is useful and insightful. You would want to do a genuine comment as well when posting this.
Podcasting
Podcasting is an increasingly popular way of reaching out to potential customers. It’s where you record a podcast episode, and include a link to your website or product in the episode.
Social media signals – what are they and how do they help?
Social media signals come in many forms. The most common are shares, likes and tweets, but they can also include pins, +1s and favourites.
Social media signals are important for Off-Page SEO because they help to show search engines that your website is popular and relevant. They also help to create a more engaged audience, which can lead to more conversions and increased sales.
There are numerous ways to increase social media signals for your website, but the most effective methods are by creating high-quality content that people will want to share, participating in social media discussions and using social media advertising. We have noted with our clients that something as simple as placing your Call To Action (CTA) at the bottom of your post with your website URL, an email address and phone number can improve your stability in the rankings and overall rankings.
Google My Business
Google my business is an Off-Page SEO tactic that helps to build the authority of your website in Google’s eyes.
How does this help? Well, when you have a business listing on Google My Business, it shows that your business is legitimate and trustworthy. This can improve your ranking in search results – especially for local searches. The business can be shown in the Google 3 pack – the maps section at the top of your Google results.
Can I do it myself?
Yes, you can! However, it is worth noting that many business owners usually don’t optimise their profile correctly which doesn’t have a positive impact on their results. We are often asked if someone can simply go out and set up their Google my business page themselves, or whether they should use a third-party agency to do so. While setting up a GMB page yourself isn’t impossible, it’s certainly not something we recommend for novice users.
The reason for this is it takes a bit of skill to know which category you are in and which category Google favours for your business. It is also difficult to optimise a profile to rank unless you are aware of everything you need to do.
Google My Business can be used in the same way as Apple Maps and Bing Places. It is a vote of confidence that you are a legitimate business in Google’s eyes.
Everything involved in Off-page SEO is to increase your website’s authority in Google’s eyes. Off-Page SEO can include link building, social signals, and content marketing. Off-Page SEO has a direct impact on your page rank in SERPs. Do Off-page SEO and reap the benefits.
If you require help with your SEO, consider using BIAS SEO for your SEO needs.
