The Complete Guide to Off-Page SEO
Around the world, the SEO industry is growing at a rate of over 8% a year.
This growth is expected to continue and even accelerate. Understanding every aspect of SEO is important if a business or firm wants to succeed in the growing marketplace. To get all aspects of SEO, we have to look beyond on-page SEO and technical SEO into the third category: off-page SEO.
For that purpose, let’s begin with what exactly off-page SEO is and what it is not.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO is defined as any SEO tactic that takes place off a website. In the early days of SEO, many people considered off-page SEO to be nothing more than link building. That couldn’t be further from the truth, while link building still has a role, there is a lot more than that.
Here are a few areas of off-page SEO that you need to be aware of:
- Social media engagement
- Brand building
- Content marketing
- Citation building
- Link building
- Local SEO
- Public relations
- Influencers
- Events
- Podcasts
- Syndicated content
- Guest posting
- Forums
Each and every aspect of off-page SEO is essential if a website wants to become one of the most authoritative and highest-scoring websites out there.
A Short Explanation
The best way to think of the three branches of SEO is to remember where they are used. This way, you won’t confuse on-page, off-page, and technical SEO. Here is a short definition of each to help keep them separate.
- On-Page SEO – Anything that occurs on the website
- Off-Page SEO – Anything that is done outside of the website
- Technical SEO – Anything done to enhance the technical aspect of viewing the website
This is why on-page SEO involves tactics like keyword optimization, off-page SEO on authority and awareness, and technical SEO on load times and coding optimization.
Why is Off-Page SEO Important?
Off-page SEO is important because it focuses on building brand awareness and domain authority. Authority is important to SEO. If off-page SEO is ignored then a website won’t be able to outrank one of greater authority than it.
Search engines use authority to determine which website is more credible. Since the goal of the search engine is to satisfy users’ needs, finding credible websites is more important than ever. Off-page SEO helps to promote authority, credibility, and trustworthiness.
To build the authority of a website is a signal to the search engine that it is able to meet the needs of the searchers. This is why off-page SEO can help a website continue to rank up when the site is already optimized technically and on-page.
Areas of Off-Page SEO
Now it’s time to break down the various areas of off-page SEO. Let’s take a look at how they can benefit a website or business. We’ll start with the oldest and most used method of off-page SEO: link building.
Social Media Engagement
No one would argue or doubt the size and impact that social media has on businesses. Social media regularly increases the connections between people, and people and brands. Having a presence on social media is essential if a business wants to build a brand and grow.
Think of social media as a way for people to find your brand. Social media works similarly to Google. This means that the people who want and need your products will find them as long as a social media presence is maintained and active.
Humanizing a brand is the best way to get new viewers to become loyal and reliable customers. This is one reason why social media is so good for customer service, questions can be answered while outreach is continuous.
Be active, professional, and consider social media as another brand opportunity. Engage with customers new and old, and they will become more loyal and happy with your products and services.
Brand Building
Whether it’s domain name searches, brand name searches, or product searches, brand building is all increasing awareness and prominence. It is one metric that every business wants to see increasing, the number of searches that involve the brand.
Google offers a free tool, named Google Trends, where the popularity of a brand can be traced back to 2004. Using this can show if interest has increased or decreased and give clues as to what works the best.
The more known and credible a brand is, the more weight it will have with Google. This is important when it comes to SERP results.
Everyone knows about on-page content marketing, it is a cornerstone of SEO. Off-page SEO can also benefit from content marketing. There are some places that will publish content for another website:
- Guest posts on a blog
- Infographics
- Research papers
- Whitepages
- eBooks
- Studies and surveys
The best thing to do with a great piece of content is to get it out into circulation. If the content gets linked to a site like a newspaper or news agency, it can do wonders for authority and link building.
Content marketing also works well when combined with other approaches. These approaches can vary, but content with PR or social media engagement is a great way to get the word out about a business, brand, or website.
Citations
A citation in terms of marketing SEO is a mention of a business’s NAP. That is: Name, address, and phone number. Citations are essential for local SEO, as they show the algorithm the physical location of a place for geographic searches.
One of the most important aspects of citations is that they remain consistent. Make sure that if your business is mentioned the NAP is correct. Incorrect information will confuse the algorithm which could be worse than not having any citations at all.
In the old days, citations were known as business listings. There are some overall sites that will publish business citations, others need to be reached out to.
When it comes to links, quality always beats quantity. The important thing is to get links from sites that rank high in authority. Consider these links as recommendations from a site with high authority to another site. The search engine will take notice of this.
Pay attention to competitor sites. One of the best things link building can do for a website is to close the link gap. This means if a competitor is getting a lot of high authority links that don’t connect to your website, you will lose out on traffic. You need to close the gap in quality links.
Link building works based on three factors that should be front and center.
Authority
You’ll need a Backlink Authority tool in order to gauge the authority of each link. Once used, it’ll show the authority of the links on any site. You want more links from websites that have a higher authority score.
Unique Domains
There is a connection between the amount and diversity of domain links that point to a website. The more and the more varied these link sources are, the more impactful they will be in ranking the authority of a website.
Topical Authority
A significant portion of the links that are used on a website should be from a related industry. If the website in question is a restaurant, make sure that links to other restaurants, food industry websites, and cultures are primary. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have other links, but limit them.
The more topical the links are, the more authority and relevance are given to a website by the algorithm.
Local SEO
Off-page SEO relates to local SEO on several levels. One is citations, which have already been covered, and the other is Google My Business. The Google business profile page has become something of a homepage for many businesses. This is because almost half of all searches are for local information.
When a business provides a service in the local area that is searched for, the first thing a user will see is their Google business profile. This is set up through GMB, and is a chance at making a first impression on a new customer.
Make sure that the information is correct and optimized for the local area. Don’t forget that the ratings and reviews will be read by most searchers as well. Respond to them, and be professional and courteous.
Public Relations
The way a business is perceived by the public will have an impact on their success. Using public relations tactics and outreach is a great way to build a story about a brand. It is also a great way to provide linkable content and build an authoritative presence.
PR does more than help build links. It can also drive brand awareness and traffic to a website. Reach out whenever possible and interact with potential customers. Everything that a business does affects whether or not it is a thought leader in its industry.
Influencers
Influencer marketing has become a major way to get the word out about a brand or product. Influencers provide an already established group of potential customers and then can advocate for a business to them. In most cases, the influencer is trusted by their audience, and so the business benefits from this advocacy.
Be careful of links, though, links in sponsored content are against the rules. Having an influencer that is excited and willing to talk about a brand or product opens up a lot of avenues. It can even expand the normal customer base that a business goes after.
Modern influencers are popular on Tik Tok, YouTube, and Instagram. There are still a few holdouts in the blog sphere too, which are also worth looking at. A lot of who a business reaches out to will depend on the products and services they sell.
Events
Online events are gaining popularity and can help to create interest in a product or brand. Beyond online events, there are still in-person events that can help draw attention and more customers to a business. Don’t be afraid to participate in events.
Driving everything from social engagement to links, events are capable of a great deal of outreach. Managing and attending events does take effort, but the payoff will be more than worth it.
Podcasts
Not only are podcasts incredibly popular, but they are also underutilized by most businesses when it comes to marketing. Focus on expanding outreach onto podcasts and a business can gain an advantage over the competition. Also, podcasts are often searched for outside of Google.
This gives a business a chance to establish a presence away from Google. This expands the target audience and brings awareness to those who may not know about the business or brand in the first place. As podcasts continue to get more popular, more people will use them.
Don’t wait until everyone has adapted a podcast-focused marketing strategy, get there first.
Syndicated Content
When it comes to syndicated content, the key is to be careful. Often it won’t be indexed because Google looks at most syndicated content as a duplicate. That doesn’t mean there’s no point, depending on where you can get syndication for your content.
Putting content where it will draw more views from a more diverse population is never a bad idea. Great content that reaches a larger audience will have a bigger impact on brand signals. A popular site can have thousands of readers every day, and having syndicated content on it will reach them.
Guest Posts
Guest posting is one of the best ways to generate link building, as well as putting content in front of a target audience. By providing guest posts a business can also position itself as a leader and increase authority.
Providing content for other popular websites enhances the reach of everything published. The primary goal is to build brand awareness within a new audience, one that may not already be engaged with your brand.
Guest posting is a platform that should never be ignored. It is highly valuable to give more space and reach, especially when it comes to potential customers.
Forums
SEO tactics used to revolve around using forums as a means to build links. Over time the focus has shifted away from this, and most forums are ignored by SEO marketers. Forums still offer access to larger audiences, and there’s more to it than that.
Consumers grow closer and more attached to brands and companies that reach out to them. Using a forum is a perfect place to do that, reaching out and humanizing a brand. It gives the opportunity for direct contact and dialogue.
Don’t miss out on a chance to converse with potential customers. If they have a positive impression of the brand, message, and product, they are more likely to become actual customers. Forums are undervalued by many, but still have a place in modern off-page SEO.
Opportunities are Endless
There’s no one-size fits all strategy when it comes to off-page SEO. There are a lot of opportunities, not all of which are being utilized by an average competitor. Seizing the advantages that come with off-page SEO requires work and dedication, but it pays off in the long term.
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