As smart content creators and savvy marketers, we usually begin search engine optimization (SEO) efforts with on-page SEO but are you aware some of the most significant Google ranking factors aren’t found on your page? We already discussed on-page strategies in a previous post, which you might find handy to review before continuing with today’s look at off-page SEO. Just like it sounds, off-page tactics are ones you apply outside your website to improve its rankings. This approach includes link building, guest posting, and social media marketing, but more on this further on.
People use off-page SEO to get users and search engines to see their site as trustworthy and authoritative. It’s an essential part of any successful SEO strategy. SEO tactics fall into three categories: on-page, off-page, and technical. All three are crucial to your success, but you must understand they are vastly different. Let’s begin by looking at these three forms of SEO to get a better understanding.
On-page SEO refers to tactics you can control on your website that help search engines rank and understand your content better. This includes content, keyword usage, title tags, internal links, URLs, etc. Off-page SEO refers to any actions off your website. This consists of backlinks and mentions on other sites. Technical SEO is the activities directly impacting how search engines index and crawl your site. This would include site speed optimization, structured data, etc.
Why is Off-Page SEO Critical?
Off-page SEO is an excellent way to build your site’s reputation. The highest-ranking websites, meaning highly reputable websites, rank better because search engines see them as having more Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. SEO marketers call this E-A-T. An excellent way to show E-A-T is with off-page SEO factors like backlinks, recommendations and reviews. To ensure we are all on the same page, off-page SEO is more than important—it plays a significant role in your site’s ranking ability.
Five Off-Page SEO Techniques That Work
There are five effective off-page tactics to boost your site’s authority and organic search traffic. These include: link building, content marketing, local SEO (GMB and Citations), reviews and events. Let's look at all five.
1. Link Building
Link building refers to getting other websites to link to pages on your own site or backlink to your site. The more backlinks your site receives from high-authority sites, the more authoritative it appears to search engines. This can help the page rank higher. There are two key factors to take into account when building links: authority and unique domains.
Authority is a measurement of a website's or a webpage's overall quality. This measurement is heavily weighted by how many high-quality backlinks your pages have. All this means is you want backlinks from high-authority sites as they are more valuable and can help you rank higher. We suggest trying out Semrush’s Backlink Analytics Tool to get started.
Unique domains, the number of separate domains (referring domains) that link to your site, also matter in backlinking. There is an excellent Backlinko study that shows a clear correlation between referring domains and higher rankings. One of your key strategies should be getting links from as many relevant, quality domains as possible.
2. Content Marketing
Just like entertainment, your website is all about content. You cannot deny that content marketing is a valuable off-page SEO tactic. When you publish engaging content, you earn backlinks, show E-A-T and gain media attention. We mentioned it earlier but to remind you, E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness. Sorry if we made you hungry but this is imperative! Google's Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines incorporate E-A-T into its algorithm.
Finding ways to distribute your content via other channels can also boost off-page signals. Some worthwhile channels to consider are: Public Relations (PR), guest posting, podcasts, forums, content syndication, social media and influencer marketing.
3. Local SEO
When you perform local SEO, you find relevant keywords and create locally relevant content. Local SEO is the process of optimizing your online presence to increase local traffic, visibility, and brand awareness. It is considered a discipline in its own right. You should know that certain local SEO elements are also key off-page tactics, like Google Business Profile and NAP citations.
4. Reviews
Everyone knows the power of word of mouth. Reviews can make or break your business and are an effective way to help others trust your business. Google considers reviews when evaluating your site’s E-A-T. This means they are essential to your local SEO success.
Replying to all reviews is recommended. It doesn’t matter if they are positive or terrible. Responding shows you value your customers’ business and feedback. You can kindly ask all customers to leave a review. Never accept money or offer it in exchange for reviews. Remember, you build trust by paying attention to your business’s online reviews.
5. Events
Events can be an excellent way to contribute to your off-page strategy. They give you a chance to engage with your audience but also create buzz around your business. This can help drive links and social engagement. Why not try to earn brand mentions while your event is promoted? Afterward, ask attendees to write a summary article.
Don’t forget to include the event on your site and use your event landing page to attract links. Hopefully, people will like and share it. Maybe a speaker will want to promote it. Imagine getting influencers to share it for its sheer value. Just remember events require a lot of effort to plan and run properly but the buzz they create can be challenging to duplicate. They are also a great way to get some fantastic PR coverage.
Keep Learning
At a high level, improving the "off-page SEO" of a website involves improving search engine and user perceptions of site quality. This happens by getting links from other sites (especially those that are reputable and trustworthy themselves), mentions of your brand, shares of your content and "votes of confidence" from sources outside of your own website.
If we have left you wondering if your SEO strategies provide you with the highest value they can, contact the experts at Alley Kat today for your free needs assessment. To learn more about off-page SEO, check out this Beginner's Guide to SEO. We hope this article has answered your SEO questions. Maybe we even helped you form a few strategies for your business. Alley Kat Web Consulting offers expert web design and consulting services. Contact us today to take your strategy from an idea to reality!