SEO can seem full or jargon to the uninitiated. But it’s often very straight forward once it’s explained. Put simply: Off-page SEO refers to content that features outside of your website and brings traffic into it from external sources.
Creating a Google Business profile is an example of an off-page technique and more are listed below.
Off-page SEO Techniques:
- Backlink building
- Creating an Online PR strategy to get company news featured in trade and commercial press
- Featuring in guest blogs and news pieces
- Publishing information and engaging content that other websites want to link to
- Google My Business and Bing business listings
- Adding listings to online business directories showing your NAP details (name, address and phone number)
- Posting links back to your website on social media
Why Off-Page SEO is Important
High-quality backlinks give Google (and other search engine crawlers) a signal that your website is useful and trustworthy. If two websites have otherwise very similar content, but one has better backlinks, then it will usually rank higher because it has a higher domain authority. It’s almost like a digital vote of confidence for your E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness)
And it’s not just ranking – if a link to your website features in places where your target audience hang out, then it will drive more potential buyers and referral traffic to you. And don’t forget building brand awareness, so even if people aren’t ready to buy, they now know that your business exists.
A business owner will have less control over off-page elements than on-page SEO factors so a slow and steady approach is advised. Just keep plugging away as the regular building of high-quality backlinks will boost your odds of moving up the rankings and gaining more website visitors. Having high-quality backlinks gives Google and search engine crawlers a signal that your website is useful and trustworthy.
For the full lowdown and more info on backlinks, read: What Are Backlinks and How Do They Drive Traffic to My Website. Then visit ‘How to Implement a Backlink Strategy for SEO’ to get a free backlink tracker template
How Many Backlinks Does Your Website Already Have?
A full SEO audit can identify backlinks and where they come from. You can also ‘spy’ on your competitors, seeing which websites they’re connected with and what type of content. This can give some inspiration on the types of websites you could be connecting with.
Backlinks data can also come from your Google Search Console account. Go to the account and find the ‘Links’ icon in the left-hand navigation. You will then see a page linking to reports on external and internal links. Click through the external link reports to see exactly what backlinks your website has.
A Word of Warning! Avoid Black-Hat Tactics
Avoid off-page techniques that could potentially tick Google off and tank your rankings – known as black-hat SEO strategies. These involve buying backlinks (usually from untrustworthy websites) and submitting too many generic articles to irrelevant websites.
Alex Mungo from Go Mungo SEO advises: “Avoid shortcuts like buying links or submitting to irrelevant directories. These black-hat tactics might give a short-term boost, but they can seriously damage your website in the long run.”
Off-page optimisation generally involves working on regular tasks and online PR to build backlinks from relevant, trusted websites. Not just any old place! Start implementing a backlink strategy – slow and steady wins the race. Start now and your website will be in a much healthier place this time next year.
Need Help to Plan a Backlink Strategy for Your Business?
If you need help building backlinks (and SEO in general!), a flexible and affordable monthly SEO retainer can get it sorted. I work with SME’s to help them Suss SEO and start getting found on Google.
0 Comments