Developed the product – sit back and relax.
How often do you do that? Betcha never.
The product you built deserves all the attention and needs all the promotion. In the case of the digital world, this attention and promotion are achieved using off page SEO tactics. It is surreal to realize that one of the most important factors of achieving ranking on search engines is not even found on the page but rather relies on activities that we do outside of the page – for instance – building backlinks.
In this article, we are going to introduce you to one of the most important practices for ranking on SERPs – Off Page SEO.
So, without any further ado, let’s start...
What is Off Page SEO?
Off page SEO refers to the actions taken outside of a website to improve its search engine rankings. This includes things like link building, social media marketing, and online reputation management. The idea is to increase the number and quality of inbound links to a site, as well as to create a positive image of the site and its associated brand online. These efforts can help to boost a site's visibility and credibility in the eyes of search engines, and can ultimately lead to higher rankings and more traffic.
Short and sweet – Anything you do outside the website that contributes to your search engine ranking.
Consider this example – You open a shop, say, a textile studio, decorate it in and out, and do everything needful to make your customers feel comfortable like installing a sofa, lighting, etc. Now you want more and more people to come to your studio so you invite people using different means of communication like phone, message, email, etc. Also, your target audience is only upper-middle-class females so you invite elite lifestyle influencers and models.
Now with the same thing in mind, consider that:
Textile studio = Your website
People = Website Traffic
Different means of communication = Different techniques and platforms of link building
Elite lifestyle influencers and models = Basis of choosing the right link-building platform
But, why is it important?
The importance of off page SEO is that it helps to establish the website as an authority in its industry, which can lead to higher search engine rankings, more traffic, and ultimately, more conversions.
Additionally, off page SEO can help to increase brand visibility and credibility, making it more likely that users will trust the website and its products or services.
Understand it with the same example - the reputation and footfall of the textile studio do not solely depend on the brick and mortar. Much beyond that, external factors like the neighborhood, social offer, etc. also matter a lot. The same goes for the website too - Google ranks the website on external factors like brand mentions, backlinks, etc.
Overall, off page SEO is an essential aspect of a comprehensive SEO strategy, and it can play a critical role in helping a website to achieve its goals and reach its target audience.
6 Top Off Page SEO Techniques
When it comes to implementing off page SEO techniques, there are a handful of tactics. In fact, doing off page SEO is quite a creative process wherein marketers go up and above to find out ways to drop their website’s link.
However, being a part of the industry for too long, here are our 6 favorite off page SEO techniques that we found fail-proof and most effective.
Broken Link Building
Broken link building is a technique used in off page SEO to find and replace broken links on other websites with a link to your own website. The goal is to improve user experience by fixing broken links and potentially earning a link back to your website in return. The steps involved are:
Identifying broken links on relevant websites
Reaching out to the website owner to inform them of the broken link
Offering a relevant resource or page on your own website as a replacement
Requesting a link back to your website as a thank you.
This technique can improve the user experience, increase website traffic, and potentially earn backlinks to improve your website's domain authority and search engine rankings.
Brand Building
Brand building in off page SEO refers to the process of increasing brand awareness and reputation through various online marketing strategies and tactics. This includes:
Content marketing: This involves creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that provides value to your target audience. This can include blog posts, videos, infographics, case studies, and more.
Social media marketing: Utilize social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to promote your brand, engage with your audience, and share your content.
Influencer marketing: Partner with influential people in your industry to promote your brand and reach a larger audience.
Guest posting: Write articles for other websites or blogs within your industry to gain exposure and build your brand's reputation.
Link building: Acquire high-quality backlinks from other relevant websites to increase your website's authority and improve its search engine rankings.
Q&A
Q&A platforms are also similar, just a more specific and extended intent that involves direct questions and answers, for example – Quora. Here, people ask questions and brands can directly get in touch with their audience by answering their questions and meanwhile also directing them to the website.
Social bookmarking
Social bookmarking is a technique used in off page SEO to promote website content and increase its visibility online. This is done by submitting links to various social bookmarking sites, such as Digg, StumbleUpon, etc. This allows other users to view, like, and share the content, increasing its reach and exposure. The goal is to drive more traffic to the website and improve its search engine ranking by generating quality backlinks from these sites. It is important to note that social bookmarking should be done as part of a comprehensive off page SEO strategy and not relied on solely for SEO purposes.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 refers to a shift in the way websites are created and interacted with, emphasizing user-generated content and dynamic communication. Basically, these are the applications and websites that utilize user-generated content to fulfill the needs of end-users.
For off-page SEO, web 2.0 sites can be leveraged as a platform for building backlinks. Common examples of web 2.0 sites include blogs, forums, wikis, and social media sites. When building backlinks from web 2.0 sites, it's important to focus on quality over quantity, and to use relevant, authoritative sites that are within your niche.
Local Directories
Local directories in off page SEO are websites that allow business owners to submit their business information, including address, phone number, website, and other relevant information. These directories are specific to a local area and are used to help increase visibility and credibility for local businesses.
Google My Business, TripAdvisor, Apple Maps, TomTom, etc. are some popular platforms for listing your businesses with a motive to promote your business off the site.
Submitting a business to these directories can improve visibility in local search results, and increase the likelihood of being found by potential local customers.
Final Note...
Optimizing your website even with the best SEO practices is not enough for getting the attention that it deserves. It requires an equal dose of off page SEO to perform at its best. But one must keep in mind that implementing any type of SEO technique is not a hit-and-run thing, you have to stay there, patiently and consistently, to finally enjoy the results in the future. Hiring an SEO agency can be the best bet for you if you are someone who wouldn’t be able to stick to it.