On-site SEO can truly do wonders for your search engine ranking, but it may not always be enough when done alone. Thus, you must take steps to bring interest to your website by doing things outside of it.
Now that we have covered on-site SEO (check the article here), let's take a look at off-site SEO and things we can do with it.
What is Off-Site SEO?
Off-site SEO, or off-page SEO as it is sometimes known, involves bringing traffic to your website mostly by sharing links that lead back to your site and defining content. Alternative means also include using social media or doing guest posts.
Where on-site SEO aims to make clear a site's objectives and help users understand what content is available, off-site SEO seeks to:
Create trust with users visiting a website
Increase a site's overall popularity
Solidify a position of authority over a subject matter
It is important to note that, unlike the fluid nature of search engine algorithms and related ranking factors, the factors connected to the above three objectives are quite constant. This alone shows how much off-site SEO can help you and your website.
About Backlinking
Backlinking, or creating backlinks, is the core activity within off-site SEO. It is because search engines determine the quality of a site or its content by the number of links leading back to it. Thus, a page with plenty of backlinks would rank much higher than those that have little to no links.
The types of links used within off-site SEO can be grouped into three categories, which are as follows:
Natural Links - Links that are gained without being asked for. Getting natural backlinks from readers and other users within the same space as you happen over time. But only if your site and content have become trustworthy and a source of authority.
Built Links - Links made by asking users, visitors, or customers to link back to you in one form or another. Examples can include getting a link as part of a review, a blog post, or asking an influencer to talk about you.
Created Links - Links you make yourself by adding or leaving it somewhere for random users to see and click. This would include placing a link in comments sections, adding your link on online directories, or having a link in your email signature.
But backlinking does not stop at just getting the links. Attention must be paid to the value a link can give you, as said value can affect a ranking factor known as 'Link Equity'. To know whether or not a link will give value, consider the following:
How popular is the linking site?
Is the linking site trusted?
Is the linking site relevant to yours?
How does the linking site relate to your page?
How many other links does the linking site have?
Where are the links on a website?
Other Off-Site SEO Activities
Once you have built up enough links between your website and others, it is time to make use of other means to bring in traffic. Here are three things you can try at the cost of nothing.
Social Media Marketing - Tap into this veritable traffic gold mine by promoting your page constantly and engaging with visitors to keep them coming to your page and site.
Guest Posting - Sharing or making a post for your industry's leading authority's blog or website will net you a value-filled link to your site and additional exposure.
Get People Involved - Encourage people to make their own content and share them with you. This can attract more people and possibly create more valuable links.
Conclusion
While off-site SEO pulls a little more weight than on-site SEO, both are still equally useful and essential. Use both of them equally or whichever you feel is most appropriate, but never ignore either if you want to rank your pages successfully.
