What is Off-Page SEO? The Definitive Guide

Off-page SEO includes actions outside your website that affect search rankings & online visibility. These activities help increase organic traffic and improve rankings.

This does not cover tasks like:

• Title tags
• Meta descriptions
• Writing content

Instead, it focuses on:

• Off-site work
• Link building
• Content promotion

Why is off-page SEO important?

Off-page SEO is essential because it impacts your search rankings and online reputation. It involves work outside of on-page SEO. But this work still influences how search engines view your site.

Take link building as an example.

Reputable websites linking to your content signals authority to search engines. This often improves rankings and boosts organic traffic.

Other off-page activities that strengthen your online presence include:

• Social media engagement
• Online reviews
• Mentions in relevant online communities

These actions build trust in your brand and attract potential customers.

Off-page SEO also diversifies traffic sources. It brings visitors from platforms beyond search engines. This broader exposure can increase engagement and conversions.

Finally, strong off-page SEO provides a competitive edge in the digital marketplace.

In summary, off-page SEO is vital for:

• Greater competitiveness
• Higher rankings
• Enhanced reputation
• Increased traffic

The difference between off-page SEO and on-page SEO

Off-page SEO and on-page SEO are two key parts of a strong SEO strategy. Each focuses on different aspects of improving your website’s performance.

On-page SEO involves optimizing elements on your website, including:

• Title tags
• Meta descriptions
• Headings
• Keyword use within content
• Internal links
• Schema markup

It also includes improving the user experience by:

• Speeding up loading times.
• Ensuring your website is mobile-responsive.

You can learn more about this in our on-page SEO guide.

Off-page SEO focuses on activities outside your website, such as:

• Acquiring backlinks
• Managing your online reputation through brand mentions and reviews
• Enhancing content using the E-E-A-T framework.

Off-page SEO builds credibility and authority with users and search engines.

Both are critical for success.

Now let’s explore the core elements of off-page SEO and how to use them to improve your rankings.

Content marketing

Content marketing involves creating and distributing content to attract audiences to your platforms. These platforms can include your website, podcasts, and YouTube channels.

This section covers how to use content marketing to boost your off-page SEO. And how to drive more traffic to your website.

Social media

Improving your social media presence can boost your off-site SEO in several ways.

Social media platforms allow you to share valuable content from your website. When reputable profiles share your content, it increases your website’s authority. Search engines like Google and Bing consider authority a key ranking factor.

Bing, the second-largest search engine, factors social signals into its ranking algorithm. These signals include:

• Shares, likes, and comments on your posts
• The number of accounts you follow
• The number of followers you have

Bing views a strong social media presence as a sign of authority and relevance. By engaging with your audience and sharing content, you can improve your rankings on Bing.

Sharing your content on social media also expands its reach. When reputable sources share your content, it can lead to backlinks. Backlinks from other authoritative websites which boosts your site’s authority even more.

For example:

After publishing a blog post, we saw shares from industry leaders like Aleyda Solis. Aleyda has 163,000 Twitter (X) followers and 83,000 LinkedIn followers. Her engagement led to our inclusion (with a backlink) on Search Ending Roundtable. An authoritative site in our industry.

Digital PR

According to the Digital Marketing Institute:

“Digital PR is a strategy used to increase awareness of your brand using online methods. Like traditional PR, but can reach a much broader audience. An audience that you cannot reach with only offline methods.”

Digital PR has grown so much that it’s now a dedicated profession. It also plays a key role in improving off-page SEO.

One major benefit of digital PR for off-page SEO is earning high-quality backlinks. Successful PR campaigns often lead to:

• Coverage in news articles
• Guest posts
• Mentions on reputable websites

These backlinks signal to search engines that your site is trustworthy and authoritative. This helps boost your rankings.

Mentions and citations from PR coverage can help your off-page SEO. Even without backlinks! When your brand appears online, it strengthens your presence and authority. Search engines don’t confirm this impact. But anecdotal evidence suggests it can improve rankings.

Effective digital PR campaigns can also drive surges in online traffic. Viral campaigns or widespread media coverage bring visitors to your site. Search engines may view this increased traffic as a sign of relevance and engagement. Leading to higher rankings and more organic traffic.

Email marketing

Email marketing on its own doesn’t impact off-page SEO. But it can have indirect impacts which boost your off-page SEO in a significant way.

Successful email campaigns allow you to share links to your website. This includes blog posts or offer pages. If your content provides value, subscribers may share it on their websites. This can lead to:

• Natural backlinks to your site
• Increased visibility for your content

This method of earning backlinks is often underrated but effective.

Email marketing can also generate social shares. Communities often share valuable email content on social media. These social signals may influence SEO. Search engines like Google could consider social engagement a ranking factor.

For Bing, the benefit becomes direct. Bing includes social signals in its ranking algorithm. So increased social engagement through email campaigns can impact your rankings.

Paid advertising

Paid advertising (PPC) is a separate discipline from SEO. But the two can work together for better marketing results. While PPC and SEO serve different purposes, PPC can benefit your off-page SEO too.

A successful PPC campaign can generate profits that you can reinvest into SEO. These funds could support:

• Creating more content
• Conducting SEO tests
• Running link acquisition campaigns

PPC campaigns also provide valuable insights into:

• Keywords that perform well
• Effective copy
• Audience behavior

You can use this data to refine your SEO strategy, optimizing your website and content for high-performing keywords. Though indirect, these connections show how PPC can strengthen your off-page SEO efforts.

Online communities

Participating in online communities can benefit your off-page SEO. This includes communities like:

• Reddit
• Quora
• StackOverflow
• Niche-specific forums

Direct Benefits:

Sharing your content or having it shared on these platforms can result in backlinks to your site. These backlinks are almost all nofollow. But there is growing evidence to suggest they still have a positive impact on your website.

Sarah Fleming’s study on nofollow vs follow backlinks supports this idea.

Indirect Benefits:

• Engaging in discussions can inspire content ideas for your business. Publishing content based on these ideas can attract backlinks and improve your SEO.
• Regular participation helps you build connections in your industry. These relationships can lead to:
• Guest posting opportunities
• Collaborations
• Mentions of your website

When done, these activities can enhance your off-page SEO and expand your reach.

Link building

You may have noticed us discussing:

• Backlinks
• Link acquisition
• Link building

That’s because these are some of the most fundamental activities when it comes to off-page SEO.

This section will explore different methods of backlink acquisition. And how you can do them well.

Guest blogging

Guest blogging often faces criticism. Some even choose to label it as a ‘blackhat’ method of acquiring backlinks. When done well, guest blogging is one of the best ways to earn valuable backlinks.

The key is to focus on quality and relevance. Write for:

• High-quality, authoritative sites
• Sites that are relevant to your niche

Problems arise when guest blogging is not done well. Common mistakes include:

• Paying for guest post slots
• Publishing on low-quality or irrelevant sites
• Combining these issues into a single strategy

When executed in the proper way, guest blogging is a powerful tool. Publishing a well-written blog post on a site that is reputable is invaluable. Earning a backlink from high-quality sites makes it even better.

For example:

Our Marketing Manager (Ryan) recently wrote an article for Wix on SEO testing.

Wix is authoritative in the digital marketing community, with a Domain Rating of 95.

The guest article included a contextual backlink to our website, SEOTesting. This backlink passes significant authority (via PageRank) to our site. This benefits our rankings and organic traffic.

Broken link building

Broken link building is a popular strategy for earning backlinks. It involves finding broken links on other websites and replacing with functioning links.

Here’s how it works:

1. Find Broken Links:
   • Use tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to locate broken links on relevant websites.
   • Or you can use a web crawler like ScreamingFrog. It’s more accurate but it takes extra time.
2. Match Content:
   • Identify content on your site that can replace the broken link.
   • If needed, create new content as a replacement.
   • Map broken links to your site’s content in a spreadsheet for organization.
3. Reach Out to Site Owners:
   • Contact site owners and inform them about the broken link.
   • Suggest your content as a replacement.

Most website owners prefer to replace broken links with live ones. This makes broken link building an effective strategy.

This method boosts your off-page SEO by:

• Improving your search engine rankings
• Gaining more backlinks
• Increasing your website’s authority

Resource page link building

Resource page link building is like broken link building but requires more time. And more effort.

Here’s how it works:

1. Find Resource Pages:
   • Look for websites with resource pages. These pages link to other sites that explain specific topics.
   • For example, Aleyda Solis’ learningseo.io features resource pages on SEO topics.
2. Create Valuable Content:
   • Identify a gap in the resource page’s links.
   • If a resource page about SEO doesn’t link to content on off-page SEO, create a guide on this topic.
3. Reach Out to Site Owners:
   • Contact the site owner.
   • Share your new content and ask them to add it to their resource page.

This approach helps you earn backlinks while providing value to the website owner. And their audience!

Press request responses

Press request responses are gaining popularity as a link building strategy. For good reason.

This method involves reaching out to journalists who need expert quotes. Platforms like:

• Help a B2B Writer
• ResponseSource
• Source Bottle

Make this process easier for journalists and sources alike.

For example:

• If you are an SEO expert, you could provide a comment about keyword research.
• Your quote might get featured in an article about keyword research or a broader topic.

Here’s an example of a link we recently earned through a press request:

A contextual link back to our website was inserted in the article.

This type of link improves website authority and reinforces your expertise. It also aligns with E-E-A-T principles, which we’ll discuss later.

Unlinked brand mentions

An effective way to build backlinks is by addressing unlinked brand mentions.

This method involves finding instances where your website gets a mention but not a link. And requesting those site owners add a link to your site.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Find Unlinked Mentions:
   • Use tools like Ahrefs to locate mentions of your brand that aren’t linked.
   • Note down the websites with these mentions.
2. Reach Out to Site Owners:
   • Contact the web admins of these sites.
   • Ask them to link to your site where it’s already mentioned.

This approach works well because the mention already exists. Site owners are often more willing to add a link since they’ve already referenced your brand.

This isn’t a complete list of link-building strategies. But it’s one of the most effective methods you can start using today.

E-E-A-T

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritiveness and Trustworthiness. This is a method used by Google to determine how high-quality a website and its content is. It’s worth noting that the “experience” factor is a new addition added in 2022.

E-E-A-T is not something you can impact yourself. But there are things you can do to help improve the perception Google has of your site. As well as other search engines. This work pays off when search engines review your site with E-E-A-T in mind.

Write quality content

Showing E-E-A-T in your content takes a lot of work. But there is one main point to make here. Create high-quality material that serves your audience’s needs.

Show your experience by including:

• Case studies
• Screenshots
• Videos

That highlight your direct involvement with the topic.

For example:

We often use screenshots in blog posts to prove that our methods work.

These visuals add credibility and help readers trust your content.

Demonstrating expertise requires up-to-date, well-researched, and relevant content. Cite reliable sources and back up your claims with evidence. Expert content should leave readers confident in your knowledge of the subject.

To establish authority, publish strong, informative content. Over time, this builds your reputation as a trusted voice in your niche. Support your ideas with data & examples to show your understanding of the industry.

Building trust is important, too. Write with transparency and focus on solving your audience’s problems. Share your company’s credentials, certifications, or affiliations when appropriate. Avoid turning your content into an advertisement. Don’t mention your products or services too much. Ensure your main goal is to provide value.

By focusing on these elements, you create content that aligns with E-E-A-T principles. This builds credibility with both your audience and search engines.

Audit content at regular intervals

Regular content audits improve E-E-A-T by keeping your content accurate, relevant, and trustworthy.

Start by reviewing and updating older content. This keeps it aligned with current trends and standards. Updated content shows expertise and builds authority as a reliable source.

Audits also check content quality and author qualifications. Compare your content to E-E-A-T guidelines. Fix gaps in expertise or authority. Update author bios, highlight credentials, or involve experts to strengthen the content.

Audits can fix issues with user-generated content. Comments or reviews that harm trust should be responded to. Align all content with E-E-A-T principles to boost credibility.

Regular audits keep your content accurate and authoritative. They help your site gain trust from both users and search engines.

Add important author details

Adding author details to all your content is crucial for E-E-A-T.

Author details show the expertise of the content creator. Include qualifications, certifications, and relevant experience. Readers trust content more when they see it comes from a knowledgeable person. This builds the perception of accuracy and authority. It also supports the “experience” and “authoritativeness” aspects of E-E-A-T.

Transparency about the author fosters trust. Content without clear authorship can seem unreliable. This is especially true with the rise of AI-generated content. Including professional bios and contact information reassures readers. It lets them verify the source or ask questions if needed.

Adding these details strengthens trust and credibility for your content and website.

Collaborate with expert contributors

If you want to publish content but lack qualified authors, consider collaborating with experts.

Expert contributors add credibility to your content. Their experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness strengthen the quality of your site. This approach ensures your content meets E-E-A-T standards.

Transparency is key. State when content is written by external experts. Ensure the material remains high-quality and relevant.

This strategy is common in journalism. Writers often bring in experts to cover topics outside their knowledge. Doing so improves the accuracy and visibility of their articles. You can apply the same approach to enhance your content and online presence.

Brand signals

Brand signals are factors search engines use to check a website’s:

• Credibility
• Authority
• Trustworthiness

These signals play a big role in search rankings and online visibility. Search engines focus on high-quality, trustworthy content in their results.

Key brand signals include:

• Mentions of your brand name
• Your social media presence
• Your online reputation

Strong brand signals help establish trust and authority. This improves your site’s visibility in search results.

Consistent branding

Consistent branding builds strong brand signals. It ensures your logo, colors, messaging, and design stay the same everywhere. This shows professionalism and builds trust with your audience and search engines.

Consistency makes your brand easy to recognize and remember. This boosts brand awareness and recall.

It also improves the user experience. When your website, social media, and other platforms match, users engage more easily. This creates better satisfaction and sets you apart from competitors.

Search engines prefer cohesive branding. It helps them index your site and improves rankings. Consistent branding builds trust, authority, and a stronger online presence.

Have a social media presence

A social media presence is a powerful brand signal. It boosts visibility and helps your brand reach a vast audience. This improves recognition and familiarity.

Sharing valuable content builds authority. It positions your brand as an expert and fosters trust with your audience. This trust can lead to a better click-through rate when users see your site in search results.

Social media also creates backlink opportunities. High-quality content may get shared by influencers or linked by websites. These backlinks tell search engines your site is credible and can help improve rankings.

Gain reviews and testimonials

Positive reviews and testimonials are strong brand signals. They act as social proof, showing the quality and credibility of your product or service. When people see positive feedback from others, they trust your brand more and are more likely to buy. This trust builds loyalty and encourages word-of-mouth referrals. Positive reviews also set your brand apart from competitors and influence customer decisions.

Reviews help your off-page SEO too. Search engines like Google consider user-generated content, including reviews, when ranking websites. More reviews provide fresh content and show your brand is active and engaged. Positive reviews, displayed as rich snippets, can also boost click-through rates. This indirectly improves your SEO results.

Engage with your community

Engaging with your community shows you care about your customers’ needs and opinions. This builds trust and loyalty, making people more likely to choose your brand and recommend it to others.

Regular interaction also humanizes your brand. It shows that real people care about their customers. This makes your brand feel approachable and relatable, which customers appreciate.

Community engagement creates a feedback loop. Listening to feedback helps you improve your products or services. This keeps current customers happy and attracts new ones. Better services and content can also improve your SEO by performing well in search results.

Wrapping things up

Off-page SEO is a key part of any digital marketing strategy. It includes activities like link building, content marketing, social media engagement, and digital PR. These efforts directly impact your search rankings, online reputation, and competitiveness.

Looking to improve your off-page SEO? SEOTesting can help. Our tool makes SEO testing simple, easy, and affordable. Try it free for 14 days and see if it’s right for your business. Start today!