Off-page SEO is the antithesis of on-page SEO. It is focused on increasing your domain’s authority and consequently, improving search results. This is primarily achieved by obtaining backlinks from other websites. Although similar, off-page SEO is not synonymous with link building.
Guest blogging is an excellent way to improve off-page optimisation. Image courtesy of Pixabay
Where are the backlinks coming from?
The primary criteria of off-page SEO is the quality of backlinks pointing back to your site. It is always quality over quantity. There are a few methods which can be used to indirectly create more backlinks for your website. This includes:
• Creating high-quality, engaging content which compels readers to link to the page on their website
• Share useful infographics on social media. Aside from the referral traffic, social media share of the content will also create new backlinks.
• Design an outreach strategy (e-mails, meet-ups, etc.) to build relationships with other influencers sharing the same niche with you.
• Pursue guest blogging opportunities from established websites in your niche.
These are not one-time methods. Webmasters must continue with it over a period of time. In addition, Google forbids buying links from websites. Such attempts are considered a manipulation of search results and will result in the dreaded Google penalty.
Quality over quantity
Search engines absolutely prefer quality backlinks. In fact, accumulating low-quality backlinks could lead to penalties. As such, webmasters must tailor the off-page strategy accordingly and gear their approaches towards authority sites.
No one knows the optimal number of backlinks for any particular page or website. However, experts do believe that the growth of backlinks must be gradual. Sudden spikes might suggest unnatural link acquisition, and could invite scrutiny from search engines.
Although Google Search Console provides extensive information about inbound links, it is advisable for webmasters to use third-party auditing tools like Moz’ Link Explorer to instantly view the quality of all backlinks.
Best practise SEO companies are rate but they do exist. This means you can find companies who can help you build high quality links from the best referring domains, at scale.
