The concept of search engine optimization (SEO) is not new to the marketing world. By now, most online businesses should understand what SEO is and how it can help their relationship with search engine results pages (SERPs). However, many companies don't realize that there are two types of SEO – on-page and off-page. On-page SEO is the more commonly known and understood, involving all the elements on your website that you can control and optimize to influence your ranking. This includes your website's code, tags, content, design, and structure. Off-page SEO is the often overlooked but equally important strategy.
Without having a firm understanding of both, it isn't easy to achieve long-term success with your SEO strategy. This could explain why your website isn't getting the results you want, even though you feel you are doing everything right. With a better understanding of off-page SEO and the search engine ranking factors involved, you can ensure your website gets the credit it deserves from Google and other search engines.
What Is Off-Page SEO?
Off-page SEO techniques optimize your website through external measures that influence your ranking in search engine results pages. These external or “off-page” factors are less under your direct control than on-page SEO elements, but they are just as essential to determining your website's success. Because they are not immediately obvious or easy to manipulate, many business owners and website developers overlook off-page SEO when formulating their marketing strategy. This can be a costly mistake, as off-page SEO plays a critical role in achieving a high ranking.
Some of the most important off-page SEO ranking factors include:
- Number of Referring Domains
- Link Authority
- Anchor Text
- Link Relevancy
- Social Shares
- Reviews
- Brand Mentions
- Google Business Profile
- Citations
Diving into the Off-page SEO Ranking Factors
Number of Referring Domains
One of the most influential ranking factors for off-page SEO is the number of referring domains – that is, the number of websites that link to your website. Google and other search engines view each referring domain as a vote of confidence in your website. The more votes you earn, the more likely you rank high in SERPs. However, it's not just the quantity of referring domains that matters – the quality is just as important. A link from a high-quality website that is relevant to your industry, like a guest blog link, will carry more weight and SEO value than a link from a low-quality website.
Link Authority
Another crucial ranking factor in off-page SEO is link authority. It measures the quality of a website based on factors like age, popularity, and number of inbound links. A website with high link-building activity is more likely to rank high in SERPs than a website with low link authority and no sign of SEO or guest posting for building quality links.
Anchor Text
Anchor text is whatever word or phrase is hyperlinked on a webpage. It is important for off-page SEO because it gives Google an idea of what the linked-to website is about. Using relevant keywords in your anchor text can help to improve your ranking for those keywords. For example, if you have a website about plumbing, using the anchor text “plumbing” in links to your website will help you obtain higher SEO rankings for that keyword.
Link Relevancy
Link relevancy is another useful factor in off-page SEO activities. Google looks at the content of the websites that link to yours to determine if those backlinks are relevant. If you have a website about plumbing and you get a natural link from a website about cooking, that backlink will not be as valuable as a link from another plumbing website. Google considers links from relevant websites to be important in determining the value your website offers to searchers.
Social Shares
One of the most important off-page SEO factors is social media engagement. This includes everything from how often your content is shared on social media platforms to your posts' level of engagement (likes, comments, etc.). Google and other search engines place a high value on social media engagement because it is a strong indicator of quality content. If people regularly share and engage with your content on social media, it is a sign that they find it valuable and worth reading. This, in turn, tells Google that your content is likely to be of high quality as well, which will help to improve your search engine ranking.
Reviews
The review section of any website is one of the most important aspects of off-page SEO. This is especially true for businesses that rely on local search traffic, such as restaurants, hotels, and other service-based companies. Search engines use reviews as a way to determine the quality of a business. The more positive reviews a business has obtained, the more likely it ranks high in SERPs. Reviews can also help to improve click-through rates (CTRs) and conversion rates.
Brand Mentions
Google uses brand mentions to determine the quality and popularity of a business. The more times you find your company referred to through brand mention monitoring, the higher your ranking will be. You can create brand awareness campaigns or partner with other businesses and websites in your industry that will mention your company on their websites to get more brand mentions.
Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is a free digital listing allowing businesses to share their names, addresses, phone numbers, websites, and other important information. Claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile is one of the most important things you can do for your company, and it is a crucial part of off-page SEO. This is because Google Business Profiles are one of the first things that show up when people search for businesses in their area. Having a claimed and optimized Google Business Profile will help you to rank higher in SERPs and get more clicks and calls from potential customers.
Citations
Citations have a significant impact on off-page SEO. Local citations are listings of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites. Google uses these listings to verify your NAP information's accuracy and determine your business's quality and popularity. The more local citations, the more it indicates to Google that your business is legitimate, and the higher you will rank in SERPs.
Lean On Us, The Off-Page SEO Experts
Off-page SEO is a critical part of any successful SEO strategy. You can improve your SERP rankings by focusing on the factors that Google and other search engines use to determine rankings. If you need help with your off-page SEO strategy, reach out to the digital marketing experts at Zero Gravity Marketing. We are a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in SEO services and can help you to improve your ranking and visibility for search engine results pages. Contact us today to learn more about our digital marketing services and how we can help you to grow your business.
About the Author
Dan Hamilton
