How To Improve Your Off-Page SEO
A common misconception of SEO is that you can only improve your rankings by optimizing your website. Whilst on-page SEO (also known as on-site SEO) is important, a frequently neglected SEO aspect is off-page SEO (or off-site SEO).
Utilise Social Media
What users and advertisers often don’t realize is Google LOVES brands and brand awareness. The more traffic and awareness your site has built, the more Google will view your site as a trustworthy place.
This means any instances where you can build on this and ultimately increase website traffic will be a helping hand in your off-page SEO strategy. Curating and building a social media following that can be linked back to your site is a cost effective and beneficial way to build organic traffic outside of search.
When you’re constructing your next SEO strategy consider how new and old content can be repurposed for social media. Think about how your social media strategy can compliment your SEO and how they can co-exist with one another.
Google My Business
Google My Business isn’t just a way to advertise your business on Google Maps, it is also a great way to boost your off-page SEO, generate organic conversions and brand awareness.
When it comes to Google My Business, much like anything online, it does benefit from optimisation and attention on a somewhat consistent basis.
Not sure how to optimise your Google My Business? We’ve got you covered with some simple steps below!
- Ensure your listing information is up to date and accurate. Relaying the correct information to users online is incredibly important to Google. As a search engine, it’s Google’s priority to be a trusted source of information and provide users with a positive site experience. This includes business hours, address, contact information etc.
- Take full advantage of the description within your listing, providing as much information as possible. It’s important that your writing reads naturally to the reader and encourages users to carry out beneficial actions from your GMB profile, like going to your site, giving you a call, or visiting your physical location.
- Collect and reply to reviews. Positive or negative, responding to reviews shows how engaged you are with the user, legitimising your profile further in the eyes of Google. The more positive reviews you can generate, the more trust you can build with Google.
- Add high quality relevant photos to provide the user with further context of the service or product you provide.
- Add posts to your GMB on a regular basis. Think of this the same way as social media… consistency is key!
- ADD YOUR WEBSITE URL! Without a website URL you’re making it harder for users to visit your site.
It’s All About the Backlinks
If you have been researching the wonderful world of SEO, you have likely heard of the term ‘backlinks.’ In case you haven’t heard of the term, backlinks are when another site links to yours. These are an amazing way to build traffic to your site and prove to Google how reliable your site is.
Backlinks are great, but you can’t just acquire backlinks left, right and center. You need a backlink strategy in place.
When reviewing backlinks, Search engines typically look at:
- How many sites are linking to you and are they authoritative sites. A site with a high authority will impact your rankings in a more positive way.
- The quality and relevance of those links, for example, let’s say you’re an interior designer who wants to build on your backlink strategy. In order to make the most of these backlinks, it would be more beneficial to acquire these from sites about interior design and home decor, that consistently produce high quality content.
- Placement of the link is more important than you would think. Search engines often favor links that read naturally within a piece of content. Whereas links featured in the footer and menu of a site aren’t seen as valuable.
- Sponsored/paid links should have a no follow code placed on them.
- Anchor text is also incredibly important. For those who are unfamiliar with this term, it is the text that is displayed for your link. Featuring keyword relevant anchor text as opposed to the generic “click here” will be more beneficial for your site and your rankings.
Now that you’ve read about what search engines look for in your backlinks, it’s time to talk more about common link building mistakes YOU could be making within your SEO strategy.
