Part 2.0
Off Page SEO
In my last post I talked about the on page SEO factors that influence the levels and quality of traffic that your website gets. So, you have optimised your site for the search phrases that you are targeting and can now wait for some leads and sales, right? – wrong! When I started optimising websites for high search engine rankings, the on page stuff, if done correctly, would pretty much ensure that your site would rank well. Yes, you had to ‘tell’ the engines that the site was there but most of the influential ranking factors occurred on page, not off page.
Off Page Search Engine Optimisation
Off page search engine optimisation is a strategy whereby you build/raise the profile of your website via other online channels.  Getting product/service related content links and listing information placed on third party (preferably topic related) websites builds an ‘online buzz’ about your business.Â
The objective of this strategy is to build your website as:
- an authority in relation to your market
- highly relevant in relation to your market
- a reliable and trusted source of information  in relation to your market
- an online source that people will happily recommend
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Most people associate off page optimisation with link building, a much used (and abused) form of generating online references and listing of websites.
Link Building or Link Popularity [a definition]
Off Page SEO - Link Building
Link Popularity refers to the number of links pointing to your site from other sites on the web. There are other terms used for Link Popularity, such as Link Building, In-Bound Links, Back Links, etc. If other high ranking and reputable sites link to your site, search engines will consider your site to be important within its subject field. If your website is constructed correctly and carries well-written, relevant and informative content, its chances of ranking well increase.
There are two types of links you can establish on the web. One type is to trade links (Link Exchange), where you give a link from the links page on your site to the partner site. The second method is to establish only “incoming links” also called One-way Links or Non-Reciprocal Links. With non-reciprocal links, you do not need to link back to them. There are several ways of developing In-bound links.
Getting it Right
Link building can be very effective if done correctly. Over time link building has been abused with many sites using ‘link farms’ or link directories and auto submit applications in order to get high numbers of inbound links. By definition, many of these link directories hold no value with search engines as they see them for what they are. Ensure that your link building is natural and above all topical – contact and speak to people that you would like to link to/from, network with other likeminded people/businesses and associated site administrators. Remember it is quality not quantity!
Link building is the first step in off page optimisation and one that all site owners and SEO’s must address when marketing any business online. However as is the nature of the Internet – ever changing, many more off page optimisation opportunities exist and I will look at these in Part 3.0 – coming soon!
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