Off-page optimization

Off-page optimization is an essential part of your SEO strategy. It implies using several techniques outside your site to improve its ranking on a search engine results page (SERP). These techniques include creating valuable backlinks, commenting on blogs, joining forum discussions, guest posting, etc.

In this article, we’ll explain why off-page optimization matters and share some effective techniques to improve your SEO strategy.

Why is off-page optimization important?

Building high-quality backlinks goes a long way when it comes to creating valuable content. None of these strategies can be underrated. Search engines use a site’s backlinks to assess its quality and authority. The more links from authoritative resources your site has, the higher its position on a SERP.

You can use Ahrefs or Moz to discover your Domain Authority (a score from 0-100). Mind that search engines do not use this score to rank your site, but it provides you with information on your ranking potential. If it’s low, you should work on both on-page and off-page SEO.

The logic behind off-page optimization for search engines is the following:

If an authoritative site provides valuable content links to your site, it means that your site is worth it. Otherwise, this linking resource won’t put its reputation on the line since it shares its power and authority with you. Then, a search engine algorithm takes into account the relation between the content of the site that places a link and your site. It analyzes the number and quality of other links on the linking page, anchor text, trustworthiness, and popularity of the linking site to judge whether your site is worth high rankings.

Now that you know that off-page optimization is as important as on-page SEO, it’s time to learn some tips and tricks to improve your rankings.

In this section, we’ll uncover the steps you should take to constantly improve your rankings with the help of off-page optimization. We’ll also cover the channels you can use for better performance. Let’s start with evaluating your current position.

1. Check out your backlink profile. First and foremost, you need to have a clear picture of your situation. For this purpose, you can use various tools like Ahrefs, Moz, Screaming Frog, or SEMrush. With their help, you’ll find out the total number of backlinks to your site, referring domains, and pages best by links, anchors, and your Domain Rate (Domain Authority). The latter will help you compare your backlink profile to your competitors’ one and plan your strategy accordingly.
2. Build high-quality backlinks. Remember that quality beats quantity. You won’t rank high if new sites with poor authority link to yours. You’ll see tangible results if you get links from sites with high Domain Rates, organic search traffic, related topics, and relevant links. Note that you should never buy links since Google penalizes this.
3. Pay special attention to your social media. Even though social media shares are not a ranking factor, and backlinks from social networks don’t influence your SEO, you can’t ignore this powerful channel. You can increase your rankings with branded queries. Besides, social media are kind of separate search engines. People go to social networks to communicate with a brand, find answers to their questions, and see some behind-the-scenes. Therefore, consider providing a cohesive user experience and support brand consistency across all channels.
4. Start guest posting. Look for companies that are similar to yours so that their target audiences may need your solution. Offer them cooperation: you’ll write a valuable and expert piece of content, and they publish it on their blog. Apart from benefiting from their authoritative link, this will help you increase your brand awareness and outreach, drive referral traffic from this site, and bring in new leads. However, you should be ready to provide this site with unique and highly relevant content.
5. Try to join local listings. A local listing is a directory a user sees when googling “...near me/nearby”. Being listed on a popular directory such as Foursquare, for example, provides you with a valuable backlink from an authoritative source and new leads.
6. Communicate with potential leads on forums. This tip may seem outdated in case you’re going to spam each discussion with your links. Approach forums differently. Thousands of people use Reddit and Quora to find answers to their questions and talk to experts and like-minded people. Hence, why should you miss this opportunity to build a community and get some backlinks? Look through popular discussions where you can share your expert knowledge and experience to help people.
7. Make use of broken link building. Broken links harm sites a lot, but you can use them to your advantage. Find your competitors’ broken links, no matter whether these are links to your site or not, inform the site owners about them, and offer to replace them with relevant links to your site. This is a win-win for both since you’ll help this site reduce the number of 404, improve the user experience it provides, and benefit from getting a valuable backlink.

Now you can try the strategy you like the most or combine them for better effectiveness and increased ranking. And don’t forget about the power of on-page optimization.