Effective search engine optimization (SEO) is a complex dance between actions that take place on and off your website. The on-page SEO factors that we discussed in our previous post can be quickly and directly controlled by website designers and so provide the easiest and most efficient paths to achieving search engine optimization. However, off-page SEO factors, while more complex to manipulate, promise the bigger SEO payoff and can have a greater impact on your inbound marketing strategy.
Off-page SEO manipulation requires exacting knowledge of search engine operation, practiced experience with search engines and a high level of Internet expertise. Inbound marketing professionals are highly experienced in implementing effective off-page SEO techniques.
Effective off-page search engine optimization begins with a great website and blog. Well-designed and well-written websites attract site visitors and keep them coming back for more. All that activity keeps your click popularity soaring, one of many factors search engines measure to determine website rankings. Healthy website traffic also increases critically important link popularity. Using the on-page SEO factors we discussed in our last post to create a dynamic website sets you up to capitalize on off-page SEO factors.
Off-page SEO factors
-
Link popularity is the SEO gold ring. Before your website can start climbing the rankings ladder, it has to be noticed. The more links from outside sites that point to your website, the greater your Internet visibility. Particularly on Google, link popularity is essential in winning the keyword competition. When many sites use the same keywords, it is link popularity -- the number of other websites that link to your site -- that will make your website stand out from the competition.
-
Link building can be augmented by exchanging reciprocal links with website visitors. Invite visitors to link to your site. Blogs, Internet press releases, Facebook pages, white papers and newsletters all provide opportunities for reciprocal linking. The most effective links are created when one of your keywords is included in the link text. To help ensure that others link to your keywords, include your keywords in titles and headings, the items most frequently selected when creating links. Don't engage in mass reciprocal link exchange campaigns or services. They often provide low quality inbound links that aren't relevant to your site and may even damage your site search rankings.
- Social media engagement - the more of this you do, the better. Comments on blogs provide an opportunity for inbound links. They may not always provide SEO "juice", since many will have a "nofollow" attribute that prevents search bots from following them to your site. But in general, your comments should show your expertise and interest in the topic and may entice people to visit your website. In any case, social media engagement exposes your website to more people and often leads to more traffic and better SEO results.
What is your off-page SEO strategy? How well is it working?
Photo credit: adwriter
