When it comes to Google-friendly SEO, we usually start with on-page tactics.
But there’s more to SEO than using the right keywords and getting your meta-data right. Off-page SEO tactics are just as important, especially for increasing traffic and conversions.
What are the off-page SEO factors you need to know?
This infographic, developed by Shane Barker, is your ultimate guide. There’s nothing here that should get your site flagged, so pick your favorite factors and get to work.
Off-Page SEO Factors that Work
Let’s review, shall we?
Your best off-page SEO tactics
- Earn quality backlinks (earn, mind you, don’t buy)
- Increase visibility in SERP (search engine rank page)
- Increase social presence
- Create high-quality content
- Improve website quality
- Build your brand reputation
Keep in mind, SEO used to be a way to game the system. By following a few underhanded tactics, you could guarantee top ranking in the SERPs. Not any more.
Search engines want top resources in their top positions, so they review your pages to make sure they deserve indexing.
What search engines want to see
A relatively easy measure of quality is a backlink. Lots of backlinks from reputable sites suggests a page is providing value.
But Google is looking for natural backlinks, not schemes. If they suspect you’ve purchased backlinks, you could be penalized. That being the case, you have to be careful about how you acquire them. All backlinks should be natural, so they don’t hurt your online rankings.
To make sure you don’t make a lot of common backlink building mistakes, check out this step-by-step process on how to build backlinks the right way in 2018.
How do you get quality backlinks?
Create high-quality content that people want to link to. Content that builds:
Relevancy + Trust + Authority
Since you can’t buy backlinks, you have to work for these backlinks. A few suggestions include:
- Guest blogging (you may be able to include a relevant link to your website)
- Infographics (people love to share them)
- Testimonials (for credibility, they often contain a link to your site)
- Product review (could become link bait)
- Social media outreach (think of it as networking; you need to do it anyway)
The key is quality content
If you consistently create useful, informative content, people are going to notice. The key is to create content that helps your readers. (You might say off-site SEO is most likely to happen when you aren’t thinking about SEO at all.)
How do you do that?
Create content that’s relevant—it helps your audience solve their pressing problems.
Create content that’s work sharing—provide real solutions and do it well. These days, the best content includes visual elements and/or media, as well as the written word.
Create content that people want to read—you may need to research keywords before you plan your content to make sure people are searching for the topics you’re thinking about.
Other factors you need to think about
- Links from high-value, high-authority sites
- Links from sites that are relevant to your own
- The quantity of high-quality backlinks
- No spammy backlinks
- Branded anchor text
- Semantically relevant backlinks
- Lots of unique, fresh content
The best possible advice
It’s simple. As Shane says in the infographic, “Create the most epic and sharable content.”
But don’t try to force it or game the system. Focus on creating content and getting it in front of your ideal customers. The rest is fairly organic.
Thoughts? Have you found a particular off-page SEO tactic that works well for you? Let us know in the comments.
Want to see off-page SEO in action? You’re seeing it in this article.
Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant, named the #1 social media consultant in the nation by PROskore Power Rankings. He has expertise in business development, online marketing and is an SEO specialist who has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and a number of A-list celebrities.
He shared this infographic with me so more people could see his work. Thanks, Shane!
