Basic Off-Page Optimization

Once you’ve done your on-page optimization, it’s time to move on to the world of off-page optimization. While off-page optimization does have to do with building backlinks, there are some things that you do need to look at in order to ensure that you have the most solid off-page optimization strategy possible. Let’s get into it.

 

Relevance Rules

You always want to make sure that the links pointing to your site or page are on a relevant website or blog. This means that they need to be coming from a website or blog that’s in the same niche of the site that you’re promoting. This will help Google and other major search engines realize that your site is relevant to the keywords which you’re targeting via on-page optimization as well as off-page optimization.

 

Is the link coming from an authority?

Links from authority websites produce the best value. Try to get links from as many authorities within your niche as possible. For example, if your website is about technology, a link from Mashable is priceless. When you get authority websites to link to you, it signals to search engines that your website provides enough value to be mentioned by the best.

 

Anchor text matters, to a point.

Thanks to the recent Google Algorithm updates, the use of anchor text in off-page optimization has changed. While you still want to use relevant keywords in your anchor text, you need to use them in a way that makes it look as natural as possible. This means adding variations instead of only using your keywords in the text that links to your site. Simply put, make sure that it’s not nonsense and that it’s as readable as possible.

 

Where exactly is the link placed?

This is something that has generated a wide array of opinions. Search engines have picked up on the fact that links are commonly sold within the footer and/or sidebar of the website. Links within the content itself are the most valuable, so try to make sure that you get as many of these as you possibly can.

 

How many links are there to the site or page?

In order to rank, you need to know how many links you need in order to rank for your target keywords. You can find this out by seeing how many links your competitors have pointing to them. When you find the number, build just enough links to rank. You don’t want to have a ton of them as this will alert search engines that shady link building practices may have been used.

As you can see, there are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind. The truth is that this always changes, so you need to make sure that you stay on top of the latest Algorithm updates by following trusted search engine news sources. As you do this, make note of anything that has changed as well as new tactics that can be implemented in order to assure the best SEO strategy possible.

Backlinks & Free Backlink Resources

If you haven’t read the off-page optimization section, now is the time to do so. This part is going to continue where that particular part left off. You can either go about building these backlinks yourself or hire an SEO expert to do it for you. Either way, make sure that it’s done in an ethical manner in order to prevent search engines from penalizing your website for low quality backlinks.

Directory Submissions Provide a Good Foundation

There are tons of people that say directory submissions are dead, but that’s far from being realistic. What’s realistic is that low quality directories are dead as Google has realized that these are nothing but link farms. There are still some good directories out there and honestly it’s a great way to kick off your off-page optimization campaign. You can either find a directory list and do this yourself, or you can find a high quality link builder to do it for you. Either way, make sure the links generated are of decent quality so that they help your website instead of hurt it.

Using Content to Your Advantage

This can be done by guest posting on quality blogs relevant to your niche as well as article directories like Ezine Articles. If you can craft beautiful copy (or have a writer that can) you can easily use that to build some great links for your website. Just make sure that you don’t fall into the trap of copying and pasting the same article while having it published at multiple sources. You want to see the best links built, not ones that Google won’t even consider to be a good addition to their search engine data.

Discover Natural Link Building

Links have the opportunity to build themselves, but in order to do this you will need an active website with a good following. The way this is done is creating valuable content that sets yourself apart from your competitors as a true authority within your niche. This can include providing solutions to unsolved problems, keeping people updated on breaking news within your industry, or even creating something that encourages them to link to it or share it in exchange for the opportunity to win something or get something for free.

Embrace Press Release Services

Press releases can be valuable, but you need to be experienced in crafting quality press releases or have a writer that can. Not only will you be exposed to the readers of some of the top news sites, but the links that are built from it are truly priceless. When going about using this method for your off-page optimization, don’t fall for the free services. You only want to be featured on the most notable media outlets.

Comments Can Build Upon Your SEO Foundation

Commenting on blogs within your niche is a very simple way to build some quality links to increase your worthiness to search engines. Make sure that they’re “dofollow” or they won’t provide any link juice. A good strategy is to actually balance out “nofollow” links and “dofollow” links to make it look as natural as possible.

Free Backlink Resources

Here are a few resources that you can use to create free backlinks:

●     ArticleCity.com

●     Article Dashboard

●     ArticlesBase.com

●     CommentHunt.com

●     Ezine Articles

●     GoArticles.com

●     Helium

●     IdeaMarketers.com

●     Squidoo