Getting a website to rank high in search results usually requires a holistic approach. You need to work on elements internal to the website, but work on measures outside your own website too. Then you will achieve increased authority and can see higher rankings.
What is off-page SEO?
Off-page SEO is, by definition, measures taken outside your own website. The goal, as usual, is to increase search engine rankings. Off-page SEO work and, in particular, work with links to your website is part of basic SEO. By working well off-page, you show the search engines and users that your site is popular and recognized on the web in general. By being featured on other high-quality websites and having other reputable websites use you as a source, search engines will see that quality sites online vouch for you, and they love that!
What is the difference between off-page and on-page?
In short, on-page SEO is about optimizing individual pages to achieve organic visibility. Off-page SEO is about showing the search engines that the website has high credibility and value overall. Therefore, you could say that off-page SEO partially determines how high up in the search results the website ends up. On-page SEO, on the other hand, determines which pages on the website will get visibility. Of course, it's not black and white; how well you work with on-page can also affect how much visibility you get. But this is one way of distinguishing the two working methods.
Although there are differences between the two working methods, it's important to know that everything in SEO is connected. The first and perhaps most important step you need to take to get good links to your website is to write good and relevant content.
Why is off-page SEO important?
As mentioned, working with off-page SEO is an important part of building the credibility and authority of your website. These are factors that search engines use in assessing and ranking websites. When quality websites link to your website, you will both satisfy Google's algorithm and spread awareness of your own content. It becomes like a form of marketing, where links from other popular sites will also increase users' awareness of your brand too. It allows you to be visible to more potential customers, even outside your own channels.
Link building
As mentioned, the essence of off-page is to gain authority by getting mentions and links from other quality sites on the web. In other words, links are an important part of the off-page work, without them the search engines will not see that the mention is linked to your domain. Getting these links to your website is known as link building. The links from other websites to your site are called backlinks. Getting more backlinks is good, but it's also important that they come from good sites. Links from pages that are highly valued by the search engines are more beneficial for your website.
Here are some tips for getting high-quality backlinks:
Mapping
Find out which websites that mention your brand or anything related to your business or employees are NOT linking to your website. It's a very straightforward place to start, and the path to a link is short. Then just send a nice request if they can attach a link in the text where they already mention your brand.
Listings on industry websites
Are there websites that list current players in your industry? Then you need to get yourself on that list! Get in touch and ask nicely to be added to the list. There are several places where member companies are listed, so you may be able to see what is required for membership and whether it is worth it.
Think creatively about where you can get publicity
It's not necessarily ONLY websites that talk about your industry that can be relevant to be featured on. Broadening your search can open up more opportunities for backlinks. If there is a site that talks about a topic that is relevant to you, regardless of industry, then it may still be possible to get linked to. Perhaps it's someone who shares your philosophy on customer relations or working methods? If they refer to good examples, a link to you could be useful. It's okay to ask in a nice way and invite yourself. But it's important that the website you contact is thematically appropriate!
Illegal link building
Another important thing to mention when it comes to backlinks is that the right approach is important! Manipulating links in different ways is frowned upon by the search engines, so you should avoid it by all means.
- Don't pay someone to link to your website
- Don't use so-called "link farms": websites that are created just to link to another site to increase popularity.
- Google is cracking down on link wheels as a strategy: the idea is that page A links to B, B to C etc to page F which eventually links back to page A.
The essence of this is that it's important that the link building happens in an organic way. It is allowed to ask relevant websites if they want to link to your website, but don't manipulate links for the sake of ranking. To avoid illegal strategies, it's important that the sites you contact about linking have a natural link to your website or subject area and that they link to you voluntarily.
Non-link related off-page SEO
There's a lot of focus on link building in off-page SEO, but other marketing activities can also increase your website's popularity and authority. All in all, off-page SEO is about creating various references to your website from elsewhere on the internet.
Some types of non-link related off-page work could be, for example:
- Guest blogging
- Social media marketing
- Influencer marketing
- PR
When carrying out activities and projects like this to strengthen SEO, it's also important to keep relevance in mind. It's important that the people you contact and the places you seek publicity are thematically relevant to your website. Otherwise, the search engines may penalize your strategy. What's more, the most important thing is that users find content that they find relevant and that meets their expectations.
In summary
Off-page SEO is, as mentioned, work to increase organic visibility that is done outside your own website. The aim is to obtain mentions and references to your website from other places on the internet. When search engines see that your website is being talked about by others on the internet, they will label it as popular and of high authority. It's a ranking factor that allows you to increase your rankings in search results. There's a lot to keep in mind when working with off-page SEO, but with these things in mind, you'll have a good off-page strategy!
- Make sure that pages that link to your website are thematically relevant to what you offer and write about.
- Ensure that the sites linking to your website are of high quality themselves
- Don't use illegal methods such as paying for links etc.
- Remember to think creatively when it comes to places to go about linking
- Other marketing activities can also help off-page SEO
With a good off-page SEO strategy, you'll be able to increase your website's popularity and you'll also create greater awareness of your brand outside of your own platforms. When more people know about your business and you create more pathways to your website around the internet, it's a short route to more sales (as long as you have good content on your own website to make them want to buy! We go through this in our guide to on-page SEO, which you can find here).
FAQ
What is off-page SEO?
Off-page SEO is work that is done outside your own website to bring references to your website. Off-page SEO work, especially work with links, is a fundamental part of SEO. This is how you show users and search engines that your site is popular and recognized by others online.
Why should you work with off-page SEO?
Off-page SEO is important because references to your website from quality sites on the internet increase your popularity and authority. It's a ranking factor that search engines use when evaluating your site. It becomes like a form of marketing, where links from other popular pages will also increase users' awareness of your brand as well. It allows you to be visible to more potential customers, even outside your own channels.
What are backlinks?
Backlinks are links that go from other pages to your website. Backlinks are what you want when working with off-page SEO. It is also beneficial that the links to your website come from pages that are themselves of high quality and popularity.
