Off Page SEO Essentials: 7 Tactics to Improve Your Rankings
Search engine optimisation (SEO) plays a key role in generating traffic for websites. It is the process of increasing both the quality and quantity of the traffic to a website from popular search engines such as Google Chrome (Lafleur, 2022).
When websites have been created with good SEO techniques in place, they are usually highly ranked and a lot more visible on search engines. In the case of e-commerce platforms, this provides companies with an opportunity to convert visitors, to browsers and eventually into actual buyers.
SEO is therefore an essential ingredient to ensure websites are able to gain traction with visitors. Off-page SEO works slightly differently from the usual approach of SEO. It involves all activities that are carried out outside of the website’s environment to improve its search engine rankings. With that said, what are some of the useful off page SEO methods one could use to improve a website’s search engine ranking?
1. Leverage the power of social media
One of the most effective ways to improve your website’s ranking is by using various popular social media platforms. Given that social media platforms are not directly linked to your main website; it is worthwhile creating valuable content that will reach a large audience. This provides you with an opportunity to create a substantial amount of buzz among your audience which could inspire them to link to your website. This in turn could contribute to organic growth where your website’s search engine ranking is concerned.
2. Develop a press release strategy
A press release, which is often an official statement to existing and new members of your website, can help improve your off page SEO strategy. One way of going about this is to provide meaningful information to members about new services or products and even upcoming events that you may have in the pipeline. This is also an excellent way to build a network with popular bloggers who share common interests with you. Bloggers are in a position to add their own links or distribute your links within their circles which is a low-cost technique to generate traffic to your website.
3. Develop your brand
A strong brand is often a memorable brand and this is often the case for e-commerce platforms. Developing a brand can be achieved even with an off page SEO strategy, especially if it is a memorable, strong and reputable brand.
A brand with these characteristics will likely speak for itself and find itself at the top of search engine ranks. This might work particularly well for e-commerce platforms since the objective goes beyond just acquiring website visitors, instead, the goal is to convert visitors to customers who will make a purchase of the product or service that you offer – the e-commerce funnel model is a great visual representation of this (Stray Digital, 2022).
This adds an extra layer of complexity to SEO in that customers will have interacted with your brand on a personal level by making a purchase. It is a strategy that requires careful planning and thinking, since customers are likely to review your product or service. With a strong brand, positive reviews will benefit your website’s rankings.
4. Verify your content
Much of the content we encounter online is neither verified or backed by a reputable source – and so the broader audience might take it with a grain of salt. It is thus important to carry out adequate research when publishing content so that website visitors are able to make a clear distinction between fact and fiction.
For example, when creating newsletters or press releases it is important to base your publications on facts rather than fiction since these are platforms that will provide your audience with valuable insights and actionable data. In essence, your audience will respond to your off page content in a much more positive light when it has been backed by adequate research.
5. Understand the importance of indexing
Search engine algorithms have become more and more complex over the last decade. For example, Google’s search engine algorithm has grown significantly over recent years with the goal to distinguish between legitimate and spam-like content (Backlinko, 2022). The content you publish off page from your main website is just as important as the content you decide to publish on various other external platforms.
6. Explore the use of forums
While social media is a great way to develop and share viral content, the use of forums is often overlooked. Forums are a great way to share content that is a lot more focused. The content can be something as simple as posing a question or answering a popular question raised by other users. Reddit is one such platform where users are able to provide their aggregate knowledge on specific topics. It is also a lot more open-sourced compared to social network platforms. Offering your insights on platforms such as Reddit enables you to redirect users to your website where you can easily share much more detailed information on a topic.
7. Create meaningful events
Events that occur off page can be very useful if executed properly. It is a good opportunity to allow your audience to engage with you off page and it is an approach that is a lot more open-ended.
The type of events can vary significantly and they can usually take place in person or online. One of the most popular events being adopted today is podcasts. Podcasts have exploded in popularity given their open-ended approach in discussing an array of various topics. It is an excellent way to draw your audience to a completely separate platform where you are able to share your knowledge and market your main website. Embedding links to your website on podcast videos has also become a lot easier with platforms such as YouTube which is widely accessible to many people.
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