If you want to improve your SERPs in 2020, off-page SEO is not something to avoid. I’m writing as an answer to one of my clients, who asked me about the best off-page SEO practices we could use to drive traffic to his site.
I will not only tell you the real definition of off-page SEO but also show you some FREE sites you can leverage for this. The goal here is to improve your organic traffic, leads, and conversions.
Some bloggers consider only on-page SEO. However, it’s equally important to consider both when blogging.
Off-page SEO techniques are similar to content marketing and promotions you perform on your website to gain popularity and authority in your chosen niche of expertise.
What’s off-page SEO?
It refers to all SEO efforts you perform outside your site in an attempt to improve your SERPs. You see, Google will only recognize your site as an authority when there are other sites with a higher DA linking back to it.
Don’t think this is a complicated practice because it’s not. For one thing, there are many free sites with a high DA.
Here are some off-page SEO practices:
1. Article submission.
2. Social shares.
3. Social Bookmarking.
4. Submitting a website to online web directories.
5. Business Listings.
6. Forum submission.
7. Commenting on blogs.
8. Video submission.
Article submission.
Submitting articles to high-quality authority sites gives your site trust from Google. Be a guest writer for a few of these sites and include backlinks in the articles back to your site.
That will not only help in getting a share of their traffic juice but also in organic traffic increment. Begin by researching on sites that allow guest writers and pitch your article to them. Always find those in your niche. Once they accept you, write a top-notch piece.
Writing Cooperative has an excellent list of sites that allow guest posting.
Social shares.
Most bloggers don’t consider this but it also has a significant impact on the overall ranking of the page.
Sharing your top posts on Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help to build trust and credibility, which is essential in blogging. In addition, people can re-share those posts and boost traffic.
If you haven’t been sharing your posts on Facebook, begin today. You can even create a simple page, share the posts, and boost them to reach a wider audience.
Social Bookmarking
This is one of the best off-page SEO practices because it has been working for me. I sometimes do content syndication for my clients. It helps to bring in quality traffic to your site.
What you need to do is share your published content on sites such as Reddit, answering questions on Quora, and StumbleUpon. Guess what? These sites are free.
After posting a unique, compelling post, ask the readers to check out a resource on your site that explains the topic better.
Directory submission.
There are several web directories on the internet. What you need to do is to submit your name, website URL, title, and email to these directories.
Since there are several categories, ensure you submit to a relevant category. Try out directories such as Local Business Directories, GMB. Google Maps, and Yellow Pages.
Listing your site here will give you a free backlink. These sites have a high DA site and will improve your SEPR.
Business Listings.
If you own a physical business, you need a website to act as central to all your marketing efforts. You can then list your site on business listings.
This will not only help to build authority but also improve the customer’s trust and confidence.
You will need an office address, a business name, and an email ID to list your business on these various business listing sites.
Forum submission.
You have heard of forums such as the Warrior Forum, right? I know that perhaps you are a member of some of these forums.
In Warrior Forum, for example, you can find a forum for every niche on the internet. So, you can not only benefit from other members’ expertise but also share your insights and link back to your site.
Begin by becoming a member. Start a thread and answer the questions. The aim is to bring in value. If you spam every answer with links, you will not be there for long.
You can create medium to long-form answers and give a CTA such as, ‘if you want, you can check out this resource.’ Someone will see the value in your answer and would want to check out your site.
Blog commenting.
It’s an easy way to earn backlinks to your site really quickly. Don’t spam, however, because your comment will be deleted by the author.
What you need to do is to contribute first to what the blogger has written. You can then give a link to your blog post that explains more or give another idea to what you think might help his or her readers.
If he feels the comment and the resource is helpful, you will earn a backlink.
Follow several bloggers and read their blog posts. Whenever an article feels, it is not well explained, or you have a better idea, comment on that blog, and leave a link to that resource.
You need to be careful, however, to leave comments only on high-quality blogs. Low-quality ones will degrade your blog and might not be suitable for your off-page SEO efforts.
Video submission.
Do you know that YouTube is the second biggest search engine in the World just after Google? Yes, it is. This was in regard to the articles that Forbes published in 2017.
Now that you know, why not get a share of its traffic?
Begin by creating videos based on the content you have on your blog. You can also add an SEO title, Meta description, and tags.
Include backlinks to your site here in the video description. Tell the viewers that you have included a link to a resource that helps grasp the topic better.
Check out how Yogesh is doing this.
Conclusion.
I just listed these tips randomly. There is a lot that goes into developing an inbound off-page SEO strategy. I will create a long-form blog post talking about where, how, when, and which.
To test this right, you can leverage the right tools. If you can check out Neil’s blog, you should have a good grasp of the topic.
Begin applying these techniques to your blog marketing techniques, and you will see a drastic improvement in traffic to your site. You may not see the traffic increase right away, but sooner, you will.
