Off-site SEO: The Basics - Astute Communications

Off-site SEO includes every activity done off your website to try and increase the site’s ranking in a search engine. Typical off-site SEO tasks include increasing social media presence, building backlinks, and encouraging branded searches. Everything you do outside your website to help Google or Bing see you are considered off-site SEO. 

This is important because Google still uses backlinks and other off-site indicators to structure its algorithm. Google has even stated that they consider PageRank when deciding how to rank your site. Factors that go into your page rank are reviews, mentions by trustworthy sources, expert recommendations, and more.

off-site vs on-site SEO

On-site SEO is everything you can directly control on your website such as content, URLs, titles, and meta descriptions. Website owners typically have little or no control over their off-site SEO. An example of off-site SEO would be someone sharing a link to a blog you published on their social media account. This could help your site ranking without any direct action on your part. 

Backlinks

Backlinks are a great facet of off-site SEO because you have more control over them. When it comes to getting backlinks for your site, quality is much more important than quantity. If a website with an already high authority ranking links to your website as a source, that in turn helps improve your website’s keyword rankings. You’re basically benefiting from the reputation of another site. 

While you probably have no say over whether another site links to yours, you can attempt to seize control of this scenario by actively reaching out to industry-specific sites to inquire about linking to your content. Be sure to present high-quality content; the better it is, the more likely they will accept it.

Brand Signals

Brand signals are an under-appreciated part of off-site SEO. Google uses brand signals to decide whether your site is a legitimate brand or not. The best way to assess your brand signal is to check your ranking when people search for your brand by name. Google Search Console is a great place to view this. 

Not impressed with your brand search ranking? Investing in a YouTube campaign is a good way to improve your brand signals. A video campaign on YouTube can get your name in front of thousands of people every month. The more visibility your brand has, the more likely it is that someone will search for your brand’s name through Google.  

Another great way to check your brand signals is through brand tracking tools. You can use a service like mention.com to see metrics like how your branded terms are trending and where you’re being mentioned.

E-A-T

The acronym “E-A-T” stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. The best way to improve your E-A-T and be seen as a reputable source is to start getting mentioned on sites with higher authorities. Even if a large site doesn’t link to you but mentions your brand name, that could still help improve your branded search. Additionally, you can try to link on “seed sites, ” commonly linked to by high authority sites. 

Reviews are also a big component of off-site SEO because they are testimonials from people who have interacted with your brand. The more bad reviews you receive, the lower your trustworthiness and, consequently, the less that Google wants to show your business for relevant searches. 

Final Thoughts

Off-site SEO is an often overlooked and underutilized part of an overall SEO strategy. By taking the time to improve your site’s authority and reputation off of your website, you can increase your site ranking organically. The next time you notice your brand not getting enough love on Google, try some of these tactics to boost your site’s authority.

Contact Astute if you want to learn how our SEO services can help grow your online visibility.