Creating valuable content is profitable only if people read it. And finding the readers is the online marketers` greatest challenge.
You must compete against many other websites and convince people to read yours.
If you aren`t skilled, you can give up and fail.
Instead of creating content and waiting for traffic, market it where readers hang out.
That`s what off-page SEO can help you do. It`s an SEO practice that enables you to build backlinks and make your website found and drive traffic from third-party sources.
Driving traffic through third-party websites signals search engines that you create valuable content, which increases your site`s rank and authority.
But how can you apply off-page SEO?
This content covers off-page SEO practices you should apply to your website and drive traffic that converts.
Link (backlink) Building
Link building is the backbone of off-page SEO. It refers to having other websites linking back to yours.
To benefit from this method, you have to find backlinks from relevant websites that have high traffic. Linking to high-traffic websites helps expose your backlinks to many people, which spreads link equity to your web pages.
Link equity is the value that a link passes from one page to another, which means if you link to a high-traffic website, you expose your site to many people and drive traffic to your site.
Link equity is determined by
Backlinks from Relevant Websites
No matter how authoritative a website is, it will not help you drive traffic if it`s not related to your niche.
Do not find backlinks from a cooking website if you are an SEO expert. A cooking audience is not related to SEO and getting links from such a website won`t bring conversions to your website. It instead reduces readers` trust and makes your site look unreliable.
To drive quality traffic, find backlinks from relevant websites.
However, even when you link to the relevant websites, don`t link to any content. Find backlinks from related content. Linking content about how to conduct social media marketing to one on becoming an email marketer will put readers off even when they are all digital marketing websites.
Link Authority
This refers to how valuable a link is, which is determined by whether the link is indexable or not.
Being linked to a no-follow link can`t help raise your site traffic since search engines can`t index such links. Find indexable backlinks so search engines can crawl, index, and rank your content.
Moreover, your backlinks should come from web pages that have high traffic. When a page has low traffic, you have a low chance of driving traffic to your site.
Also, a page that has many backlinks proves that it`s authoritative. Therefore find a website with many backlinks to increase the potential of driving traffic to your site.
Besides, you will increase the chances of having links clicked depending on where you locate them. A link can drive traffic when readers know what to find when they follow it. Therefore, ensure your backlinks are hyperlinked on descriptive anchor text. For instance, a link that says “learn how to do on-page SEO” will convert more than one that says “SEO Tips”.
Domain Authority
Domain authority entails a website's age, trust, and popularity.
1 to two-year-old domains have a good track record, enabling them to have a high potential to rank. A domain earns a good track record if it doesn`t use black hat SEO methods.
For a website to be trustworthy, it must contain content that helps people solve their pain points. For instance, if you are in the social media marketing niche, you can create content that helps people`s social media campaigns succeed.
That will make people get back to your site for related information. That increases traffic to your site and signals search engines that you provide valuable information, which raises a site`s rank. A website that ranks attracts many people and increases its popularity.
Finding backlinks from such a website enables you to get more traffic and increase your website authority.
To check domain authority, you can use domain authority checker tools, like
Just open the tool, paste the website domain URL, and click on the check authority button. You will see the domain rating, the number of backlinks it has, and the quantity of websites linking to it.
You can do the same for particular web pages as well and see their quality before finding a backlink.
Anchor Text
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. It should be relevant to the destination content.
If the destination content is about how to conduct SEO, create an anchor text that explains what people will learn when they click.
So, in this case, your anchor text can be “Here is how to conduct SEO”. But if instead, it says, “Learn how to do digital marketing”, it will be misleading. People will not get what your anchor text promises, which lowers trustworthiness and makes them ignore your site.
Types of Backlinks in Off-Page SEO
Backlinks are defined by how they are acquired and here are the main types:
Natural Links
These are links that are not asked for. People will link out to you depending on the relevance and quality of your content.
To get such links, your website should provide content that solves the readers' intent.
Manually Built Links
These are intentional practices aimed at gaining links. They include asking your clients to link out to you in their blogs and social media platforms.
You can also hire influencers who are related to your niche to link out to you on their platforms or share your content.
Self-created Links
This involves adding backlinks in online directories, forums, and blog comments.
Self-created links help drive people from other sources to your website to find more information, which increases traffic.
Some of the directories you can list your websites and find backlinks are
Conversely, if you use forums and blog comments, ensure to add comments in authoritative forums and blogs and offer value. Do not paste links without explanation; tell people how they can benefit from the link.
For instance, if you want to add a link about off-page SEO, you can say, “Here is a practice to help you increase traffic and get conversions to your website,” then paste the link for people to follow and learn more.
That is persuasive and makes it easy for someone to follow your links.
Off-Page SEO Methods to Build Backlinks
There are various methods to use to acquire quality backlinks and increase your website rank, which include
Social Media Marketing
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| Image by PhotoMIX-Company: Pixabay |
On social media, there are people of different interests. That means, despite your niche, you can find people to market your business to. That can enable you to get backlinks from these platforms and build brand awareness.
To build effective backlinks on social media, pick your favorite platforms and create accounts. Then post helpful content convincing people to click and visit your website.
Also, join relevant social media groups and participate in the conversations to build authority.
If for instance, you are in the cooking niche, join cooking social media groups. In such groups, people seek help on relevant topics. Offer advice and post your links so people can follow you to learn more.
If your advice is helpful, people will follow your website, read your content, and hopefully convert.
Check out this resource for more about how to do social media marketing.
Influencer Marketing
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| Image by George Milton: Pexels |
This is a form of marketing that involves paying influencers to endorse your website.
Influencers are people who are prominent in a certain industry and their advice or opinion is trustworthy.
Getting links from such people`s websites or social media platforms increases the chances of driving clients. That`s because your links will be visible to many people.
However, ensure to get backlinks from people related to your website. Irrelevant influencers, though can avail your website to any people, they won`t convert.
If you are a digital marketer, you can benefit if you find a digital marketing influencer. That will help you find a relevant audience with the potential to convert.
Here is more on how to do influencer marketing.
Guest Blogging
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| Image by Cottonbro Studio: Pexels |
Guest blogging refers to asking to write blog posts on other people`s websites and linking back to your site.
What makes this effective is that it allows you to create a bio describing your services, which entices people more to move to your website.
To effectively do guest blogging, choose relevant websites and create in-depth posts that satisfy readers` intent.
You can find guest blogging opportunities by typing a keyword followed by “accepting guest posts” on the internet and searching. For instance, if you are an SEO marketer, you can type, SEO marketing "accepting guest posts". You will get many results to apply to.
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Guest blogging helps build a relationship with fellow businessmen in the industry and exposes you to prospects.
Learn how to do guest blogging here.
Fixing Broken Links
This is one of the easiest ways to acquire backlinks. It entails finding websites with broken links and contacting the owners asking them to replace the broken links with yours.
To facilitate this practice, search for websites related to your niche and analyze their link authority. You can do that by using tools like Ahref's broken link checker.
Open Ahrefs and click on Site Explorer. Then click on the broken link checker and paste the website URL. You will see all the broken links if there are any.
If you find any broken links and have relevant content to link with on your site, write a pitch asking to replace the broken links with yours.
To make your pitch effective, ensure to address the owner by their name, tell them how you found them, and how your links will benefit their readers.
Learn how to write a pitch that converts on this resource.
Local SEO
Local SEO is a search engine optimization strategy that involves optimizing your site for local search results. It enables your site to appear on local searches and attract people in your locality.
People trust businesses in their locality more because it`s easy to visit the business location hence building credibility.
To facilitate local SEO, add your website to Google My Business. This is a global directory that indexes businesses. It allows you to list your business information so that it can be available to your clients worldwide.
Besides, you can list your business on review sites like Yelp and Trip Advisor for people to leave their honest reviews. When people review your site, respond and offer solutions in case of any complaints.
That will enable people to know that they are dealing with a genuine business, which increases trust with your clients.
Here is an in-depth resource about how to conduct local SEO.
Conduct Off-Page SEO and Increase Your Site`s Traffic
Off-page SEO enables people and search engines to find your website through various sources. This raises a site`s rank and increases traffic.
Besides, it helps build relationships with fellow businessmen, which can help you learn new marketing tactics and make more sales.
To facilitate off-page SEO, conduct guest posting, social media marketing, influencer marketing, local SEO, and fixing broken links. You will strengthen your domain authority, raise your site`s rank, and increase the potential to drive conversions.
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