Off Page SEO: With our analysis, Offpage Optimization Works


8 minutes of sensibly invested reading time

The right keywords, optimized images, a good Page Speed – and yet the ranking leaves much to be desired. Website operators can put a lot of time and work into On Page optimization. However, this alone is usually not enough to land on Google's top places. Because: In addition to on-page optimization, a sustainable SEO strategy also includes comprehensive off-page optimization.


We show what constitutes a professional Off Page SEO and what site operators have to pay attention to in order to achieve a good ranking in the long term.


What is off-page optimization?


Offpage optimization describes any measure that does not take place on your own website to improve the ranking. In other words, Offpage SEO is the challenge for companies to show search engines away from their own page that their content has a high relevance – and should therefore be high up in the SERPs. In principle, Offpage SEO is therefore the reputation management of a website. It affects the reputation of a page on the web, how important it is in the context of its industry, and how many other sources recommend it.


Difference to Onpage Optimization


With Onpage optimization, site operators have it in their own hands how well they can optimize each individual SEO factor. This is not always the case with OffPage SEO. While they have full control over some measures, they can only work towards one goal in others – without being able to determine the concrete end result. This makes off-page optimization all the more difficult. So where can site operators start?

Link-dependent off-page factors


An essential part of off-page optimization is the networking of your own website with other sources on the web. High-quality backlinks are perhaps the most important factor in impressing Google away from your own website. Because: The Google search is based on the PageRank. The PageRank records the number and quality of backlinks of a website. But what factors influence how valuable a backlink is? What do business owners have to pay attention to when building links?

Number of backlinks


The more backlinks a website receives from unique sources (referring domains), the better it ranks on search engines. And: The more links a page receives, the more traffic it receives. Companies should not have the goal of building more backlinks for their entire site. Instead, they should generate links to the pages they want to rank in the SERPs. Using tools like Ahrefs' Backlink Checker, they can check how many links are already pointing to their page.


Link Authority


Not all referring links that a page receives are created equal. The more importance a page has on the web, the higher its authority on Google. The higher the authority of the linking page, the more the backlink is worth for the recipient page. Because: The linking page thus passes on its authority.


Dofollow links or nofollow links?


Site operators should make sure that they do not provide the links of their pages with a nofollow attribute. This tells search engines not to pay attention to a link for SEO. To distinguish which pages are nofollow and which pages are dofollow links, companies can use tools such as the nofollow Chrome Extension. This marks nofollow links on pages.

Anchor text


The anchor text describes the link text that is used to link from one page to another page. In practice, this means that anchor texts that are thematically related to the main topic of a website have a positive effect on the importance of the backlink and thus on the ranking. However, business owners usually have little influence on which anchor text other pages use to link to their website. However, as a rule, pages choose words for their link text that are related to the topic of the landing page. Often these are the relevant keywords.


Relevance of backlinks


Backlinks are like recommendations. The more relevant this recommendation is, the more it is worth to a business. For example, if a travel provider receives a backlink from a financial institution and a backlink from an airline, the airline's link is much more relevant to them. Because: The topics of both sides are closely linked. The link then proves the quality and content of the company, making the link worth more. This is also registered by Bing and Co. It is therefore worthwhile to produce high-quality content.


It is questionable whether links with more authority or with more relevance have a greater influence on the ranking. Marketing experts do not agree on this. For example, Julie Joyce of Link Fish Media assumes that this depends on the goal of search engine optimization. If a page has the goal of landing at the top of the SERPs as quickly as possible, it would prefer a link with high authority but less relevance. If a page aims to sustainably improve traffic, conversion and ranking, it would choose a link with less authority and higher thematic relevance.


Paul May, co-founder of Buzzstream, believes that the context of search engine optimization plays an important role. Above all, it is crucial how competitive the SEO area is and how much authority a page has already been able to gain. As a rule, however, Paul May would always opt for a link with greater authority. The reason: In competitive markets, it is difficult to rank without authority.


Traffic of the referring link


A study by Ahrefs recently found that there is a correlation between pages that are at the top of Google and the amount of traffic to the referring pages. Ahrefs came to this conclusion by analyzing the top 10 rankings for almost 45,000 non-branded keywords.


This means that links from pages with high organic traffic have more meaning than pages with less organic traffic. However, that doesn't mean that low-traffic links are insignificant for SEO. Because: A page can have little traffic, but still be relevant and have a certain authority – and thus give the landing page SEO points.


How can site operators build backlinks?


Site operators now know which factors determine what value backlinks have for them. But how can they generate them? Link building works mainly through these measures:




  • Guest article: Content is not only important on your own website. Companies can use guest articles on thematically related pages or on pages where their own target group is located to place content including backlink – and thus draw attention to themselves.

  • Press work: Newspapers and magazines often pick up press releases to write a report. Business owners should therefore regularly publish press releases in order to receive attention and thus links from relevant media.

  • Unique content: Site operators should create content that does not yet exist on the web. They should market it comprehensively. In this way, they increase the likelihood that external sites will pick up and link to the content.

  • Recreate link profiles of the competition: As a rule, almost every company has competitors who are already well linked on the net. Companies can recreate the link profile of these and thus collect points for off-page optimization.

  • Roundup Link Building: Blogs publish so-called Roundups from time to time. They feature the best articles from a certain period of time on a certain topic. Companies should take advantage of this and suggest their own posts to the blogs – and thus generate links.


Link-independent off-page factors for SEO


Offpage SEO is not just about link building. Especially companies that do local marketing and want to rank at the top of Google's local search should focus on optimizing these factors:


NAP data


NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone number. Companies should store this information on the web. This applies both to Google's local results in combination with Google's Maps and to the organic search results. The SEO experts at MOZ assume that the mention of a company including the NAP information is one of the most important off-page measures for local SEO.


Brand Mentions


Brand mentions show Google that a brand receives a lot of attention from users. While a linked brand name is a classic backlink, unlinked mentions can also provide points for OffPage SEO. Because: These so-called brand mentions, or brand mentions, work without a link. Search engines can easily classify them. If, for example, a brand is in the context of positive terms, they understand this as a positive ranking signal. If a brand is surrounded by negative words, this has a negative impact on OffPage SEO and ranking.


The idea behind it is simple: Search engines assume that brand names shape the brand awareness of users. This has an impact on the reputation and importance of a brand. If, for example, users mention a brand positively on social media, this remains in the minds of users. The brand is gaining in importance. Search engines take this into account in their ranking.


For example, to encourage brand mention, companies can write guest posts, speak on well-known podcasts, or create viral content that works on social media. In addition, they can also use tools such as Google Alerts to be notified when competitors are mentioned on the web. You can then participate in the exchange and bring your own company into conversation.


Google My Business


Google My Business is a business listing on Google that contains, among other things, the NAP information. Companies appear with this on Google especially when users are looking for a local operation. MOZ assumes that an entry on Google My Business is the most important ranking factor for a placement in the snack pack results. And: An entry on Google My Business ranks 4th among the most important factors for local organic search. Companies should therefore ensure that they create a Google My Business profile for their off-page optimization.


Valuations


Good reviews in the Google My Business entry as well as on other portals have a positive influence on SEO. MOZ assumes that ratings rank third among the most important factors for ranking in the Snack Pack. For local organic search results, ratings rank fifth. Business owners should therefore ensure that their customers were not only satisfied, but also let other users know in a review.


Social Shares


Actually, Google pretends: Social signals are not ranking factors and therefore useless for search engine optimization. Although there are still (older) studies that say that shares on social media can influence the ranking. However, these are easy to manipulate. Companies can buy thousands of shares on social media channels. Google knows that too. According to its own information, the search engine therefore does not accept them as a ranking factor.


However, real – and not bought – social shares can indirectly have a positive impact on SEO. Because: Users perceive them. You share the content or mention a brand and associated keywords via your own post. In this way, the attention for companies increases. Google also perceives this – and rewards this with points for off-page optimization.


Why OffPage SEO via an agency is worthwhile


As a professional SEO agency, we support you in creating an SEO strategy for your online presence. When developing the strategy for your B2B business, realistic and measurable goals are defined. The goals are based on the corporate goals, the insights gained from the SEO competition analysis and the budget, which is available for additional instruments such as content marketing, link building or search engine advertising. We also support you in link mining advice, so that we can quickly devalue damaged links.


seonative is the ideal partner for a comprehensive OffPage SEO to sustainably improve the position in the SERPs. We have in-depth knowledge of how search engines work and countless contacts to well-connected bloggers. Our SEO managers work with you to develop a campaign that fits your company's goals. The result: You build a link network that gives you more visibility on the web – and rewards Google with a better ranking.


You want to do SEO yourself? Learn SEO in our SEO workshops!