SEO isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Most businesses will try to work their way around a few on-page optimization factors and call it a day. The reality is, if you fail to continuously pour in SEO efforts to improve your organic position on search engines, there’s very least you can expect from those preliminary optimization activities.
Off-page SEO that is carried out over a sustained period of time is the only key to your long-term success in the battle for top rankings on Google. The problem most SEOs and webmasters face, though, is the lack of knowledge. Things are rapidly evolving and search engines like Google roll out new algorithm updates numerous times a year, making it all the more difficult (and impractical) to rely on what used to work in the past.
What you need is a pocket-size guide to help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques in off-page SEO that are already being tested by the industry leaders. In this blog post, we are going to cover ten of these most advanced and effective SEO techniques that, when implemented well, will ensure your site’s success in 2021 and beyond.
Building Backlinks
Unless you have been living under a rock, you’re already aware of the concept of blog posts, digital advertisements, and review pages. What they all do is provide links to the sites they intend to recommend or advertise. That link is basically a backlink that helps users reach a specific site while they are on a different page or web source. Link building is a very useful off-page SEO technique when you know how to implement it the right way.
There are different ways to build backlinks. There are natural backlinks that are provided by influencers or third-party reviewers when they really like your website and wish to recommend it to the people in their circle. And then there are manually-built backlinks. This starts with you actively reaching out to other businesses and websites — that have greater reach and audience base — and requesting them to share your website because you feel it will be \worth it for them to share. It is a good way to indirectly improve your site’s rankings. It is also an amazing off-page SEO technique you can rely on to generate high-quality backlinks in a much shorter period of time. The more backlinks your website gains, the better will be its chances of success on Google’s organic search results.
Guest author contribution
Being a part of the online world, you have an advantage over traditional businesses by rolling out fresh content on your webpage on a frequent basis. What’s even more appealing is guest posting on the sites you don’t own. Think of the opportunities you have for your business when the content you write becomes visible on other related websites (and to a much larger scope of audiences) without you having to spend a ton of money on advertisement. Guest blogging is a technique worth the attention of every website owner in 2021.
In the case of website blogging, the focus of the content is limited to your own site and it’s limited to the landing page or the blog page. But with guest posting, you can make more people aware of your work, your business, and what you have to offer to them. It can help you attract more users or even future customers. Guest posting or guest contribution can be done via a simple but diligent process of finding similar businesses and requesting them to include your post on their website.
The first thing should be for you to provide information about your site and line of work. Additionally, you can also search through their blog posts to get an idea about what kind of topics they do cover and what kind of guidelines they require the guest blogger to follow. Once your request has been accepted, it’s time to give your 100% and write a high-quality piece of content with your website’s link naturally embedded somewhere in the body section. This is a great way to increase your site’s authority and boost its rankings in SERPs. Also, make sure that you are not writing blog posts on the same website again and again, as it will give off a negative signal to search engines when you get too many backlinks from the same pool. Remember that search engines like Google despise black-hat tactics that are carried out to manipulate SEO rankings.
Interaction on social media
One of the very helpful off-page SEO techniques is to engage and interact with users on social media. Being responsive, engaging, and insightful on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter will always work to your advantage. Be sure to have a good response time and provide quick references to necessary resources if the nature of your user’s inquiry is complex.
Most businesses would ignore social media altogether, thinking that it has little to no effect on SEO. That’s hardly the case. Every link you get from a social post, every person who visits your website by seeing your content, and every interaction you make with your potential customer counts. The accumulative effects of these activities on your website’s SEO and its overall authority are going to be considerably great over the long haul. So make it a point to consistently post good content and engage with your audience on social media.
Bookmark on top social sites
Social media is a hub for different types of apps and websites, each serving a unique purpose. Just like that, there are social bookmarking sites where people bookmark their interests with an intention to come back later. A good way to increase your site engagement is to bookmark your site on any top social bookmarking website such as Flipboard, Mix, and Diigo. By doing so, you are ensuring your site has a better chance of success on the off-page SEO front.
Participate in forums
Participating and interacting through search forums is yet another off-page SEO technique that will remain a trend in 2021. These forums can both be built on top of social media as well as independent sites. They allow participation so that you can answer the queries of people who relate to you, your business, or the products you offer in some ways. When you engage with users on discussion forums, it helps you gain more traffic to your site, thereby enhancing your SEO score.
Be visible on Q&A sites
Modern humans are internet savvy and they have a lot of questions to ask. To cater to that need, there are blogging sites, discussion forums, Wikis, and Q&A platforms. We know how they all work and we also know how they are used in the off-page SEO process. What’s more, these websites are here to stay.
One sensible off-page SEO technique is, therefore, to join a Q&A site and follow the interests and topics related to your site. Whenever there is a question about that topic, you should grab the opportunity and answer it thoroughly. Always try to come up with informative and useful answers that have actual value for the users. Somewhere in the middle, in a contextual way, you can provide a link to your site — earning both traffic and SEO value from simple activity.
Make a profile on Google My Business
Google My Business is a business listing platform you don’t want to miss out on in 2021. For enhanced SEO optimization, it’s a good idea to have some presence on GMC and share useful data with the local audience in the form of promo material or business information (like office address, phone number, hours of operation, etc).
The ongoing activities on Google My Business are more important than businesses realize. It basically gives off a signal that your business is active and Google should give it a notch up in the local SERPs (search engine results pages). So once you create your business listing on GMC, try to stay active and keep sharing links, images, and posts you create for your site. Simple techniques such as avoiding lengthy descriptions, crafting catchy blurbs, using precise words to describe your business, and proactively responding to the reviews and comments of people do matter with Google My Business. Be sure to follow them.
Influencer marketing
In the past few years, influencer marketing has proved to be an essential part of boosting your views and reaching potential users. It is not only essential as an on-page factor to increase sales, but it can also help as an off-page technique when it comes to increasing your business visibility online.
The process you can follow is simple: First off, do some homework and learn about the blogger/influencers you want for your brand promotion. In the next step, reach out to them and get specific details on their process and whether or not they are willing to collaborate with your brand. Finally, try to maintain a healthy relationship with them by giving them a shout-out occasionally, commenting on (and reacting to) their posts, and sending them simple gifts once in a while. Nurturing your relationship with influencers this way will make them a lot approachable when it’s time to promote your brand.
Build trust and accessibility
No matter the kind of relationship you are building, trust and accessibility are two vital factors. When you engage with people online and expect them to trust you with their needs (and rely on your site for help), you need to show them that your site is trustworthy and that you can be accessed easily. In case of any query, be available to help your consumers. This builds a healthier brand experience which, in turn, leads to increased brand loyalty and trust. The stronger their sense of trust and loyalty, the more frequently they’ll visit your site — improving its engagement rate, dwell time, and other important SEO metrics.
Include targeted keywords
It’s a simple but important strategy. When you write a promo content piece, be sure to include your targeted keywords. The tile, primary headings, and subheadings are the ideal locations to insert your keywords in. But you should not limit yourself to the titles or heading only. Evenly spread, the keywords in the body section can also play an important role in getting your site indexed and ranked for the right terms. For detailed coverage, head on to this resource: Keyword Optimization: Are You Doing It All Wrong?
Final thoughts
No one in the online business can ignore the importance of a well-structured off-page SEO in 2021. But the first and most important thing to keep in mind is that off-page SEO is not just about building backlinks. It is mainly about building brand awareness, creating optimized content and focusing on ranking at the top of all search engines, not just Google.
The off-page SEO techniques discussed in the blog post should be considered a vital part of your digital marketing strategy. As and when you proceed to work on these techniques, remember that progress won’t happen overnight. Organic SEO means that you pour in the right efforts over an extended period of time. When you stay committed to the process, the result will take care of itself.