In our previous blog post, we discussed the components of “on-page” SEO (or search engine optimization), which comprises one half of the SEO spectrum. The other half is “off-page” SEO.
“On-page” SEO is what you do on the pages of your website to generate more website traffic. “Off-page” SEO, meanwhile, is what you do elsewhere on the Internet to generate more traffic. The success of your “off-page” SEO efforts revolves mainly around one thing: your ability to create links elsewhere on the Internet that link back to your website.
However, it’s not the sheer number of links that matter to search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. It’s the quality and relevancy of those thinks. If you have a recruiting or staffing website, and there’s a link to it from your nephew’s website about skateboarding, that’s not a very helpful link.
The process of obtaining these links is called “link-building.” Once you’ve obtained these quality, relevant links, those links are called “back links.” Below are some questions that search engines attempt to answer when assessing whether a link is a quality back link:
- How relevant to your website is the website that’s linking back to you?
- How unique is the content on the back linking site?
- How long has the back linking site been around?
- Does the back linking site contain the same theme as your website?
That’s the criteria. Now the question is how do you create these links back to your site? Well, there are a number of different ways to do it. However, be warned that the majority of them can be time-intensive. As a result, it might be in your best interests to outsource the tasks associated with them to somebody else.
Writing is the key to creating links back to your website. This makes sense, since the World Wide Web is also called the “Information Superhighway.” (At least, it was at one time.) Providing quality information—and including a link in that information—is important when attempting to increase your “off-page” SEO effectiveness.
Below are some strategies for creating that information and those links:
- Writing articles—If you have a knack for the written word, then writing articles about the recruiting industry or your particular niche for other websites is a great way to enhance “off-page” SEO. Just remember to include a link to your website at the end of the article.
- Blogging—Not only can you write for other websites and publications, you can write for your own site, as well. Just remember to write on a consistent basis.
- Blog comments—Don’t have time to blog? Then read other people’s blogs and comment on their posts (including a link when appropriate).
- Participating in forums—This is similar to commenting on blog posts. Of course, you don’t want to include a link every time you post in a forum. Join the discussion and link when you believe it’s appropriate to do so.
- Obtaining back links from other sites—I already discussed these, but part of the process of obtaining back links involves convincing the owners of other established websites (preferably ones that already have high search engine rankings) to link back to your site.
- Participating in social media—Having links to your website from social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter can also aid your efforts.