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Off-page Optimization - Common Mistakes and Types of Off-page Optimization
Off-Page Optimization
Off-page SEO directly helps in improving the ranking of a Website on the search engine results page and gaining relevant traffic. It is a continuous process for gaining new and relevant links. It includes acquiring backlinks to the Web page from quality authoritative sites, social media, and social bookmarking sites. These backlinks keep working in the background to help improve the search rankings. More reliable backlinks to a site indicate the worthiness and quality of the content as per the search engines. A site with a huge number of high-value backlinks is usually ranked higher than a Website with fewer backlinks.
Types of Links
Depending on how one earns the links, they are segregated into the following three types:
Natural Links:-
- These links are gained automatically due to the contextual relevancy in content.
- For example, a science blogger adding an external link in a post to NASA's Website becomes a natural link for NASA.
Manual Links:-
- Manual links are built deliberately by using various techniques such as making a profile on a social media platform.
- They can also be anchor links so that users immediately reach the section they want to reach. An anchor link can be clickable text or image on a Website that links from one Web page to another or a different section on the same Web page.
Self-Created Links:-
- These are forced links that are gained such as by adding a backlink in a blog comment or forum.
- Some self-created links could also start leaning a bit toward Black Hat SEO.
Those links perform best for SEO when:
- They are linked to a popular and trustworthy site.
- Linking sites' topics are relevant to those sites being linked to.
- The content of the Website is fresh.
- There is a good internal linking structure.
Types of Off-page Optimization
There are several off-page SEO submissions for optimizing the site. The following highlights some of the important off-page optimization techniques:
- Engage in Social Media Platforms: Engage with the audience on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter by sharing links to Websites, blogs, or articles. Integrate social media functionality website so that visitors can share content with others in their network. Different social media platforms help reach a broad audience and drive traffic to the site.
- Use Social Bookmarking Sites: Social bookmarking sites such as Twitter, Pinterest, Slashdot, Pocket, Digg, Reddit, and so on allow users to save, add, annotate, tag, and share bookmarked Web pages. The backlinks generated by bookmarking are considered to be high quality and help in increasing ranking and targeted traffic flow.
- Publish Appealing Content: It is a well-known fact that it is the content that connects with people. Research well before writing and deliver fresh shareable content. This is a smart way to generate natural links to the site. Developing fresh content is not always possible, so having a different perspective on existing topics is also doable.
- Reach Out To Influencers: This step involves reaching out to influencers who match brand values and asking them to give backlinks from their site to the content. Before reaching out to them, ensure the content is share-worthy, detailed, and factually correct. Only then, the influencers or experts would be keen on giving those precious backlinks.
- Reach Out To Popular Bloggers: To make a Website visible, Website owners should continuously publish blogs or articles on their site. Besides self-publishing blogs and articles, Website owners can ask other bloggers and enthusiasts to write for their blogs, and in return, the writers get backlinks to their sites.
- Become a Guest Author: Search for blogs that are open for guest posts. Publish well-researched content. Ensure not to post multiple times on the same guest blog site. Posting content as a guest author can help reach newer audiences and win more exposure. This increases the reputation and builds social proof.
- Participate in Forums: Forums allow users to hold conversations by posting messages. Usually, there is a moderator to approve the messages. A forum has a hierarchical structure that includes several subforums, each associated with a particular topic. Forums also give a sense of community and are a great tool for SEO. Join a forum to discuss the products or services. A forum is a platform to ask questions, answer them, share recommendations or advice, and also share related links without spamming. Some of the popular forums include Reddit, Quora, Digital Point, and Afflict.
- Submit Blog Directory: There are free blog submission Websites or directories available to submit blogs to earn backlinks. Ensure to check the Domain Authority (DA) of the directory before submitting. DA is a metric that shows how a Website ranks in SERPs. Usually, free online scores are ranging from 1 to 100. (A site with a high score ranks best.)tools to check DA, such as small SEO tools (https://smallseotools.com/domain-authority-checker/)
Other popular SEO Tools that help measure DA include:
a: Ahrefs
b: Majestic
c: Moz
d: SEMrush
A low-profile directory (those with a low DA score) provides low-quality backlinks. A high-profile directory (those with a high DA score) provides high-quality backlinks that increase the search engine ranking and blog traffic. Some of the high DA blog submission sites include:
The following information must be submitted when submitting a blog:
- Title of blog
- URL of the blog
- Description
- META description
- Name and email
It is recommended to submit a blog in two or three directories in a day. Search engines then, view backlinks from these blog directories as natural. However, ensure caution-submitting blogs in too many directories might appear as spam.
- Submit Article: Submitting articles on popular article submission sites is a great way to promote articles. Submitting informative and unique content provides the following benefits:
a: Permanent backlinks are earned.
b: The DA of the Website also increases. This in turn improves the page rank.
c: When users follow backlinks, Website traffic increases.
d: If the content gains attention in social media, there are chances of getting several high-quality backlinks.
Many sites provide free article submissions. There are also those sites that charge a nominal editorial fee for submission. 'Do-follow links to blogs or Websites can be added at the popular article submission sites. These links help a visitor or search engine view another Website through the link. The presence of such links on websites with higher domain value improves search engine ranking. Unlike do-follow links, there are no-follow links. Such links only promote the article by increasing its visibility.
Search bots cannot use them to follow the given link. When looking for article submission sites, ensure they are compliant with copyright laws. The terms and conditions are transparent. In addition, the sites confirm the total number of do-follow or no-follow links that will be received.
Following are some of the popular free article submission sites:
Ensure the article is devoid of keyword stuffing and includes proper titles, anchor texts, and is submitted to the right category.
- Submit Video: The most engaging form of digital content is the video as it generates maximum conversion. When uploading or submitting videos, ensure the following:
a: Add titles to videos that describe them well.
b: Add sufficient video description. The description helps those users who are short of time. They can read the description and know about the video.
c: Add contact details and social media links at the end of the video.
d: When sharing videos, add keywords so that they can be searchable.
Videos can be uploaded to Websites or submitted to video submission sites. Some of the popular video submission sites include the following:
- youtube.com
- plus.google.com
- dailymotion.com
- Submit Image: Images can be submitted to different image submission sites or Websites. Certain popular image submission sites include the following:
a: Instagram
b: Facebook
c: Pinterest
Always submit optimized images. An optimized image includes features such as:
1. Right Image: This means that the selected images belong to the industry or service. These images are not copyrighted. In case, free images are to be used, several sites offer the same without copyright restrictions. It is recommended to use high-quality images. Here are a few sites that offer free high-quality images without copyright restrictions: pixabay.com, unsplash.com, andpexels.com.
2. Right File Format: It is important to select the right image file format that meets the requirements. There are several image file formats. Certain common image file formats include GIF, JPEG, and PNG. JPEG increases the pixelation when the image is compressed more. However, for high-resolution files with low compression, JPEGS are ideal for Web images. GIFs are typically used for animated graphics such as in social media memes and banner ads. GIF is an ideal file format when a small file-sized Web animation is required. PNG is ideal to use when an image is required with greater color depth and a small file size.
3. Reduced File Size: A Web page loads faster when images that exist include a small file size. Ensure when reducing the file size, the quality of images is not compromised.
4. Appropriate File Name: The file name of images should indicate what the image is about. It should be descriptive and should include keywords. Separate the words using hyphens instead of spaces. Google recommends the use of hyphens. In addition, it is recommended to limit the number of words in the file name to six.
5. Alternative Text: This text is also known as 'alt text' and is used within HTML code to describe images. The use of 'alt text' serves three purposes:
- It provides better image descriptions to search engine crawlers helping them to index images.
- When an image file does not load, the 'alt text' appears. This way it describes images to users who are unable to view them.
- It also aids visually impaired users in identifying images. The screen reader reads out the alt text.
6. Image Information in Sitemap: If image information is added to the sitemap, this helps search engines gather more information about images.
- Submit Infographic: Infographic uses images, charts, and minimal text to convey information. An infographic is a popular tool to communicate information quickly with engaging visuals. In addition, the audience finds infographics more interesting than blogs and articles. Infographics can be used on Websites and are shared more commonly on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
- Share Documents: Documents can be shared with Websites in the form of Word, PPT, or PDF formats. Following are certain popular document-sharing sites:
a: Scribd
b: SlideShare
c: Authorstream
Keep the document simple. Branding of the document gives a professional look. Branding can be done by adding a logo on the cover page and adding a Website link in the header and footer of the document.
Common Off-Page Mistakes
It is important to know certain common mistakes users make in off-page SEO. It is good to know about them beforehand to avoid spending unnecessary time fixing off-page mistakes.
- Unmoderated Comments Resulting in Spam: Visitors get an opportunity to comment on blogs or forums. These comments are helpful to get content reviews or take the discussions forward in forums. However, the commenting feature is misused by many users. To gain backlinks, here is what they do:
a: Along with the positive response for the content, such as Thankyou', they insert their Website link.
b: They comment using unrelated contexts. For example, on a food blog, there could be comments to click on an e-commerce site.
c: They provide links to irrelevant pages in forums.
d: Comments by malicious users may also include inappropriate language and profanity.
At times, content posted by spammers can lead to malicious sites. This can negatively affect visitors and lower the reputation of the site. When a site indicates user-generated spam, Google can remove the pages to protect the quality of the search results. Comment moderation and comment blocking can help avoid such situations.
- Buying Links: Search engines can identify if the links to the Website are bought and consider the action as a spam technique. In addition, when links are bought, one might not know where those links would be placed. Consider the backlink coming from a Website of shoes when the backlink is for food. Buying and selling links is a violation of Google's Webmaster guidelines.
- Off-site Blog: There are site owners who have a Website and publish blogs on different platforms such as WordPress. Such a situation would lead to managing and optimizing two different sites. It is recommended to publish a blog on the same Website for ease of managing.
- Directory Submission: Many Web administrators submit information to innumerable online directories to drive more traffic to their Websites. However, Google penalizes directories that offer little value to users and form a part of link-building spam. Not only are directories penalized, but the ranking of the Website also drops as such directory links point to it. Avoid submitting business information or blogs to any random directory that is found online. Instead, be wise in submitting business information. Submit business details only to credible directories, such as Google My Business, Yelp, Foursquare, Facebook, and Instagram for Business. If the business is locally relevant, ensure the business is included in relevant local directories. Google My Business is most recommended for submitting local information as it lists the business location on Google Maps and local search results.
- Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA): Moz is a company that builds several SEO tools. Moz first developed DA as a metric to determine how a domain would appear in the SERPs. It is important to note that Google does not use DA as a ranking factor. However, users can use it to assess the performance of the Website in comparison to other Websites. Moz measures on a scale of 0 to 100. Different SEO companies have their metric to measure domain authority. For example, the Majestic SEO tool measures DA using the metric called Trust Flow'.
Moz DA score can be checked through the following link https://moz.com/domain-analysis#index. Websites with higher DA scores have higher search engine rankings and good Web traffic. Moz uses several factors to calculate the DA scores.
Following are some of these factors:
a: Number of Websites linking to a Web page.
b: Link profile that includes internal and external links from the Web page. Posting links to high-authority Web sites and getting links back from other high-authority sites provides a good score. Link profile includes types of links pointing to the site, their anchor text, and the way links are acquired.
c: Trustworthiness of Websites linking to the page. For example, a link from a governmental site gets a high score.
a: Quality of the Websites that provide the site backlink.
b: Several unique backlinks. Moz considers any number of links, such as 1, 2, and 100 from one Website as one root domain. This makes it important to get backlinks from different Websites.
c: Site structure and user-friendliness. The site structure should be easy for search engines to crawl Web pages. In addition, it should provide a great user experience to visitors.
Backlink Analysis
Consider the scenario of people who routinely go for a full body checkup. They do this to stay fit and healthy and fix any issues before they become serious. Similarly, backlink analysis should be done regularly to maintain the health of the Website. This way, the user understands factors that contribute to the search engine ranking and identifies issues that affect ranking such as links from spam sites. In addition to one's site, users must perform backlink analysis on competitor's sites. This gives insights into various strategies used by competitors.
The following steps should be performed to do a backlink analysis:
- Select sites for analysis
- Select the backlink analysis tool
- Collect information and perform analysis
- Select Sites for Analysis: Besides analyzing one's site, select a few competitor sites as well. Select those sites that outrank for target keywords or those that provide the same products or services.
- Select Backlink Analysis Tool: There are several backlink analysis tools. Select the tool that fits your budget and includes the required capabilities. Following are some of the popular tools:
a: Google Search Console
b: Moz Link Index tool
c: SEMrush BacklinkAnalytics tool
d: SEMrush Backlink Audit tool - Collect Information and Perform Analysis: Type the domain name in the search bar of the tool and analyze the results. The backlink analysis for a site using SEMrush Backlink Analytics tool.
Following are some of the metrics that can be checked:
- The ratio of referring domains to backlinks. Referring domains indicate where the backlinks are coming from. For example, if there are five referring domains and the Web page has 1,000 backlinks, search engines will consider the referring domains as spam and adversely affect the Web page rank that the backlink points to.
- Total unique linking root domains refer to the number of other Websites that link to one's Web page or Website. The metric indicates if a Website is authoritative.
- Number of inbound links. These are the backlinks from other Websites to one's site. For Google, inbound links are the most weighted element that indicates the site has high-quality content.
- Number of outbound links. These are the links in the Website that point to Websites with a different domain name. Outbound links enhance the content and strengthen topical signals, which indicate the relevance of content for a particular topic or keyword. Search engines also find it easier to understand the site.
Following are some of the benefits of outbound links:
a: Readers find additional resources to learn more about certain concepts.
b: Trust is built with readers as sources are referenced.
c: Citing authoritative sources makes authors experts.
d: Content is given context.
The use of outbound links is a positive ranking factor and good SEO practice. - Lost links. These are the links that no longer refer to the site to rank on search engines. This could be for several reasons. For example, the server was down when an attempt was made to access it, or Webmaster removed the backlink.
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