Offsite SEO
- ARTICLES |
Offsite SEO is vital to the well being of any site that helps to stay relevant in the SERPs. There is an entire module inside High Traffic Academy devoted specifically to offsite efforts, but we would be remiss if we didn't at least delve into briefly here in the SEO module.
In this section, we'll briefly go over some important components of offsite SEO, as well as why they are important and how they link into your onsite SEO strategy.
For starters, let's talk about backlinking.
Backlinking
There are some terms in Internet marketing that don't make sense right away, or need further explanation. For example, take a term we defined earlier, long tail. That term always calles for futher explanation because it is unnecessarily cryptic. Why can't we just say "specific keyword?"
At any rate, backlinking is not such a term. It is exactly what it sounds like - strategies to generate links back to your site from elsewhere on the Internet. There are ways to do this, and we will get into them in much further detail in a later module, but let's go over one of the simpler methods in general terms here.
Simply put, the most generic method of backlinking goes like this:
The tricky part is that there are a lot of considerations in those steps. For example:
If you already thought to ask some of these questions, good for you! Because all of these matter very much. Just like when you are creating content, backlinking is extremely effective if done right, but it can also be very harmful if you are not following our High Traffic Academy guidelines.
Backlinking is covered in more depth in its own module, including Panda and Penguin considerations for backlinking, as well as specific backlinking strategies.
Word of Mouth
It is important to remember that just as not all SEO occurs onsite, not all of it occurs online, either. The most powerful marketing channel out there is the one that has been around for the longest time - word of mouth.
When people like something - a movie, a product, a website - they tell people about it. If people like your site and/or product, they will tell people about it, too. But first they need to know about it, so your word of mouth campaign has to start on the ground floor.
To get people talking, talk about your product yourself:
There a number of factors that contribute to this effect, but essentially it boils down to the fact that traffic begets traffic. Think about it:
Search engines consider metrics like number of page loads, time on site, number of impressions and clickthroughs. More people visiting and spending time on your site means higher rankings.
Eventually, offline conversations make their way online. When people post links to your site on the social networks, blogs and forums, that will bring in more traffic and higher rankings.
Your offsite and onsite SEO are both bolstered when people talk about your site. And it's up to you to get that conversation going.
In this section, we'll briefly go over some important components of offsite SEO, as well as why they are important and how they link into your onsite SEO strategy.
For starters, let's talk about backlinking.
Backlinking
There are some terms in Internet marketing that don't make sense right away, or need further explanation. For example, take a term we defined earlier, long tail. That term always calles for futher explanation because it is unnecessarily cryptic. Why can't we just say "specific keyword?"
At any rate, backlinking is not such a term. It is exactly what it sounds like - strategies to generate links back to your site from elsewhere on the Internet. There are ways to do this, and we will get into them in much further detail in a later module, but let's go over one of the simpler methods in general terms here.
Simply put, the most generic method of backlinking goes like this:
- Find blogs and forums in your niche that attract large amounts of traffic
- Post on those blogs and forums, including links back to your blog
- Repeat
The tricky part is that there are a lot of considerations in those steps. For example:
- How do I find sites relevant to my niche?
- How do I know where to post my links so that lots of people will see them?
- What things should I do or not do in my comments and post replies in order to get past Panda and Penguin?
- Are there sites I should avoid?
- How much should I post? How often?
If you already thought to ask some of these questions, good for you! Because all of these matter very much. Just like when you are creating content, backlinking is extremely effective if done right, but it can also be very harmful if you are not following our High Traffic Academy guidelines.
Backlinking is covered in more depth in its own module, including Panda and Penguin considerations for backlinking, as well as specific backlinking strategies.
Word of Mouth
It is important to remember that just as not all SEO occurs onsite, not all of it occurs online, either. The most powerful marketing channel out there is the one that has been around for the longest time - word of mouth.
When people like something - a movie, a product, a website - they tell people about it. If people like your site and/or product, they will tell people about it, too. But first they need to know about it, so your word of mouth campaign has to start on the ground floor.
To get people talking, talk about your product yourself:
- Post about it in your Facebook groups or other discussion groups that you are a member of.
- Tell your friends and colleagues. They don't even have to know you are plugging your own product at first; just tell them about how great it is and where to find it.
- Have an elevator pitch ready to go for those quick marketing opportunities.
- There are lots of ways to start word of mouth going, but the real question is just how an offline marketing effort can affect search engine results online. Well, it does.
There a number of factors that contribute to this effect, but essentially it boils down to the fact that traffic begets traffic. Think about it:
Search engines consider metrics like number of page loads, time on site, number of impressions and clickthroughs. More people visiting and spending time on your site means higher rankings.
Eventually, offline conversations make their way online. When people post links to your site on the social networks, blogs and forums, that will bring in more traffic and higher rankings.
Your offsite and onsite SEO are both bolstered when people talk about your site. And it's up to you to get that conversation going.